the end of the world is not the end of the world, at least not in fiction. humans have been worried about the end of the world ever since we left the term planet, and for the last twenty decades or so, we’ve been worried about it, based on the number of post-apocalyptic books that have been published . written for book lovers.
we are concerned about war viruses, global natural disasters, genetically modified people, multiple zombies; computers go crazy, whatever.
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top rated best post-apocalyptic books to read
From nuclear armageddon to the great bioengineered plague, humanity has a classic fascination with the end of the planet.
Since the golden age of post-apocalyptic fiction in the 1950s, the literary scene has gotten darker and gloomier year round; And lovers of all things post-apocalypse finally have a great choice: plagues, explosions, and invasions to choose from.
Whatever type of post-apocalypse you’re looking for, this record has the story for you: whether it’s a vampire plague devouring the earth, a nuclear war ravaging the planet’s surface, flesh-hungry corpses rise from the dead, or perhaps the planet’s plants decide to take on humanity.
Below is the list of the best post-apocalyptic novels you should read, which focuses on the books published in the 21st century that penn bookrecommended as interesting reading .
eternity road by jack mcdevitt
best post apocalyptic novel
eternity road by jack mcdevitt is the first novel on this reading list. eternity road poses the haunting and never-ending question if you and a small number of survivors were the last people in the world, would you reinvent the mobile phone? how much can we control our planet compared to being influenced by it?
mcdevitt chooses the individual race 1,700 years after a tumultuous mass departure due to illness, and things are not looking rosy.
People cling to a rocky life in stone-age conditions, huddled among the crumbling remains of towns dominated by the crumbling ruins of highway overpasses, relics of a mythical race of individual ancestors known as the road builders, masters of forgotten technology. a group of explorers set out to find the legendary site of ancient knowledge and reveal its past.
People sometimes launch expeditions to the perilous northern latitudes in search of refuge, a mythical repository of lost technical information, but most journeys meet grim destinations.
on the other hand, the discovery of a book by mark twain leads chaka milana to organize a different expedition to try to succeed where her brother forgot.
However, as will be the case with the best post-apocalyptic survival novels, the perilous journey will be much more than he bargained for.
josh malerman bird box
Josh Malerman’s debut book was overshadowed by the ubiquitous Netflix adaptation, which still had mixed reviews and an avalanche of derisive memes. no one knew why everyone was talking about the bird box. however, they understood that you were supposed to be talking about a bird box.
It was always difficult to adapt malerman’s book to the screen, an inherently visual medium, as long as malerman’s book hinges on the terror of trying to make your way through a dangerous universe without using your eyes.
Told in a striking present tense, Bird Box follows Mallorie as she attempts a harrowing journey through the jungle of a cursed and depopulated America. alien creatures roam the roads; seeing them, strangely, drives people crazy. Mallorie must, therefore, create her path blindfolded.
To make matters worse, he is in charge of two young boys, whom he has raised from infancy with an iron fist to resist their childhood instincts to explore the world with their eyes.
Flashbacks take us through the introduction of the maddening monsters and pregnant Mallorie’s flight from the resulting chaos to take refuge at home with a selection of survivors who may or may not be trustworthy. forget that netflix bird box is among the best post-apocalyptic survival books of recent vintage.
stephen king’s position
stephen king only had a hardcover bestseller to his title when he submitted an 1,100-page manuscript to his writer’s desk. Horrified, the writer demanded that 400 pages and the entire value of the book be removed to make it less intimidating.
stand hit shelves in abridged but still heavy form and immediately earned its reputation as one of the best post-apocalyptic books.
Unknowingly, a patient escapes from a biological testing lab. the patient carries a deadly weapon: a mutation of the super flu, which will wipe out 99.9% of the world’s population in a matter of weeks.
The remaining survivors are bewildered and scared and need a leader. two emerged mother abagail (a benevolent 108-year-old woman who encourages them to create a peaceful community in bouldering.
Randall Flagg is the evil dark man who enjoys violence and mayhem. The survivors will have to decide between the two evil men and the peaceful woman to seize power.
the blindness of josé saramago – 1995
A city is hit by an epidemic of white blindness that spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty psychiatric hospital, but the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and raping girls.
Only a handful of people can see, which gives them the ability to resist or reinforce the moral and physical degradation of the society around them.
