As a teenager, back when I still had some traces of childhood imagination left lurking about, I started envisioning scenarios and events which would later come together as a dystopian novel. Walks in the nearby park became areas of great skirmishes between neighboring militias; road trips out west became routes to safety; the dusty lot of a rundown gas station became the setting for a life-altering showdown. Flashforward twenty years or so, and all these fantasies came together in my first post-apocalyptic tale. Yet, my eagerness to explore other authors’ narratives in the same genre remains unquenched.
Two years have passed since humankind faced extinction: Two cousins are leaving the protection of their underground bunker for the first time, after a cataclysmic war and unrelenting disease ravaged the earth. On the other side of North America, a young survivalist is leaving the seclusion of his cabin deep in the woods. For individual reasons, these men are traveling east, where the fragmented lives of a small number of survivors will soon be decided by the choices of a corrupt few. The strength that resides inside them will be tested, and destiny will call for their fates to be forever intertwined.
"A fierce post-apocalyptic story of war and loss, of nature's vengeance, of survival in the face of overwhelming odds." - Manhattan Book Reviews
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Be prepared for the darkest, most depressing, and thoroughly engrossing end of the world novel out there. Follow the footsteps of a father and son as they traverse the wilds of what was once America, evading psychopathic cannibals, desperate wanderers, and a dying landscape. The heartfelt exchanges between the two, in the most desperate of times, are almost too relatable. And terrifying.
Wool took the world by storm, as one of the first ultra-successful independently published novels available on Kindle. And for good reason. In the first few chapters, the scene is quickly set for a harrowing tale. Humanity has suffered a terrible blow, and the few survivors left on earth are herded into a massive underground silo-type structure. The air outside has turned poisonous, and right off the bat, we see just how lethal it can be. This entire trilogy is awe-inspiring, and gives credence that Hugh Howey is a master at his craft. Smooth sailings to you, sir.
Red Rising, the first book in the series, sets up monumental scenarios, as large as the universe the story takes place in. This first installment, as futuristic as it is, has a Game of Thrones meets space opera feel, which is entirely unique to the author. The twists and turns kept me guessing and happily surprised. I couldn't put this book down until I got to the last lines... then I ordered the next book in the series, which I'm sure you'll do too.
It's difficult to place The Passage in a singular genre. Part dystopian, part horror, but far from the typical vampire or monster fare. The timeline spans for generations, and I can't fathom where the other books will lead the story. The author states that the inspiration for this story came from walks with his young daughter, who gave him the basis of the characters and plot. How cool is that?
This book blew me away. As the title indicates, the root cause of society coming to its knees is spontaneous blindness. Spread like a disease, people suddenly lose their vision without indication. To qualm the spread, the first reported cases are placed together in an empty asylum, and kept caged like wild animals. As you might guess, it gets ugly in there quick, as the quarantined are left on their own, blind, as society outside slowly collapses. Jose Saramago's writing style is unmatched and wholly original. A quarter into the novel, I realized none of the main characters have names, but go by monikers like the Doctor, or the girl with glasses. This book is highly recommended.
5,309 authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about dystopia, survival, and human subject research.
We think you will like Composite Creatures, Death is a Welcome Guest, and Autumn if you like this list.
From Erica's list on the best apocalyptic and dystopian novels you haven’t read yet.
Composite Creatures centers around a quiet apocalypse called “the greying,” a human disease linked to ecological collapse that’s never described outright but is unmistakenly real. Against this backdrop, the narrator, Norah, enters into an arranged marriage equal parts romantic and practical. The couple takes over the raising of an ovum organi, a bioengineered organism that both functions as a pet and serves another purpose connected to the greying that only becomes apparent near the end of the book. Beyond its slow-burn apocalyptic trappings, this book also has special relevance for me because the ova organi are clearly modeled on cats. While cats themselves are hardly a novelty in science fiction, the way that Hardaker develops the relationship between the artificial critters and their owners/exploiters is especially evocative.
From Lesley's list on the best books about pandemics.
Louise Welsh has written three novels about a pandemic called the Sweats – her Plague Times trilogy. This is the second book in the series. I particularly liked this one because its protagonist, Magnus, is a Scottish not-very-good stand-up comedian, and I too was once a not-very-good aspiring comic! After a series of unfortunate events, Magnus ends up in prison, where the disease is rife. Breaking out, he decides to make for his childhood home on Orkney, accompanied by fellow escapee Jeb. The fast-moving plot will keep you racing through this book.
From Chris's list on the best zompoc books (zombie + apocalypse).
Autumn is a two-stage apocalypse story that spills out the horror of the world ending from a mysterious infection, followed up by a second, species-crushing wave of terror as the dead return to life to finish the job the infection began. Autumn is dark, and brutal, and is an older book in the genre, but a refreshing take on the trope of zombies. It’s filled with beautiful imagery and characters with depth and runs into a six-book series.
