The most recommended books on survivalism

Black Helicopters is a terrifying book.

A fast-paced thriller, it takes you inside a radical survivalist cult from the perspective of the children who are growing up there. We’re immediately in a world that has its own rules. We’re reminded that children and young people know only what we tell them, and they do not question their parent’s choices easily. 

When a family is attacked, children will do anything to defend their world. Black Helicopters turns everything upside down in terms of your expectations and understanding, and makes you live inside a world under siege. It challenges all of your preconceptions and beliefs.

This is a standalone novel that truly feels complete, and that’s something that I don’t often say about standalones (I love series and hanging out with characters long-term, what can I say). Liv is a spoiled, helpless heroine that you initially want to strangle, but somehow, she manages to grow on you anyway. Joshua is a taciturn mountain man who barely grasps the concept of feelings, having been raised in a brutal fashion by his father.

The romance between these two is a slow burn, but I love that it shows them giving each other what they need most, and having Liv slowly work her way into Joshua’s hard heart is a sweet and satisfying end to a sometimes-harrowing story about love and survival.

What shall we do, when at last the intricate oppressions, we have built for ourselves are pushed plainly into view? Cory Doctorow’s collection of novellas bills itself not fictions of tomorrow, but stories of our present moment. Immigration, police brutality, tech monopoly, online radicalization, all bubble sharply and brilliantly to the surface here, in a world that, frankly, doesn’t seem that far from ours. What will you do, when your toaster tells you that the bread you bought is not a compatible product? Cory Doctorow might tell you. You might not like the answer very much. Either way, with stellar writing and keen insight, Radicalized is the best kind of political fiction, unapologetic, and empathic.

When the dead roam, this book will function as a med-school, first responder, and training physician all rolled into one. That's a good thing, for medical professionals will be at ground zero for the zombie apocalypse. And most won't survive the first few days of the dead, as preserving life will seem more paramount than preserving death. And by the time staff figure out that both are equally important, it will be too late. Nevertheless, those who survive the apocalypse's initial stages will eventually need medical care. Even a minor wound could prove deadly if poorly cleaned. I found the information and practical advice in the book fascinating and potentially helpful under dire circumstances.

This book is tense! Jess is alone in the Canadian wilderness, still injured from the car accident that killed her mom, and now her dad has been murdered and his cabin burned down. Jess must figure out how to survive in the cold with no shelter and no way out when nobody knows where she is. This is part survival story and part thriller. Jess is driven by her desire to survive as much as her desire for revenge. The survival aspect here is enough to keep you reading, but I also loved trying to piece together the mystery of why her dad was killed. 

This is the third installment of CJ Box series featuring Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett. But it’s the first book in which Box introduces Nate Romanowski, a former special tactics officer in the US Air Force.

While Box’s protagonist Pickett is portrayed as straight-laced, and a rule-follower, Romanowski sees the world as black and white—he will break the law in a heartbeat to see justice done. The series masterfully uses this dichotomy of worldviews to create tension in Winterkill and the rest of the series. 

In Winterkill, bad actors portray themselves as enlightened survivalists while supposedly good federal agents use questionable means to try and extract a suspected murderer from the survivalist group. A child is involved, and it’s up to Pickett and Romanowski to prevent mayhem. If they can agree on how to do it.

This was my father’s favourite book, and the teenage me agreed. It’s the greatest prolonged chase story ever written. An English tourist takes a pot shot at Hitler and is hunted all the way to the West Country in England, where he digs himself into the bank of an unused country lane, cornered like a fox. I lived in Devon at the time, and knew those huge high banks along the sides of ancient tree-covered lanes, and I and the village kids built ourselves exactly the same sort of hideaway, dug into a bank in the woods and invisible from above.

I read this novel decades before I ever heard the term “prepper.” I particularly enjoyed the survival elements of the story. I can’t help noticing that the plot holds up, even today. The idea that someone could predict that war was coming from simply paying attention to the news and things going on around them fostered my own interest in keeping up with current events. Ultimately, the story is all about making the best of a bad situation. Even today, I still enjoy the inherent optimism of that sentiment.

As a teenager, I was captivated by this fast-moving romp that didn’t pull any punches. With so many knockdown, drag-out action sequences, I couldn’t help wanting more. The author infused epic storylines with moments of heart-breaking humanity in a dark and dangerous world. This novel made me appreciate storytelling on a grand scale. Even now, it’s still a fun read. 

South African author Deon Meyer is, in my opinion, the best crime writer in the world. Most of his books are detective stories set in Cape Town, but Fever was a radical departure for him. As an author, I know how important it is for me to keep myself engaged and interested in my writing and not become stale. Deon shook up his readership with this tale of a fictional pandemic (written before Covid 19) and its impact on South Africa. Brilliant and scary and top marks to Deon for leaping out of his comfort zone.