Some good "end of the world" novels?
 

I'm developing an interest in serious, philosophical novels that deal with the end of the world in one way or another, and I'd appreciate it if some of you well read members could suggest some terrific (or just good) books dealing with the theme. The apocalypse can appear in many forms (e.g. biological, man-made).

Another theme which interests me is a micro-society à la Lord Of The Flies and The Beach; if you can think of good books that deal with this as well, go ahead and voice your suggestions. Thanks!

On The Beach and Alas, Babylon are two great novels that combine both the end of the world and the micro-society theme you're looking for. Both are well thought out and I would reccomend them.

As for straight End of the World books, I'd also suggest Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (comet,) and Warday by Whitley Streiber and James Kunetka (nuclear war.) Warday is OOP but still findable used online. It doesn't focus so much on the events of the war, but life after it. It's about 2 journalists travelling cross country and documenting what they see and the people they meet. Each author puts their true selves in the roles of the two journalists, so it's kind of interesting.

Do a search in this thread for more suggestions, it seems like this is a topic that comes up every other month or so.

To clarify....
 

.... would you include Post Apocalypse scenarios under the "end of the world" heading? (I know that some such works would fall under the "micro-society" category you also mention).

Thanks for the suggestion(s) - just found this thread, which was a great help (although I almost missed it because "apocalypse" is spelled "apocolypse" in the thread title :)).

I'm thinking of reading a few of those books, probably starting with On The Beach, and then perhaps writing an extended essay - we have to do one in International Baccalaureate (IB) high schools - on some of them. I was thinking of comparing different depictions of the end of the world, or peoples' reactions to the aforementioned "event" as depicted in the novels. Sound reasonable? Any further suggestions?

Re: To clarify....
 

Definitely. After all, I can't think of many books in which the Earth is actually destroyed, except maybe Scott Adams' most off-the-wall-work. :p

The "Left Behind" series.

Robert Heinlein's JOB is an interesting story about religion and the end of the world. Not sure if that's the kind of thing you're asking about though....

-David

[Just call me pedantic]
 

;)

British science-fiction has a long tradition of looking at the bleak side of things: one I particularly liked when I first read it years ago is Richard Cowper's <A HREF="http://sfbook.com/?bookid=68" target="_blank">The Twilight</a> <A HREF="http://parnham.members.beeb.net/Books/Out/twilight_briareus.htm" target="_Blank">of Briareus</a>.

I've never read it, but John Wyndham's <A HREF="http://www.rosettabooks.com/pages/title_33.html" target="_blank">Day of the Triffids</a> is another more famous example of that trend. And one of the most famous p/a novels not mentioned so far on <i>this</i> thread is the late Walter M. Miller Jr.'s <b>A Canticle for Leibowitz</b>.

A personal favourite of mine - set in the UK - is Russell Hoban's <b>Riddley Walker</b>. This would also come in another list (in another thread?) of SF works dealing in a different way with <i>language</i>.

<small>Before clicking "submit reply" I just went back through that old thread and found that the list I linked to is now dead! So <A HREF="http://www.quietearth.org/" target="_blank">here</a> is another one; albeit also including films etc. and generally not so good....</small>

I am not completely certain what you're after, but I would recommend THE LAST DAY by GLENN KLEIER.

"Swan Song" by Robert R. McCammon.

"Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut.

Science fiction
Greg Bear - "The Forge of God"

If you could call vampires created in a post apocalypse scenario a micro society and the lone human trying to stay alive, then the classic short read "I am Legend" by Richard Matheson

Alot of HG Wells books deals with this subject:

In the Day of the Comet
Things to Come
The War of the Worlds
The Time Machine (Hope the new movie is good)

He's brilliant. It's amazing how many things he predicted right.

I also have a spot in my heart for David Brin's, The Postman. The word "irony" is wasted on Kevin Costner.

Kurt Vonnegut's "Galapogos" is a great end of humanity as we know it book. It also has the last survivors living on a small island (one of the Galapogos islands, duh) so it covers both catagories. Cat's Cradle is very good too. I loved the end of that one.

The Last Ship by William Brinkley
The Stand by Stephen King

Dude, what do you expect when the Book Forum is made up of the 'smart' Otters? :D You're lucky it wasn't spelled apokolips!

In that case I would really have to push for On The Beach and Alas, Babylon. I think they'd make for a great compare/contrast paper. They were both written about the same time, and deal with the same technology level. Atomic war has broken out in both books, but the people deal with it differently and it has different effects. One book is very optimistic and centered on survival while the other is overwhelmingly hopeless.

Plus, as an added bonus, your teacher or school official that will be reading the paper should be familiar with both books.

Has anyone ever read Mister Touch, by Malcolm Bosse?

It's in the post-apocalyptic genre, though it's been a looooong time since I've read it, and I don't particularly recall whether it was any good or not :)

Here's the Amazon.com link:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...525496-1187806

Try "A Gift Upon the Shore". Sorry, I cannot remember the title, but it follows the life of a woman near the end of the 20th century in Oregon. The world is experiencing a new plague: Lhasa Fever, which is wiping out much of the population. The World Governments are negotiating peace talks, but the talks end badly, resulting in a nuclear strike.

The book covers the life of this woman after the nuclear strike, where most humans did not survive. The story haunted me for a long time because the characters just seemed so real, and of course I read this thing when the Cold War was still making headlines.

You might also try "Dark is the Sun" by Philip Jose Farmer. It's a sort of post apocalyptic story. It takes place when the planet is breathing its last, and humans had reverted back to tribal tendencies and religions centered around science, though they called it "magic". This one is out of print, but I'm sure you can find it available somewhere. It's a fun read.

.... author? <b>M K Wren</b>.

I've not read anything of hers but I have heard of the name: she mostly writes mysteries according to a page I just found.

<A HREF="http://www.mkwren.com/" target="_blank"><ImG SRC="http://www.mkwren.com/images/mkwren.jpg" ALT="MK Wren & Friend" border=0></a>

Try some of the works by John Christopher, although they are aimed towards the juevenile market, they are very good. First, is the White Mountains Trilogy, dealing with alien invasion: When the Tripods Came, The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, and The Pool of Fire. Many of his other books also deal with various breakdowns in society, including one series where science and machines suddenly become feared across the world. I can't recall the name of this series, it has been too long since I have read them, but I believe it has these books in it: The Prince in Waiting, The Sword of the Spirits, and Beyond the Burning Lands. His other works include The Twenty-Second Century, , The Lotus Caves, The Long Winter, No Blade of Grass, and Wild Jack.

Anne McCaffrey's Freedom series also deals with alien invasion, and follows the lives of some prisoners of war who are dumped on a planet to test for dangers to the conquering aliens.

Lots of good suggestions, but one I thought was great (if you can find it - as it is out of print):


Malevil - by Robert Merle

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...020246-7275819

Oh, and reading the reviews of Malevil made me remember

Earth Abides - George Stewart

Anyone want to create a compiled list from the two threads (and maybe more) that discuss this?

I'm tempted, but I have a work deadline for tomorrow.... sigh.

Thinking about it a little more, I suppose Ayn Rans' Atlas Shrugged could be considered an "end of the world" novel.

I was gonna suggest that, but it seems that I get flamed anytime I say, "Ayn Rand." And it has the microcosm of Galt's Gultch as well.