I see that the Daybreak books have been mentioned already; I can second those.
Stirling’s Change/Emberverse books were good but he went off course with The Scourge of God and Sword of the Lady (IMO) and lost my interest so I have no idea what’s happened in later books.
I’m a huge fan of David Gerrold and I can heartily recommend his War Against the Chtorr series, but be warned that we’ve been waiting more than 20 years for the 5th book.
I came in to mention “Earth Abides” but someone beat me to it. I haven’t read it in a long time but it did not seem at all dated to me when I did.
I read both and very much prefer LAWKI. Haunting.
I can’t not mention “On The Beach”, by Nevil Shute (1957). Devastating in its own quiet way. Also a remarkable movie.
Daybreak 2250 (AKA Star Man’s Son) by Andre Norton
Probably the first post-apocalyptic story I ever read. Originally published in 1952, I picked up a paperback because the [cover](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/David Brin’s 1985 novel The Postman) looked cool to my twelve-year-old eyes but it was pretty damn good, IIRC.
**The Postman **- David Brin
Oh sure, the movie was terrible, but the novel is pretty good.
I enjoyed Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, which seems to get overlooked in these discussions.
There is a lot of recent young adult fiction along these lines. I’d have to ask my daughter for the titles and her recommendations if you’re interested. I recall a few decent ones that we picked up post-Hunger Games.
That book was so highly praised when it came out that I got a hardcover 1st edition. I think I made it like 30 pages in before I threw it at a wall. I know we all have different tastes, but IMO that one was a stinker. If you must try it, find it at the library.
You won’t be sorry… As long as you stop after book 3.
I felt the same way about the Emberverse. I picked up Dies The Fire after seeing how highly recommended the series is here and by the end of the second chapter, I realized it definitely wasn’t for me. Loved Oryx and Crake, though.
Just got done reading the first book. Definitely a good one. Thanks for the reference.
Is that the one with the big plants and it turns out the earth is a giant interplanetary farm?
Amazingly enough I was halfway through Daybreak 2250 when I picked up Plague Years. I concur it is an interesting read.
Well, I apparently came to the right place. Thought I had read a lot, but I am seeing many I have not read, and I appreciate the references.
Some of these just did not come up when I would search under the genre and I may have never found them. I have about 7 on the pending reading now.
Am maybe chiming in redundantly now; but, would somewhat echo BrainGlutton and Snowboarder Bo re S.M. Stirling’s “Emberverse” series. I found that, to start off (with the first books in a long and still-continuing series) as a respectably gritty catastrophe-strikes-Earth-and-the great-majority-of-humankind-quickly-die narrative – and at first, found it distressing but compulsive reading. Initially, it’s basically “of this world and in terms of this world’s science and technology”(the latter suddenly thrown a millennium back); but as the series goes on, it gets more and more into realms of the magical-mythological-mystical (as Snowboarder Bo implies). I could not take this change of tack, and abandoned the series after Book 5.
I just wanted to say thanks. Even though I was not the OP I have picked up a couple of titles mentioned in this thread.
To add ti the thread I would recommend Swan Song. I read it many years ago but I remember enjoying it even if it was clear the author read The Stand and said, “I could do that too.”
No. It’s about the arrival of an alien ship that collects human beings into a group mind.
Here’s a few of my recommendations - old and new - grouped by Pre/During - Mostly Post and Long-Past Apocalyptic, with some dystopian stuff thrown in for fun.
Pre/During Apocalypse
The Last Policeman - Winters, Ben H. - Technically pre-apocalyptic, as an asteroid is due to hit Earth in a matter of months - a detective story set in a society slowly breaking down. The ending felt a bit off, like Winters decided at some point to make it a series, but still enjoyable. (FYI - the Kindle version is currently available for cheap!)
Slow Apocalypse - John Varley. Mostly set during the apocalypse, it’s not Varley’s best, but still an interesting take on societal breakdown. Be prepared for a tour of the greater Los Angeles area… 
*Ashfall *- Mike Mullin. The Yellowstone supervolcano goes kaboom & the teen protagonist crosses the midwest to find his family. Young-adult-ish, but still quite good.
*Sleepless *- Charlie Huston - Humans are suffering from a plague of insomnia and civilization is falling apart. A detective thriller, similar to The Last Policeman.
Mostly Post- Apocalypse
*Boneshaker *- Cherie Priest - Zombies & steampunk; perhaps more alt-history than post-apocalyptic, but - a fun read!
Zone One - Colson Whitehead. PA+zombies, which you might be a bit tired of, but it’s the most literary example of the genre I’ve read.
Warm Bodies - Isaac Marion - mostly zombie (sentient - protagonist is a Zed), some PA - dry humour and a love story, but not too sappy.
*World Made by Hand *- James Howard Kunstler. About 1 generation after a slow decline of civilization - climate change/the end of oil. I could have done without the supernatural elements, but really enjoyed the world-building.
The Maze Runner series - James Dashner. A bit of a rip-off of The Hunger Games, (kids being manipulated with deadly results) but the first novel is more or less worth reading. Some interesting world building, but the characters are meh.
The Windup Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi - First world vs third world in a hunt for foodstuffs; one of the main characters is an “engineered being” cast off by her owner & trying to survive. Bleak story, but fascinating world building. Some similarities to Oryx & Crake, I suppose.
Long Past Apocalypse
Eternity Road - Jack McDevitt. Rebuilt semi-primitive society; explorers go to find the secrets of their ancestors.
Shades of Grey - Jasper Fforde. This one is really quirky - human society is hierarchical based on one’s perception of color. Leans dystopian, but Something Happened to cause the color blindness, so am throwing it in here.
Agreed. I’d also add that Varley threw several Deus ex Machinas into this book.
But you can get an interesting take on the dystopian/post apocalyptic genre from Varley’s Eight World series. Varley portrays a society where things on the surface are so well run you don’t notice the dystopian or post-apocalyptic elements in the background.
Another unusual post-apocalypse work: Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross. It’s about a robot civilization that’s struggling to figure out a reason for its existence after the extinction of the human beings it was designed to serve.
Another YA title is “The City of Ember”. It was made into a mediocre movie but the book is quite good. You can skip the sequels.