The Great Dying and the Post-apocalypse
The idea of a disease wiping out mankind and a new civilization rising from the ashes of the old is a classic theme in science fiction. In Rome's Revolution, the event was referred to as The Great Dying (the name given to the Permian-Triassic extinction that I stole from the dinosaurs) and was due to a man-made virus documented in the sequel, The Ark Lords.
A lot of post-apocalypse novels focus on nuclear war, natural disasters, etc. but I want to limit this discussion just to those where mankind is wiped out by disease. The most famous novel ever written about the subject and considered the standard against which others are judged is George R. Stewart's Earth Abides written in 1949. The hero's name is Ish Williams and the book deals with the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Society devolves into a mountain-man style of life with breathtaking speed.
Another famous book is I am Legend by Richard Matheson written in 1954. The original book had the hero as the only man left alive when disease had turned everyone else into vampires. It was made into a movie in 1964 and then again as The Omega Man with Charlton Heston in 1971. The affected humans were switched from vampires to zombies. The same technique was used in the 2007 version with Will Smith taking the lead. The title of this film was rightfully put back to I am Legend. The original book and movie dealt with "the last man on Earth" and the immediate aftermath of the disaster as well.
The immediate aftermath is not that interesting to me nor are survivalist novels. I haven't found too many books that deal with the exact time interval required to create a technology-based society that matches our exactly. That was what I set out to do with the Vuduri. I thought it would be interesting to look at a society which took a different path. Kind of a social A/B test. I was looking for kind of a Jetsons vibe but I wanted it to come from a different place.
Hopefully you will enjoy the comparisons. I know Rei and Rome did.
A lot of post-apocalypse novels focus on nuclear war, natural disasters, etc. but I want to limit this discussion just to those where mankind is wiped out by disease. The most famous novel ever written about the subject and considered the standard against which others are judged is George R. Stewart's Earth Abides written in 1949. The hero's name is Ish Williams and the book deals with the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Society devolves into a mountain-man style of life with breathtaking speed.
Another famous book is I am Legend by Richard Matheson written in 1954. The original book had the hero as the only man left alive when disease had turned everyone else into vampires. It was made into a movie in 1964 and then again as The Omega Man with Charlton Heston in 1971. The affected humans were switched from vampires to zombies. The same technique was used in the 2007 version with Will Smith taking the lead. The title of this film was rightfully put back to I am Legend. The original book and movie dealt with "the last man on Earth" and the immediate aftermath of the disaster as well.
The immediate aftermath is not that interesting to me nor are survivalist novels. I haven't found too many books that deal with the exact time interval required to create a technology-based society that matches our exactly. That was what I set out to do with the Vuduri. I thought it would be interesting to look at a society which took a different path. Kind of a social A/B test. I was looking for kind of a Jetsons vibe but I wanted it to come from a different place.
Hopefully you will enjoy the comparisons. I know Rei and Rome did.
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Tales of the Vuduri
Tidbits and insights into the 35th century world of the Vuduri.
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