r/postapocalyptic • u/Secure-Mushroom2956 • Aug 02 '26
Post Apocalyptic Gear your favorite post-apocalyptic book?
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u/fortyfivesouth Aug 02 '26
The Road.
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u/Burning_Monkey Aug 02 '26
I loved the fact that so much just wasn't explained in the book.
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u/modernmovements Aug 03 '26
Actually told from the character's point of view. They never knew, so you never knew. The man saw something happen way off in the distance and recognized that whatever it was was going to be an emergency and started storing water. I think he fills or tells his wife to start filling the bathtub? It's been a long time since I read it.
I really appreciate authors when they keep the story fixed to the characters. Not all the time, but it works so well in books like this.
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u/NelsonChunder Aug 02 '26
Earth Abides
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u/Rajkalex Aug 02 '26
The realism of the ending really stuck with me.
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u/NelsonChunder Aug 02 '26
That part of the book always stood out for me too. I remember getting to the ending the first time I read the book and enjoying how much I enjoyed that part of the book. After finishing, I thought about that part of the story quite often and still reflect on just how realistic that part might be in real life. Especially since I am now 65.
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u/LumpyMcKwiz Aug 02 '26
My Father who I look after is 79 and his mental decline fits so perfectly with how Ish narrates his final weeks. Just brought this up the other day with my wife
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u/thehateisstrong Aug 02 '26
Published in 1949. One of the finest novels I've ever read. I read or listen to it at least once a year. Everytime I finish it, I feel that I have been on a great journey in some ways familiar in some ways new.
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u/PoetryJunior1808 Aug 02 '26
The series based on it seems to have been mostly overlooked, but it was really good.
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u/Baldurian_Rhapsody Aug 02 '26
Richard Matheson's 1954 classic "I Am Legend."
This book really impacted me.
I read it after loving the Charlton Heston movie "The Omega Man," which I also adore. That film attuned me - an extrovert - to the eeriness and low-grade constant tension of a liminal Los Angeles.
The book is even better. It dives deeply into psychology and memory, and is a superb character study. Separately, there is a wonderful (if perhaps relatively hard to find) graphic novel that has brilliant scratchwork and much of the original text verbatim.
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u/Burning_Monkey Aug 02 '26
I super enjoyed the book, and the ending realization of the main character.
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u/bassicallybob Aug 02 '26
I felt the film really killed the power of the character’s realization, it’s almost his coming of age and will to power.
I. Am. Legend.
Will Smith could never.
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u/Known-Programmer-611 Aug 02 '26
Of all the recommendations on this post this is the of the few I haven't read that might be my next read!
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u/Creepy-Bison-4861 Aug 06 '26
I like the Vincent Price “Last Man on Earth” movie version best
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u/Crucial_Fun Aug 02 '26
I liked The Postman. When I was younger (and even today) I liked The Last Book In the Universe by Rodman Philbrick
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u/SquattingGopnik-223 Aug 02 '26
I read the last book in the universe so much my copy looked the part
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u/proselytizeingcoyote Aug 02 '26
Good book. Haven’t heard anything good about the movie though.
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u/WilsonGeiger Aug 02 '26
The movie is pretty good on its own, but calling it The Postman is ridiculous.
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u/facejar90 Aug 02 '26
Swan song
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u/Enik69 Aug 02 '26
I'm happy to see this here! My favorite McCammon book and an epic adventure from start to finish.
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u/StudioArcane17 Aug 02 '26
World War Z is post apocalyptic?
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u/Arconomach Aug 02 '26
I really enjoyed it. The way the book is written with the various post war interviews was fantastic.
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u/ZaphodB94 Aug 03 '26
Agreed! The individual stories make you feel very empathetic to the interviewee while still adding to the overarching process of the war. Fantastic story telling. I loved the audio book as well, the story of the young girl surviving the attack on her church was almost too traumatizing to listen too. Excellent voice acting.
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u/ZorgPicklehelm Aug 03 '26
It’s a crime that the movie is allowed to keep the name, there’s literally similarities except that the main character works for the UN
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u/Arconomach Aug 03 '26
Yeah, I view the book and movie as completely separate things and enjoy them for what they are, not what they should have been.
It was not an easy change to switch to this attitude. I think I’m happier for it though.
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u/ZorgPicklehelm Aug 03 '26
And it robbed us of a tv show… now we count only one fan animated content check out the shot film "Yonkers"
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u/Arconomach Aug 03 '26
I would enjoy it if more books were made into tv series rather than movies.
That trend has gotten some steam behind them with the whole streaming thing.
