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Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

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Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

Old 01-17-12, 06:31 PM
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Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

I’m looking for books that aren’t necessarily about the event that causes the end of our civilization (whether its disease, war, or some sci-fi or horror origin) but the act of normal humans surviving on their own, applying real survival skills, meeting and/or coming into conflict with other survivors.

Anyone have some recommendations?
Old 01-17-12, 06:49 PM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

On the Beach
The Postman

I bought A Canticle for Leibowitz for myself not long ago and intend get to it soon.

Last edited by Easy; 01-17-12 at 07:05 PM.
Old 01-17-12, 09:45 PM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

A Canticle for Leibowitz is not exactly what i was looking for but it looks interesting. I read The Postman a long time ago and a little more like I was thinking of.
Old 01-17-12, 10:14 PM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

Alas Babylon by Pat Frank is a good oldie as well.
Old 01-17-12, 10:57 PM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

The Stand? It covers the event in the first 100 pages or so, the rest is survivor stuff that eventually becomes driven by a supernatural element. It's been a long while, but I recall wishing King had played it more straight.
Old 01-18-12, 12:39 AM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

I loved the Stand. Speaking of which, can anyone recommend The Passage?
Old 01-18-12, 01:08 AM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

If you love The Stand, then you should read Swan Song by Robert McCammon.
Old 01-18-12, 01:14 AM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Old 01-18-12, 01:47 AM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

Originally Posted by Kevin M. Dean
If you love The Stand, then you should read Swan Song by Robert McCammon.
I've read pretty much everything by McCammon. He was a good writer who should have stopped copying King. His only original early book was Wolf's Hour (unless I missed what it was "inspired" by).

I'm looking for more of the survival aspects, I guess. Similar to the Road.
Old 01-18-12, 02:56 AM
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Selected/collated from an eleven-year old thread:
Originally Posted by Seeker
Malevil, if you can find a copy. I think it is out of print.
Originally Posted by AGuyNamedMike
Gordon R. Dickson's Wolf and Iron is another good bet.
Originally Posted by JAA
Completely agree with Scheherazade. You will not be disappointed with either:

The Stand or Swan Song

Must reading!
Originally Posted by sexymama
You might want to try Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny. It's sorta interesting -- Hell Tanner (main character) gets a chance at a full pardon in exchange for taking "antiserum" from CA to plague-ridden Boston, MA. The cross-country ride is no piece of cake since the entire stretch is now known as "damnation alley" due to nuclear fallout. Enjoy
Originally Posted by mikehunt
The Last Ship
I think that's the name of it, nuclear war, one US destroyer is all that's left, they end up hooking up with a soviet nuclear sub.
The Beach
Only survivors of a nuclear war are in Australia, and the fallout is slowly reaching and killing them.
Originally Posted by Highlander
When Worlds Collide

Kind of dated and a little racist but has good ideas
and a good storyline.
Originally Posted by renaldow
I forgot about that one, it's a classic. Read On the Beach after that one.
Originally Posted by Aaron Campagnone
Those titles listed above are good, but if you want some good "pulpy" stuff try James Axler's Deathlands series, or Jerry Aherns Survivalist series.

Deathlands is still running and you can find the latest books at any bookstore. I think there are about 40-50 books in that series so far. Look at used bookstores to find the eariler books. Axler also has a series called OUtlands that takes place after Deathlands and is good as well. It to can be found at a local bookstore, and is about 10 boks long as of now.

