stephen king is a writing powerhouse, responsible for 59 novels (and counting), many of which have been hailed as some of the greatest stories of the modern age.
With such prestige, I found myself practically giddy with joy when I realized that, amid his pantheon of works, there simply had to be some post-apocalyptic books. The idea of Stephen King lending his inimitable writing style (rich, nuanced character development, and a penchant for terrifying climaxes) to the post-apocalyptic genre was almost too good to be true.
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Fortunately, some of King’s best works are about the end of the world, and today we round up all of Stephen King’s post-apocalyptic books.
1) support
For many people, Booth is Stephen King’s magnum opus, a sprawling epic that almost single-handedly popularized the post-apocalyptic genre. For me, it’s the first book I fell in love with.
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The story follows two disparate groups of survivors as they make their way through a state ravaged by a deadly viral outbreak, known colloquially as Captain Voyages. While some of the drifters fall under the guiding influence of an elderly survivor named Mother Abigail, others are drawn under the influence of a man named Randall Flagg. Flagg is a recurring character in King’s work, alternatively known as R.F, Walter O’Dim, or The Walkin’ Dude. Regardless of the name used, one thing is clear: Randall Flagg is bad, bad news. Although Mother Abigail’s followers strive to rebuild civilization after the Captain’s travels, it soon becomes clear that Flagg’s plan for the post-apocalyptic US cannot be left unanswered. As winter falls on her first year after the outbreak, a handful of Abigail’s survivors set out for Las Vegas to face Flagg…and resist.
regardless of your attitude towards the king’s work, or the post-apocalyptic genre as a whole, the stand is without a doubt a masterpiece, packed with vivid, multi-dimensional characters and harrowing emotional climaxes. if you only read one of the books on this list, make it the stand.
2) cell
While Booth (rightfully so) gets most of the limelight, there’s another Stephen King novel that masterfully explores the end of the world: Cell.
The premise of the novel is simple: an unknown entity manages to take over the entire US cell phone network. uu. and he uses it to transmit a mysterious signal known as the pulse. all cell phone users unlucky enough to be exposed to the signal are immediately transformed into mindless zombie killing machines. The story follows Clayton Riddlell, a graphic artist visiting Boston on business. separated from his family, he heads north with a group of survivors, in a last desperate attempt to find his son. despite the slightly dated premise, cell is a violent and riveting post-apocalyptic romp. Best of all, he answers a question that he’s had burning inside of me ever since I first read Booth: What if Stephen King wrote a zombie novel? the answer is as gory and wonderful as you’d expect.
cell also received a film adaptation, starring none other than the legendary samuel l. jackson. It’s not exactly a work of art, but it’s a great movie to watch with a couple of friends and a couple more beers.
3) the dark tower
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I’ve written about the dark tower series several times, but it’s worth mentioning again. While it’s effectively King’s homage to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, behind a layer of classic fantasy tropes lies a hard, radiating core of pure post-apocalyptic fiction.
The book follows legendary gunslinger Roland Deschain as he embarks on an epic journey (truly epic, we’re talking about eight books) to find the mysterious dark tower, the pillar around which all universes, including Roland’s middle world, and our own world—are constructed. At the behest of the evil Crimson King and his meddlesome second-in-command, Walter O’Dim (remember him?), the radiant rays that sustain all of existence are being destroyed. the middle world is already a dying, irradiated mess, and without intervention, our own world will soon follow. The scope of The Dark Tower is hard to overstate: It’s a story designed to tie together each of Stephen King’s previous works, placing each book he’s written squarely in the same single universe. it’s huge, complicated and, above all, an impressive story. If he’s looking for a novel that seamlessly melds classic fantasy with the dark, gritty world of post-apocalyptic fiction, he won’t find anything better than The Dark Tower.
honorable mentions
if you’ve read stand, cell, and all eight dark tower books, and are hungry for more post-apocalyptic stephen king, there are a couple of novels that might hit the spot. while not true post-apocalyptic fiction, they share many of the characteristics that make these earlier works so compelling:
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under the dome. On a quiet day in October 2012, the residents of a small town in Maine wake up to find themselves trapped by an indestructible force field that encompasses the entire town. Cut off from any outside intervention, the city quickly falls into a state of dystopian paranoia, in a micro-level version of the civilizational collapse found in King’s post-apocalyptic works. if you like history, there is a 39-episode television series based on the novel.
the man who runs. Written under King’s short-lived pseudonym, Richard Bachman, The Running Man takes place in a United States devastated by economic collapse. Amidst the ruins of civilization, a game show brings hope and relief to the country’s beleaguered residents. The capture? the show’s contestants are hunted by ruthless killers. It’s a great book, and for once the movie adaptation (starring the Governor himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger) is great, too.