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Prolixic

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It occured to me a day or two ago that most of my favorite Sci Fi books involve, in one way or another, either the destruction of the Earth or of its people. (Nuclear war, biological annihilation, etc.) That list also includes books that deal with the after effects.

My favorite apocalyptic book of all time is The Forge of God by Greg Bear. Very well done and very plausible. My favorite post-apocalyptic book is This Immortal by Roger Zelazny.

What do you think? Got a favorite book that ends or nearly ends the human race?
 
"The Stand" from Stephen King is my favorite post-apocalyptic book, though not very realistic. I must say I haven't read many, though I like them. I also like post-apocalyptic movies like Terminator or pre-apocalyptic movies like Armageddon or Deep Impact...
I recently read "Alas, Babylon" from Pat Frank, I found it interesting, post-apocalyptically speaking (how survivors react and get organized) yet outdated (written in the fifties, during the Cold War...).
 
I haven't read my post-apocalyptic books, but I did read The Stand. I think it's one of King's best.
 
It seems to me (though I haven't read tons of sci-fi) that no Apocalyptic library would be complete without Walter Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz. After Wells' War of the Worlds it is probably the granddaddy of the genre.
 
funes wrote:
no Apocalyptic library would be complete without Walter Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz
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I agree. A Canticle for Leibowitz is a great post-apocalyptic book.

For anyone who hasn't read it; it kind of sneaks up on you. It starts out seemingly, light, quirky, and funny then gets progressively darker. It's on my all-time favourite sci fi list.
 
The Stand is a good one, but I prefer; 'Gibbon's Decline and Fall,' by Sheri S. Tepper. Very cool. Some stong female characters and interesting plot twists too. Great read.

~Witch
 
I like Fahrenheit 451 for just pure style in sneaking up on the subject. Bradbury paints it all around you but if you're not paying attention...POW! Suddenly you're in WW3...

Number two has got to be Forge of God by Greg Bear. Awesome all around first contact/armageddon story with a vengence.

Witch, I've read the Stand too and that was probably the first one I thought about. Its an all around classic.
 
On the beach -- nuclear war leads to death of mankind. Was kind of good but no real action.

Lucifers Hammer -- Comit followed by nuclear war.

The Stand -- Virus
 
Lucifer's Hammer is one of my favorites, along with The Stand. I also quite liked The Postman, On The Beach, The Forge of God, A Boy and His Dog, Damnation Alley, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
 
I just recently read The Postman. Reluctantly, I might add, because of the Kevin Costner Movie stigma. That aside, it was a fantastic and plausible post-apocalyptic view. Good stuff.
 
Reply to HBinjection

I have indeed read Galapagos by Vonnegut, it was actually my introduction into his works, and I greatly enjoyed it. Now, about 2 years later, I've read almost every letter Vonnegut has ever imagined of writing down, so you could say I'm an avid fan (especially Sirens of Titan and Slaughterhouse-Five are truly excellent).

And to follow up on the 'apocolyps'- thingy, I'm yet again going to have to mention (as so many times before, because this novel is applicable in so many different threads, probably because of its sheer brilliance (no, I'm not biased)) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. This novel, as (I hope) we all know, starts out with the destruction of the planet because it has to make way for a intergalactic hyperspace bypass. Great stuff.

Cheers, Martin :D
 
I loved Leibowitz. Especially how it neatly comes full circle in the end - I thought that was just brilliant - masterfully worked in.

I've got Pournelle and Niven's Lucifer's Hammer, and it promises to be fun.

ds
 
Has anyone read On The Beach by Nevil Shute? I must admit that I haven't, but I saw the miniseries and the images have stayed with me in a most disturbing fashion.
 
About 1/6th of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas occurs in a post-apocalyptic Hawaii and these sections were some of my favorite parts of the book. I also enjoyed The Stand and The Postman .
 
a few other goodies:

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
Blindness by Jose Saramago

Lucifer's Hammer was fantastic (although some ppl i know had a hard time getting past the character development). The Postman was also quite good, but I found the ending
a bit cheezy. In a G.I. Joe sort of way...
 
My two favourites are 'After the Flood' (Efter floden) by P.C. Jersild and 'In the Country of Last Things by Paul Auster.

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham and The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard aren't too bad either.

Kookamoor said:
Has anyone read On The Beach by Nevil Shute? I must admit that I haven't, but I saw the miniseries and the images have stayed with me in a most disturbing fashion.
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I wasn't very fond of it as I grew sick of the characters and their mantra to pretend that there's nothing wrong just to be able to go on. It wasn't a tribute to rationality.
 
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