The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. I also like The Day of the Triffids and The Kraken Wakes by the same author, but those are set during apocalyptic events. The Chrysalids is set many centuries later. In Canada!
YES! I was reading the stand back in January when the virus started to spread and I was like: is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? I feel like our current situation just made my reading experience more enjoyable 🙈🙈 So I need to read more post apocalyptic asap
The Passage is one of my all time favorite books! The third book in the series is amazing. It is worth reading the other two books just to be able to appreciate the third one.
I really enjoyed Year One by Nora Roberts. It’s a good “unknown disease” kills them all kind of apocalyptic story with the remaining series going into post-apocalyptic.
Omg I loved War World Z! I found it very readable in book form especially since you could read it interview by interview. It was so so good. CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT STORYLINE!?!?!
The Chinese government is always the part I bring up, whem recommending that book. I would love if the made a tv series about it. The movie didn't do the book justice.
@@skippyflapper you're right... it would make a great tv series! The Chinese government storyline would need a couple of episodes but it would be SO GOOD!
One of my favourites that always comes to mind in this genre is Richard Matheson's - I Am Legend. Apparently the first peice of literature to bring 'vampires' out of the fantasy world to be given a scientific description. The end is epic, I love it to bits.
Parable of the Sower and it's sequel, Parable of the Talents, are both very good and VERY timely for books published in the late 90's. You should give them a try. Somebody also mentioned A Canticle for Lebowitz (spelling?) which is more of a post-post apocalyptic scifi novel, but is also very very good.
Stephen King wrote in "Danse Macabre" that "Earth Abides" by George R. Stewart was one of his chief influences for The Stand, it is also a quite memorable book. Another good one is "Lucifer's Hammer" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
Severance by Ling Ma is worth adding to this list too. One of my favorite plague books! The Dog Stars has been on my TBR for awhile....might finally make time for it
I highly recommend The Book of M by Peng Shepherd for people who liked Station Eleven. Same type of literary fiction vibe. In this one, the world ends because people begin to forget everything after their shadows disappear, including basic body functions like eating and breathing. It does have a fantasy spin to it and an ending that is bittersweet, but definitely worth a read!
HUGE caveat regarding the World War Z audiobook: make sure that if you get the audiobook, get the one that is called the "Complete Movie Tie In" edition!!! The edition of the audiobook that's just called "World War Z" is abridged (meaning it both omits whole chapters and omits/changes sections within the chapters it includes) and NOWHERE on Amazon or on the cover of the audiobook does it mention this. You would never know unless you read reviews or, like me, started listening to it while following along in the book. The performances were definitely great but it was so disappointing for me to figure out halfway through that I couldn't even listen to it if I wanted to actually read the whole book.
I would absolutley recommend On the beach be Nevil Shute. That book really hit me and even though it has been almost four years since I read it I remember everything about it. Which I never do, really. Would also recommend Oryx and crake even though I didn't continue on in that series.
I loved Oryx and Crake - it's probably my favorite Atwood. However, Year of the Flood (Book 2) was just OK and I haven't been able to bring myself to read Maddaddam (Book 3). If anyone in the comments here has read book 3 and loved it, please let me know XD I need a reason to finish this trilogy!
This is a difficult genre for me, but I seem to read a lot of it. My favorite so far is probably The Last Policeman. I have the second book in that trilogy but haven't read it yet. Least favorite is probably Good Morning, Midnight. It's...well, it's not science fiction, just for starters. It's a bunch of navel-gazing on the topic of loneliness and regret.
Any suggestion for a post-apocalyptic book with a smart main character who makes the right choices? Just so we can learn how to deal with our own end 🌚
Check out the In the After duology by Demetria Lunetta. The audiobooks are superb! Also, Warm Bodies is really good. Much darker than the movie and the Isaac Marion's prose is quite beautiful
For The Road, it took me a while to get into but once I (and others I talked to) read passed page ~50, I could not put it down. Oryx and Crake is probably one of my absolute favorite books (and trilogies) ever. But the first book is definitely the best.
