My Top 10 Dystopian & Post-Apocalyptic Books of All Time (As Of 2024)
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- Опубліковано 31 тра 2024
- Mike takes a look at 10 books in the dystopian & post-apocalyptic subgenre that he would call his favorites.
ℙ𝕦𝕣𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕤 𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠:
The Time Machine amzn.to/4b0lGoj
I Am Legend amzn.to/3GmaNOC
Swan Song amzn.to/3OlTnWo
Scythe amzn.to/42jjyUK
Planet of the Apes amzn.to/3Oj659W
1984 amzn.to/47UStbN
The Giver amzn.to/3ueGPuw
Fahrenheit 451 amzn.to/42lIw5R
The Road amzn.to/3JinQDx
The Stand amzn.to/2X0wr6u
ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕝𝕤 𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕖𝕡𝕚𝕤𝕠𝕕𝕖:
𝕎𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕄𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘? 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕕𝕠 𝕤𝕠 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕒𝕕𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤:
Mike K.
15201 Mason Rd
Suite 169
Cypress, TX 77433
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0:00 Introduction
0:25 Background and Prerequisites
1:17 Top 10 Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic Books
19:46 Final Thoughts
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#MikesBookReviews #top10 #ranking - Розваги
Hey Bookworms! My apologies for the odd camera angle & contrast. My Canon camera battery died and I decided to record from my iPhone...with mixed results. Thanks for watching!
mr. robot angle, and colors.
I was actually about to comment how I liked the new setup 😂
Just started my own BookTube channel. 😅 Thanks for the inspiration. All I use is my iPhone camera, so no judgement from me! 😂
It is a nice video and the iPhone does good. I got recommended this after Library of a Viking's latest banned 📚 video.
turned out fine though
Swan Song is the best book ever written in my opinion. I read it in 92 for the first time and have read it 6 more times. 🤘🤘🤘
The red lighting sets the mood perfectly for this video
Dystopian Books I enjoyed, in no particular order
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
Alas Babylon - Pat Frank
A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller Jr
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Anathem - Neal Stephenson
1984 - George Orwell
Swan Song - Robert McCammon
The Stand - Stephen King
Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut Jr
Wool - Hugh Howey
The Passage - Justin Cronin
Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Dies the Fire - SM Stirling
"A Canticle for Leibowitz" is one of the finest works I have ever read.
Swan Song was an absolute page turner. Never a boring moment. 10/10 recommend it’s so enjoyable.
I adore Swan Song xx
Such a great story with really flushed out characters! Roland is a quiet psychopath that scares the hell out of me while Joshua takes on his role of Swan's protector with undying verve. GREAT book!
I am currently reading The Stand! Do you prefer Swan Song over it? It must be amazing if you do. I'll have to put it on my list!
I do highly recommend Swan Song also I adore the music album that inspired Robert McCammon, Pink World by Planet P xx❤
@@dianejensen3420 Roland and his Army of Excellence 🤯😯😬xx
I read A Canticle for Liebowitz in my teens (50 years ago) and remember liking it, The Stand in my early adulthood and liked that. As an older adult I have enjoyed The Wasteland Saga by Nick Cole, Swan Song, and my favorite Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank.
I'll look that last one up.
Read Alas Babylon in high school and I loved it. My whole class did. It is what turned me onto reading dystopian fiction. Two of my favorite novels now are dystopian fiction, The Road and i recently finished Station Eleven. If you haven’t read Station Eleven, I recommend it highly.
Never Let Me Go has to be near the top of my list I think. Maybe at the top. I read it as often as my heart can take it.
We read George Orwell's "Animal Farm" and William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" in school and they are still two of my favourite books. Golding's book was the first dystopian type novel I read. I found it really frightening. I loved "Fahrenheit 451" - both the book and the movie. I found it so ironic that this book was banned in some libraries in the 1970's due to its language and content - yeah that content about burning books.
Great list! My only personal additions would be:
A Clockwork Orange
The Running Man
Brave New World
Day of the Triffids
Real life is dystopian enough at the moment.
Good point! Lol although real life has always been dystopian depending on where you are
I hope it gets worse lol
😂
It always gets worse before it gets worse
Hope things get better for you!
I loveeee The Stand, Station Eleven, Parable of the Sower/talents, and Neal Shustermans “Dry”
Good list the only book I would add is the Passage. I just finished the trilogy and Justin Cronin is now one of my writers.
I took a break during the time skip in The Passage. Not sure if I'll ever go back.
It’s worth it. Everything comes back around throughout the story.
I but it down around that same spot maybe a little further. I tried to pick it up once or twice but it is too hard of read.
