# Looking for Recent Post-Apocalyptic Book **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 18, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760 "2009-12-18T17:39:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/1 "2009-12-18T17:39:38Z")
and my google-fu is very weak, since I can’t remember either the author OR the title. The author was on a talk show last year, so I know it’s very recent, but I am having no luck finding it. It wasn’t “The Road” - that’s about all I got. So, can you people who still remember things help me out? And, on a somewhat related note, [trailer for the movie “Book of Eli”](http://video.yahoo.com/watch/6061618/15750836) with Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, and Mila Kunis. Looks interesting, if maybe a little light on plot and heavy on violence/blowing shit up. ---
**Author:** ![StoutHearted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@StoutHearted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StoutHearted)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/2 "2009-12-18T17:47:57Z")
Was the author male or female? If female, was it Margaret Atwood with _Oryx & Crake_ or _Year of the Flood_? ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/3 "2009-12-18T17:48:08Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > And, on a somewhat related note, [trailer for the movie “Book of Eli”](http://video.yahoo.com/watch/6061618/15750836) with Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, and Mila Kunis. Looks interesting, if maybe a little light on plot and heavy on violence/blowing shit up. I have never heard of that before, but I totally want to see that. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/4 "2009-12-18T17:52:11Z")
Was it [The Gone Away World?](http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Away-World-Vintage-Contemporaries/dp/0307389073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261158661&sr=8-1) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/5 "2009-12-18T17:55:42Z")
It was a guy (whose name I vaguely recognized). A Spanish name? Nope, not “The Gone Away World,” but I’ll be adding it to my list. This is like a game of Twenty Questions! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![StoutHearted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@StoutHearted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StoutHearted)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/6 "2009-12-18T18:24:12Z")
Is it bigger than a bread box? How about _Blindness_ by Jose Saramago? It came out over 10 years ago, but the film came out last year, so perhaps the author was back in the news because of that? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/7 "2009-12-18T19:00:26Z")
> [@StoutHearted](#): > > Is it bigger than a bread box? Nope - it’s about book-sized. 🙂 > [@](#): > > How about _Blindness_ by Jose Saramago? It came out over 10 years ago, but the film came out last year, so perhaps the author was back in the news because of that? No, that’s not it, either. The Spanish name thing is driving me crazy now - the name is dancing around the edge of my brain. Maybe I’ll have to sleep on it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/8 "2009-12-18T19:04:44Z")
Can you tell us more about the book you have in mind - main character, setting, reason for the world ending, memorable scenes, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/9 "2009-12-18T19:10:34Z")
P.S. Yeah, I’m totally gonna go see _The Book of Eli_ now. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/10 "2009-12-18T19:22:15Z")
How about [The Strain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strain) by Guillermo del Toro? Spanish sounding author, recent (2009), and there was a bit of post apocalyptic vibe to it. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/11 "2009-12-18T19:31:21Z")
I know the author name doesn’t work with your memory, but could it be the Change series by S.M. Stirling? The most recent book, _Sword of the Lady_, just came out in August, if I recall correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/12 "2009-12-18T20:07:48Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > How about [The Strain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strain) by Guillermo del Toro? Spanish sounding author, recent (2009), and there was a bit of post apocalyptic vibe to it. This is probably it. While it’s not post-apocalyptic… the end of the book strongly implies that the spread of the vampire virus is unstoppable I can’t wait for Book 2, which should be out in May or June. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/13 "2009-12-19T05:36:13Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > How about [The Strain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strain) by Guillermo del Toro? Spanish sounding author, recent (2009), and there was a bit of post apocalyptic vibe to it. That’s it! It’s not post-apocalyptic? Maybe apocalypse-in-progress would be more accurate. 🙂 Thanks, guys. I knew you could fill in my brain hole. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/14 "2009-12-19T05:57:18Z")
I was going to suggest [_Metro 2033_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Glukhovsky), a post-apocalyptic story where the last remnants of humanity have taken refuge in the Moscow metro tunnels. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/15 "2009-12-19T14:06:48Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > That’s it! In ten years, that’s the first time I’ve managed to get one of those “identify this book with no information” threads right 😃 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/16 "2009-12-19T14:42:09Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > P.S. Yeah, I’m totally gonna go see _The Book of Eli_ now. A Canticle For Liebowitz on steroids. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/17 "2009-12-19T15:22:02Z")
I was going to guess _Jamestown_, oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/18 "2009-12-19T16:36:16Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > A Canticle For Liebowitz on steroids. 🙂 Another difference: it looks enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Spoonful_of_Awesome)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/19 "2009-12-19T18:42:35Z")
I’ve nothing at all productive to contribute to this thread, just wanted to add a resounding “oh hell yes” for _The Book of Eli_. ETA. I must now also read _The Strain._ Like I didn’t have enough to do already. Thanks a lot guys. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760/20 "2009-12-19T21:17:09Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Another difference: it looks enjoyable. Heh - post-apocalyptic (henceforth abbreviated PA) fiction is my favourite brand of sci-fi, and I found “A Canticle…” a tedious slog. There was apparently something momentous going on with the book, but whatever it was, I completely missed it. One of my favourite PA books is the one with the robot Spofforth (“Mockingbird” by Walter Tevis); I’d like to see a movie made of that book, except they won’t because there would be too much story and not enough blowing shit up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-recent-post-apocalyptic-book/521760.md?page=2)