Bird Box!! I loved both the book and the movie! This was one of the books where not knowing what the threat was made me more interested, if that makes sense? I liked not knowing
I love post apocalyptic fiction although I really need to read more. Station Eleven is still one of my favourite books of all time. I felt similar about the Passage and the Girl with All the Gifts. Read those two a couple years ago and I cannot remember much from either. I recently read the Book Of M by Peng Shepherd which is a debut novel from 2018 that is also post apocalyptic. It's about a world in which people start to lose their shadows and when they do they start forgetting things. It was also character driven so it kinda had a Station Eleven vibe, at least for the first hundred pages or so. Great video as always :D
Sleeping Beauties was my first King novel and it may have been a mistake... but I enjoyed the story even though i was confused about who was who the entire time.
I recently read Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice and really enjoyed it! It’s an Indigenous Canadian apocalyptic story about what happens when a Northern Anishinaabe reserve suddenly loses power/communication with the rest of the world. It was different from a lot of other apocalyptic books I’ve read, but really fantastic!
I vote for Life as we knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I got so submerged in the story that when I got back to real life I couldn't believe that didn't actually happen. Totally recommend it!
Enclave by Ann Aguirre (the Razorland trilogy) and the Testing by Joelle Charbonneau (The Testing Series). Both are post-apocalyptic and YA. You get through them really quickly. There is also Partials by Dan Wells. I loved Station Eleven! It also has a local link to me. Denman Island is mentioned in it and that’s a small island off the coast of where I live 😁
I remember really loving the girl with all the gifts a few years ago. I'm planning to reread it this year and read the boy on the bridge as well. Station eleven I gave three stars when I read it but it is one that resonated with me so I think that one is also time for a reread I do agree with your opinions on the fireman, loved scenes and concepts but others just dragged I think you would like the generation trilogy by Scott Sigler, can't say you what the element is without spoilers but it's really good
I liked Wool and the other two books were such a drag. Definitely recommend The Wanderers. I know you were part way through. I really liked it and thought the ending seems to imply a second book. You should also read The Silence. It's like Bird Box in theme but you are told directly how it is happening.
Add Blindness by Jose Saramago tp your list (at least I think that's the English name for the book). I still have to read it but all I know is that there's some kind of disease and people start to go blind
booktube talks about post apocalyptic books all the time but there are so many books here that I’ve never heard of! I can’t wait to check some of these out!
3 more books to try: Alas,Babylon by Pat Frank Earth Abides by George R. Stewart Riddley Walker by Russell Hogan ( a tough took to read due to the "devolved English" it's written in, but once you get past the language...)
Read I Am Legend several times (I've been around a while) and it's a quick read. If you listened to The Road and the No country for Old Men without knowing who wrote them, you would certainly guess that they were written by the same author even though one story has no resemblance to the other. Both excellent stories and ones I will return to one day. The Last Policeman trilogy I also enjoyed very much. And On The Beach is a newly acquired book that I will be reading. I have seen both films and enjoyed them appreciating for the times they were made. One to recommend is The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker.
Hi Emily! I'm going to go back and finish reading Empire of the East (actually a trilogy not a novel). I have a (selfish) suggestion. Can you do a list of "soft" science fiction, stories where social forces, not hard science or technology are the focus? Everyone knows about The Handmaid's Tale, and that is the right idea. But I know books like Left Hand of Darkness and Brave New World are also popular examples. What else should we be reading, especially underappreciated books?
Never cared for the post - apocalyptic setting in general (not just in books) but I'll give some of these a shot, thank you for the recommendations and for the video, was a delight to watch as always. Also, happy international women's day, cheers
One underrated series is the Killer Of Enemies trilogy by Joseph Bruchac. It's about a girl named Lozen (who is Apache/Navajo/Pueblo Native American) who survives a fantasy/sci-fi apocalypse with her family and companions
I love post-apocalyptic stories but haven't read any in a LONG time! I will have to pick up some of these for sure. I need to pick up : I am Legend" I loved the movie but never read the book, so I need to read the book because I want the title to make sense. I have also been wanting to pick up The GIrl with all the Gifts!
I LOVED Warm Bodies and it's sequels. The books are way less YA vibes than the movie (in fact they are definitely NOT YA), and the 2nd and 3rd book are darker and more complex. But I loved the characters and the story was gripping. Not perfect books, but very fun to read.
