Years ago I read this SF book, I can’t recall the author or title or any character names so I can’t find any information on it… maybe anyone knows the story and will help out.
It was about a mad scientist who despised the human kind so much that he invented a device which emited red rays which killed all humans on earth. Well, not actually all of them. The doctor spared a flock of his disciples, who were to be the root of a new, better humankind. He forebade them to ever look up at the skies, so they don’t get any starry-eyed ideas… The doomsday device worked in such a way, that it only killed people and left wildlife and non-living matter intact. The doctor sent out his aide to collect all the masterpieces of art for preservation, but the aide crashed his plane en rotue to Paris, where he attempted to retrieve the Mona Lisa…The followers of the mad scientists eventually rebelled and killed their master. There were other survivors to - a group of people who found shelter in an asbestos factory, which accidentally turned out to have protective qualities against the death rays… Those people were the main characters - they found themselves in a world full of material goods, now without owners, but without any other humans…
Does this ring a bell?