Post-Apocalyptic Reads

[Casey]

After reading books like "The Hunger Games" and "I Am Legend", I find myself very interested in the post-apocalyptic setting. Anyone have any suggestions for a good read with a great plot?

[Brandon]

I really enjoyed The Passage, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, and Robopocalypse.

[Anne]

Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood come to mind. I'm sure I've read others, I just have to check my reading history.

[Boots]

There are some good suggestions in this thread.

[Kris]

Dies the Fire is part of a series but good one off for apocalyptic reading...

[Trike]

I just finished Robopocalypse. My tl;dr review is simply this: Meh.

Nothing new to see here. Wilson essentially lifts the structure from World War Z and mishandles it. Not terrible, but nothing innovative, either. A lightweight geek beach read.

Full spoiler-free review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Nonentity]

Actually haven't read any other post-apocalyptic book that I can think of right now, other than couple years ago World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War but damn is it good.
Currently I really can't see how any other zombie book could beat that one for me, it's just perfect as far as my zombie-love goes. It's as "realistic" as possible, it's personal, it features many different PoVs, the setup is ingenious.
That makes it so sad that the movie will just be a generic zombie movie, seems they throw much if not all, hell, even the basic story setup, out of the window. Fast zombies, Brad Pitt as the single main character instead, during the zombie war, instead of slow zombies, no "main" character but several interviewees after the zombie war.

Just got The Final Day: Hours 1-6, the general idea sounds very interesting, seeing a zombie plague from the point of view of an infected person.

[Al]

Dhalgren

"I have come to wound the autumnal city."

Read a chapter on Amazon or something first.

[Ed]

I haven't read it myself, but Alas, Babylon is widely considered the quintessential book in the genre.

http://listverse.com/2009/02/12/10-gr...

[Casey]

I have been hearing more and more about World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War so I am really looking forward to that one. Most of these books sound very interesting. I also heard really great things about Alas, Babylon too. Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions.

[Tamahome]

Al wrote: "Dhalgren

"I have come to wound the autumnal city."

Read a chapter on Amazon or something first."

Great plot?

[Kev]

I really enjoyed Robopocalypse. I'm don't read much PA stuff though.

Vampire Earth, by E. E. Knight, is kind-of PA. It's set a few decades after the apocalypse, once civilization has had some time to regroup, rebuild and has a well-organized resistance against their new lords and masters.

I didn't think I'd like the series when I heard about it, but I gave it a shot and am really enjoying it.

[Sandi]

I have a whole shelf of post-apocalyptic lit. My favorite recent books are Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh and The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I think I said this in the last thread, but the Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse anthology is great for short stories, and has a pretty comprehensive list of post-apocalyptic novels in the back. I think I've made it through 3/4. If you go to his website you can read some of the short stories for free, including the Doctorow, which was one of my favorites.

Like many others, I have a post apocalypse and dystopia shelf. I'd recommend the Atwood, the Butler, and thought the Bradley was a unique read.

[Kris]

if you want to go the classic route there is Lucifer's Hammer and Footfall

[Al]

Tamahome wrote: "Al wrote: "Dhalgren

"I have come to wound the autumnal city."

Read a chapter on Amazon or something first."

Great plot?"

Yeah, in a Wm Burroughs sort of way. Dhalgren::plot -> Rorschach::photograph.

I guess you could say it doesn't have a bad plot.

[Philip]

Sandi wrote: "I have a whole shelf of post-apocalyptic lit. My favorite recent books are Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh and The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell."

Reapers was an instant classic for me. A surprisingly deep book.

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

I would agree with The Passage

Can I also suggest A Land of Ash
It is a book of short stories set in America after the Yellowstone Super Volcano erupts.

I enjoyed most of the stories.

It is a cheap read. 99c on Kindle or iBooks.
There is even a free PDF version available from the Author who compiled and edited it.
http://ddalglish.com/world-of-dezrel/...

[Poly]

Feed and Deadline by Mira Grant are both really enjoyable. If you want a taste of her writing style, Apocalypse Scenario #683: The Box is an awesome short story.

[Trike]

Ex-Heroes by Peter Cline is one of the best post-apocalypse novels I've ever read. it's also one of the best zombie novels and one of the best superhero novels. Pulling off that hat-trick is quite a feat.