I loved the trilogy. Have read it twice.
Definitely adding all of these to my TBR! I actually bought a second hand copy of Swan Song back in December, to read this year.
I remember the summer before I started 11th grade I had to read both To Kill a Mockingbird and Fahrenheit 451 for my English honors class. I fell in love with both, but Fahrenheit was my favorite just because I loved sci-fi. My teacher polled the class, and it was only me and 1 other student that preferred Fahrenheit 451 over To Kill a Mockingbird. It was kind of awkward to be the odd man out. But to see it at your #1 is absolutely awesome. I still love this book since I read it for school.
Eagles fly alone, baby.
You got me to read I Am Legend Mike! I loved it! Great twist in the end!!!
Nice list Mike. I have to mention my personal favorite that isn't on your sci-fi list or this one and it's The Dispossessed by Ursula K Leguin. It's a story with two planets, one is a utopia and one a dystopia (beneath the utopian surface) and the main character experiences both.
What a good list. I had a theory a few years ago. The new sensorship will be updates. Hold on to your paperbacks and hardbacks and old editions because kindle updates could be the new "slightly changing the script over time." My theory at least. It could be new editions of books as well. Great video as always
Good advice
Or simply wipe the Kindle clean.
I always buy my important nonfiction in paper. 👍🤔
I don't have anything important on Kindle, for that reason. Yes, I have accumulated several tons of books. One of the few benefits of being an old codger.
Sweeeeeet!! Thanks for the recs. I was itching to read a dystopian/post-apocalyptic book. Definitely checking out Swan Song!! I've been a silent follower of yours for some time now. You got my dad and I hooked on the Dresden Files haha!!
Hope you enjoy it!
I love 1984. You could say Atlas Shrugged is sort of a dystopian novel, even has a similar opening set of images, but with a calendar, instead of a clock.
I haven’t read Atlas Shrugged but I know it is the inspiration for Bioshock which is one of my favourite games and a great dystopian setting
@@benconlin3557 Haha, yeah, well, the inspiration for a total inversion of that book's sentiment. I'm only about 50 pages in, but the book feels both dystopian and romantic, super vibrant.
I have Swan Song waiting for me on my shelf once I chip into my TBR a bit more and I'm so excited to get there.
You have a great ride ahead. 👍🥸
It's a regular reread for me
Great List! I would find a place on this ranking for Earth Abides, one of my favorites.
Excited you're going to read a Canticle for Leibowitz. I read that novel and the sheer scope of it, it felt huge and all encompassing, and the characters were so very real. It truly stuck with me forever.
Looking forward to it!
Ten books is a lot for a quick comment, but I do recommend “Wanderers,” by Chuck Wendig, was fantastic. I also wonder what you would think of Emily St. John Mandel’s “Station Eleven.” I really enjoyed them both. Both books provided COMPLETELY different reading experiences, but both very satisfying. The former was more fast paced, while the latter was more cerebral. Enjoy the channel. WOW, it just keeps on growing. Congrats!🎉
Excellent list! I would throw in Alas, Babylon and On the Beach for a post-nuclear wasteland stories.
Was excited to see Fahrenheit 451 at the top. I've read 7 out of the 10 here. Swan Song would probably be #1 because of the characters. #2 is with The Giver or Fahrenheit 451, love them for very different reasons.
It’s funny, I totally hear what you’re saying about being a father. Tried to reread Pet Semetary last year, and looked up at my young son playing with blocks, and nope. Could not finish. Great list, thanks so much. And the Forever War is pretty amazing.
Love dystopian, I’m hoping to read the stand and swan song amazing video Mike. So far my favorite is Brave New World
Thats a great list!
Some I also like
Nonstop- Brian Aldis
The Postman- David Brin. Tom Petty is a mayor in the movie adaptation
The Dog Stars- peter weller. Just flying around
This Perfect Day by Ira Levin is one of those dystopian books that always flies under the radar. I found a battered up copy when I was backpacking in 2008, and couldn't put it down.
This is one I haven't heard of before, I'll have to check it out.