An eyewitness to this nightmare guides seven strangers, one of them a motherless child, a woman in dark glasses, a dog tearing through the barren streets, and the procession turns strange as the atmosphere is ghastly.
The author José Saramago is the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature.
“This is devastating work from a master.” -the boston globe
the dog starring peter heller
hig somehow withstood the influenza pandemic, which killed everyone he knows. His wife is gone, his friends are dead, and he resides in a small abandoned airport hangar and his dog, Jasper, along with a fickle, armed misanthrope named Bangley.
However, every time a random transmission is transmitted through his 1956 cessna radio, the voice ignites a hope deep within him that there is a much better life beyond his tightly controlled perimeter.
Risking it all, he jumps his point of no return and follows his static broken path, to find both worse and better than anything he ever expected.
“fantastic success”. – the New Yorker
tatyana tolstaya’s slynx
best modern post-apocalyptic books
This postmodern book is not for everyone.
two hundred years later, the culture came to a halt in an event called the explosion, benedikt is not one to complain. he has a job transcribing old novels and presenting them thanks to the excellent words of this new leader.
However, he does not revel in the privileged position of a murza; At least he’s not a four-legged serf or degenerate half-human taken advantage of in a troika.
He also has a home, with enough mice to cook up a tasty meal, and luckily he has no mutations: no other fingers, no gills, no rooster combs sprouting from his nostrils.
And he’s managed so far to steer clear of these ever-vigilant Saniturions, who keep an eye on anyone who shows even the slightest hint of freethinking and the mythical screeching slynx that waits from the jungle outside.
the sons of men by p. d. james – 1992
for fans of the handmaid’s tale, in the children of men, the human race is now barren, and also the previous unborn generation is now mature.
Civilization itself is crumbling as despair and suicide become commonplace. oxford historian theodore faron, apathetic in the face of a long time without a long journey, spends his time reminiscing.
then he is approached by julian, a smart and pretty girl who wants him to help her get an audience, and her cousin, the very effective warden of england.
She and her band of unlikely revolutionaries just might spark his will to live. and they might also hold the trick to the survival of the human race.
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Children of Men is one of the most political commentary books on the list. however, he will keep you gnashing your teeth, wishing theo and the five fish victory over the corruption in his country. Even if you feel powerless over them, James’s narrative and his characters will hold your attention until the end.
“outstanding… audacious… terrifying in its implications.” – new york time
parable of the sower by octave e. butler
by 2025, global warming, pollution, racial and cultural tensions, and other ills have precipitated a global downsizing.
Lauren Olamina and her family reside in one of those only safe neighborhoods on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Beneath the walls of the defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a few other taxpayers try to save what’s left of a civilization blighted by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages.
While her father tries to guide people on the right path, Lauren struggles with hyper-empathy, a state that makes her incredibly sensitive to the annoyance of others.
When a fire destroys her chemical, lauren’s family is killed and she is thrust into a universe fraught with danger. With a handful of additional refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety and conceive of a radical idea that can spell salvation for all mankind.
“[t]hough science fiction readers will realize this potential future earth, lauren olamine and her eyesight make this book stand out like a tree among saplings.” – weekly editors
a chant for leibowitz by walter m. miller jr
A Song for Leibowitz began as three short stories inspired by Walter M. Miller Jr Adventures as a World War II bomber pilot, A Song for Leibowitz is an epic meditation on the dire predictions of the atomic age and among the greatest post-apocalyptic novels ever written. p>
In a post-apocalyptic world devastated by nuclear war, the survivors forgo engineering and viciously attack those trying to rebuild the society that destroyed itself.
only one catholic monastery, the albertian order of leibowitz, maintains a selection of scientific records rescued from the telescope with an electrical engineer.
The chant follows the monastery and its people for over a million years as society retreats to isolated city-states and the entire world heals in disaster.
monks keep the primitive understanding, half understood, until such time as humanity is ready for it. obviously, after this book, humanity has atomic weapons. Standing on the brink of interplanetary nuclear war, it falls on the monks of Leibowitz to preserve all understanding forever.
the earth respects george r stewart
The 1940s were a popular time for post-apocalyptic and dystopian books. after the second world war, people began to think about social destruction and general destruction.
