Future Survivors, the Apocalypse Group discussion
Dystopian Books
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Whats the best survival tip you've ever read in an Apocalypse novel?
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Katniss Everdee,, Hungar Games, there are lots, but I always remember her tying herself to the tree so she didn't fall out. Maybe that's not an apocalypse, but it's definitely dystopian.
I think James Westly Rawles started the trend with Patriots. That book was full of equipment, methods and other real-life examples.I think the trick for the author is to be able to include good fieldcraft without dragging down the story.
Its difficult for me to pick a favorite example though.
The best one actually comes not from a novel but from a movie called 28 days later and it is the message the protagonist's parents leave him before committing suicice. The message, written in the back of a family photo says: "Don't wake up."
I loved it in mountain Man, when he hit the side of the car with a baseball bat putting a dent in it so that he would know he had already syphoned the gas out of the vehicle. I thought that was brilliant and Mountain Man was the beginning of my journey through the Apocalypse novels. I am hooked for life!
What a great question. I think the best tip is to be mistrustful of folks. It's that sense of mistrust that tends to keep characters from perishing.
Rj wrote: "What a great question. I think the best tip is to be mistrustful of folks. It's that sense of mistrust that tends to keep characters from perishing."I think this is it for me too. You have to know how to work with others, rely on them, even build a community but always remember that people are going to look out for number one.
Be the smartest one there... Know what your talking about. Or at least sound like it.
I think the Road by Cormac McCarthy is a very logical look at survival. Be mean, ruthless and completely cold-blooded. Surviving an apocalypse would take a heartless, selfish type of person in my eyes...but then again I am incredibly cynical!
"Don't Die." - Haymitch to Katniss in the Hunger Games. Seems like a good tip to me :)
Avoid large groups, wear protective clothing on hands arms an neck always have more than one weapon don't be a hero and always keep your cardio up! And double tap!!!!
Steven wrote: "And double tap!!!!"I've never quite agreed with that one. It means you run out of ammunition more quickly.
You should be avoiding the use of guns. In general, they are non-sustainable and usually attract more zombies.
There are so many to choose from! Pretty much everything that Deuce from Razorland by Ann Aguirre does is bad ass and smart as hell. She's probably my favorite heroine in the dystopian category. And another that stuck with me: Chris from Tomorrow Land
by Mari Mancusi wearing all leather to protect his skin from zombie bites.
:)
OK I know I am being a spoil sport but dystopians and Apocalypse are two different themes.Dystopians you need to find away to get out from under the ruling governments control. (then regroup without becoming a carbon copy of said government)
While apocalypse you need to survive its cause IE earthquake, nuclear fall out, zombie attack and so on.
Sorry, Tammy, I think apocolyptic novels are a subset of dystopias. While not all dystopian novels are apocolyptic, it's hard to have an apocalypse that isn't dystopic. Dystopias are not just about evil governments, they are about the world falling apart. If that happens completely, then it's an apocolypse too.
water. always make sure you have a supply of water.
I always write about the economic collapse of society being the main reason for the apocalyptic scenario, mainly because I figure that to be the most likely.
Water, food, energy have all been proposed but how about reference books! Do you know how to light that fire, clean that water, kill and eat that game. Military survival courses teach how to live for a few days or weeks, but what about planting for next year! How do you long term store food for the winter!
@Soo--why do you think we are? I might agree.
1984...we are there. Government spying on the people; people that speak out are traitors. A UK politician saying that disabled children should be dealt with like deformed lambs...keeps his job. The list is endless.My tip is never place one's trust in government, they want to hold power and will promise anything for it. There is nothing to choose between in politics...they are all the same beneath the spin. They divide us for a reason...we outnumber them if we unite...
Save for a rainy day. It might be raining bombs, meteors, bullets, aliens made mostly out of teeth...
Max wrote: "Save for a rainy day. It might be raining bombs, meteors, bullets, aliens made mostly out of teeth..."Yeah, but the TYPE of rainy day makes a difference in what you should be saving. I don't think most people would have the discipline to keep a fully stocked underground shelter, which would be the best protection against most apocalyptic events.
And if your neighbors know you have one?
I loved the one they had in the movie Blast from the Past -- fully provisioned for THIRTY years?
Keep a low profile! Works in everyday life too! Also, must know how to find or hunt food and water and MUST have a secure, low key shelter!
in ashen winter there are so many good tips i cant choose.
I thought there were a lot of useful tips/ideas in the Life As We Knew It series. In the first book you read about the main character and several family members running into the supermarket gathering supplies--don't go for the obvious things like food/water. Go after the items people don't necessarily think about such as batteries, first aid supplies--especially aspirin. In book three you read about two of the characters looting houses for food and other valuable supplies. One house they went into didn't appear to have any food, but they looked at the scene, gathered clues, and indeed found a stockpile of food! Those things really stuck out in my mind and are what I think of whenever I recall those books.
What's the best one you've ever read?