Shouldn't threads like this be sticky? They do hold some valuable infoYamu said:
Add: And maybe moving it to General discussion while at it.
Gladly sharingYamu said:
Post-Apocalyptic books
- Thread starter TamaNeko
- Start date
Add: And maybe moving it to General discussion while at it.
El RadEscorpio
First time out of the vault
The Stand was a great book, I can see some of it rubbed off onto fallout.
requiem_for_a_starfury
So Old I'm Losing Radiation Signs
It's been a long time since I read Folk of the Fringe but I don't remember it being that bad.
Vault Maker
Vault-Tec Cartographer
Risking the eternal opprobrium of a gravedig, I'd like to add two "books about books".
Probably hard to find, but Rumours of War and Infernal Machines: Technomilitary Agenda Setting in American and British Speculative Fiction, by Charles Gannon (2003, Liverpool: Liverpool, University Press) is a review of future-war fiction and the feedback between it and actual weapons and warfare. It covers fiction from the Victorian period (The Battle of Dorking) through the end of the 20th century. It describes the works in some detail, the context in which they were published, and any effect they had on military developments or politics.
The other is one of the only general references on nuclear war fiction I've come across. It summarizes a few hundred fiction books that relate to nuclear war. It is Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction by Paul Brians (Professor of English, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington). It was published in 1985, I think, but the author has a revised version in the works on his website:
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/nuclear/index.htm
He may have some other goodies of interest on the site.
Probably hard to find, but Rumours of War and Infernal Machines: Technomilitary Agenda Setting in American and British Speculative Fiction, by Charles Gannon (2003, Liverpool: Liverpool, University Press) is a review of future-war fiction and the feedback between it and actual weapons and warfare. It covers fiction from the Victorian period (The Battle of Dorking) through the end of the 20th century. It describes the works in some detail, the context in which they were published, and any effect they had on military developments or politics.
The other is one of the only general references on nuclear war fiction I've come across. It summarizes a few hundred fiction books that relate to nuclear war. It is Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction by Paul Brians (Professor of English, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington). It was published in 1985, I think, but the author has a revised version in the works on his website:
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/nuclear/index.htm
He may have some other goodies of interest on the site.
Petition to have this thread stickied.
(Or, rather, second Monsharen's eight-month-old quasi-petition.)
(Or, rather, second Monsharen's eight-month-old quasi-petition.)
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse.
This is a collection of novels from many known and less known authors, all set in post-apocalyptic world in a way or another. Released this january (2008) so it's fresh.
Gathering together the best post-apocalyptic literature of the last two decades from many of today’s most renowned authors of speculative fiction — including George R.R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card, Carol Emshwiller, Jonathan Lethem, Octavia E. Butler, and Stephen King — Wastelands explores the scientific, psychological, and philosophical questions of what it means to remain human in the wake of Armageddon. Whether the end of the world comes through nuclear war, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm, these are tales of survivors, in some cases struggling to rebuild the society that was, in others, merely surviving, scrounging for food in depopulated ruins and defending themselves against monsters, mutants, and marauders.
http://www.johnjosephadams.com/wastelands/
Got mine from Amazon, highly recommended.
This is a collection of novels from many known and less known authors, all set in post-apocalyptic world in a way or another. Released this january (2008) so it's fresh.
Gathering together the best post-apocalyptic literature of the last two decades from many of today’s most renowned authors of speculative fiction — including George R.R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card, Carol Emshwiller, Jonathan Lethem, Octavia E. Butler, and Stephen King — Wastelands explores the scientific, psychological, and philosophical questions of what it means to remain human in the wake of Armageddon. Whether the end of the world comes through nuclear war, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm, these are tales of survivors, in some cases struggling to rebuild the society that was, in others, merely surviving, scrounging for food in depopulated ruins and defending themselves against monsters, mutants, and marauders.
http://www.johnjosephadams.com/wastelands/
Got mine from Amazon, highly recommended.
Vault Maker
Vault-Tec Cartographer
AHA! Thank you Holo, I saw a story on this a few months back and kept meaning to get it, but couldn't recall the title.
I thought I had found it the other day, so I bought what I found. It's another collection of short stories from 2007. I'm halfway through it so far, and all the material is interesting at least, some a bit creepy.
The Apocalypse Reader
by Justin Taylor
These are the ways the world ends.