One of the most popular gems of this doomsday renaissance was the novel The Earth Remains by George R. stewart begins with an epidemic that kills all Americans.
In Earth Meets George R Stewart, we see disorder as the device of choice to wipe out humanity. this book is what prompted stephen king to write the stand (see above).
the way, this book does not have much action, but concentrates more on the sociological consequences of this apocalyptic plague. it’s fascinating, not to keep you on the edge of your seat; progresses at a languid pace, takes place over many decades, but manages to be equally engaging and haunting.
the earth remains is a terrifying yet fascinating vision of a world with few resources and a fascinatingly realistic portrait of how society would adapt to such a devastating event.
oryx and crake by margaret atwood
oryx and crake is the first installment of award-winning writer margaret atwood’s three-part maddaddam show. not only is the rest of humanity preserved to save a protagonist who has been eradicated, but the entire world was taken over by a new breed of docile and simplistic genetically modified people.
atwood has a knack for composing dystopian books close enough that our reality becomes almost feasible, and that’s what makes them delightfully creepy.
oryx and crake are absolutely attractive, intelligent and stimulating; raises many ethical concerns regarding the direction in which science is headed and whether it is moving too far.
robert mccammon’s swan song
swan song is a beautiful and unique mix of post-apocalyptic and dream; believe it, but with atomic war as a substitute for a lethal virus.
has similar supernatural and good versus evil components (and extends too). beware that the utopian truth contained here is not for the faint of heart. the swan song is often scary and horrible things happen to the characters.
is full of biblical references and mystical elements, as well as terrifying yet fascinating details of a post-apocalyptic society. swan song really does have something for everyone.
is scary, but also upbeat, and encompasses spectacularly fleshed-out personalities that you’ll connect with. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up if you’re a huge fan of the post-apocalyptic genre; don’t be put off by the extension, as we promise you won’t want it to end.
stephen king cell
Stephen King’s
Cell paints a vibrant picture of a planet blighted by the technologies on which the innocuous mobile depends. while the central assumption of cell phones feels a bit dated (a threat to any book focused on modern technology), it is nonetheless an exciting, dynamic, and unique take on post-apocalyptic fiction.
the drowned world of jg ballard
A parable of the modern earth, the drowning world sees the earth succumb to global warming on a truly epic scale.
ever since the sea level rises and the planet’s temperature begins to skyrocket, and the few remaining inhabitants of the world find themselves torn between the urge to live, and even their desire to reunite with the foolish relaxation of existence primordial. claustrophobic and unsettling, the drowned world makes for fascinating reading.
towards a sunless sea by david graham
place in the plausible near future, where the planet’s oil reserves have dwindled to dangerously low levels, even a sunless sea follows a plane full of travelers flying from new york to london.
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Mid-flight it will become apparent that nuclear war has broken out, leaving the plane’s pilot with a series of life-threatening decisions. the book was released with two alternate endings, along with the American and British books ending in strikingly different lights.
life as we knew it by susan beth pfeffer
Despite portraying more mundane catastrophes among the genre, Life As We Knew It manages to exemplify an incredibly vibrant and believable image of humanity’s slow descent into destruction.
After a meteorite collides with the moon, the planet’s climate undergoes a lasting change that shifts from day to day in a fight against hunger and extreme cold.
Despite falling into the young adult market, pfe, pfefferel stands up to the most rigorous scrutiny of adults, making it a fantastic read for anyone looking for their next doomsday book.
maddaddam by margaret atwood
maddaddam is the next book in margaret atwood’s trilogy of dystopian articles, post apocalyptic articles, also ending the story started by its predecessors (oryx and crake, #21, also tend to the flood, #45).
After bioengineering goes awry, the book’s protagonists come together to build God’s gardeners and restore life to earth.
on the beach – nevil shute
on the beach by nevil shute, another atomic age classic unleashes armageddon from a radically different angle into its modern, ouch! Babylon.
Without any certainty, On the Beach shows humanity facing slow and inevitable death, as radiation heads toward Australia’s few surviving inhabitants. slow, sad and full of alcohol, on the beach is a beautiful read for lovers of the most depressing post-apocalyptic novels.
It’s 1963 and the world is at nuclear war. Some survivors remain in Melbourne, where the radiation is still unaffected. they wait for the radiation winds to reach the shore and then try to make sense of it.
