# Recommend me some good "end of the world" novels **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 5, 2002, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421 "2002-05-05T19:50:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/1 "2002-05-05T19:50:22Z")
I loved “Earth Abides” By Stewart (one of my favorite books) “The Stand” by King was ok, but I wasn’t all that excited about the spiritual side of it. What are some good EOTW novels which focus more on what happens to the world after man has left? Especially things like nuclear war or disease, not focusing on the spiritual side of things. Thanks, Clay ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/2 "2002-05-05T20:31:34Z")
How about: “Lucifer’s Hammer” by Larry Niven “The Last Ship” by William Brinkley “The Postman” by Brin “On the Beach” by Nevil Shute ---
**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/3 "2002-05-05T21:13:00Z")
“Farnham’s Freehold” by Robert Heinlein. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/4 "2002-05-05T21:27:14Z")
**Down to a Sunless Sea** David Grahm > **[Amazon.com: Down to a Sunless Sea: 9781416567660: David Graham: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Down-Sunless-Sea-David-Graham/dp/1416567666)** > > Amazon.com: Down to a Sunless Sea: 9781416567660: David Graham: Books **Millenium** John Varley > **[Amazon.com: Millennium (Ace Science Fiction): 9780441006779: Varley, John: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Millennium-Science-Fiction-John-Varley/dp/0441006779)** > > Amazon.com: Millennium (Ace Science Fiction): 9780441006779: Varley, John: Books ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/5 "2002-05-05T21:29:32Z")
In my mind the best has to be **Childhood’s End** by Arther C. Clarke. Of course Bradbury’s **Martian Chronicles** uses it as a backdrop but does not use it as the central theme of his book. At least one of Vonnegut’s novels also deals with it. I believe it was **Cat’s Cradle**. There could have been more from him though. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/6 "2002-05-05T21:36:13Z")
**Alas, Babylon** - kinda-dated tale of the aftermath of nuclear war, but if you’re a completist, add it to your list. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/7 "2002-05-05T21:47:36Z")
The ones I was going to bring up have already been mentioned. So I’ll just second David Brin’s _The Postman_ (very good book, even though the Costner movie sucked), Heinlein’s _Farnham’s Freehold_, and Vonnegut’s _Cat’s Cradle_. Another pretty good one just occured to me - Spider Robinson’s _Telempath_. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/8 "2002-05-05T22:02:16Z")
Oh, and Joe Haldeman’s excellent _Worlds_ and _Worlds Apart_ duology. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Harvey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@Max\_Harvey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Harvey)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/9 "2002-05-05T22:16:18Z")
Does _I Am Legend_ count? And wasn’t _The Postman_ more of a “collapse of government” novel instead of one about mass global death? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/10 "2002-05-05T22:17:58Z")
I’ll second _I Am Legend_. That was a great one. It isn’t quite nuclear, more like disease. And it’s got moronic attacking vampires who think that they can fly- beat that. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/11 "2002-05-05T22:53:00Z")
**The Wind From Nowhere** by JG Ballard **The End Of The World News** by Anthony Burgess **Riddley Walker** by Russell Hoban ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/12 "2002-05-05T23:07:34Z")
Oh yess… _Earth Abides_… one of my favourites. And _The Wind from Nowhere_. And _Telempath_… Spider Robinson wrote several other novels set around the same events, including _Deathkiller_ (1982, 1987; Baen Books, Riverdale, NY, USA; ISBN 0-671-87722-4) and _Lifehouse_ (1997; Baen Books, Riverdale, NY, USA; ISBN 0-671-87777-1). Deathkiller was first published as two books, _Mindkiller_ and _Time Pressure_. And what was that series of British novels about a Hothouse Earth, where there were _spiderwebs_ between the Earth and the moon, and the few remaining humans lived in terror of the jungles? Some of my nominations: _The End of the Dream_ by Philip Wylie (1973; DAW Books, New York, USA; ISBN 0-87997-900-3). The world ends in ecological catastrophe. A heartbreaking story, yet I highly recommend it. _Blood Music_ by Greg Bear (1985; Ace Science Fiction, New York USA; ISBN 0-441-06796-4) Microscopic intelligent life-forms start colonizing humans and the rest of the earth, leading to a total restructuring of the planet. The ending reminds me of _Childhood’s End_ in some ways. _City_ by Clifford D Simak (1952, 1980; Ace Science Fiction; New York USA; ISBN 0-441-10626-9) Humans march into the future, change, and vanish, leaving their robots to carry on, serving Earth’s inheritors… and wondering… _Mother of Storms_ by John Barnes (1994; Tor Books, New York, USA; ISBN 0-812-53345-3) With a changing climate, storms become worse and worse, until a series of gigantic storms starsa to wipe the Earth clean of civilization. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/13 "2002-05-05T23:41:14Z")
If you want something _different_, try \*\*Not Long before the End \*\* , an anthology of _upbeat_ end-of-the-world stories, edited by Robert Sheckley. My favorite is Philip Jose Farmer’s entry, in which God gets Cecil B. DeMille to direct the Apocalypse. The get Harla Ellison to do the script, because he’s the only one who’s not afraid to argue with God. ---
**Author:** ![riserius1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@riserius1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/riserius1)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/14 "2002-05-05T23:58:20Z")
It’s not a COMPLETE end-of-the-world novel, because there’s a nuclear war AND an aftermath, but **Swan Song** by Robert McCammon has always been a favorite of mine. Chris W ---
**Author:** ![xcheopis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bc8723/32.png) [@xcheopis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xcheopis)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2002, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/15 "2002-05-06T00:12:40Z")
_This Is The Way The World Ends_ by **James Morrow** is… different. There are some graphic descriptions throughout so it may not be a good book for the squeamish. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2002, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/16 "2002-05-06T00:22:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by riserius1 \* > \*\*It’s not a COMPLETE end-of-the-world novel, because there’s a nuclear war AND an aftermath, but **Swan Song** by Robert McCammon has always been a favorite of mine. > > Chris W \*\* That’s the one I was going to mention. Much better than _The Stand._ ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2002, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/17 "2002-05-06T00:23:10Z")
P.D. James _The Children of Men_. ---
**Author:** ![DarkWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee59a6/32.png) [@DarkWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkWriter)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2002, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/18 "2002-05-06T01:51:21Z")
I’ve read _Lucifer’s Hammer_, _The Stand_ and _Swan Song_. I highly recommend all three. I’d also recommend: [Moonfall](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0061051128/qid=1020649509/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-0244158-1018432) by Jack McDevitt [Shiva Descending](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812516907/qid=1020649663/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-0244158-1018432) by Gregory Benford and William Rotsler Sheri ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2002, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/19 "2002-05-06T02:12:12Z")
Would The Giver by Lois Lowry qualify? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2002, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421/20 "2002-05-06T03:47:31Z")
_Kalki_, by – ah, hell, who’s it by? [amazon amazon] Ah, yes: Gore Vidal. Pretty implausible, I think, but an interesting read. _The Time Machine_, by HG Wells, sorta fits. _Galapagos_, by Kurt Vonnegut again. Pretty funny stuff. _Empty World_, by John Christopher. A weird old young-adult novel that could almost occur in the same world as The Stand, only in England. Daniel [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-end-of-the-world-novels/107421.md?page=2)