SOLVED. SF Post Apocalypse Smallish Groups Fight [s]

[Bargle]

I'm trying to remember an SF novel I read 15 or more years ago.
It was set in a post-apocalyptic era. The main weapon of the day was the bow.
Characters I can remember:
The group leader/main character was a 30s-40s age white male.
Supporting characters were:
A young girl around 11-12 years old.
A young man in his late teens or early 20s.
Another man, younger than the leader, but I don't remember how much. Sort of a 2nd in command, I think.
There were more people in the group, but I don't remember how many.
There was some sort of conflict with another group.
The teens-20s youth made a very difficult, long bowshot to take out one of the opposing leaders. The leader was very proud of him for this.
The main character/leader was close to the young girl, but they were not lovers nor did he abuse her.(view spoiler)[ I think they may have died together. After further thought, I think the girl committed suicide after the leader's death. (hide spoiler)]
The last 1/3-1/4 of the novel is a retelling of some of the significant events from the viewpoint of the 2nd in command. He describes them in a more even handed light.
That's all I can remember.

Eliminated books and series:
Dies the Fire
Alas, Babylon
Earth Abides
Swan Song
Horse Clan series
The Breaking of Northwall
Way of the Wolf
Alas, Babylon
Ashes series by William Johnstone
"Swan Song" by Robert McCammon
"Battle Circle" series by Piers Anthony
"Warrior" by Donald E. McQuinn
"The Postman"
Mara and Dann: An Adventure
The Long Tomorrow
Summer of the Apocalypse

[Flora]

Is this a Sci-Fi book?

[Bargle]

Yes.

(Malevil thread)

[Bargle]

Forgot to mention books that have already been eliminated.
it's not:
"Earth Abides"
"Dies the Fire"
One of the Horse Clan series. No immortals or telepaths in mine.

[Kris]

Could it be "The Breaking of Northwall" by Paul O. Williams?

[Bargle]

No, there weren't any more advanced weapons that I recall nor does the overall plot seem right. Thanks for trying.

[Stephanie]

Horse Clan series?

[Bargle]

No, not one of the Horseclans books.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Stephanie were you asking what the Horse Clan Series is?

[Mir]

Were both sides human? If not maybe Way of the Wolf.

[Bargle]

Yes, both were human, as best I recall. Thanks for trying.

[Bargle]

Just bumping this up with an updated list of eliminations.

"Dies the Fire"
"Earth Abides"
"Horseclans" series
"The Breaking of Northwall"
"Way of the Wolf"
"Alas, Babylon"
Ashes series by William Johnstone
"Swan Song" by Robert McCammon
"Battle Circle" series by Piers Anthony

[Kris]

Warrior by Donald E. McQuinn?

[Mir]

Bargle wrote: "Just bumping this up with an updated list of eliminations.

"Dies the Fire"
"Earth Abides"
"Horseclans" series
"The Breaking of Northwall"
"Way of the Wolf"
"Alas, Babylon"
Ashes series by Wi..."

Good thinking. If people use the add book/author function above the comment box it creates a list on the right hand side showing what books have been suggested.

[Bargle]

Kris wrote: "Warrior by Donald E. McQuinn?"

No, not "Warrior." Thanks for trying.

[Bargle]

To get these books in the list.

Dies the Fire
Alas, Babylon
Earth Abides
Swan Song

[Bryan457]

longshot, but I'll throw it out there.
The Postman

[Bargle]

No, not The Postman. Thanks for trying.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Bargle--you only need to bump the thread about once a month. That gives it time to percolate through people's brains--and for us all to read more books, and, hopefully someone will chance on your particular book that way.

[Kitty]

Not sure if this will helphttp://www.goodreads.com/list/show/47...

[Bargle]

Kitten wrote: "Not sure if this will help http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/47..."

Thanks, it's worth a look. I found a larger list a few weeks back, but it's been slow going through it.

[Kitty]

hope u find

[Empress]

I would suggest putting that list of eliminated books in the first post.

Do you remember if it was hardback or paperback, also anything from the cover? If the writer was a male or a female. Did you get it from a library? Have you tried asking in the library? Also was the book big?

EDIT:
Mara and Dann: An Adventure
The Long Tomorrow
Summer of the Apocalypse

[Bargle]

Good idea. I've added them.

It was a hardback. I got it from the library, but the branch I got it from has since eliminated their SF/Fantasy section. Needed more room for audio books, I think. It was a standard size hardbound. It was from before they had electronic checkouts, so not much hope for finding an old record.
I can't remember if it was a male or female writer.

It's none of your 3 suggestions. Thanks for trying.

[Empress]

Do you think it was published at the time you read it or before that?

Lucifer's Hammer
Swan Song

I think we might need to look at general fiction not science fiction.

[Bargle]

Actually, no need to look any further at all.

I found it! I was going through that post-apocalypse list I mentioned above and finally hit it. It's "Malevil" by Robert Merle. There's even a copy of it online. So I was able to search through it and find the parts I remembered. I'll post the link below. It was originally written in French. I thought I remembered it had an uncommon writing style, but I couldn't put my finger on why.

Thanks to everyone that tried to help!

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22...

The book itself.
http://www.e-reading-lib.com/bookread...

The P-A fiction list I found it in.
http://theapocalypselist.wikispaces.com/

[Bargle]

Forgot the other link.

Malevil