Swan Song, just an awesome book!.👌
Jus blew through speaks The nightbird! Absolutely amazing .... thanks for the rec
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hey Mike! This video popped up in my feed and I went right to it, and subscribed about 30 seconds in! Man, with Ray Bradbury, you have nailed it! "Fahrenheit 451" has got it over "1984" in myriad ways (though Orwell was a genius in his own right, and he addressed authoritarianism as an ex-Communist who took up arms under the Communist banner in the Spanish Civil War--his experience was coming from a different angle, and had a specific, anti-Stalinist polemic message). One of those short books overflowing with incredible knowledge, and, as you point out--prophecy. I never read it as a school assignment, but on my own as a kid, and many times as an adult out of personal interest. A chilling parallel to the current zeitgeist is Montag's wife, and her "VR" soap opera obsession, where the TV (from what I gather from the book) actually IS the room you sit in, and the characters are your "friends" in some way--the TV programs seem to be a kind of interactive LARP in Bradbury's world (a kind of "Westworld" home edition-another product of Michael Chrichton's genius!). Neat given the debut a couple of weeks ago of Apple's "VR Goggles," a further barrier to human personal connection. I recommend the "anniversary" trade PB of the book, which has lots of extra material, including some interviews with Bradbury about the piece, some remarks by prominent authors about its influence, and so forth. I also can't recommend enough Bradbury's own little book on writing: "Zen and the Art of Writing," a collection of essays on the Craft, along with an interview or two. EXCELLENT for any aspiring writer or RB fan! Anyway, Mike--loved the list, love your style, and I'm definitely putting "Swan Song" and a few others on my TBR list--count me in as a definite viewer from now on! Great stuff, man! 💯😀
Awesome picks. Though maybe one classic missing is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
1. Feed by M. T. Anderson
2. The Handmaidens Tale by Margaret Atwood
3. Nerve by Jeanne Ryan
4. Hunger Games by Suzane Collins
1,2,4 = yes! I've never read Nerve, so can't speak to that one. (I did watch the film, which I would guess isn't as good as the book.) I love Hunger Games, and just read Handmaid last year. I read Feed y e a r s ago, but it has still stuck with me where a lot of YA hasn't.
I love the lightning. Looks great 👍🏻
Have you read On the Beach by Nevil Shute? That's another great one. And We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Both required reading for those who love dystopian novels. I read 1984 and Brave New World and We all in one summer. I discovered One the Beach and Canticle for Leibowitz a few years later.
Great list. Both Scythe and i am legend are on my tbr list.
You have really great taste in books. Thanks for your reviews.
A superb list! I'd also recommend Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Earth Abides by George Stewart, Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre, and We by Yevgeny Zamyatin.
Another fantastic video! Thank you Mike!
Great list. I’ve had The Road on my tbr for about 15 years. I finally carved out time to read it and got confused and read “The Shack”, which is a VERY different book lol. After watching this video I went back to my shelf and found the proper book, which I will now prioritize. You sold me when you said he never even tells you what caused the collapse. I love that. Have you read Leave The World Behind? Another great book that focuses down on the people living during the event without explaining it. The movie reveals too much imo, but is also very good regardless.
One of my favorites in the Post-Apocalyptic books is Earth Abides
Surprised The Postman isn’t on here, just finished it and I loved it. Although the ending is a bit weak imo, I really loved the ideas put forward.
Have yet to read it
Great list. I have never read Plant of the Apes, so I might just pick that one up. I read A Canticle for Liebowitz in a college science fiction class. Of the ones I had not read before, it was probably my favorite.
Well, seems like I have some reading to do! I had to read Fahrenheit 451 in school but I may or may not have gone the cliffnotes route... oops. Time to remedy that mistake hahah. Great list, Mike!
Better late than never!
I’m very tempted to pick up that Folio edition of The Road!
I Am Legend is on my TBR, I need to get to it soon!
Hope you enjoy it!
My personal fave is probably still Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. I read it probably 19 years ago now and have reread it at least once and any time I think about it makes me want to read it again.
I didn’t like the ending.
Great list, Mike! Loved the video. I Am Legend is definitely a must read for me one day. Did you change your camera angle? Looks like you’re sitting on the floor in this one 😅
Read the pinned comment
@@mikesbookreviewsAh, I see that now. Sorry, I know you’ve been trying new things. Did not mean any offense by it. Love all your videos.
awesome list as always. one book i read recently that i really liked in the Post-Apocalyptic genre is Blindness by jose saramago. where everyone is slowly going blind. its worth checking out imo
Excellent top ten! One of my favorite genres to read. I’ve read all but three from your list, Swan Song, Planet of the Apes, and Scythe. They’re on my tbr. The Giver is one of my all time favorites. A few others I love that didn’t make your list are: Lord of the Flies, Anthem by Ayn Rand, The Handmade’s Tale, and The Long Walk. It’s been a while since I sunk my teeth into a good dystopian novel, I’ll have to join you when you pick up A Canticle for Leibowitz.
I think you'd LOVE Swan Song.
The Passage Trilogy by Justin Cronin is hard to top in the dystopian genre. Others that I really enjoyed are The Last Tribe by Brad Manuel, Gray by Lou Cadle, The Girl With All the Gifts by MR Carey, Happy Doomsday by David Sosnowski. Thank you.
