# Recommend some good post-apocalyptic/survivalist fiction? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 22, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439 "2005-06-22T21:18:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/21 "2005-06-24T04:10:53Z")
_Wolf and Iron_ by Gordon R. Dickson. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/22 "2005-06-24T05:31:35Z")
**Cradle of Saturn** & **The Anguished Dawn** by James P. Hogan. The first is really a description of how Earth became PA and the second is the aftermath. A great story. He also presents an interesting view of the forming of the Solar System and early organzed religion that is absolutely compelling. I’ll also second **Lucifer’s Hammer** Another not exactly this genre but close story is **Deathday** and **Earthrise** by William Dietz. Similar to Footfall but with more of an **Idependence Day** meets **Battlefield Earth** feel, Deathday starts with the systematic destruction of all major cities on Earth and the eventual enslavement of the remaining populace. Earthrise chronicles the partial recovery and the taking back of what’s left. It’s also heavy handed on race relations but in all honestly I think he got that right as well. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/23 "2005-06-24T08:29:36Z")
_Where late the Sweet Bird Sang_ by[Kate Wilhlem](http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Kate_Wilhelm.htm) [\*Swam Song by Robert McCammon](http://www.robertmccammon.com/novels/swan_song.html) ---
**Author:** ![Atrael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Atrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atrael)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/24 "2005-06-24T12:33:24Z")
I don’t think that series that _ **xtisme** _ was talking about is _Deathlands_. I’ve read quite a few books in that series, and none of them match what he describes. _Deathlands_ is an interesting series for about the first 10 books or so. After that it gets very formulaic and I lost interest. _Battlefield Earth_ is a lot of fun, and one of my favorite books to read. Just don’t take it too seriously, and if you’ve seen that abomination that was the movie, just pretend that it had nothing to do with the book…which in fact, it didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/25 "2005-06-24T13:41:50Z")
> [@Atrael](#): > > I don’t think that series that xtisme was talking about is Deathlands. I’ve read quite a few books in that series, and none of them match what he describes. Deathlands is an interesting series for about the first 10 books or so. After that it gets very formulaic and I lost interest. Nope…I found the first book last night as it was driving me crazy not remembering the title…had to dig through like 6 boxes of old books that no longer rate even being in my private libraries boxes but are relagated to the shed. Its [Out of the Ashes](http://www.lostbooks.org/reviews/2002-06-28-2.html) (and the other books have Ashes in their titles). I only read the first maybe 5 or 6…appearently there are like 30 of them (according to the link). They were decent light reading, especially if one has a libertarian bent. 🙂 -XT ---
**Author:** ![RitzyRae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@RitzyRae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitzyRae)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/26 "2005-06-24T13:58:04Z")
I’m taking a “future fiction” class that starts mid-July, and we are reading: _The Parable of Talents_ by Octavia E. Butler _Virtual Light_ by William Gibson _The Dispossessed_ by Ursula K. Le Guin _Dawn_, _Adulthood Rights_ and _Imago_ by Octavia E. Butler (the single-volume version is _Lilith’s Brood_) The optional texts are: \* Last and First Men\* and _Star Marker_ by Olaf Stapledon _The Parable of the Sower_ by Octavia E. Butler (_Parable of Talents_ is the sequel to this book) Can’t say much about them since I haven’t read them yet. Maybe others can comment. I’d be interested in hearing. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/27 "2005-06-24T14:00:56Z")
_Emergence_ by David R. Palmer. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/28 "2005-06-24T15:43:38Z")
> [@RitzyRae](#): > > I’m taking a “future fiction” class that starts mid-July, and we are reading: > > _The Parable of Talents_ by Octavia E. Butler > _Virtual Light_ by William Gibson > _The Dispossessed_ by Ursula K. Le Guin > _Dawn_, _Adulthood Rights_ and _Imago_ by Octavia E. Butler (the single-volume version is _Lilith’s Brood_) > > The optional texts are: > \* > Last and First Men\* and _Star Marker_ by Olaf Stapledon > _The Parable of the Sower_ by Octavia E. Butler (_Parable of Talents_ is the sequel to this book) > > Can’t say much about them since I haven’t read them yet. Maybe others can comment. I’d be interested in hearing. Is your class sponsored by Octavia E. Butler? 😃 She’s great, but there’s a whoooole lot of other future fiction writers out there - most sci-fi, as a matter of fact. Virtual Light is a good book; Ursula K. Le Guin is a _very important sci-fi author_ and I can see why she would be included, but I’ve always found her a heavy slog. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/29 "2005-06-24T16:57:15Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > _Emergence_ by David R. Palmer. I second this one. Some fun interactions, and lessons in How To Deal With Rhinos. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RitzyRae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@RitzyRae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitzyRae)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/30 "2005-06-24T19:20:32Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Is your class sponsored by Octavia E. Butler? 😃 She’s great, but there’s a whoooole lot of other future fiction writers out there - most sci-fi, as a matter of fact. Virtual Light is a good book; Ursula K. Le Guin is a _very important sci-fi author_ and I can see why she would be included, but I’ve always found her a heavy slog. The professor seems the-good-kind of quirky… maybe he is secretly smitten with her! Glad you approve of the others. ---