The Survivalist series is out of print, and may be hard to find. Its 25 books, plus 2 "special" edition novels. This series was started in the early 80s and was finished in the mid 90s. IT is a great quick read (i read all 26 about 6 months ago in about 3 weeks).
Originally Posted by Fafhrd
Give "Earth Abides" a try. Very well written depiction of life after biological warfare.
Originally Posted by RandyC
Alas, Babylon
Although going over some of the same ground, the definitive Book Talk thread on the topic I think was this one from almost a decade ago:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/book-talk/1...ld-novels.html
And in that thread was featured the following list which may now need updating both to reflect the views of new members and novels published subsequently:
  • On The Beach - Nevil Shute
  • Alas, Babylon - Pat Frank
  • Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
  • Warday - Whitley Streiber and James Kunetka
  • Left Behind (series) -
  • Job - Robert Heinlein
  • The Twilight of Briareus - Richard Cowper
  • Day of the Triffids, Kraken Wakes - John Wyndham
  • A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller Jr.
  • Riddley Walker - Russell Hoban
  • The Last Day - Glenn Kleier
  • Swan Song - Robert R. McCammon
  • Cat's Cradle, Galapogos - Kurt Vonnegut
  • The Forge of God - Greg Bear
  • In the Day of the Comet, Things to Come, The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine - H G Wells
  • The Postman - David Brin
  • I am Legend - Richard Matheson
  • The Last Ship - William Brinkley
  • The Stand, The Dark Tower series, The Mist - Stephen King
  • Mister Touch - Malcolm Bosse
  • A Gift Upon the Shore - M K Wren
  • Malevil - Robert Merle
  • The Tripods (series) - John Christopher
  • Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
  • This is the way the World Ends - James Morrow
  • Amnesia Moon - Jonathan Lethem
  • New Madrid Run - Michael Reisig
  • The Judgement of Eve - Edgar Pangborn
  • The Empire of Time - Crawford Killian
  • The Wild Shore - Kim Stanley Robinson
  • Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
  • The White Plague - Frank Herbert
  • Drowned World, Wind from Nowhere - J G Ballard
  • Dhalgren - Samuel R. Delany
  • Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Copland
  • Childhood's End - Arthur C Clarke
  • The Last Ship - William Brinkley
Old 01-18-12, 03:48 PM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

One Second After has good reviews on Amazon.

And yes, I recommend The Passage --- but not as a comparison to The Road, but it's a great book nonetheless.
Old 01-19-12, 11:50 AM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

On The Beach - Pretty good for a quick read. This was from back in early cold war days when we thought we would destroy the entire world with nuclear weapons.

The Postman - Good read, but it really didn't stay with me.

Alas, Babylon is one of the classics of the genre. Based on a nuclear exchange and the resulting economic/infrastructure collapse in 1950s Florida.

Lucifer's Hammer is another classic. A huge meteor hits and handfuls of survivors band together in the California mountains.

Earth Abides is one of the earliest postapoc novels. A geologist (Ish) is surveying a remote area and gets bitten by a rattlesnake. He gets better, but is stuck in his cabin for weeks while the world goes to hell due to biological warfare. This one is very philosophical and delves into the deevolution of mankind and the loss of all of our modern skills.

The Stand is great survival lit for the first third and then turns to great supernatural lit.

Atlas Shrugged I don't count as postapoc. There is an economic destabilization as the movers and shakers disappear, but from the points-of-view in the book it never delves into that aspect.

One Second After - This is good, a bit heavy handed, but covers one of the more likely scnearios (massive EMP attack).

Dies the Fire - This one is not 100% postapoc but you might enjoy it. An event happens that instantaneously makes all of our modern technology and even gunpowder cease to work. Chaos erupts as mankind is thrown back into medieval/renaissance levels of technology with modern knowhow. The first trilogy is great but the subsequent books are more fantasy based.

Light's Out - Another EMP story where two friends and coworkers turn their subdivision into a self-sufficient village. A lot of the residents are former military so it goes into their security and operational details greatly. The characters are a little wooden, but the plot is good.

Patriots: The Coming Collapse - horrible story, this is basically a how-to survive the fall of America manual disguised as a novel. Written for a far-right audience so if cannibal communists and United Nations attack troops aren't your cup of tea you may want to skip this one.

Lots of little novels on Kindle for a buck or two as well. I haven't started reading them yet, but they're on my list.
Old 01-19-12, 12:35 PM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

Originally Posted by benedict
Selected/collated from an eleven-year old thread:
Surprised it wasn't still on the first page of the book forum.
Old 01-19-12, 05:43 PM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

Another vote for Lucifer's Hammer (Larry Niven/Jerry Pournelle), goes where asteroid/meteor disaster movies fear to tread or don't go far enough: the disaster, the aftermath and subsequent survival...