You should try the Sarah Lyons Fleming Series Until the end of the world. It is Zombie Apocalypse with captivating characters and great action. She also has the City Series in the same world different people with great characters. And she also has the Cascadia Series which isn’t complete. I recommend this for entertaining , enjoyment, laughter, and tears.
Station Eleven is amazing and still underrated I feel like. I added World War Z and I am legend to my library wait list as I am trying to see how many books I can read while off on spring break. March is starting off slowly but I aim to read as many as I can. I totally feel you on the fireman my thoughts are so conflicted on that one. I need to read more of these types of books so excited to see which ones I like.
You should check out The Earth Abides, I cant remember the author, I havent read it but heard great things and will prolly get to it by the end of this month.
Check out William R Forstchen After series. It more "Military" but based on your list it will fill a hole. 48 hours is another of his you might like if you enjoy the others. Great list, I've read nearly all of them. I did enjoy The Passage a bit more than you it seems. I will also take your advice and have a go at Pines.
I'm going to read The Stand soon. I'm sooo excited 😜. I liked the suspense/horror aspects of Bird Box, but not so much the post-apocalyptic elements. Great list! I'm going to have to check out a few more of these.
If you would consider YA post-apocalyptic, the Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole just took me by surprise. I was NOT expecting to like it as much as I do! First book is Poison Princess.
Arcadium by Sarah Gray. Skylight (Arcadium #2) also by Sarah Gray. Highly recommended. www.goodreads.com/book/show/15828780-arcadium www.goodreads.com/book/show/17724644-skylight
Survivors, the novel by Terry Nation, is very good. It’s premise is a major pandemic. It accompanied the 1970s BBC tv series of the same name (episodes of which can be found on UA-cam). There was also a series the BBC made in 2008.
You should read Rot and Ruin. It's the only post apocalyptic series I've read, but it was really good. There's four books. There is a fifth book with one of the main character journal entry's, because she writes a lot, but I've never actually read that one. But I haven't read it in a while and I just ordered them today so that I can finally re-read them and I'm so excited.
The Hopkins Manuscript by RC Sherriff ! Premise-wise it may be similar to the Last Policeman, where there's a catastrophic event that the world is aware of. It's told as a memoir by a guy who survived the catastrophe, telling the story about it starting when he learned of the catastrophe. A HUGE recommendation if you read it: the Preface is actually part of the book and you should read it before you start the novel.
Read Recursion based on your recommendation. Enjoyed reading it as it was quite a fast-paced book. Kind of curious about your thoughts regarding the ending ...
I'm surprised that you didn't mention The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, at least in the TBR section. I'm currently reading the first book, The Fifth Season, right now, and am loving it! Jemisin is such a gifted writer, and I'm completely captivated by the book so far. Highly recommend bumping any of her books up on your TBR!
Reading Lucifers Hammer right now. So far so good. Just finished Swan Song it was awesome! Read The Stand in 2016 its what led me to Swan Song...Nice Video!
I don't think you will enjoy "Good Morning, Midnight"! I read that book because I absolutely loved "Station Eleven", but it was nothing like that book. Extremely slow-paced (and it comes from a person who loves slow-paced, character-driven books), nothing really happens, and the stuff that happens you can predict 3 chapters ahead, so that you have no dread or anticipation as you read a story, mostly boredom, and questioning why the author didn't make the story shorter, because it might as well not be THAT long.
I'm going on what I've heard, because I haven't read it myself, but read "The Parable of the Sower" ASAP. Post-apocalypse books I have read include "Lucifer's Hammer" by Niven & Pournelle, in which the modern world is devastated by a swarm of meteors; "The Chronicide Mission" by Lloyd Biggle Jr, involving time travel to prevent an apocalypse; "Pluribus" by Michael Kurland, in which a plague wipes out a large portion of humanity while a worse one threatens; and "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller Jr, which features three successive apocalypses from which humanity recovers only thanks to the Albertian Order of Leibowitz (it ends on a hopeful note.)
"A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter Miller Jr. the one post-apocalyptic novel you can't ignore if you want to have a meaningful discussion about post-apocalyptic fiction. It should be read, taught, and studied as often as Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451, because it's as important to understanding Western civilization as these titles. Its absence from this list is nothing short of painful.
I just recently ordered swan song off of an old video I watched of yours recently. I knew about the stand before but not Swan. Going to get the stand hardcover.
