100 books like Dissolution

I grew up in a small rural town where almost everyone fished, hunted, gardened, and enjoyed the simple things in life. Most of what I learned isn’t necessary to live in today’s world, but what if things changed and those able to live off the grid were the ones who survived? I love survival stories, especially about normal people doing extraordinary things to survive and protect those they love.

This book contains many of the themes I enjoy—survival against the odds, navigating complex relationships, and the oppressed rising up against the oppressor. This fast-paced novel begins with a seriously intense shock factor, a government sending children to fight to the death. After that, I couldn’t put it down.  

I love to be surprised. Poster Girl started a bit slow, but as the story unfolded, the web of connections made this dystopian book much more interesting than I thought it would be.

The story began after a revolution. Many considered patriots by the former government were either killed or imprisoned. As the new government tries to paint itself as the liberator from oppression, similarities between the new and old regimes are exposed.

As with any good dystopian story, it shows what people will do to survive in a dangerous and unfamiliar world and how they navigate relationships within a new set of social rules.  

I was instantly drawn in by the concept of this novel. As young adults reach a certain age, they must leave their homes and journey to a far away, randomly chosen enclave in a mostly-destroyed America, ensuring genetic diversity for the small, remaining human population.

The story follows Rayne Mirago’s struggle to survive after leaving her family and home behind on her sojourn. It has action, adventure, deadly plants and animals, dangerous groups, daily struggles for food, water, and shelter, and even a sweet love story.

Each novel in the series presents a new ecosystem and a different set of threats. Not only was this novel hard to put down, but each one left me anxious for the next.

This novel has it all, ancient lore, nightmares, mysticism, self-discovery, friendship, a budding romance, and intense action and adventure.

When four friends are sucked into an alternate universe filled with danger, they must survive a host of nightmarish threats and find their way to the center of the web to escape.

I love stories of survival against the odds, but this was exceptionally interesting as the threats are not what anyone would expect. Much of the book takes place in the badlands of South Dakota, another place I’m familiar with. I’m a sucker for a story set in a place that would be difficult to survive under the best of circumstances.

Adrian J. Walker takes you on a scenic adventure across England as his characters struggle to survive a world-ending meteor strike. I love this story as it hits all the elements of a great story: love, struggle, adventure, survival, humor, horror, and drama!

Why would I recommend this book? Because you can’t help but wonder if you’d do the same thing as the protagonist. You can’t help but empathize with him. I mean, what would you do if a meteor was about to destroy everything? How would you save your family? What would you do to keep alive? What if you and your family got separated? Would you run across the country to find them?

This novel takes place thirty years after a disease has reduced most of the human population to a primitive state. A thriller with exceptional action scenes and tension, the novel features two converging plotlines that are quests through South America and the southern United States when it is almost devoid of uninfected humans. As with a lot of post-apocalyptic novels the real villains of the story are other humans—their greed and need for control. While this book came out two years after mine, it resonated with me. The themes of trust run strong in both our novels, as well as lengthy stretches of landscape without any humans. 

Dark Inside centers around a series of powerful earthquakes that shake every continent on Earth and awakens a supernatural inner rage within people. The concept of this novel is incredibly fascinating and is another novel that shows the power of Mother Nature - with a twist. After the earthquakes, the world descends into a hellish landscape that, at times, eerily mirrors events that have taken place in the real world. The apocalypse is brought on by the evilness of humanity, which makes it an interesting read. 

When I read this book, I was very glad I came to it late. I never had to wait to get the next book in the series. While I am recommending this book in particular because it is the first, the whole trilogy is needed to get the full effect of the story.

Following 16-year-old Adam through this story was fun and exciting. The emotions ranging from scared as hell to hopeful throughout kept me engaged. The main feeling I kept was the hope that he and his family would stay safe in the community stronghold that they had built. I also hoped that even though society had fallen fast, maybe it could eventually be healed. 

In 1968 I was a seventeen-year-old kid working in Manhattan. Getting off work each evening, I’d wander around the city. Can you imagine how much fun that would be for a young boy? One night, on 42nd Street, I found a movie theater showing an obscure, black-and-white movie called, Night of the Living Dead. The first thirty minutes, the audience laughed at the film, but as the movie rolled on, and the sense of dread about this group of strangers trapped together in a farmhouse, zombies outside trying to get inside, increased, the theater went silent. The director, George Romero, admitted in interviews his movie was inspired by I Am Legend. Near the end of his life, Romero, with Krauss, wrote this comprehensive history of the zombie apocalypse.

Call me an end-of-days junkie; I won’t deny it. 

I have a twelve-story climbing rope in my storeroom in case the building catches fire. There’s a fire blanket in there and a go-bag, too. Talking about bomb shelters does something to my blood. Preparations excite me; maybe it’s a competitive streak. When I come face-to-face with disaster, I want the groundwork taken care of so I can focus on what’s important, like grabbing my children, our passports, and snacks for the road.

Reading this book was like living through the nightmare of my dreams. Communities came together, scrounging for food and water. Disaster after disaster was ingeniously avoided with other people’s refuse, raw brain power, and the occasional bullet. Man was pitted against man, and the only prize was survival. It was everything I needed to get a true appreciation of the bricks and mortar surrounding me and the covers… show more.