# Looking for Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 16, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649 "2009-01-16T19:54:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/41 "2009-01-17T19:15:00Z")
> [@Baldwin](#):
>
> McCarthy’s stuff always sounds interesting , but I’ve never been able to get past his ridiculous prose style. Does it stop getting in the way after awhile?
I really like the style, but yeah, it’s definitely not a transparent style: it’s one of those styles you’re meant to notice. I think it gives a real bleakness to his stories–very appropriate here.
If you don’t like the style, I’m not sure his books will ever appeal.
Daniel
---
### Author:  [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/42 "2009-01-17T20:13:56Z")
There is, of course, the Left Behind series.
---
### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/43 "2009-01-17T20:32:46Z")
World War Z thrilled me and disappointed me. I loved the book. It had me turning page after page. It wasn’t long enough. It was supposed to be the zombie _Good War_. What amazed me about the Good War was the depth Turkel went. He found people from every aspect of the war, from the mundane to the amazing. He took down their stories in great detail and painted a complete picture of the war like I had never read before. Brooks failed to do that. He left too many holes. And he was too chicken to use names for real people in places where there certainly would be names if it was a real account. It was jarring to me. I still recommend it.
---
### Author:  [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2009, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/44 "2009-01-17T21:12:27Z")
The _Fallout_ series of computer games is post-apocalyptic if anything is (hell, Fallout’s subtitle is “A Post Apocalyptic Role Playing Game”. I’ve only played through the third iteration, which takes place around what used to be Washington, D.C. in the 2270’s. I’m getting into the first game currently though.
Does _Star Trek_ count as post-apocalyptic? I mean, it’s so far post-apocalyptic that society had a chance to become Utopian, so maybe not the best example. 😃
As much as I hated it, I might as well mention _Lord of the Flies_, a book about a group of schoolchildren marooned on an island after a plane crash. They mention a nuclear war going on, though not to the scale that you expect in post-apocalypse stuff, but for the boys on the island, society is pretty much reduced to sea shells and sharp sticks.
---
### Author:  [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/45 "2009-01-17T21:28:45Z")
> [@Baldwin](#):
>
> _Quintet_.
Heh, sorrii. Yeah, I forgot to put the title of it down.
---
### Author:  [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/46 "2009-01-17T21:37:52Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> World War Z thrilled me and disappointed me. I loved the book. It had me turning page after page. It wasn’t long enough. It was supposed to be the zombie _Good War_. What amazed me about the Good War was the depth Turkel went. He found people from every aspect of the war, from the mundane to the amazing. He took down their stories in great detail and painted a complete picture of the war like I had never read before. Brooks failed to do that. He left too many holes. And he was too chicken to use names for real people in places where there certainly would be names if it was a real account. It was jarring to me. I still recommend it.
I don’t think it was a matter of being “chicken”; it was a stylistic choice, and I probably would have made the same one. And, of course, he could also write more. I’d like to see _World War Z: The Hero City_.
---
### Author:  [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/47 "2009-01-17T21:44:05Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> World War Z thrilled me and disappointed me. I loved the book. It had me turning page after page. It wasn’t long enough. It was supposed to be the zombie _Good War_. What amazed me about the Good War was the depth Turkel went. He found people from every aspect of the war, from the mundane to the amazing. He took down their stories in great detail and painted a complete picture of the war like I had never read before. Brooks failed to do that. He left too many holes. And he was too chicken to use names for real people in places where there certainly would be names if it was a real account. It was jarring to me. I still recommend it.
I actually did some searching before realizing that “Turkel” meant Studs Terkel. Now I want that book, _The Good War: An Oral History of WWII_. Thanks!
---
### Author:  [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/48 "2009-01-17T22:05:40Z")
> [@Equipoise](#):
>
> [The Road](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0898367/), starring Viggo Mortensen, is coming soon to a theater near…a lot of people. It doesn’t have a release date because they’re still tweaking. I’m hoping for the best.
ohsweet_sigh_babyjesus, what on earth have I done to deserve such a treat?
You can bet your sweet bippy I’ll be first in line for that movie.
---
### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/49 "2009-01-18T06:21:35Z")
_The Harvest_ by Robert Charles Wilson is an unusual post-apocalypse novel in that that the end of humanity is not necessarily a bad thing.
_I Am Legend_ by Richard Matheson, _Afterage_ by Yvonne Navarro, and _Midnight Mass_ by F. Paul Wilson all have humans trying to survive after vampires overrun the world.