A couple of my favorites were series. Life As We Knew It is a 4 book series about life on earth after an asteroid hits the moon and knocks it a bit closer to earth. It got pretty dark at times and was rather realistic. It made me want to go raid a grocery store. Gone by Michael Grant isn’t really post apocalyptic, but it’s kinda in the same category for the people involved. Stephen King got the idea for Under the Dome from that series I believe (He has a quote on the cover and his book was published after). Warm Bodies was good too and made into a movie.
Life as we knew it is an absolutely amazing serie! Hard to pick up anything else afterwards. Do you have any recommendations by any.chance? I did enjoy the Silo serie just as much, by Hugh Howey.
Wool and the remaining trilogy, was a great read, I found the Wayward Pines series of 3 books for $9, and honestly one of the best reads yet, Recursion was fabulous as well! Orxy and Crake (MADD ADDAM series) is one of my all time favourites, as is Earth Abides (I'll thank my hubby for giving me that book), Alas Babylon is great too. May I recommend if you haven't read them: The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, this was the book that sealed my fate as a sci fi post apocalyptic reader, also anything other book by John Wyndham is fabulous (Day of the Triffids). The Girl in Red - Christina Henry, The Book of Koli series, The Moon of the Crusted Snow - Waubgeshig Rice.
I feel you so much about hating when books are vague. Thats why I tend to stay away from Cosmic Horror. For some reason it didnt bother me in Bird Box though.
What's the best post-apocalyptic book you've read?
One Second After by William Forstchen started my post-apocalyptic fiction journey and is still one of my favorites!
Can dystopia count as post-apocalyptic? If that's the case, V for Vendetta
Metro 2033, 2034 and 2035 ;-)
I really loved The Girl with All the Gifts. 😂
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. I also like The Day of the Triffids and The Kraken Wakes by the same author, but those are set during apocalyptic events. The Chrysalids is set many centuries later. In Canada!
That timing though...
This is like a COVID-19 quarantine tbr list
Perfect timing XD
same thoughts here
my workplace just closed for a month so I will really have time to read...
THIS IS EXACTLY THE VIDEO I NEEDED THANK YOU. I mean, am I the only one who wants to read this stuff during this international crisis? Am I weird?
Haha SAME!
You're not alone. I feel it too. Also thanks for the video Emily!😘
It's easier to deal with when it's fiction :P
YES! I was reading the stand back in January when the virus started to spread and I was like: is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
I feel like our current situation just made my reading experience more enjoyable 🙈🙈
So I need to read more post apocalyptic asap
You should do this for Horror and Fantasy too.
The Road is more than my favorite post-apocalyptic book. It’s my favorite book.
I was waiting for someone to mention it. Reading threw it now.
Same. The Road is actually one of my favorite books of all time.
The Passage is one of my all time favorite books! The third book in the series is amazing. It is worth reading the other two books just to be able to appreciate the third one.
I didn't even realize that was a series, I've just read the passage and thought that was it.
Metro 2033 is a post apocalyptic book I’ve been dying to read. I love the video game universe so I really need to just pick it up already!
I keep eyeing this one as well!
Metro 2033 is fantastic but the sequels not as much, especially the third one 🙈🙈
A friend just recommended that book to me
I literally finished "A Canticle for Leibowitz" today, nice timing. It's a 60 year old post apo classic that aged surprisingly well.
Adam Owczarczyk the sort of sequel, “Saint Leibowitz and the wild horsewoman” is also excellent
The audiobook of World War Z is AMAZING :)
I really enjoyed Year One by Nora Roberts. It’s a good “unknown disease” kills them all kind of apocalyptic story with the remaining series going into post-apocalyptic.
I love Station Eleven ~ And lately with all this coronavirus going around made me want to reread it again😅...
Now i have to read it 😅😂
Me too!
Omg I loved War World Z! I found it very readable in book form especially since you could read it interview by interview. It was so so good. CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT STORYLINE!?!?!
The Chinese government is always the part I bring up, whem recommending that book. I would love if the made a tv series about it. The movie didn't do the book justice.
@@skippyflapper you're right... it would make a great tv series! The Chinese government storyline would need a couple of episodes but it would be SO GOOD!