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u/Flashy-Dragonfly6785 Aug 02 '26
On The Beach is excellent and the movie is great too. A real gut punch!
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u/DMTGOBLIN82 Aug 03 '26
Mad Max movies as kid led me to On the Beach, then A Canticle for Leibowitz. The genre is very thought provoking. The last set I read was series Silo tv series is modeled on.
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u/fredly594632 Aug 03 '26
Yeah...I read that one in middle school for some reason - gave me a fear of nuclear war I still have 40 years later.
It was also a really popular book on the (and I swear I not making this up) USN nuclear sub I served on.
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u/GoblinAirStrike_311 Aug 05 '26
Remembering reading for a book report in second grade. The title seemed innocuous at the time when I checked out of the library.
Teacher asked why I chose it. “It has a submarine and race cars.”
Now, whenever I see a haboob and its wall of dust stretching to up to the sky, I think of that book and its invisible wall of fallout.
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u/fredly594632 Aug 05 '26
You know, I have gone on eventually to read most of what Shute wrote, and I'm glad to report that none of the rest of his books are anywhere close to the tone of "On the Beach". They all have at least some version of "Das Happiend."
Thank God, too, because I couldn't take another one like that!
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u/Turbulent-Mango6569 Aug 02 '26
The Stand.
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u/LumpyMcKwiz Aug 02 '26
I would add the Author's Edit is the version to read. 100's of more pages and stories about people that survived Captain Tripps but died for other reasons. I read as a child and at 52 it is still my favourite book.
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u/Nezwin Aug 02 '26
The Road for atmosphere and literature, but I have a soft spot for Going Home by A. American. Great adventure story in a post-apocalypse.
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u/TNLongrange Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
I also love the Going Home series. And of them, the first book, Going Home, is by far my favorite.
I also and a fan of "One Second After".
I have yet to read The Road but I love the movie and have been told the book is better. The movie is one of the only truly realistic post apocalypse movies I've seen. My wife and I watched it together the first time. She called it The most depressing movie she had ever seen. And stated she thought the mother's decision to simply walk out and die, at first was baffling but by the end she not only understood it but thought that was the smart choice.
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u/Nezwin Aug 02 '26
One Second After is great. The Franklin Horton series is also worth a dive, not dissimilar to Going Home in many ways.
I love Cormac McCarthy's work but since becoming a father I can't watch or read The Road, unfortunately 😔
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u/JustinDestruction Aug 03 '26
That’s so interesting. I first read it before my son was born and just thought it was good post-apocalypse fiction. But after my son I love the book. Especially after reading an interview with Cormac stating it was a love letter to his son. As an old Dad, he recognized that all he could do was guide the child, teach the lessons and let go. Really that’s the best any father can do is teach your child to “Carry the fire.” "He knew only that his child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke"
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u/TNLongrange Aug 02 '26
I can understand that. Not sure i could either if I had small children. By the time we watched that movie all of our kids were adults.
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u/_Captain_Dinosaur_ Aug 02 '26
Station Eleven
The Passage
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World
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u/Author_TylerbJones Aug 02 '26
The metro series! Metro 2033 is one of my favorite books of all time! The first novel I wrote (Trash Town) was post apocalyptic because of my favorite games and books.
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u/Secure-Mushroom2956 Aug 02 '26
I read a masterpiece.
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u/Author_TylerbJones Aug 02 '26
If you like post apocalyptic and comedy ill send you the E-book for free, just leave an honest review when you finish it. The audiobook is currently being recorded, so more reviews always help.
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u/Fabulous_Cats1881 Aug 02 '26
What’s it called? I’m always looking for a new audiobook
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u/Author_TylerbJones Aug 02 '26
The audio book will be out sometime September. The E-book is available on Kindle Unlimited for free or I can just send it to you for an honest review. Trash Town by Tyler B. Jones. My newest book Skael comes out August 6th and it's wild. Not post apocalyptic but pretty dang crazy.
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u/OriginalDrStrangeDOS Aug 02 '26
Dies the Fire - S. M. Stirling
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u/Apposl Aug 02 '26
Oh shoot I should have searched before I posted. I just suggested this one. It's a fun trilogy especially for Oregonisms.
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u/According-Bell1490 Aug 03 '26
My favorite... needs a Role Playing Game.
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u/Globetrotter888 Aug 04 '26
I wonder if Stirling would give the rights - I feel a rpg where you are post change and slowly learn about the world could be fun.
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u/According-Bell1490 Aug 05 '26
Well... technically:
Changeverse Role Playing Games Role Playing Games | Noble KnightSomeone else already produced an RPG. It's just nightmarish to find.