Others investigate possible message a Seattle survivor may have sent. this is a moving classic, even if it’s not scientifically sound.
the road by cormac mccarthy
a searing post-apocalyptic book destined to become a cormac mccarthy masterpiece.
This is the first novel you’ll probably think of when someone mentions post-apocalyptic. tells the story of the struggle of a father and his son to travel through a country without ever being explained.
It’s oddly punctuated and memorable and departs from McCarthy’s usual style, except for his unflinching sadness.
a father and son walk through burned america. nothing is worth in the devastated landscape except to rescue the ashes at the end. it’s cold enough to break stones, and as soon as the snow falls, it turns grey. the sky is dark.
Their destination is the coast, although they do not understand precisely what awaits them, if anything else. they have nothing; just a gun to ward off lawless gangs roaming the streets, the clothes they’re wearing, a junk food cart, and everything else.
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the highway of cormac mccarthy is the deeply moving story of a journey. imagine a future where no expectations remain, but where father and son, each in the other’s world, hold each other in love.
Excellent in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best of what we are capable of: supreme destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people living in the face of general devastation. a searing post-apocalyptic book destined to become cormac mccarthy’s masterpiece.
“vivid, eloquent…the road is…consistently brilliant in its imagination of the posthumous condition of nature and civilization.” —new york times book review
mary shelley’s last man
last man paints a dark fantasy of a contemporary world blighted by plague, possibly the progenitor of the entire post-apocalyptic trope.
Although composed in 1826 (by Frankenstein author Mary Shelley, no less), the narrative is devoid of her romantic beliefs that proliferated in fiction of this era, giving a terrifying and grim look at the destruction of humanity.
the long morning by leigh brackett
another book from the golden age of post-apocalyptic books to read (in this example, printed in 1955), the long earth is set after nuclear war and a world concerned with scientific reasoning and understanding.
with technologies blamed for the planet’s demise, spiritual superstition takes hold of the lands of the country producing yet another traditional commentary on the battle between science and faith.
kim stanley robinson’s wild coast
The first book in Robinson’s Three Californias trilogy, The Wild Coast follows the natives of a massive, massive assault on the United States.
With each book in the series investigating another vision of its future, Wild Coast paints a grim picture of the culture’s continuing regression, as a nation intentionally annexed and isolated from the few remaining countries on the planet. This is one of the best post-apocalyptic book series to read!
the year of the flood by margaret atwood
the events of the year of the flood happen alongside the oryx and crake narrative, rather than creating the story of a group of bioactivists called gardeners of god.
The events of each book intertwine and together provide a remarkably detailed, intelligent and engaging look at the end of the day’s downtime. this interesting fact is that hbo has commissioned a television version of this show under the name maddaddam.
max brooks zombie survival guide
Although it lacks the plot components of other post-apocalyptic books on record, the zombie survival guide is worth adding for the sheer enjoyment factor alone, one of the best books on the zombie apocalypse .
reading like a real world guide to living the end of days, max brooks has simultaneously appealed to both the literary enthusiast and the would-be survivor within me. come to the end of time, give me this novel, and a good machete.
If you liked this article, be sure to also check out our collection of the 25 best zombie books of all time in 2022
the postman by david brin
You may have seen the film edition of the book. reveals that a post-war America is trying to rebuild civilization. there is a good amount of symbolism and science fiction in the magazine if you enjoy that kind of thing. the book won many awards.
david brin had a few words to say about donald trump’s recent attacks on the usps. Brin told ew that they are currently in the midst of an international oligarchic push for feudalism to be reinstated. this woefully flawed system of government has dominated 99% of societies on six continents for 6,000 years.
Both the postman and the movie the postman talk about how important it is to preserve our memories of the things that unite us. the post office is the heart of small town america.
But will they be able to change the course of events? trump doesn’t care if the republican party is destroyed in november. chaos is my goal.
justin cronin passage
Without giving away too much of this epic and gripping story, let me tell you that Justin Cronin’s passage is about a curiously quiet girl who grew up in a government facility.
She knows all about the experimentation they’re doing that will end the culture and only she can prevent the end from coming. The passage tells the story of Amy, who was abandoned by her mother at the age of six and pursued by shadowy figures involved in a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions.
one second later by william r. forstchen
this novel takes the cake for being the first catalyst for the apocalypse specifically, a massive electromagnetic pulse (emp) attack on the us. uu.