One of my favourites that always comes to mind in this genre is Richard Matheson's - I Am Legend. Apparently the first peice of literature to bring 'vampires' out of the fantasy world to be given a scientific description. The end is epic, I love it to bits.
'Prey World' by A. Merow is also a great dystopian series from Germany
I read The Road as an audiobook and it was amazing. I love apocalyptic books. Great video.💖💖💖
Parable of the Sower and it's sequel, Parable of the Talents, are both very good and VERY timely for books published in the late 90's. You should give them a try. Somebody also mentioned A Canticle for Lebowitz (spelling?) which is more of a post-post apocalyptic scifi novel, but is also very very good.
Stephen King wrote in "Danse Macabre" that "Earth Abides" by George R. Stewart was one of his chief influences for The Stand, it is also a quite memorable book. Another good one is "Lucifer's Hammer" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
One Second After was really good...and alarmingly realistic. Highly recommend. The audio was good too.
Great series!
Severance by Ling Ma is worth adding to this list too. One of my favorite plague books! The Dog Stars has been on my TBR for awhile....might finally make time for it
I highly recommend The Book of M by Peng Shepherd for people who liked Station Eleven. Same type of literary fiction vibe. In this one, the world ends because people begin to forget everything after their shadows disappear, including basic body functions like eating and breathing. It does have a fantasy spin to it and an ending that is bittersweet, but definitely worth a read!
HUGE caveat regarding the World War Z audiobook: make sure that if you get the audiobook, get the one that is called the "Complete Movie Tie In" edition!!! The edition of the audiobook that's just called "World War Z" is abridged (meaning it both omits whole chapters and omits/changes sections within the chapters it includes) and NOWHERE on Amazon or on the cover of the audiobook does it mention this. You would never know unless you read reviews or, like me, started listening to it while following along in the book. The performances were definitely great but it was so disappointing for me to figure out halfway through that I couldn't even listen to it if I wanted to actually read the whole book.
thank you!
I would absolutley recommend On the beach be Nevil Shute. That book really hit me and even though it has been almost four years since I read it I remember everything about it. Which I never do, really. Would also recommend Oryx and crake even though I didn't continue on in that series.
I loved Oryx and Crake - it's probably my favorite Atwood. However, Year of the Flood (Book 2) was just OK and I haven't been able to bring myself to read Maddaddam (Book 3). If anyone in the comments here has read book 3 and loved it, please let me know XD I need a reason to finish this trilogy!
The Crystal World by JG Ballard. Trippy and different.
SO glad you picked Oryx and Crake for your TBR list. It is amazing.
This is a difficult genre for me, but I seem to read a lot of it. My favorite so far is probably The Last Policeman. I have the second book in that trilogy but haven't read it yet.
Least favorite is probably Good Morning, Midnight. It's...well, it's not science fiction, just for starters. It's a bunch of navel-gazing on the topic of loneliness and regret.
Any suggestion for a post-apocalyptic book with a smart main character who makes the right choices? Just so we can learn how to deal with our own end 🌚
Check out the In the After duology by Demetria Lunetta. The audiobooks are superb! Also, Warm Bodies is really good. Much darker than the movie and the Isaac Marion's prose is quite beautiful
For The Road, it took me a while to get into but once I (and others I talked to) read passed page ~50, I could not put it down.
Oryx and Crake is probably one of my absolute favorite books (and trilogies) ever. But the first book is definitely the best.
Not sure if you'd like it but Day of the Triffids is an early post apocalyptic book and is only really short!
Bird Box!! I loved both the book and the movie! This was one of the books where not knowing what the threat was made me more interested, if that makes sense? I liked not knowing
Not me, I was anticipating a reveal SO BAD and was ultimately so disappointed haha
I love post apocalyptic fiction although I really need to read more. Station Eleven is still one of my favourite books of all time.
I felt similar about the Passage and the Girl with All the Gifts. Read those two a couple years ago and I cannot remember much from either.
I recently read the Book Of M by Peng Shepherd which is a debut novel from 2018 that is also post apocalyptic. It's about a world in which people start to lose their shadows and when they do they start forgetting things. It was also character driven so it kinda had a Station Eleven vibe, at least for the first hundred pages or so.
Great video as always :D
Maren B. The Book of M came to mind for me also. The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker fits too.
