The best binge-worthy apocalyptic reads

The Stand will always be one of my favorite apocalyptic novels. The story not only tells of the struggle of the individual survivors of a great plague, but it shows the devastation and havoc that corruption—governmental and individual—can wreak on even the strongest of world powers. All it takes is one bad decision and the whole empire can come tumbling down. This was the first novel of its kind that I ever read—at the age of eleven, no less—and the genre remains my favorite to this day. The mood of the novel begins somewhat innocuously, but with a layer of insidiousness that many King novels have. It’s this prodding unease that is so characteristic of his writing style and that keeps you turning the pages.

The in-depth character studies are fascinating and they draw the reader in. You really care about what happens to them. King doesn’t focus only on the good and the evil characters, but he creates a complex web of every character in between which I find important. No person is entirely good or evil, and the epic struggle of this duality in the book makes it all-encompassing. Ultimately, the fight against good and evil, and our characters, condense around one really old woman in Colorado and one really bad guy in Vegas…and it totally works. The novel has something for everyone and you won’t want to put it down.

This is a gem of a novel and one that should not ever be skipped over. The author’s humor bleeds through every page. This novel, and the entire series, literally had me in tears of laughter at many points. Even though the comedic aspect does tend to be the overarching theme, it does not detract from the horror of the situations the main characters find themselves in. The main character is obviously based on the author himself, as well as his family and his dog. This is fascinating because many authors may take certain aspects of themselves or loved ones and create characters with a trait or two, but Tufo goes all out and just makes himself a (hopefully!) exaggerated character in his own novel. The series starts small and centralized and builds itself into an entire world (or ten) of horrific and hilarious zombie craziness. You love many of the characters and love to hate the rest, but you won’t regret reading this book. There are hundreds and thousands of horror novels, apocalypse novels, and comedies, but with the Zombie Fallout series, Tufo has managed to brilliantly combine them all into one giant, binge-worthy read.

This novel takes a more serious tone from the outset, though there are humorous situations in the later books. This is one that will keep you up at night, reading and biting your fingernails as the characters struggle to survive. It begins somewhat slowly, but quickly gains steam and keeps you wanting more. The action is fast-paced and realistic and the military aspects are spot on. There is a character for everyone in this series, and it was the idea of Sky that loosely inspired a character in my own series.

The way that Campbell wrote this heroine and followed her progress from a young and naïve college girl to powerful and able to face down every threat thrown her way was so engaging and powerful that I bought the entire series as soon as it was released. The male characters were so diverse and far-ranging that none of them felt one-dimensional or flat. Each had characteristics that were unique. Each had a story to tell and a personal struggle to overcome. Some may not have been “good men” at the outset, but they have honor and the will to survive and change. They became good men through their actions and I feel that makes the story so much more appealing. This is one that I can reread over and over and always enjoy. Campbell has hit a definite home run with this one.

This book starts off with action and never lets up. The main characters are immediately thrust into a horrifying situation and are expected to survive without any warning whatsoever. They aren’t prepared and they have to stumble along and figure out what to do that will get them out of the mess they find themselves in…and it doesn’t always work out the way they plan. The sheer reach of this book and the entire series is what makes it special and different and the terrifying enemy is one that hasn’t been done often or well. This series is reminiscent of Justin Cronin’s The Passage without the large leaps in time. In fact, it happens in one single, terrifying night. The addicting suspense and tension will keep you reading so long into the night that you might even resemble a ghoul yourself the next day. 

Infection, the first of the Sympatico Syndrome series, starts with a simple but chilling phone conversation between two old friends. Sounds a bit boring, right? Wrong. The main character and his friend on the phone are epidemiologists and they understand with terrifying clarity just how dangerous the newly spreading illness is. Then, it becomes a race against time for the main character as he rushes to stockpile supplies and convince his family that they need to come quarantine with him right away. You can feel his dread and his anxiety in every paragraph and it only gets worse as the story moves on. What makes this novel unique is the illness itself. The disease produces peculiar symptoms that I’ve never seen in any other apocalyptic book.

Infection begins to become seriously creepy right about the time that you learn the infection causes euphoria and feelings of well-being, making the partying victims into horrifying and uninhibited disease-spreaders. There is absolutely no containing it. Barricades and quarantines won’t work. Reason is tossed by the side of the road and left for dead, and the only thing that matters is laughing and dancing and having fun. They feel wonderful and they want you to feel wonderful too…