Thirty-four new and selected Doomsday scenarios: an enthralling collection of work by canonical literary figures, contemporary masters, and a few rising stars, all of whom have looked into the future and found it missing. Across boundaries of place and time, these writers celebrate the variety and vitality of the short story as a form by writing their own conclusions to the story of the world. Obliteration has never hurt so good.
Contributors:
Grace Aguilar, Steve Aylett, Robert Bradley, Dennis Cooper, Lucy Corin, Elliott David, Matthew Derby, Carol Emshwiller, Brian Evenson, Neil Gaiman, Jeff Goldberg, Theodora Goss, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jared Hohl, Shelley Jackson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Stacey Levine, Tao Lin, Kelly Link, H.P. Lovecraft, Gary Lutz, Rick Moody, Michael Moorcock, Adam Nemett, Josip Novakovich, Joyce Carol Oates, Colette Phair, Edgar Allan Poe, Terese Svoboda, Justin Taylor, Lynne Tillman, Deb Olin Unferth, H.G. Wells, Allison Whittenberg, Diane Williams.
About the Author
Justin Taylor is the Books Editor for Econoculture.com. His writing has appeared in numerous online and print publications, including American Book Review, Rain Taxi, Punk Planet, The Brooklyn Rail, and The Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He earned his MFA in fiction from The New School and lives in Brooklyn. Visit him online at www.justindtaylor.net
I bought mine from somewhere else, but I imagine those other guys have it too.
A couple of other recent reads with apocalyptic overtones:
"Youth Without Youth" by Mircea Eliade (1969), source of the new Coppola film. I saw the film first, then picked up the book. It's interesting how closely the film manages to hold to the novella, managing to capture most of the dialogue as well as much of the inner thoughts of the protagonist. The story is about an old man hit by lightning, who physically is rejuvenated but enjoys enhanced mental powers. There is eventually discussion of him being a mutant, somehow equipped to show the survivors of an (inevitable) nuclear war a "way forward" to becoming "post-historic man".
"On the Natural History of Destruction" by W G Sebald. Nonfiction, btw. The first half or so is about the lack of overt impact of the bombing of Germany in WW2 on postwar German culture or literature (ignoring the "ruins films" made right after the war, mainly by the Germans, I believe...the closest most of us will have seen to these are "The Third Man" or "The Good German"). Apparently it's a conspicuous silence that he felt worth probing. He has some interesting passages describing the effects of the bombing on real people and fictional characters that do crop up in literature.
I thought I had found it the other day, so I bought what I found. It's another collection of short stories from 2007. I'm halfway through it so far, and all the material is interesting at least, some a bit creepy.
The Apocalypse Reader
by Justin Taylor
These are the ways the world ends.
Thirty-four new and selected Doomsday scenarios: an enthralling collection of work by canonical literary figures, contemporary masters, and a few rising stars, all of whom have looked into the future and found it missing. Across boundaries of place and time, these writers celebrate the variety and vitality of the short story as a form by writing their own conclusions to the story of the world. Obliteration has never hurt so good.
Contributors:
Grace Aguilar, Steve Aylett, Robert Bradley, Dennis Cooper, Lucy Corin, Elliott David, Matthew Derby, Carol Emshwiller, Brian Evenson, Neil Gaiman, Jeff Goldberg, Theodora Goss, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jared Hohl, Shelley Jackson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Stacey Levine, Tao Lin, Kelly Link, H.P. Lovecraft, Gary Lutz, Rick Moody, Michael Moorcock, Adam Nemett, Josip Novakovich, Joyce Carol Oates, Colette Phair, Edgar Allan Poe, Terese Svoboda, Justin Taylor, Lynne Tillman, Deb Olin Unferth, H.G. Wells, Allison Whittenberg, Diane Williams.
About the Author
Justin Taylor is the Books Editor for Econoculture.com. His writing has appeared in numerous online and print publications, including American Book Review, Rain Taxi, Punk Planet, The Brooklyn Rail, and The Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He earned his MFA in fiction from The New School and lives in Brooklyn. Visit him online at www.justindtaylor.net
I bought mine from somewhere else, but I imagine those other guys have it too.
A couple of other recent reads with apocalyptic overtones:
"Youth Without Youth" by Mircea Eliade (1969), source of the new Coppola film. I saw the film first, then picked up the book. It's interesting how closely the film manages to hold to the novella, managing to capture most of the dialogue as well as much of the inner thoughts of the protagonist. The story is about an old man hit by lightning, who physically is rejuvenated but enjoys enhanced mental powers. There is eventually discussion of him being a mutant, somehow equipped to show the survivors of an (inevitable) nuclear war a "way forward" to becoming "post-historic man".
