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The best post-apocalyptic novels
Doomsday tales of deadly plagues, nuclear fallout, and zombie outbreaks.
Published on July 21, 2023
Earth Abides
George R. StewartStewart’s classic dystopian novel has been a mainstay in post-apocalyptic fiction since its publication in 1949 (Stephen King cites it as direct inspiration for “The Stand.”) However, while other authors envision desolate worlds filled with cannibals, zombies, or radioactive wastelands, Stewart takes a quieter, more pragmatic approach to the demise of civilization as we know it. After a viral pandemic wipes out most of humanity, Ish bands together with a group of remaining survivors. Rather than try to rebuild and maintain a modern society, the community slides back into a more primitive way of life.
Fever
Deon MeyerAfter a viral fever kills billions, young Nico and his father, Willem, dream of rebuilding what has been lost. They envision a new kind of community that enables not only survival, but also allows those left to thrive. They’ll face marauding biker bangs, hardships from within, and betrayal along the way. A gripping coming-of-age story set in the ruins of South Africa.
Positive: A Novel
David WellingtonA post-post-apocalyptic tale that follows Finnegan, a second generation survivor who’s been marked as a Positive. If he can make it through the incubation period without the zombie virus taking over his body, he has a chance at a normal life. However, his transport to a quarantine zone is ambushed and Finn is left to fend for himself as he faces monsters of both the human and zombie kind. “Mad Max” meets “World War Z” in this epic road trip across a zombie-infested country.
The Road
Cormac McCarthyNot for the faint of heart: McCarthy’s masterpiece is a post-apocalyptic tale about a nameless father and son wandering through an endless winter. Despite its bleakness, it’s deeply affecting, a wonderful story about the unbreakable bond between a parent and his child. It gives a new appreciation for the far easier roads we travel.
A Beginning at the End
Mike ChenThe words “uplifting” and “post-apocalyptic” typically don’t go together but Chen makes it work in “A Beginning at the End,” an oddly optimistic read about four very different people coming together to find happiness after 70% of the population die of the flu.
Parable of the Sower
Octavia E. ButlerIn Butler’s dystopian classic, the world has been ravaged by climate change. Communities wall themselves off for safety, but gates and barbed wire can’t keep desperate thieves away. Despite the dire circumstances, “Parable of the Sower” shows the power of hope when all seems lost and the strength in being vulnerable when surrounded by those who would do you harm.
Richard Matheson Thrillers: I Am Legend, Someone is Bleeding, Ride the Nightmare, Fury on Sunday
Richard Matheson Thrillers: I Am Legend, Someone is Bleeding, Ride the Nightmare, Fury on Sunday
Richard MathesonWhen a pandemic sweeps the planet in this 1954 post-apocalyptic horror novel by Matheson (“The Twilight Zone”), everyone either dies or becomes a vampire. Except for one man. You may know him as the character played by Will Smith in the 2007 movie adaptation. (Or Vincent Price in the 1964 version “The Last Man on Earth.” Or Charlton Heston in the 1971 version “The Omega Man.”) This winner of the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award for “Vampire Novel of the Century” defined the zombie-vampire plague genre, where the lone hero battles for survival night after night against invading mutants.
Trail of Lightning
Rebecca RoanhorseRoanhorse brings to life Navajo folktales in this electrifying novel about the apocalypse brought on by climate change. Searching for a missing girl, monster hunter Maggie Hoskie must battle witchcraft, as well as the ancient gods and monsters who walk the earth once again.
The Book of M: A Novel
Peng ShepherdSet in the much too near-future, an epidemic is spreading across the globe robbing people of their shadows and memories, while leaving dangerous magic in its wake. Desperate to escape the Forgetting, a couple takes to the road in a twisty, terrifying journey. A riveting, unsettling apocalyptic novel that celebrates the human connections that make us who we are.
Swan Song
Robert McCammonMcCammon explores the fall-out of a nuclear war that destroys society as we know it. “Swan Song” has everything you could want in a dystopian thriller: a sinister antagonist determined to sow chaos, a showdown between good and evil, and a spectacular cast of characters that must survive in a world overrun with monsters and unseen threats.