I’ve just started reading _Plague Year_ by Jeff Carlson. A nanotech-based disease kills all warm-blooded animals. Its only vulnerability is that it doesn’t work in a thin atmosphere above 10000 feet. So the only humans left are trapped in isolated groups up on mountain tops.
---
### Author:  [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/50 "2009-01-18T06:26:47Z")
I came across another one for you guys as I was browing the bookshelves at Borders. **Dies the Fire** by S.M. Stirling. I only found it because I was on the hunt for **Earth Abides**.
On the non-fiction end of things, I’ll suggest tonight’s purchase- **The World Without Us** by Alan Weisman. I collect 2 of the “Best American” series, Science/Nature & Travel. I read his original essay of what would happen if humanity disappeared four years ago in 2005 Best Science/Nature writing. When I saw that he had expanded it into a full length book I decided to snap it up. I highly recommend the original essay and I’ll update on what I thought about this book.
---
### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2009, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/51 "2009-01-18T06:43:29Z")
> [@Baldwin](#):
>
> I actually did some searching before realizing that “Turkel” meant Studs Terkel. Now I want that book, _The Good War: An Oral History of WWII_. Thanks!
Sorry, yes I meant Terkel. It wasn’t a coincidence, Brooks thanks him for the inspiration at the beginning of the book. The Good War is an amazing book.
---
### Author:  [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2009, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/52 "2009-01-18T06:54:44Z")
[Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse](http://www.amazon.com/Go-Go-Girls-Apocalypse-Victor-Gischler/dp/1416552251/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232261627&sr=8-1) is a fun, fast, if brainless, read.
---
### Author:  [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2009, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/53 "2009-01-18T07:08:43Z")
For an oldie but (I think) goodie, there’s [When Worlds Collide](http://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Collide-Bison-Frontiers-Imagination/dp/0803298145/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232261818&sr=1-1), written in 1932. I’d seen and liked the movie on TV, but I read the book when I was in Jr. high school and was enthralled. I later found a hardback release that contained both this book, and the sequel, [After Worlds Collide](http://www.amazon.com/After-Worlds-Collide-Classic-Sequel/dp/0446928135/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232261818&sr=1-3), which is not as good, but still interesting. I still have it. It’s been a couple of decades since I’ve read them, so I don’t know if they hold up.
> [@Auntbeast](#):
>
> ohsweet_sigh_babyjesus, what on earth have I done to deserve such a treat?
>
> You can bet your sweet bippy I’ll be first in line for that movie.
I almost didn’t mention it thinking that people might already know about it since it’s been in production seemingly forever. Glad to have made you happy!
---
### Author:  [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2009, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/54 "2009-01-18T07:42:43Z")
_When Worlds Collide_ holds up. The sequel isn’t particularly noteworthy, but might be worth a shot if you can find a cheap copy.
M. P. Shiel did the uber-classic novel _The Purple Cloud_. He had his own particular writing style, though, which might not be to everyone’s taste.
Lord Dunsany did _The Pleasures of a Futuroscope_ as an SF novel. He also did some interesting propaganda pieces during WWI that are touching descriptions of the horrors of war.
And if you want post-_everything_ fiction, there’s my perennial recommendation of _The Night Land_ by William Hope Hodgson, which is simultaneously godawful and one of the more towering works of fiction in the English language.
---
### Author:  [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2009, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/55 "2009-01-18T09:05:20Z")
Glad to hear that WWC holds up. Thanks **Hunter Hawk**. I’ll have to re-read it (them) for nostalgia’s sake.
---
### Author:  [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649/56 "2009-01-18T16:35:45Z")
I enjoyed When Worlds Collide. The neato, nifty thing about this genre, is seeing how the vision changes as our knowledge and technology changes. The rockets in WWC were hilarious by today’s standard, but hey, different time.
One of the reasons I think Alas, Babylon holds up so well is except for a few little tiny things, it could pretty much be happening today. It also sort of features the role of Ham Radio in such a disaster. We communicate so effortlessly, what happens when those cell towers fail? The internet connection is lost. How do you know what is going on anywhere else? I happen to think that that is absolutely one of the things they got right, way back then. Pretty much every natural disaster, the Ham radio guys have been a tremendous benefit. Unfortunately, due to our ease of communication, the interest is dwindling extremely quickly.
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-post-apocalyptic-fiction/481649.md?page=2)