"On the Natural History of Destruction" by W G Sebald. Nonfiction, btw. The first half or so is about the lack of overt impact of the bombing of Germany in WW2 on postwar German culture or literature (ignoring the "ruins films" made right after the war, mainly by the Germans, I believe...the closest most of us will have seen to these are "The Third Man" or "The Good German"). Apparently it's a conspicuous silence that he felt worth probing. He has some interesting passages describing the effects of the bombing on real people and fictional characters that do crop up in literature.
Cormac Mccarthy's - The Road //-BIG SPOILER WARNING, read the book first-//
I have just finished reading Cormac Mccarthy's - The Road, and what a fantastic book it was. The only setback was the rather quick ending, but hey there had to be at least óne glimmer of light at the end of the gray, gray tunnel.
The general atmosphere was awesome, while most post-apoc stories are about the short aftermath of a nuclear/younameit apocalypse, this one plays in an unknown timeframe after the bombs (10 years?). I think this is equally interesting then reading about the actual bombs falling. I mean, we could perhaps all survive the aftermath for about 2 years, but then the food supplies in the stores and malls are running out due to constant looting and fires. Soon after all the animal live will be hunted to extinction as well, taking a part of the ecosystem with it. After that the real shit is yet to begin when crops are failing due to radiation (no pollination) and ash/dust which block the sunlight, wrecking the last remnants of the ecosystem. Man, what the hell would YOU do when the only relative stable option to stay alive is eating humans? Will you still try your luck like the father and son in the book, or just slit your wrists and get it over with? When reading the book that last option is almost a welcome, the only right and certainty's you have left is that you can kill yourself.
And man like the examples above, this book is DARK and devoid of any hope for the human race! I've recently read 'brain keene - City Of The Dead and The Rising' which is about a zombie apocalypse and describes the death of individuals in very nasty details, but somehow it stays superficial for some reason. Perhaps because of the detail you block some stuff out?
Not with 'The Road'.. The gore and atrocities are always 'just out of view' so your imagination has to kick in...which makes it all the more freaky. I mean, the part when the man and boy notice pursuers which consists of a few men, and a pregnant women. When they decide to check them out they find a recently born baby being roasted on a fire.. I mean like, daaaamn what the hell man.. That one made me yell out in disbelief. Despite the lack of detail it is way more nasty then Brain Keene's vivid descriptions. I've already read how humans resorted to cannibalism and ragtag bands of armed humans have hordes of slaves and women to consume and rape, but then he throws the unthinkable in your face. That was the point where for me where all hope for a better future for that world snapped.
Reading this I think that Fallout's world is way, way to positive (which does not mean anything about the awesomeness of the game, let that be clear). Without factories and facilities all supplies would run out in less then 10 years. And without maintenance buildings and usable stuff like cars or parts are destroyed in 20 years. Cormac's vision of a post apoc world where the human race is slowly fading out in a destroyed world which cannot sustain the species, or any species for that matter for the next few hundred years, feels quite realistic. Literally shot back into the stone age.
Never the less, I will reinstall Fallout 1 and 2 once more to prowl the wasteland and exterminate every slaver/highwaymen/raider which newly found ferocity..
I have just finished reading Cormac Mccarthy's - The Road, and what a fantastic book it was. The only setback was the rather quick ending, but hey there had to be at least óne glimmer of light at the end of the gray, gray tunnel.
The general atmosphere was awesome, while most post-apoc stories are about the short aftermath of a nuclear/younameit apocalypse, this one plays in an unknown timeframe after the bombs (10 years?). I think this is equally interesting then reading about the actual bombs falling. I mean, we could perhaps all survive the aftermath for about 2 years, but then the food supplies in the stores and malls are running out due to constant looting and fires. Soon after all the animal live will be hunted to extinction as well, taking a part of the ecosystem with it. After that the real shit is yet to begin when crops are failing due to radiation (no pollination) and ash/dust which block the sunlight, wrecking the last remnants of the ecosystem. Man, what the hell would YOU do when the only relative stable option to stay alive is eating humans? Will you still try your luck like the father and son in the book, or just slit your wrists and get it over with? When reading the book that last option is almost a welcome, the only right and certainty's you have left is that you can kill yourself.
And man like the examples above, this book is DARK and devoid of any hope for the human race! I've recently read 'brain keene - City Of The Dead and The Rising' which is about a zombie apocalypse and describes the death of individuals in very nasty details, but somehow it stays superficial for some reason. Perhaps because of the detail you block some stuff out?