Sleeping Beauties was my first King novel and it may have been a mistake... but I enjoyed the story even though i was confused about who was who the entire time.
I recently read Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice and really enjoyed it! It’s an Indigenous Canadian apocalyptic story about what happens when a Northern Anishinaabe reserve suddenly loses power/communication with the rest of the world. It was different from a lot of other apocalyptic books I’ve read, but really fantastic!
Girl, give WWZ audiobook a chance. I loved it. Good list btw! I just bought two audiobooks from it. Thanks!!!!
Post Apocalyptic books are sooooo scary to me for some reason! I do want to read some of your faves though
I vote for Life as we knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer.
I got so submerged in the story that when I got back to real life I couldn't believe that didn't actually happen.
Totally recommend it!
It's an amazing serie (book)! Read it a long time ago, and I still remember the feeling. It all felt so real.
Thanks for your insights on these books! You might want to add the post-apoc survival series the Three Sisters Trilogy to your shelves.
Enclave by Ann Aguirre (the Razorland trilogy) and the Testing by Joelle Charbonneau (The Testing Series). Both are post-apocalyptic and YA. You get through them really quickly. There is also Partials by Dan Wells.
I loved Station Eleven! It also has a local link to me. Denman Island is mentioned in it and that’s a small island off the coast of where I live 😁
Loved Partials!
Enclave was quite nice.
It's YA, but it's bearable, and the stories are nice!
I remember really loving the girl with all the gifts a few years ago. I'm planning to reread it this year and read the boy on the bridge as well.
Station eleven I gave three stars when I read it but it is one that resonated with me so I think that one is also time for a reread
I do agree with your opinions on the fireman, loved scenes and concepts but others just dragged
I think you would like the generation trilogy by Scott Sigler, can't say you what the element is without spoilers but it's really good
I liked Wool and the other two books were such a drag.
Definitely recommend The Wanderers. I know you were part way through. I really liked it and thought the ending seems to imply a second book.
You should also read The Silence. It's like Bird Box in theme but you are told directly how it is happening.
The Wool Triology books are so far my favourite dystopian books. I havn´t found any dystopian books like it so far where there aren´t aliens in it
Same. It's on another level.
Add Blindness by Jose Saramago tp your list (at least I think that's the English name for the book). I still have to read it but all I know is that there's some kind of disease and people start to go blind
booktube talks about post apocalyptic books all the time but there are so many books here that I’ve never heard of! I can’t wait to check some of these out!
Older OOP novel you might check out if you can find a copy. Malevil, by Robert Merle
3 more books to try:
Alas,Babylon by Pat Frank
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
Riddley Walker by Russell Hogan ( a tough took to read due to the "devolved English" it's written in, but once you get past the language...)
Earth abides ! YES , I've read it like 3 years ago but i still think abt it
Day of the Triffids!
Read I Am Legend several times (I've been around a while) and it's a quick read. If you listened to The Road and the No country for Old Men without knowing who wrote them, you would certainly guess that they were written by the same author even though one story has no resemblance to the other. Both excellent stories and ones I will return to one day. The Last Policeman trilogy I also enjoyed very much. And On The Beach is a newly acquired book that I will be reading. I have seen both films and enjoyed them appreciating for the times they were made. One to recommend is The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker.
One Second After by William Forstchen should be in that group! And the Going Home series by A. American is great fun.
Hi Emily! I'm going to go back and finish reading Empire of the East (actually a trilogy not a novel). I have a (selfish) suggestion. Can you do a list of "soft" science fiction, stories where social forces, not hard science or technology are the focus? Everyone knows about The Handmaid's Tale, and that is the right idea. But I know books like Left Hand of Darkness and Brave New World are also popular examples. What else should we be reading, especially underappreciated books?
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller is one of my all time favorite books! Peter Heller is a writers writer!
There are three movies based on Matheson's I Am Legend: The Last Man on Earth (1964), The Omega Man (1971) and of course I Am Legend (2007)
I'd recommend Mers mortes by Aurélie Wellenstein - a French post-apocalyptic Fantasy !
Redbluemoon what is the title in English? Is it available in English? Because I don’t read nor speak French :P
@@Andra9218 I'm sorry, it has not been translated yet! ^^' hope it will though!
