End of the World Novels: A Top 10 (Edit)

[StrangeFire]

Have you seen the most recent release of the final, final, final director's cut of Blade Runner? Watched it the other night. Loved it.

[Bill Hicks]

Have you seen the most recent release of the final, final, final director's cut of Blade Runner? Watched it the other night. Loved it.

Not yet.  I've done the original and the Director's cut (in a movie theater in London!).  I'm looking forward to seeing the new version.

[zigspider]

6)
The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham (1951).  Killer plants may not seem so scary, but YOU try battling them after everyone you know has been blinded by a mysterious comet.  The opening sequence of this sci-fi classic was chillingly reproduced at the beginning of the movie 28 Days Later.

brilliant book

there was actually an authorised sequel written by someone else (called Night of the Triffids) that takes the story further and developes the post-apocalyptic world some more, i won't spoil it

Yep, read it as soon as it came out - By Simon Clark http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Triffids-Simon-Clark/dp/034076600X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205200260&sr=1-1

In my opinion, not as good as the original, maybe it's because it's mostly set in the States.

The author has several very good end of the world novels,  'Blood Crazy' and 'King Blood' being the best.

Jerry

[jonny2mad]

The survivors by terry nation
genesis of a hero follow up novel to the survivors I think by terry nation too 
wrinkle in the skin John Christopher
no blade of grass John Christopher also known as The Death of Grass

I shall add more

[Tranzdog]

The Survivalist by Jerry Ahern, 25 books, has everything in it you could want. Was printed in early 80's very hard to find- I just finished getting all the books last year.It is VERY heavy on weapons use, VERY heavy. John T Rourke makes Rambo look like a 2 year old. It is a very well writen set of books even if it is a "little" over the top. Very fun read, if you can find it...

[Greenbeast]

Yep, read it as soon as it came out - By Simon Clark http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Triffids-Simon-Clark/dp/034076600X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205200260&sr=1-1

In my opinion, not as good as the original, maybe it's because it's mostly set in the States.

The author has several very good end of the world novels,  'Blood Crazy' and 'King Blood' being the best.

Jerry

yeah its not as good as the original but i think worth a read, i guess in our context because of how life has developed after catastrophy both here and across the pond

i'll take a look at those others you list
interesting to know thanks

[mem]

The White Plague

While the story of O'Neill and his revenge is told in full, there is also the larger story of how the governments of the world's countries deal with the plague, which escapes into limited areas that are quickly sterilized by "panic fire", which immolates everything and everyone in it. North Africa is wiped out; Boston is burned to the ground; Rome is destroyed with atomic bombs; and the U.S. pushes for a moat of cobalt dust to isolate Africa, which is written off as a total loss.

I feel like I'm the only person to ever hear of this book--no one I mention it to has read it...

[little red hen]

There was one by Kevin J. Anderson, something about an "oil plague" that made all the world's fuel unusable that I liked, although the ending was very weak. Ah, here it is, "Ill Wind."
They're saved by solar power, which was sort of had me wondering, hmm, how did they manufacture all those solar panels without oil???

I also liked Children of Men (PD James) and The First Century After Beatrice (Amin Maalouf) both about infertility-driven apocalypse scenarios.

I prefer my apocalyptic fiction without zombies or vampires, but I did like The Stand (actually, that's demons, isn't it?).

And there was a painstakingly detailed written trilogy (or more?) about Nantucket getting time-warped into the 10th Century or something like that, which was pretty much a peak oil scenario (no power, no imports, hostile neighbors). "Island in the Sea of Time" by S.M. Stirling is the first in the series, but I struggled to get through it. His writing style is just not my taste. Lots of fun McGuyver style, back-to-agriculture inventiveness though, as the islanders struggle to support themselves with the tools they have at hand.

[Bill Hicks]

I also liked Children of Men (PD James) and The First Century After Beatrice (Amin Maalouf) both about infertility-driven apocalypse scenarios.

I thought Children of Men made a much better movie (that ending was haunting).  I haven't read the other one.  Thanks for the heads up.   

[StrangeFire]

I agree. The P.D. James book Children of Men kinda sucked. It started out okay, but totally fizzled at the end. I love her mystery novels, but I was disappointed with her sci-fi. The movie was really well-done, though. ONe of the few instances where the movie version beats the book...

[quietnite]

I have read "The White Plague", it's on a shelf somewhere. Isn't it the one where most or all of the women died?

I love post apocalyptic novels.

There's one called "Dust" about some killer mites that was a lot of fun. Forget the author.

[Deckard1973]

You absolutely must add the 'Dies the Fire' trilogy by S.M. Stirling.  The first book is absolutely not recommended for someone with heart problems.

Sorry mtlouie, I just could not get into it.  I like EOTW yarns as much as the next doomer, but the blinding light that renders  technology useless and negates the laws of physics and chemistry (i.e. gunpowder) was just too much.  Even if a EOTW story is way out there (alien invasion, superflu, comets etc), I like a degree of plausibility. 

[ConcernedMomma]

I read a book when I was a tad younger that I cant recall the title to.

Basically the story in a nut shell was computers took over the world as it was found out that technoligy was actually an alien type virus 'planted' in our world.  So the end of the world was brought around by technoligy virus and only this dude was left on his protected little island. I would love to read that sucker again it was that good.

oh well I will wait for 'world made by hand' cant wait to read that one.

[Brian in Seattle]

On the Brink by Ben Stein, yes, that Ben Stein. Covers hyper-inflation. Has a screenplay feel to the story. Published in 1977. http://tinyurl.com/6r28uh

The Last Canadian by William C. Heine. Plague wipes out most of humanity. Man gets his family away to the Great White North just in time. Pretty good book. Published in 1974. http://tinyurl.com/68l2to

The Rift by Walter J. Williams. Cataclysmic earthquakes destroy the American Midwest along the Mississippi River. Very real feel to it. Published in 1999. I found mine in a used book store. http://tinyurl.com/5cst79


Brian

[Seahorse]

In college, I wrote a book called "Seahorse" which, among other things, is my depiction of a man in a future world.  When I wrote the story for a college writing credit in the 80s, I had never heard of peak oil.  However, its obvious looking back I have a genetic PO bent.  Probably all of us "peakers" do.  Most here would recognize the PO world depicted where only the rich live in the inner city surrounded by a vast, dead, decaying out city infested by millions of starving poor that are no longer viewed as people but as "waterheads."

I know some on this site find it hard to believe that a lawyer's spelling and grammar are as atrocious as mine.  So, you will find it even harder to believe that my writing, as poor as it is, has improved since I wrote "Seahorse" but not by much.  Seahorse is less a story about a struggling future than it is about a struggling individual and how an individual struggles with Freudian's id, ego and superego for a concept of identity.  Looking back, its easy for me to see how "Seahorse" is a reflection of my own struggles at the time adjusting from being a paratrooper to a young college student in a liberal arts college.  Because of that, I have refused to go back and edit it. 

Seahorses' internal struggles end with the realization that all people see from the inside everything that they are not, while everyone else sees from the outside everything that they are.  That is something my mom once told me, and she never went to college, never had a philosophy class other than life, the best teacher.

If anyone is interested, you can find it here.  At $1, I hope its not a budget buster.  If your interested but can't afford the $1, let me know, and I will attempt to email it to you anyway if you respect the copyright.

http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=2809184