Thank you for the video! You have given me some books to check out.
A couple of post-apocalyptic suggestions for you:
The One Second After trilogy by William Forstchen
The Postman by David Brin
I second The Postman
I dont think either of those books quaify because fundementally they are optomistic about the strength of community and American ideals.
@@hllndsn1 Yes, they probably don't fit as dystopian, but they definitely fit in the post-apocalyptic category as stated. I'm not trying to be argumentative here, I just really enjoy a well-written post-apocalyptic tale which at least shows a glimmer of hope. If if need my daily dose of depression, then I can simply turn on the news... Lol. 🤠
1984, Animal Farm and Brave New World, as well as Kallocain are some great dystopian books I've read, and of course the Hungergames. Many good books on your list that I'd like to read next!
I think I'm too old to have read "The Giver" when it came out, but I'm going to add it to TBR Mountain. I love the video effects on the books shown. Makes for really compelling viewing. I'm with you on Fahrenheit 451
Trade you my effects for solving my neverending battle with lighting.
I'm going to DM you what I use. I know you've already tried everything and your space itself is a challenge, but maybe you'll get lucky if it's something you haven't tried.@@mikesbookreviews
I read The Giver at maybe 10-11 years old, currently 26. I read many, many books growing up, but The Giver is the one that I remember the most and had the most important impact on me. Just the memories that came flashing back into my mind during The Giver segment of this video convinced me that a re-read is well in order and long overdue. Can’t recommend it enough.
I read the road finally last year. The boy and the novel is the same age as my oldest son. This was the hardest book I have ever read, I had to take breaks reading this to do a reread of hitchhikers guide to the galaxy for some levity. It is a true masterpiece, but it is also the complete absence of Hope.
Great list! I’ve read several of them but not Swan Song. I’ve never heard of that one, just went on my library app Hoopla and borrowed it!
Enjoy the ride! It's amazing.
@@mikesbookreviews I remember when I use to suggest Swan Song to you about every year or so. Glad you got to it. 👍🥸
Great recommendations
1984 was my favorite book for a long time. Then I read Brave New World and hated it. I finished the Big 3 with Fahrenheit 451 and it blew me away. Like you Mike, 451 is my absolute favorite. Every word and every page in the book is just a love letter to books and reading. Even characters within the story are named after pen and paper manufacturers. Anyone who loves reading needs to read 451!
I'm nearly done with swan song and loved every second of it so far. Can't fault it 🤘
Brave New World & Alas, Babylon are two great ones. And I'll continue to throw in the D&D Dark Sun series, The Prism Pentad, as post-apocalyptic fantasy.
Loved Alas, Babylon
I've read The Giver and I Am Legend and they are great picks! I've been planning on checking out Planet of the Apes because I'm a fan of both the original five movies and the 2010s trilogy. I own a copy of The Time Machine and plan on giving it a read as well.
When I was in seventh grade AP English class I was going to choose Ernest Hemmingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls to read for a book report. Thinking that it was a little too much for me, or maybe not liking Hemmingway, she told me I was going to have tell her who the bell tolls for to keep from getting an 'F." She scared me, so for spite I went to the bookstore and bought the White Mountains, a true YA book. She was mad but understood the irony, so she let me read it. She probably gave me the "B" because I picked such and easy book. I really enjoyed it and so that is my favorite dystopian Sci-Fi series. Satire!
I glanced through the comments and didn't see it listed. I would recommend Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower. Was supposed to be a trilogy but she only wrote two of the books before she died.
I don't really read Sci-Fi or distopian fiction, but I am very interested in The Time Machine, 1984, Farenheit 451, The Giver and The Road. I feel like those are kind of must-reads.
I was surprised to see The Stand higher than Swan Song! I absolutely Love The Stand. I need to read Swan Song. Great list!
I mean, Stephen King is may favorite author so it can't be that surprising ha ha
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi is a favourite of mine. Read it shortly after it came out (2010, I think) and thought it was a great book. Then re-read it in 2019 and was like "Well, fudge!😱"
I do so love The Stand, such an epic book. I must be due a re(re re re re) read of it, in fact. I'm intrigued by Swan Song, somehow that has passed me by entirely, never heard of it till now, sounds great and if it compares favorably with The Stand then I'm in. The Road is such a depressing, joyless book. In a good way! Good list Mike. 👍
My favorite dystopian novel is a two book series by Octavia E Butler called “Parable of the Talents” and “Parable of the Sower”
These books are fantastic. And terrifyingly prophetic. How far are we really away from the America described in those tales?