I actually loved the Cronin trilogy, the books get better as you go and the ending is haunting. The Road eviscerated me…
so did you say which ones were your favorites? great recs
Never cared for the post - apocalyptic setting in general (not just in books) but I'll give some of these a shot, thank you for the recommendations and for the video, was a delight to watch as always. Also, happy international women's day, cheers
One underrated series is the Killer Of Enemies trilogy by Joseph Bruchac. It's about a girl named Lozen (who is Apache/Navajo/Pueblo Native American) who survives a fantasy/sci-fi apocalypse with her family and companions
I love post-apocalyptic stories but haven't read any in a LONG time! I will have to pick up some of these for sure. I need to pick up : I am Legend" I loved the movie but never read the book, so I need to read the book because I want the title to make sense. I have also been wanting to pick up The GIrl with all the Gifts!
I LOVED Warm Bodies and it's sequels. The books are way less YA vibes than the movie (in fact they are definitely NOT YA), and the 2nd and 3rd book are darker and more complex. But I loved the characters and the story was gripping. Not perfect books, but very fun to read.
You should try the Sarah Lyons Fleming Series Until the end of the world. It is Zombie Apocalypse with captivating characters and great action. She also has the City Series in the same world different people with great characters. And she also has the Cascadia Series which isn’t complete. I recommend this for entertaining , enjoyment, laughter, and tears.
Station Eleven is amazing and still underrated I feel like. I added World War Z and I am legend to my library wait list as I am trying to see how many books I can read while off on spring break. March is starting off slowly but I aim to read as many as I can. I totally feel you on the fireman my thoughts are so conflicted on that one. I need to read more of these types of books so excited to see which ones I like.
You should check out The Earth Abides, I cant remember the author, I havent read it but heard great things and will prolly get to it by the end of this month.
It's in the TBR section! I've heard great things about it too!
George R. Stewart. I read it a long time ago, remember liking it but no being blown away. I'll put it on my TBRR (to be re-read) list.
Check out William R Forstchen After series. It more "Military" but based on your list it will fill a hole. 48 hours is another of his you might like if you enjoy the others. Great list, I've read nearly all of them. I did enjoy The Passage a bit more than you it seems. I will also take your advice and have a go at Pines.
I'm going to read The Stand soon. I'm sooo excited 😜. I liked the suspense/horror aspects of Bird Box, but not so much the post-apocalyptic elements. Great list! I'm going to have to check out a few more of these.
I read Oryx and Crake for my literature class and I really liked it, would recommend! :)
If you would consider YA post-apocalyptic, the Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole just took me by surprise. I was NOT expecting to like it as much as I do! First book is Poison Princess.
I read Poison Princess a couple years ago but I can't find any more of the series 😭
@@OnetoughHufflepuff try audio! The French cajun accent is bad, but there are at least 5 books available. So good!
Arcadium by Sarah Gray. Skylight (Arcadium #2) also by Sarah Gray. Highly recommended.
www.goodreads.com/book/show/15828780-arcadium
www.goodreads.com/book/show/17724644-skylight
Good morning midnight has a movie on Netflix now and it’s pretty good
That is exactly how I explained I am Legend after I read it. The title actually makes sense in the book!
Oooh. I've been looking forward to this.
Survivors, the novel by Terry Nation, is very good. It’s premise is a major pandemic. It accompanied the 1970s BBC tv series of the same name (episodes of which can be found on UA-cam). There was also a series the BBC made in 2008.
Love your recommendations Em! You have no idea how I needed these books right now.
I didn't even know I needed this recommendations
After it Happened series by Devon Ford...fantastic
On my second run of the series 👍
Yay! I'm so excited for this list! Post-Apocalyptic is a huge favorite of mine as well and I've been looking for new ones to read.
The Stand is one of my all time favourite books.
You should read Rot and Ruin. It's the only post apocalyptic series I've read, but it was really good. There's four books. There is a fifth book with one of the main character journal entry's, because she writes a lot, but I've never actually read that one. But I haven't read it in a while and I just ordered them today so that I can finally re-read them and I'm so excited.
The Hopkins Manuscript by RC Sherriff ! Premise-wise it may be similar to the Last Policeman, where there's a catastrophic event that the world is aware of. It's told as a memoir by a guy who survived the catastrophe, telling the story about it starting when he learned of the catastrophe. A HUGE recommendation if you read it: the Preface is actually part of the book and you should read it before you start the novel.