Wish they'd make a miniseries-length movie out of it. -kd5-
Old 01-24-12, 10:50 AM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

Originally Posted by DeputyDave
I’m looking for books that aren’t necessarily about the event that causes the end of our civilization (whether its disease, war, or some sci-fi or horror origin) but the act of normal humans surviving on their own, applying real survival skills, meeting and/or coming into conflict with other survivors.

Anyone have some recommendations?
One Second After

Great READ

Several others:

The Walk
Hunter: After the Fall
The American Apocolypse Series from a author by the name of NOVA seems to be pretty popular as well.
Old 01-24-12, 11:43 AM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

Earth Abides is one of my favorites.

World War Z kind of fits with this others book as well (zombies)

i'm starting to re-read the Passage today since i heard the next book is coming out this year
Old 01-24-12, 12:58 PM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

I loved "The Death of Grass" by John Christopher (really great movie adaption as well)

of course there is the one that started it all, to my mind, Richard Matheson's "I Am Legend"
Old 01-25-12, 01:40 AM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

Originally Posted by DeputyDave
I loved the Stand. Speaking of which, can anyone recommend The Passage?
Definitely check out The Passage. There's about a 150 page stretch in the middle that was a major chore to get through, and the dialogue is laugh-out-loud bad at times, but the majority of the book is action-packed and fun. Looking forward to the follow-up.
Old 01-26-12, 01:07 AM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

another vote for Lucifer's Hammer ....and as said above would make a good miniseries....
Old 02-01-12, 01:17 PM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

Originally Posted by TimeandTide
Definitely check out The Passage. There's about a 150 page stretch in the middle that was a major chore to get through, and the dialogue is laugh-out-loud bad at times, but the majority of the book is action-packed and fun. Looking forward to the follow-up.
Agreed. I'm not even sure where Cronin will go with the 2nd novel but I'll read it nonetheless.
Old 02-03-12, 09:23 AM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

Just bought Lucifer's Hammer and Alas, Babylon. Thanks for all the recommendations!
Old 02-05-12, 10:00 PM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

I started the Passage. Only a couple of chapters in. I know I said above that I didn't care for The Stand's supernatural element. I'm hoping The Passage is more sci-fi/supernatural and less mystical/lazy writing enabling/supernatural.
Old 02-14-12, 02:06 PM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

^^^ I believe it's more the latter. I really liked this book but the only thing that dragged it down for me is the overdone "vampire" thing going on lately.
Old 02-16-12, 10:44 AM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

I found the Passage to be OK. It had some potential to be more, but it was a too padded for a pulp action read, which is ultimately where I would classify it.

EDIT: I should say I didn't find any particular part to be slow reading, but in retrospect much of it was wasted.
Old 02-22-12, 06:54 PM
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Re: Recommend some good Armageddon-like/survival books (Similar to “The Road”)

Originally Posted by superdeluxe
The American Apocalypse Series from a author by the name of NOVA seems to be pretty popular as well.
I'm through three of the four book series. Not a bad series which focuses quite a bit on the survival aspects the OP mentions.

Cons

It can get redundant
Protagonists may not be the most likable (lead is a sociopath)
Story drifts somewhat into fantasy land while starting from a plausible path

Pros

Fast read
Very good job in blending contemporary geopolitical events into a fictional breakdown of society (not by nuclear annihilation) which sounds nonfictional based on recent events
At times it is both bleak and legitimately scary
Stays very centered around group of characters


I'm also through chapter 10 of Swan Song by Robert McCammon. Heavy, heavy book (figuratively). Extreme amount of descriptive detail and so far it reminds me of watching that televised broadcast of The Day After so many years ago. Although I hear the story goes into a completely different direction by introducing mutants and other further fetched ideas than a simple warning about nuclear power.

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