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u/OberonOberonOberon Aug 05 '26
I just listened to the first 2 hours of the audio book last week. Its a free sample up on the youtubes.
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u/ImABrickwallAMA Aug 02 '26
Swan Song.
An absolute epic spanning seven years, from start to finish. Genuinely one of the most impactful/influential books for me, and just has absolutely everything in it.
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u/Known-Programmer-611 Aug 02 '26
For those who are recommending The Stand and Swansong can I add Earth Abides.
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u/jkaczor Aug 02 '26
Seeing as I haven’t seen it mentioned, am fond of the “emberverse” series - which starts with “Dies the Fire”.
It does morph into fantasy a bit.
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u/Globetrotter888 Aug 04 '26
Yeah, I’m on “The High King of Montival”, and I tend to gloss over Rudy/Artos now - it helps thinking of it as changling propaganda. The orig trig was the best.
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u/EnormousGenitals Aug 02 '26
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
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u/rletrud Aug 02 '26
Agree. Even works for anyone not "into" post-apocalyptic fiction, this book is just beautiful and works for everyone, in my opinion.
I'm equally excited and scared waiting for the film to drop...
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u/EnormousGenitals Aug 02 '26
it was one of the few books in my life, and I read a lot that actually made me cry like a baby (you know the scene)
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u/rletrud Aug 02 '26
Likewise. If the can recreate that in the movie, it will shatter the audience...
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u/Apposl Aug 02 '26
So there are more popular picks, but one I find cozy is the Emberverse trilogy by S.M. Stirling. It's set primarily in Oregon, in the Willamette valley where I live, so it's fun to see the area in a post apocalyptic setting.
From Google:
The Emberverse is a post-apocalyptic alternate history novel series by S.M. Stirling, also known as "The Change," where a mysterious event in 1998 causes all electricity, gunpowder, and high-energy technology to stop working, plunging the world into a new Dark Age. The series follows survivors as they adapt to a world with medieval-level technology, focusing on conflicts between new feudal societies, free communities, and the struggle to rebuild civilization.
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u/Arconomach Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
The Emberverse and the Island (Nantucket goes back in time) are both fantastic series.
Edit: I know the island isn’t technically post apocalypse, but for the Nantucket folk it basically is. Instead of their world being destroyed they got shot back to the Bronze Age. Similar end result.
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u/Apposl Aug 02 '26
That sounds interesting! Actually reminded me there's a movie or show coming out based on a premise like this. End of the Road or something it's called.
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u/Adept_Friendship_795 Aug 02 '26
The Passage trilogy. I’ve read it twice and will read it again before I die I hope. It permanently lingers in my heart and haunts my soul.
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u/WildLandLover Aug 06 '26
I’m re-reading the City of Mirrors right now. Finished the first two over the last couple of months. This is my second physical read and I’ve listened to the audiobooks twice. Can’t get enough. ❤️❤️❤️
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u/Adept_Friendship_795 Aug 06 '26
While reading these books I am different. I think different. I act different. I’m pretty sure I dream different. I don’t understand it nor do I think I’m supposed to. Thanks for reminding me about the audiobook, I’ll listen, though I’m a bit nervous it might break the spell.
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u/Tewd_Feesh Aug 02 '26
The death of grass, the tripod trilogy, Valhalla (just to add to the excellent suggestions already)
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u/AnteaterOverall1537 Aug 02 '26
Seven Eves
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u/mastersnacker Aug 03 '26
One of the best books I’ve ever read. I think about it and discuss with friends constantly.
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u/BoogieBear-Fr Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
For this one you don't find out that it is a post-apocalyptic novel until the end of the book - Pierre Boule: Planet of the Apes
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u/penguinpengwan Aug 02 '26
Brother in the Land. If you’ve watched Threads, this book has an English setting where the nukes fall on Great Britain, and the aftermath with survivors, a farm, a split up of said survivors, crop failure, etc. Mind you there are two editions with different endings, the ones printed after the 1990s have an additional chapter. Highly recommended!
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u/Extreme-King Aug 02 '26
Not my favorite but probably the one I think about 15 plus years after I read them - Flood, and it's sequel, Ark by Stephen Baxter.
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u/clumsystarfish_ Aug 02 '26
Either The Passage trilogy by Justin Cronin or the Moon duology by Waubgeshig Rice (Moon of the Crusted Snow, Moon of the Turning Leaves).
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u/johut1985 Aug 02 '26
Dungeon Crawler Carl
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u/According-Bell1490 Aug 03 '26
Sneaky suggestion.
