Post Apocolyptic Books

[galaga99]

I would also like some insight on some books after the "big bomb" or "plague", etc. Like Earth abides by Stewart. Uh, the Death of Grass, Pulling Through by Ing, or On the Beach, Alas, Babylon. These are great books. Are there any that are equal in your opinion? Thanks.

[DarthV]

Hrmmm how about:

Stephen King - The Stand : The world is devestated by an accidental release of a strain of Superflu.

Robert McCammon - Swan Song : Post nuclear war tale.

Both are top notch stories.

[This message has been edited by DarthV (edited March 22, 2002).]

[Loque]

wolf in shadow - david gemmell

[galaga99]

Darth, thanks for the tip. I have read both of them. Swan Song is superior to the King book I think. Speaking of McCammon, have you ever read The Wolf's HOur by him, that is a classic.

[Corwwyn]

Hmmm, The Stand. If it's the one I'm thinking of, it was also a fairly good tv miniseries, starring...umm, Gary Sinise?

[DarthV]

galaga:

Nope. I haven't read any other McCammon stuff.

[galaga99]

Darth: McCammon wrote quite a few books. If you are not into the horror genre much, I would only recommend The Wolf's Hour. It is about a werewolf (really, couldn't you tell by the title..lol) who is active in World War II as a spy, etc. It is original and flows good. Check it out sometime.

[lemming]

If not interested in horror but love magical realism, read Boy's Life by McCammon. It's a distinct nod to Dandelion Wine, but incredibly it does even better at evoking life. He's darker and more into the horror aspects of magical realism than Bradbury, but Boy's Life is not a horror book and won't leave you scared. What it is, is both wonderful and misclassified (because every other McCammon book is horror). Also worth checking out--McCammon's book of short stories, Blue World.

As for post-apocalypse stuff, my all-time fave is Emergence by David R. Palmer.

[Ntschotschi]

My favorite post-apocalypse book is "Malevil" by Robert Merle. Some people in France survive a catastrophe and struggle to build new lifes. They never find out what really happened.Very good book.

[BehemothCat]

My favorite is still Walter M. Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz - a fabulous book with a lot of heft to it. Brin's The Postman was ok, Kim Stanley Robinson's California trilogy was excellent, as was Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker. Lots of J. G. Ballard to choose from here - hard to pick out a favorite.

I also liked Palmer's Emergence quite a lot... except for the fact that it was the first book of a projected trilogy and Palmer quit his writing career after book 2.

BTW, I heard recently that Robert McCammon has unretired.

[Cygnus]

I'm so nervous.. this is only my second post in the SF board in my year and a half since joining this sffworld forums! Just not as into SF as fantasy, at least so far.

I do have a book to add to this list though. Millennium Rising by Jane Jensen (creator of the Gabriel Knight computer games). I read this a few years ago and I found it to be compelling and somewhat scary. It focuses on a sort of biblical apocalypse. You've got plagues, famine, earthquakes, and so on.

Not as good as Swan Song or On the Beach, but still a good read.

[Vitriol]

I enjoyed the Postman, too, though it does have its flaws. I loved On The Beach, though; I've never found a post-apocalyptic book to match it. You could try some of Brunner's stuff (Stand On Zanzibar,The Sheep Look Up), though it's more penapocalyptic (almost apocalyptic, is that a word?).

[This message has been edited by Vitriol (edited April 23, 2002).]

[Jon Shannow]

The Horseclans by Robert Adams is proberbly one of the original post WWIII series

[Slowhand]

Ever heard of this one? -Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. Maybe you've seen the movie (semi) based on it - Bladerunner.

Post World War (III?).

[wastra]

Behemoth:

You are hte first person I've met who has read "Canticle for Liebowitz"

I agree- the book is very original, and very good.