# Post-Apocolyptic books?



## hiatus (Mar 15, 2013)

I'm really into this kind of stuff. Not like psyco babble but awesome stories. The walking dead (TV show) and Devil Survivor (Video Game) really got me loving this end of the world stuff.

So does anybody know of another good post-apocolyptic story?

I'd appreciate any recommendations


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## moderan (Mar 15, 2013)

It's been a little while since we discussed this. Here's the last thread. Maybe it'll have some ideas for you.
And it's Apocalyptic


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## Whisper (Mar 15, 2013)

While I enjoy Post-Apocalyptic literature, what I really enjoy is apocalyptic literature. To me, starting a novel after the fact is cheating. I want to read about how society met its doom, therefore, I have four favorites:

_The Stand_ by Stephen King – hands down one of the best and can just about always be found in every Top 10 Apocalyptic or Post-Apocalyptic list. The unabridged version is best.

_Lucifer’s Hammer_ by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle – It’s been awhile since I read this, but nicely done and nicely paced. I’ll probably read it again to help inspire me.

_Cannibal Reign_ by Thomas Koloniar – This one was published last year and is not about zombies. It has quickly become one of my favorites. His writing is superb and his dialog even better.

_World War-Z_ by Max Brooks – I’m not a big fan of zombie books because I haven’t found many that aren’t walk here get eaten, walk there get eaten, but this one is pretty good. I found the audio version even better.


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## Terry D (Mar 15, 2013)

As mentioned in the thread moderan linked to, Swan Song is excellent.  Cormac Mcarthy's The Road is bleak yet hopeful.  I just finished reading Dan Simmons, Flashback, a book about an economic and social apocalypse that is very good and probably the most realistic of them all.


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## hiatus (Mar 15, 2013)

This is awesome guys, Thanks. I got a spare twenty bucks decided to buy a book about what I'm currently interested in. I'll pick one read it then if I love it recommend them! :emmersed:


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## Fats Velvet (Mar 15, 2013)

Whisper said:


> _World War-Z_ by Max Brooks – I’m not a big fan of zombie books because I haven’t found many that aren’t walk here get eaten, walk there get eaten, but this one is pretty good. I found the audio version even better.



Ditto (for the book).


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## Fats Velvet (Mar 15, 2013)

_John Dies at the End_ by David Wong is worth reading.


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## cazann34 (Mar 15, 2013)

I recommend The passage +The Twelve by Jason Cronin, (its actually a trilogy) the third book isn't out yet to my knowledge It doesn't cheat but tells you why the world has fallen unlike some that just start after the event. It about a military experiments on death-row convicts that goes horribly wrong (they're trying to turn them into super soldiers) and they escape and inflect the world (the USA anyway) with a vampirism type virus. A great tale that really grips.


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## Kyle R (Mar 15, 2013)

hiatus said:


> I'm really into this kind of stuff. Not like psyco babble but awesome stories. The walking dead (TV show) and Devil Survivor (Video Game) really got me loving this end of the world stuff.
> 
> So does anybody know of another good post-apocolyptic story?
> 
> I'd appreciate any recommendations





The sci-fi adventure classic, H.G. Wells' *The Time Machine* is a must-read, in my opinion. 

The main character, a scientist, travels to the year 802,701 A.D. to explore Earth's far-distant future, and finds himself among the ruins of an ancient civilization.


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## moderan (Mar 15, 2013)

Zombie holocaust things don't interest me. After They Thirst, neither do vampires. McCammon capped off the genre imo, and it qualifies for this column.
Edgar Pangborn's Davy (Part of a series called Tales of a Darkening World) is to my mind the finest book of the genre, and the series one of the best.
Others that I have liked include Spider Robinson's Telempath, John Christopher's No Blade of Grass, as well as others from the "cosy catastrophe" school.
JG Ballard and Richard Cowper ably visited the "greenhouse gases kill us" and John Crowley's Engine Summer also treats somewhat with that notion.
There are also things like Blood Music, The Screwfly Solution and I have No Mouth, and I Must Scream that are shining lights in a subgenre with such morbid concerns. Sam Delany's Dhalgren is another such. All of the above are things I've actually read and can recommend.
Wiki has a nice list, and a good discussion.
The subgenre is of course closely related to the dystopic fictions. 1984 and Brave New World are titans, as are Burgess' and Brunner's best-known works.


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## Nee (Mar 15, 2013)

List of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

*edit: Oh...I see Mod mention this.


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## Whisper (Mar 15, 2013)

cazann34 said:


> I recommend The passage +The Twelve by Jason Cronin, (its actually a trilogy) the third book isn't out yet to my knowledge It doesn't cheat but tells you why the world has fallen unlike some that just start after the event. It about a military experiments on death-row convicts that goes horribly wrong (they're trying to turn them into super soldiers) and they escape and inflect the world (the USA anyway) with a vampirism type virus. A great tale that really grips.



I forgot about this one. His first book was great. I'm going to wait until the series is over before I buy the rest. Then I'm going to take a vacation and read them all at once.


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## OLDSOUL (Mar 17, 2013)

The Road - Cormac McCarthy.


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## moderan (Mar 17, 2013)

OLDSOUL said:


> The Road - Cormac McCarthy.


See post #4


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## spartan928 (Mar 22, 2013)

Philip K Dick - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is excellent.
Richard Matheson - I Am Legend
Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle. Not post-apocalyptic strictly speaking but the theme arches the whole work. My favorite Vonnegut book.

Ditto on The Stand and The Road. Two very solid reads.


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## Whisper (Mar 22, 2013)

spartan928 said:


> Philip K Dick - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is excellent.
> Richard Matheson - I Am Legend
> Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle. Not post-apocalyptic strictly speaking but the theme arches the whole work. My favorite Vonnegut book.
> 
> Ditto on The Stand and The Road. Two very solid reads.



I am Legend was an excellent book. The movie wasn't able to do it justice. The black and white version called "The Last Man On Earth" came the closest and was by far the best. Heston's Omega Man was good, too. I am Legend the movie wasn't bad, just never came close to the book.

Ditton on The Postman and Day of the Triffids.

If no one has read Day of the Triffids, I highly recommend it.


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## raines80 (Apr 21, 2013)

"77 Days in September" by Ray Gorham is an EXCELLENT apocalyptic book. It isn't as intense as the Walking Dead, but a great read.


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## Robert_S (Apr 22, 2013)

Whisper said:


> _World War-Z_ by Max Brooks – I’m not a big fan of zombie books because I haven’t found many that aren’t walk here get eaten, walk there get eaten, but this one is pretty good. I found the audio version even better.




I loved this book. I thought the style was well placed.


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