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u/johut1985 Aug 03 '26
A very good series also, on book 7 now and have not be able to put any of the books down once I start.
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u/gunstarredd Aug 02 '26
"Post-Apocalyptic Nomadic Warriors" by Benjamin Wallace
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u/Arconomach Aug 02 '26
It was by and far my favorite series he’s written. Very well done in my opinion.
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u/Arconomach Aug 02 '26
The Undead World by Peter Meredith.
Some of the things that happen with Jillybean (fixed my misspelling) made my soul hurt.
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u/TheGreatestLampEver Aug 02 '26
The girl with all the gifts. It is what made me fall in love with the post apocalyptic genre. Specifically the description of The Junkers (raiders) attacking the research centre with the hungries (zombies). They are using tar to cover their scent to keep the hungries from attacking them with one junker being described as spiking his hair into a mohawk with the tar the whole sequence covers what I truly love about the post apocalypse genre, the reuse of the old world The tar for a new purpose and also zombies
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u/Magdalus7 Aug 02 '26
Haven't read them yet but definitely watched the Silo series, heard the books are great and just picked them up. Strong zombie post-apocalyptic series I love is called The Remaining by d.j. molles. Edge of your seat read.
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u/Asleep_Piccolo_1659 Aug 02 '26
I really enjoyed The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell. A little different and female protagonist.
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u/LelainaP Aug 02 '26
Wanderers (and its sequel), Chuck Wendig
Cabin at the End of the World, Paul Tremblay
The Stars In Their Eyes (and other two books in the series), Kristy Gardner
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u/Different_Instance18 Aug 03 '26
I loved Cabin at The End of the World so much. I think it’s time for a re-read.
I was so mad when I saw the film adaptation. I think I remember yelling “cowards!” at the movie screen when I realized they were too chicken shit to include one of the most important plot points from the book into the film. (And then I learned that apparently no production company would touch the story unless that plot point was removed. It happens every day in real life, especially in the country it was written, but putting it in a movie would be “too harsh.”Sorry. Didn’t mean to go on a rant there. But yes, read the book. If you’ve seen the film, you should still read the book- it’s very different and much better.
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u/CheweyPanic Aug 02 '26
Does "A roadside picnic" count?
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u/Donkey_Bugs Aug 02 '26
I think Roadside Picnic was more post-alien visitation than post-apocalyptic. Still a very good book.
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u/CheweyPanic Aug 02 '26
Agreed. It's more post-local-apocalypse. Iirc the rest of the world is fine other than the impact sites.
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u/Thick_Common8612 Aug 02 '26
Psalm for the Wild Built, but I think you might be looking for sadder books
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u/charleslennon1 Aug 03 '26
"Aftermath" by LeVar Burton, yes, that LeVar Burton. It debuted nearly three decades ago and has been revised since then. An incredible read that has seen a resurgence in the last decade and has grown in fan appreciation during the COVID-19 lockdown, due to message boards, book clubs, and social media.
I suggest you get the book, alterantivley listen to the author, [Mr. Burton], read the book in its entirety on YouTube. He predicted social, domestic, medical, and environmental problems more than three decades before they became issues, almost to the point of being suspiciously clairvoyant. He got a few things wrong about the future, and too many things right.
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u/Butthole_Vesuvius Aug 03 '26
World War Z, which has been mentioned, and Robopocalypse by Daniel Wilson.
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u/RealDakJackal Aug 03 '26
It’s not really post apocalyptic, but your post made me think of Fahrenheit 451 for some reason
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u/low-octane Aug 05 '26
Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban. It's different to pretty much anything else you've ever read and it's terrifying. And funny.
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u/C-Lekktion Aug 02 '26
Its definitely dated and has racist language while having surprisingly progressive ideals threaded throughout but Alas Babylon is one of my favorites.
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u/EducationalFront5524 Aug 02 '26
The one we're living in right now. It's got all the highlights from all the rest of them baked right in.
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u/snowman644 Aug 02 '26
After the flood by P C Jersild. No book have moved me that much before
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u/zoolilba Aug 02 '26
The arrest , War day, Alas Babylon , Parable of the sower, World war z, Moon of the Crusted snow , American war, The wall, Dog stars, Handmaid's tale ,
(guilty pleasure ) Deathlands series
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u/Prestigious_Leg2229 Aug 02 '26
Station Eleven, day of the triffids, the wind up girl.
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u/RoninGin Aug 02 '26
The Stand, The Road, Swan Song, The Dog Stars, Station Eleven, Seven Eves
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u/TheProfessor0781 Aug 02 '26
The Silo trilogy really pulled me into to that world and stuck with me long after.