**Author:** ![MrFantsyPants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MrFantsyPants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFantsyPants)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/31 "2005-06-24T22:22:08Z")
I’m very fond of [This is the way the world ends](http://sff.net/people/jim.morrow/worldend.html) by James Morrow. One of the most haunting and depressing books I’ve read. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/32 "2005-06-25T00:13:11Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > \*Footfall > Lucifer’s Hammer \* - both by Niven & Pournelle > > _Dies the Fire_ > The _Oceans of Eternity_ Trilogy - S. M. Sterling **silenus** - Thanks for the tip. I went to my bookstore and picked up both _Lucifer’s Hammer_ and _Footfall_ today. Just started LH and am only a couple chapters in. Starting slow but I understand the need for character development. Thank you again. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/33 "2005-06-25T00:24:08Z")
De nada. 😃 Take N & P’s politics with a grain of salt. They get a bit…obvious there towards the end, but it doesn’t hurt the book much. _Footfall_ is a lot more fun if you know the not-too-thinly-veiled authors they used for their “Crisis Team.” If you can’t figure them out when you get there, just post. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/34 "2005-06-25T00:27:19Z")
> [@MrFantsyPants](#): > > I’m very fond of [This is the way the world ends](http://sff.net/people/jim.morrow/worldend.html) by James Morrow. One of the most haunting and depressing books I’ve read. For depressing, nothing beats _On The Beach_ by Neville Shute. Total drag from beginning to end. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/35 "2005-06-25T00:37:59Z")
> [@RitzyRae](#): > > … > > The optional texts are: > _Last and First Men_ and _Star Marker_ by Olaf Stapledon > > … First, a nit: That’s _Star **Maker** _. Call it a typo. Meanwhile, _Last and First Men_ is one of the greats. IIRC, from apes up to now is the first chapter, and that pace continues. Stapledon originates (and exhaustively covers in a few pages) ideas that later writers have built careers on. That book alone is a guide to half of SF. Have fun with the course. ---
**Author:** ![RitzyRae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@RitzyRae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitzyRae)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/36 "2005-06-25T16:08:16Z")
> [@rjk](#): > > First, a nit: That’s _Star **Maker** _. Call it a typo. > > Meanwhile, _Last and First Men_ is one of the greats. IIRC, from apes up to now is the first chapter, and that pace continues. Stapledon originates (and exhaustively covers in a few pages) ideas that later writers have built careers on. That book alone is a guide to half of SF. > > Have fun with the course. Thanks for the nit. I’m looking forward to this class. Funny really… aliens give me nightmares! ---
**Author:** ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/37 "2005-06-25T17:11:43Z")
I’ve read and enjoyed quite a few of the books mentioned. But the first that came to my mind was _The Rift_ by Walter Jon Williams. Almost **too** realistic. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/38 "2005-06-25T20:06:50Z")
> [@Nicodemus2004](#): > > **silenus** - Thanks for the tip. I went to my bookstore and picked up both _Lucifer’s Hammer_ and _Footfall_ today. Just started LH and am only a couple chapters in. Starting slow but I understand the need for character development. Character development? From Niven and Pournelle? Don’t hold your breath. Keep reading it, though - it’s got a good plot. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/39 "2005-06-26T02:01:29Z")
I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but [The Pleasures of a Futuroscope](http://shop.store.yahoo.com/shocklines/ploffubylodu.html) by Lord Dunsany in on my to-read shelf. I suspect it’ll be pretty minor Dunsany, but may worth checking out nonetheless. On another note, [Unhappy Far-Off Things](http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/13820) is WWI propaganda material from Dunsany. It’s also minor but interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439/40 "2005-06-26T02:54:07Z")
I’ve long been partial to **The Amtrak Wars** by Patrick Tilley. More so when I was younger, but I’ll still dip back into them from time to time if I need something not quite so heavy to read. If you want to get into the “classics” then **The Chrysalids** would fit into the category too, though it’s a bit heavy-handed on the politics at times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-post-apocalyptic-survivalist-fiction/309439.md?page=3)