# Please recommend a good end of the world book **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060 "2005-02-02T22:22:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/41 "2005-02-03T13:49:19Z")
I’ve never read it but I’m amazed no one has named Mary Shelley’s THE LAST MAN. Yes, _ **that** _ Mary Shelley! ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/42 "2005-02-03T13:55:12Z")
I will add my voice to those recommending **On the Beach** - a thoughtful, humane book that does not bog down in sentimentality. I also loved Octavia Butler’s books - she is really a wonderful author. I preferred the Xenogenesis series, starting with Dawn, to the Parables books, but agree that both would qualify and are worth reading… ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/43 "2005-02-03T14:20:19Z")
Note: Alas Babylon is by Pat Frank, not Conroy. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/44 "2005-02-03T14:25:17Z")
> [@QuarkChild](#): > > “The Postman” is very good. I read it just recently on the recommendation of some of the posters on [Fark.com](http://Fark.com). It’s by David Brin. Damn you, QuarkChild! You took mine! I’ll also toss out ‘Songs of Distant Earth’ as a slanty hit. It DOES feature the end of the earth. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/45 "2005-02-03T14:31:35Z")
“Tom O’Bedlam” by Robert Silverberg. In which the world is ending, slowly & with a whimper. Are there real visions of other worlds? or just mass delusions? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/46 "2005-02-03T14:39:15Z")
For short stories, there’s Damon Knight’s wry “Not with a Bang.” There’s also Edgar Pangborn’s **Davy** , one of the greatest SF books ever written. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/47 "2005-02-03T15:14:14Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > I also remember a nuclear war one that was made into a movie, but can’t recall the title (maybe “The Longest Day” or “The Day After”?) Well there was a movie The Day After. But fuck that. If we can include movies here…Threads. The English version of The Day After. Far more harrowing. Far more accurate. If you want the end of the world there it is. What else…well, check out The Janitor on Mars by Martin Amis. Short story. I think it’s in Heavy Water. And P.T. Boyles’ Friend of the Earth. Both stories about it being Too Late. And for the aftermath…Phillip K. Dick’s Deus Iris. Or Aldous Huxley’s Ape and Essence. A more depressing book I cannot think of. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/48 "2005-02-03T16:13:13Z")
There’s also Stephen King’s short story _The Mist._ It’s not your typical end of the world story. ---
**Author:** ![Dancer\_Flight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dancer_flight/32/7601_2.png) [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/49 "2005-02-03T16:24:47Z")
_The Last Canadian_ by **William Heine** is a book about the aftermath of a biological weapons accident. The book may be out of print but is worth a read (It served as a “Basis” [blech] for _The Patriot_ with Steven Seagal). _The Last Ship_ by **William Brinkley** is about the aftermath of a nuclear war as narrated by the captain of a naval vessel that launched some of the missles and is now looking for uncontaminated shores. -DF ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/50 "2005-02-03T16:44:45Z")
An oldy but a goody - **The Genocides** Thomas M. Disch’s first novel. It may be dated now but was full of great ideas for the 60s. ---
**Author:** ![wnorthr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecccb3/32.png) [@wnorthr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wnorthr)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/51 "2005-02-03T17:50:03Z")
There’s a book by Samual R. Delaney called Dhalgren that’s sort of end of the worldy. It all takes place in one city where society has broken down but the suggestion is that it’s only happening in that one city. I think, though, that if you like end of the world stuff you’ll like it. ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/52 "2005-02-03T17:56:56Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > The Forge of God by Greg Bear fits, sort of. As long as we’re talking Greg Bear, his [Blood Music](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743444965/qid=1107454046/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-2458968-0560905) was pretty good too. Warning: the review on that page may be construed as a spoiler. ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/53 "2005-02-03T18:17:40Z")
A great book in this genre is called _Where Late The Sweet Birds Sang_ by Kate Wilhelm. The world doesn’t end, but humanity does (sort of). Like all of her books, it focuses more on characterization than science, but it is one of the few books that I will re-read yearly. ---
**Author:** ![mrunlucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@mrunlucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrunlucky)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/54 "2005-02-04T00:10:03Z")
The first four books by J. G. Ballard are end of the world books: _The Wind From Nowhere_, _The Drowned World_, _The Burning World_ (AKA The Drought), and _The Crystal World_. ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/55 "2005-02-04T00:48:09Z")
Ugh, I hated _The Drowned World_. Nothing. Happened. I’m thinking of a book set in England, where humans just stopped being fertile (for whatever reason) about 20 years ago. The last generation has reached adulthood, and humanity is preparing to die. One woman gets pregnant, but the father of the baby is killed, so humanity’s fate is unknown. Has anyone else read it? ---
**Author:** ![shadowfax33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@shadowfax33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shadowfax33)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/56 "2005-02-04T03:29:03Z")
IIRC, the King short story in “Night Shift” was called “Night Surf.” It’s hard to believe this 4- or 5-page story turned into “The Stand.” I’ll second “This is the Way the World Ends.” It’s very surreal, and very moving. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/57 "2005-02-04T03:42:35Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > There’s also Edgar Pangborn’s **Davy** , one of the greatest SF books ever written. The entire “Davy” cycle, which consists of a couple of novels and a collection of short stories, is set in the same After-the-Holocaust civilization. The actual story of how the disaster happened and the immediate aftermath can be found in _A Mirror for Observers_. ---
**Author:** ![WaryEri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ea666f/32.png) [@WaryEri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WaryEri)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/58 "2005-02-04T05:13:23Z")
_On The Beach_ is the first one that came to mind. I’d also second _Childhood’s End_, although I wouldn’t have thought of it for this catagory if some one else hadn’t brought it up first. My very first apocalyptic book was _Z for Zachariah,_ by Robert O’Brien. Rather heavy fair for the library at my middle school. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/59 "2005-02-04T13:50:28Z")
> [@SusanStoHelit](#): > > I’m thinking of a book set in England, where humans just stopped being fertile (for whatever reason) about 20 years ago. The last generation has reached adulthood, and humanity is preparing to die. One woman gets pregnant, but the father of the baby is killed, so humanity’s fate is unknown. Has anyone else read it? **Susan** , I’m thinking this is No Blade of Grass, by John Christopher. All plant life for some reason begins to die, this of course affects the human race tremendously, and people are gathering in a small valley, fighting to keep others out…sorry, it’s been a while since I read it. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060/60 "2005-02-04T15:05:24Z")
I’d like to second several of the nominations from earlier in the thread: David Brin’s The Postman Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle’s Lucifer’s Hammer (When the Alverez’ theory about an asteroid/comet doing in the dinosaurs started to gain acceptance there was a question in a conference about what such a strike would do to the Earth if it hit today, and they said, look at this book.) Gordon Dickson’s Wolf and Iron is a wonderful look at a purely social and economic collapse of the world. And of course, it’s also great for having a wolf that isn’t a dog. For a tongue in cheek look try Niven, Pournelle and Flynn’s Fallen Angels I’d also recommend Connie Willis’ Doomsday Book. It’s not really an end of the world book, it just feels like it for the main character caught up in the Black Death. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-good-end-of-the-world-book/288060.md?page=4)