@@hllndsn1 we’re very close unfortunately. Nice to know someone else liked those books
Lovely review really appreciated it. In The Road the father and son are the light are the love and are the happiness in such a bleak novel. Swan Song and the AOE such a fantastic novel, I will do a review on that one asap. I subscribed xx
I'll try fahrenheit 451. Also this is my favorite genre of sci-fi. A couple I liked that I think don't get a lot of attention are the Helldiver's "especially the first book" and Mountain Man. I think you would like Mountain Man but who knows.
Literally just did a video on this subgenre! I’ve been obsessed with it recently ❤
Oh cool!
You want horror/dystopia? Go for The Rising by Brian Keene!
One of my top favorites is One Second After by William Forstchen
How about Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel? Post apocalyptic (but not dystopian), and I think different from many other books in the genre.
Great picks, Mike. When I think about it, a lot of these ideas reflect the current affairs and that is what makes then kind of scary.
Bradbury and King are true legends. Glad King is still exploring beyond the walls of his imagination and giving us stories to dive into.
One hundred percent.
Swan Song is my all time favorite book. Like a drug, I've been trying to get that same fix that Swan Song gave me and I just cannot find it. Hence, why I keep watching multiple youtube videos of Post-apocalyptic books. The Stand is the only close competitor. Great great books. I will read most of your recommendations. Thanks
Is that your microphone above your head? I couldn’t stop staring at it trying to figure out what it is. Also has it been in every video and I’m just seeing it?
Two books I would recommend, that hooked me into this genre: Lucifer's Hammer by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven; and Malevil by Robert Merle.
The Road is my favorite book ever!!!!
For me, the height of dystopia is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It predates 1984 by nearly 15 years and, in my opinion, has a much more realistic approach to a tyranny of the future.
It’s on my radar to read finally
Is it tyrrany when everyone is happy?
@@hllndsn1 Everybody wasn't happy.
Brave New World, Fahrenheit451, and 1984 are my triumvirate of dystopian books that were way ahead of their time and scarily prescient.
I haven't read Scythe or The Giver but I'll add them to my dystopian/post-apocalyptic TBR along with Alas, Babylon, A Clockwork Orange, and We. I would include all of the others on my top ten except The Time Machine. It's a good book but I like Brave New World better. Wool, A Canticle for Leibowitz, Mockingbird, and Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang are also great.
A clockwork orange in my view is best as an audio book. Nadset has this poetic power when you hear it instead of reading it.
Good list! I Am Legend will always be my number 1. It’s a shame most people only know about it by the Will Smith “adaptation”.
I recommend "Sandman Slim" by Richard Kadrey. If you like the Dresden files I think you'll enjoy Sandman Slim as well.
Read “Swan Song” on your recommendation. I found it to have better character development and enjoyed it more than “The Stand”. So thank you so much for a great read!
Happy to help!
Will you finish Michael Crichton rereads?
Haven't read a lot of them, but 1984 was definitely a banger! Fahrenheit I DNFed, will give another chance some day.
I love Fahrenheit 451!! One of my favorites too!
🔥
This is excellent lighting. Anyone whose eyes are too sensitive to watch it should not be reading dystopian or post-apocalyptic books. You're doing them a favor.
Just read Fahrenheit 451 for the first time recently. Somehow I missed it when I was younger. I was surprised how short it was. Bradbury's prose was perfect. The 1966 movie adaptation with Oskar Werner and Julie Christie was pretty spot-on (from what I remember), except for the fate of one character.
Better than the one they did on HBO a couple years back. Woof.
The Giver was what introduced me to dystopian. And I've yet to read a book that does it better. I did recently buy 1984 though so I'll see if that changes.
Brave New World and We are both great dystopian books as well.
I've yet to read it but I'd like to!
Is Brave New World dystopian? Quite literally almost everyo e is happy: from the thralls doing the labor to the creatives on the Island. It is more a peverse paradise.
Moody lightning dude - looking slick
I thought it was awful ha ha
I’ll have to check out some of the other books I haven’t read from your list. The Road has to be one of the most depressing books I’ve read. I didn’t even bother seeing the movie.
Did not see Fahrenheit 451 getting top spot. Great list!
Bradbury is one of the GOATs.
@@mikesbookreviews Oh no doubt!
I can't argue with his favorite: Fahrenheit 451. When I finished that book I was actually stunned. An amazing book
The audio at 1:44 is so funny lol
Silo - I read it after seeing it got a TV adaptation. Best thing I've read in a while.
I love Swan Song. I can't believe this hasn't been adapted into a series or film yet
How do you do those visual effects over the book covers?
It's just an effect on Filmora.