This is the story of a man who fights to save his family from the American wars. This war threatens to send America back to the dark ages.
Just a second after the assault, everything that relies on power is rendered useless: water systems, internet routers, and all kinds of transportation with digital parts. Because of this, many men and women are left stranded with very little water, food, or any other viable source.
even the small southern town of black mountain is incredibly affected. there aren’t enough supplies to help everyone, and people start starving, getting sick, and succumbing to various ailments.
Meanwhile, college professor and former Army Colonel John Matherson attempted to keep order, but could never have foreseen.
While not as extreme as some of his fellow atomic works, One Second Later it’s still a chill-inducing twist into a 21st-century apocalypse. he was uncomfortably drawing attention to our reliance on modern technology, which might happen if he had been waking up.
world war z: an oral history of zombie warfare by max brooks (2006)
2006 was a significant year for post-apocalyptic fiction. At the launch of the road, Max Brooks was the author. world war z both were also later made into movies but this is a different version of the apocalypse. it is written in serial interview format.
world war z begins with the end. an introduction informs us that the zombie war, which lasted ten years, has ended after a long military and humanitarian crisis.
Our storyteller, an agent of the UN post-war commission, gathers people’s stories to preserve them for posterity and prevent another disaster.
pat frank, woe, babylon (1959)
woe babylon: This classic fictional post-apocalyptic nuclear holocaust story by pat frank shows how, after the soviet union destroyed most of the united states, a small town in florida who was miraculously saved survives and adjusts to his new life in a radioactive wasteland.
I’m richard matheson legend
in i am legend by richard matheson, while most people think of will smith’s charismatic performance in the 2007 blockbuster, the original post-apocalyptic book, legend, was written in that moment. it also starts with a pandemic, just like the earth.
There is a twist to this story: the disease not only decimates the world’s population, but also transforms them into mutated vampires who want all humans to be infected.
after the land of lauren beukes (2020)
It’s 2023 and less than 1% of the global male population has survived a pandemic. this fifth beukes novel takes place this year. Cole must protect Miles, Cole’s 12-year-old son, from any evil minds like his sister’s.
so they hit the road, miles upon miles and hoping to get back to johannesburg. It’s smart, funny, and slightly disturbing, like all Beukes novels.
a boy and his dog at the end of the world (2019) from c.a. freighter
Does exactly what it says on the tin. the soft apocalypse, also known as castrated, which castrated most of the people in the world, saw the boy (griz) and the dog (jip) survive. Griz and Jip must rescue Jess, Griz’s other dog.
hanna jameson, the last (2019)
We often imagine that everyone experiences the apocalypse simultaneously, but what about those who live in isolated areas and are saved first? In this book, the world ends while Jon is staying in a hotel in Switzerland, away from his friends and the people he loves. What does he do then? dealing with the body of the deceased that is now on the premises, is the most pressing issue. without a doubt.
brunette girl in the ring – nalo hopkinson
This post-apocalyptic novel is set in Toronto after an economic collapse. it is as much about single mothers as it is about the spirituality of other cultures.
rudy sheldon is a criminal mastermind who has taken over downtown toronto after the riots. the favela is isolated from other cities by barricades that try to control violence and poverty.
station eleven by emily st. Juan Mandel – 2014
A virus spreads rapidly around the world and kills 95% of humanity. this destroys all human comforts. the protagonist is kirsten, who travels with a group of actors and musicians who travel from one town to another, performing shakespearian plays and playing music. They must be careful in a dangerous environment and search for food, but they can’t avoid a mad and deadly prophet.
other important post-apocalyptic books considered
the last day – andrew hunter murray (the political thriller and also a post-apocalyptic book)
the girl with all the presents for me. r. cary – 2014
the day of the triffids by john wyndham (1951)
conclusion
The best post-apocalyptic books are those that offer a compelling story while also providing an in-depth look at the human condition. These books offer a glimpse into a world that is often dark and terrifying, but also full of hope and possibility. they remind us that even in the darkest of times, there is always the potential for light and life.
post-apocalyptic books are not just a new genre, they have been around for centuries. no matter what your taste is, you will be able to find the perfect book in this list. thanks for reading!
video: the 10 best post-apocalyptic movies
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