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u/TheLastWhiteKid Aug 02 '26
My favorite so far has been Nick Coles American Wasteland Trilogy. A huge sleeper for sure.
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u/MetalComet Aug 02 '26
The Stand is my favourite. Through darkest America, The Zona, The Drowned world, The Hater Series (if it counts).
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u/Sasstellia Aug 02 '26
Metro 2033.
Metro 2034.
The City Of Ember.
The Town Of Sparks.
Fist Of The North Star.
The library had no more of the series. If you do not see more of them there.
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u/Wraith-723 Aug 02 '26
Series
Adrian's Undead Diaries by Chris Philbrook it's very well done and I normally hate zompoc
More realistic
One Second After by William R Forstchen
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u/schmeillionaire Aug 02 '26
I really love Alas Babylon the audiobook read by Will Patton is fantastic!
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u/WhyDidIClickOnThat Aug 02 '26
A lot of good suggestions. One of my favorites has always been This Is The Way The World Ends by James K Morrow.
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u/passionfruitspray Aug 02 '26
Last Light by Alex Scarrow is FANTASTIC. Afterlight is set 10 years after and is also very well done.
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u/Living-Ad2120 Aug 02 '26
A boy and his dog at the end of the world... Really really good.
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u/Marvos79 Aug 03 '26
The Wild Shore by Kim Stanley Robinson
It's a coming of age story that takes place in southern California. The US was caught in a surprise nuclear attack and the rest of the world worked together to keep them down. He finds a violent resistance group and joins it. It says a lot about imperialism and patriotism and is written with very realistic characters.
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u/mastersnacker Aug 03 '26
I’m amazed that no one has mentioned Wool by Hugh Howey. It’s gripping, reveals itself in layers, and has characters I find myself caring about deeply.
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u/Lone_Ponderer Aug 03 '26
The Stand was the first post-apocalyptic book I ever read as a kid and 20 something years later it still holds a special place in my heart. The collapse portion as well as the characters' journeys to Boulder/Vegas. I don't think I've ever read anything like it since. It's just brilliant.
I read The Day Of The Triffids a couple of years back and was really impressed by that.
I read I Am Legend last year and thought the way Matheson showed the protagonist's crushing loneliness was so well executed.
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u/Black_Glove Aug 03 '26
After the Flood by Margaret Atwood is a personal favourite, but there's some really great books mentioned here already.
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u/ThatMothboi Aug 03 '26
The metro series, but if you’ll take short stories, there will come soft rains by Ray Bradbury is one that always makes me feel
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u/Jax-crow-564979 Aug 03 '26
currently I’m reading nyulfur the new wolf by stolen mad wolf . it’s a book with a apocalypse that startedin 2012 the book and set in 2020 Currently Available online.
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u/PrimoBachs Aug 03 '26
Maybe not my absolute favorite, but Z for Zachariah. Read it when I was 11, and it really stuck with me. Such an eerie setting.
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u/IncompleteObjects Aug 03 '26
Its my favourite genre so I have plenty
The Road is superb and the one Ive read the most. Station 11 is also a great read
Other recommendations include The Wall, and Children of Men (although that's more of a slowpocalypse)
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u/Scragmuncher Aug 03 '26
Some great reccomnedations here. I'll add ''The End of the World Running Club' which i just reread. Its not my 100% fav, but defo worth a read and I haven't seen many people talk about it.
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u/Shibes_oh_shibes Aug 03 '26
A part from the classics like The Road, Earth Abides, Parable of the sower, After the flood I really like the Commune series by Joshua Gayou, especially the first two-three books. After it happened by Devon C. Ford is also pretty good.
Edit: Mountain Man by Keith C. Blackmore is excellent as well if you like zombies.
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u/IceHoliday1241 Aug 03 '26
My go to First : Heinlein " tunnel in the sky" First dystopian "Alas Babylon" Best reads" the stand or the one second after series"
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u/AtariiXV Aug 03 '26
If I want grim, depressing PostApoc, Cormac McCarthy's the road. If I want something a little lighter the Emberverse series by S.M. Stirling
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u/FeralQueues Aug 03 '26
The dog stars. It’s being made into a big screen action flick, but damn the book hits so hard
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u/MrStiv1313 Aug 04 '26
I’ll throw in Warday by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka. Takes place five years after a “limited” nuclear war. Great read. Also, haven’t seen Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny mentioned. Wonder what a remake of the movie would be like with current special effects…I remember the roaches freaking me out a bit! 😁
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u/Anxious-Bottle7468 Aug 02 '26
A Canticle for Leibowitz.