Post-Apocalyptic Fiction speculates on what happens after the world ends, having been destroyed by some sort of cataclysmic event, which kills almost everyone.
This type of literature became popular after World War II, when the possibility of human annihilation through nuclear means became a worldwide concern. The genre deals with the choices we may have to make when we’re faced with extinction.
Common elements include the breakdown of society, technological scarcity, feudalistic communities, changing landscapes, and food shortages.
Popular Post-Apocalyptic Books to Read
Here’s a few of the best post-apocalyptic books that tackle post-apocalyptic fiction in its wide range of themes. Check them out below!
1. The Stand by Stephen King
For fans of epic fantasy.
A weaponized strain of influenza, with an estimated 99.4% lethality, is accidentally released. The military fails to contain the virus, resulting in 99% of humanity dying. Society devolves into feudalistic communities that cannibalize each other, and a brewing evil in the form of one man seeks to conquer the world.
2. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
For fans of fatherhood stories.
An unspecified cataclysm has blasted the United States, killing almost all life and leaving the environment covered in ash. Lack of food has driven the few survivors into acts of cannibalism.
A father and son are trekking through the ash-covered land in search of supplies. With only a gun and two bullets as their protection, both must stay vigilant lest they get taken by the people-eaters.
3. One Second After by William R. Forstchen
For fans of the technological breakdown trope.
An Electromagnetic Pulse suddenly plunges the United States back to the dark ages. Everything with an electronic part is rendered futile, from the internet, to transportation and crucial supply lines. Many people are left with little supplies to survive.
College professor and army veteran John Matherson assumes a leadership role in the small town of Black Mountain, where he fends off raiding cannibals as the town figures out how to live without technology.
4. The Last Man by Mary Shelley
For fans of classic literature.
A virulent plague, accompanied by drastic climate changes, leaves Lionel Verney believing himself to be the last man on earth. His memoir is presented as something Shelley found in the Sybil’s Cave near Naples, and documents Verney’s life and succeeding isolation after the cataclysm that left him alone on earth.
5. World War Z by Max Brooks
For fans of metafictional stories.
The War has been over for a decade now, yet its effects are still felt around the world as humanity slowly rebuilds. The protagonist is employed by the UN’s “Postwar Commission,” and goes around the world documenting personal accounts to ensure that the disaster never happens again.
His report starts from patient zero to the international crisis that rapidly unfolds, chronicling how humanity fought back and survived a massive zombie outbreak.
6. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki
Though technically a comic book, it deserves a spot on this list. Humankind is ruined by an ecological disaster, and industrial societies disappeared. The earth is covered up in a toxic forest called the Sea of Corruption, which slowly encroaches over every piece of land.
Nausicaä is a young princess of a tiny kingdom who has deep respect with nature, however corrosive it has become. She fights for the cooperation and understanding between empires as they fight over the last remaining resources on earth.
7. The Postman by David Brin
For fans of patriotic tales.
Gordon Krantz has lost everything because of the apocalypse. He turns to a postman’s uniform for warmth and purpose. He begins to play the role of a postman, delivering mail throughout the United States. His words of a “Restored United States of America” inadvertently fill the populace with hope as they deal with a murderous army.
8. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher
For fans of dog stories.
The “Gelding” was a global mystery that left a vast majority of the world’s population unable to have children. Griz is one of the few people who are left after the event, living on a tiny island with his family and his dogs, Jip and Jess.
When a mysterious stranger shows up and snatches Jess in the middle of the night, Griz and Jip immediately hunt for him across the ruins of the old world.
9. Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon
For fans of the horror genre.
The United States and the Soviet Union engage in a full-out nuclear battle, ruining the earth and annihilating civilization. Swan is a nine-year-old girl with the power to restore nature, bringing back life to earth.
With her companions, they set out on a journey to rehabilitate the planet, but they are stalked by an immeasurable evil known only as The Man with the Scarlet Eye.
10. The Raven by Jonathan Janz
For fans of monster stories.
Mythological creatures were real once, and their genetic strands still exist in human DNA. Fearful of nuclear extinction, a group scientists unleash the bestial side of humanity to make them stronger and better able to survive.
Soon, humankind is overrun by vampires, werewolves, witches, and satyrs, and more— all things that Dez McClane has to contend with on his search for his kidnapped girlfriend.
11. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
For fans of the zombie genre.
Robert Neville may just be the last man on earth devastated by a plague that turned the population into bloodthirsty, zombie-like creatures.
Hunting the creatures down by day and barricading himself at night, he must survive long enough to find a cure for the plague and hopefully turn the infected back into normal humans.
12. Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
For fans of New Weird fiction.
An infectious disease has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. The world’s governments initiate a plan called the “Transition,” where eating human meat is now legal.
Marcos works at a processing plant, processing “special meat.” To deal with his job, Marcos sticks to the technical details. When he is given a live specimen of the finest quality, Marcos rediscovers the human compassion he had lost.
13. Eternity Road by Jack McDevitt
For fans of stories set in the future.
Set more than a thousand years in the future, a primitive species of mankind seek to unlock the secrets of their ancestors, whom they reverently call the Roadmakers. Their concrete highways, expertly crafted products, and technology are sought-out wonders.
A band of adventurers seek out a legendary haven of ancient knowledge, and in the process, reveal the truth about human history.
14. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
For fans of the plants fighting back against humanity trope.
Years ago, Triffids—giant carnivorous plants—began to grow all over the world. They can grow to over seven feet tall, pull up their roots, and walk to kill men with their stingers. Bill Mason is a biologist currently studying these monstrous plants.
When an apparent meteor shower blinds most of the world’s population, Bill and a select few must navigate a rapidly devolving society, dodge killer plants, and find a way to survive.
15. Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
For fans of the robot uprising trope.
Archos, a childlike but extremely powerful artificial intelligence, suddenly controls every piece of machinery and electronics in the world and turns them against the humans, almost annihilating them during the initial attack.
Pockets of human survivors are scattered all over the globe, and for the first time in history, they unite in an effort to fight back against the machines.
Reading Post-Apocalyptic Books
Post-Apocalyptic stories are a conjecture on what may happen when we go too far. Most of the catalysts of the disasters in these books are manmade, ranging from extreme science to ecological collapse due to misuse of the Earth.
So when you read these stories, you’re being confronted with a possible future that humanity might experience someday. You’re facing down the existential fears and anxieties that we experience as a species, asking “What if we all die someday?”
Stories like these can be a dreary read, but that doesn’t diminish their entertainment and literary qualities. If you’ve got time, check some of them out on your next reading session!
Do you have a favorite post-apocalyptic book? Share it in the comment section below!
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Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