Not with 'The Road'.. The gore and atrocities are always 'just out of view' so your imagination has to kick in...which makes it all the more freaky. I mean, the part when the man and boy notice pursuers which consists of a few men, and a pregnant women. When they decide to check them out they find a recently born baby being roasted on a fire.. I mean like, daaaamn what the hell man.. That one made me yell out in disbelief. Despite the lack of detail it is way more nasty then Brain Keene's vivid descriptions. I've already read how humans resorted to cannibalism and ragtag bands of armed humans have hordes of slaves and women to consume and rape, but then he throws the unthinkable in your face. That was the point where for me where all hope for a better future for that world snapped.
Reading this I think that Fallout's world is way, way to positive (which does not mean anything about the awesomeness of the game, let that be clear). Without factories and facilities all supplies would run out in less then 10 years. And without maintenance buildings and usable stuff like cars or parts are destroyed in 20 years. Cormac's vision of a post apoc world where the human race is slowly fading out in a destroyed world which cannot sustain the species, or any species for that matter for the next few hundred years, feels quite realistic. Literally shot back into the stone age.
Never the less, I will reinstall Fallout 1 and 2 once more to prowl the wasteland and exterminate every slaver/highwaymen/raider which newly found ferocity..
TheBadDoctor
First time out of the vault
I've got to put in a recommendation for Nick Mamatas' Move Under Ground.
It's not traditional post-apocalyptic fiction, involving no nuclear war, but here's the basic plot.
The rise of Cthulhu and R'lyeh, as told from the perspective of Jack fucking Kerouac.
That's right.
It's a bit of a road novel, with Jack teaming up with Neal Cassady and William S. Burroughs to drive from Big Sur to New York in an attempt to halt the world-ending conflict between Azathoth and old tentacle-face.
It's insanely well-written, though short, and it's exactly what a bastardization of Lovecraftion mythos and Beat style should be. Mugwumps, freakish zombies, and Burroughs pulling multiple William Tell stunts.
Best book I read all year.
It's not traditional post-apocalyptic fiction, involving no nuclear war, but here's the basic plot.
The rise of Cthulhu and R'lyeh, as told from the perspective of Jack fucking Kerouac.
That's right.
It's a bit of a road novel, with Jack teaming up with Neal Cassady and William S. Burroughs to drive from Big Sur to New York in an attempt to halt the world-ending conflict between Azathoth and old tentacle-face.
It's insanely well-written, though short, and it's exactly what a bastardization of Lovecraftion mythos and Beat style should be. Mugwumps, freakish zombies, and Burroughs pulling multiple William Tell stunts.
Best book I read all year.
.ICBM. said:Guys, stop what you are doing right now and read this book:
The awesome cover with relief and shiny bloodstains alone is enough to buy this book.
It is about The undead, The living dead, 'Zack', Ghouls, aka: Zombies. Just like Max Brooks' former book; 'The Zombie survival guide' where he predicted an class 4 apocalyptic outbreak of the zombie virus 'Solanum'.
It happens for real this time, it starts in China where the dense population + bad intelligence + human stupidity results in an catastrophic zombie outbreak wich grows exponentially and cannot be stopped anymore. For example as US forces try to stop millions of zombies wich was a few days before the population of New York City. They try and stop them with the full might of modern weapons, tanks, bombers and thousands of soldiers but they are simply not doing enough damage, and it turns into a nightmare. (e.g. you can shoot tank shell size holes in zombies but they will still come at you crawling)
I will not spoil any more but rest assured, humanity will get it's ass kicked (or bitten) realy, really hard.
The individual tales of horror are very tense and nasty, no one is spared as the globe is turned undead. Humanity is showing it's flaws in dealing with this catastrophe wich sometimes result in barbary and fighting along themselves.
If you are a fan of Romero's apocalyptic zombie movies or a fan of humanity's demise in general, buy it! The only drawback is that at some point you will see the last page..
The name of the book please
the screen is broken Another one: Roadside Picnic is a nice book
Ureshi said:The name of the book please
http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/worldwarz/
A few chapters from Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles.
Also, St. Vonnegut's Slapstick.
Also, St. Vonnegut's Slapstick.
The Deathlands series is pretty good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathlands
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathlands
NeVeRLiFt said:
Yeah, read all of those. Still somewhere in my mothers attic. Blade and Doomsday Warrior were also good.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/david-robbins/first-strike.htm
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/ryder-stacy/