If you like plague books, you might try The Red Plague by Jack London.
I enjoyed the girl with all the gifts.
You should review the book of M. I enjoyed it
Definitely put Oryx & Crake higher up on ur list! Soooo good!
Swan Song and the Stand are two of my most favourite books ever!
In the middle of swan song now. On chapter 25
Thank you for your reviews!!
Personally, I enjoyed the girl with all the gifts, and the boy on the bridge which is like a sequel.
Great review! Thank you!
Thank you so much for this video! I love apocalyptic books and need some good tips. :)
I love the film of The Girl with All the Gifts, then again I love the book and its sequel too...
Read Recursion based on your recommendation. Enjoyed reading it as it was quite a fast-paced book. Kind of curious about your thoughts regarding the ending ...
I'm surprised that you didn't mention The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, at least in the TBR section. I'm currently reading the first book, The Fifth Season, right now, and am loving it! Jemisin is such a gifted writer, and I'm completely captivated by the book so far. Highly recommend bumping any of her books up on your TBR!
Reading Lucifers Hammer right now. So far so good. Just finished Swan Song it was awesome! Read The Stand in 2016 its what led me to Swan Song...Nice Video!
I don't think you will enjoy "Good Morning, Midnight"! I read that book because I absolutely loved "Station Eleven", but it was nothing like that book. Extremely slow-paced (and it comes from a person who loves slow-paced, character-driven books), nothing really happens, and the stuff that happens you can predict 3 chapters ahead, so that you have no dread or anticipation as you read a story, mostly boredom, and questioning why the author didn't make the story shorter, because it might as well not be THAT long.
I'm going on what I've heard, because I haven't read it myself, but read "The Parable of the Sower" ASAP.
Post-apocalypse books I have read include "Lucifer's Hammer" by Niven & Pournelle, in which the modern world is devastated by a swarm of meteors; "The Chronicide Mission" by Lloyd Biggle Jr, involving time travel to prevent an apocalypse; "Pluribus" by Michael Kurland, in which a plague wipes out a large portion of humanity while a worse one threatens; and "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller Jr, which features three successive apocalypses from which humanity recovers only thanks to the Albertian Order of Leibowitz (it ends on a hopeful note.)
"A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter Miller Jr. the one post-apocalyptic novel you can't ignore if you want to have a meaningful discussion about post-apocalyptic fiction. It should be read, taught, and studied as often as Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451, because it's as important to understanding Western civilization as these titles. Its absence from this list is nothing short of painful.
Maybe she hasn’t heard of it lol she’s only human. I agree it’s a good book though
I just recently ordered swan song off of an old video I watched of yours recently. I knew about the stand before but not Swan. Going to get the stand hardcover.
A couple of my favorites were series. Life As We Knew It is a 4 book series about life on earth after an asteroid hits the moon and knocks it a bit closer to earth. It got pretty dark at times and was rather realistic. It made me want to go raid a grocery store. Gone by Michael Grant isn’t really post apocalyptic, but it’s kinda in the same category for the people involved. Stephen King got the idea for Under the Dome from that series I believe (He has a quote on the cover and his book was published after). Warm Bodies was good too and made into a movie.
Life as we knew it is an absolutely amazing serie!
Hard to pick up anything else afterwards.
Do you have any recommendations by any.chance?
I did enjoy the Silo serie just as much, by Hugh Howey.
Wool and the remaining trilogy, was a great read, I found the Wayward Pines series of 3 books for $9, and honestly one of the best reads yet, Recursion was fabulous as well! Orxy and Crake (MADD ADDAM series) is one of my all time favourites, as is Earth Abides (I'll thank my hubby for giving me that book), Alas Babylon is great too. May I recommend if you haven't read them: The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, this was the book that sealed my fate as a sci fi post apocalyptic reader, also anything other book by John Wyndham is fabulous (Day of the Triffids). The Girl in Red - Christina Henry, The Book of Koli series, The Moon of the Crusted Snow - Waubgeshig Rice.
I feel you so much about hating when books are vague. Thats why I tend to stay away from Cosmic Horror. For some reason it didnt bother me in Bird Box though.
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