Apocalypse How?

Apocalyptic Stories

One of my favorite genres is fiction involving the end of the world. A macabre fascination about how individuals, societies, and entire nations behave in their death throes, as well as their rise from the ashes, drives me to seek out these types of novels. Here, I’ve included my favorites, but honestly it was a hard time paring them down to just ten.

1. On the Beach – Nevile Shute

Top of the list for the sheer emotional reaction it forced upon me. On the Beach, set in a world where the nuclear war has already killed everyone north of the equator, follows the survivors of Australia and a handful of American naval personnel as they prepare for the inevitable. Unlike most of the other stories on this list, On the Beach doesn’t have much in the way of antagonists, action, adventure, or hope. What it does have is a very clear message about the horrors of modern wars, the legacy of power struggles, and what it means to die with dignity. I will never read this book again, and I cannot recommend it enough.

2. Alas, Babylon – Pat Frank

For a Floridian who grew up in the same place this story is set, it was all too easy to imagine the events taking place in my own backyard. Alas, Bablyon is limited in its scope, following a handful of characters as they prepare for, survive, and rebuild following a global nuclear war. Men rise to the occasion, men fall to their worst natures, and society learns to make due with whatever resources it has instead of pining for what was lost. It may be the perfect apocalyptic novel for someone who’s looking to dip a toe into the water.

3. The Day of the Triffids – John Wyndham

Glorious in its execution of a ridiculous premise, The Day of the Triffids follows Bill Masen as he navigates his way through a world struck blind overnight. As society collapses around him and he rallies with other survivors, he’s left to contend with looters, exploiters, and the eponymous carnivorous plants who may or may not be the new dominant species of life on earth. Why is everybody blind? Bill doesn’t know, so neither do you, and it doesn’t matter.

4. The Stand – Stephen King

Needs very little introduction, almost defines the category on its own. I read this book sometime in early high school and it scared the living shit out of me, leaving a lasting fear of viral pandemics. So thanks, Mr. King, you made 2020 that much easier for me. A book about the world ending under the thumb of a hypervirulent flu and the struggle between cosmic good and evil that follows. Read the unabridged version or not at all.

5. Lucifer’s Hammer – Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Recommended to me by a friend and described as “The Most Gainey Book Ever,” Lucifer’s Hammer is a standout masterpiece of apocalyptic fiction with a wider scope. I always enjoy seeing life before, during, and after the cataclysm, and in this book the hammer drops almost exactly halfway through. Grim and gritty realism follows the survivors, who contend with floods, starvation, disease, and of course cannibals.

6. Seveneves – Neal Stephenson

Okay, this is actually two novels in a trench coat, but the first of them is so wonderfully done I’ll forgive the second. The premise here is that the moon suddenly cracks into several pieces, resulting in a ticking clock before they all cascade through the atmosphere and exterminate all life. Following Stephenson’s usual love for detail and scientific accuracy, the concerted effort of the world to preserve the human race is gripping to the point where I held my breath while characters were working in the vacuum of space.

7. The Road – Cormac McCarthy

Set in a world destroyed by an unnamed apocalypse, The Road follows a man and a boy, neither of which need names to be vessels of pure misery, as they wander the wasteland in search of survival. While the cannibals and scavengers are dangerous, it’s made pretty clear early on that the most insidious killer of all is despair, which the reader gets to feel in spades. I’ve never been so happy for someone to find an old, expired can of peaches.

8. I Am Legend – Richard Matheson

File this one under “Movies that should have had another name.” Playing on themes of isolation, depression and desperation, I Am Legend follows Robert Neville as he hunts vampires and tries to survive in a world after everyone’s turned into bloodsucking monsters. The book’s almost seventy years old, so I’ll risk a little spoiler: Man is the real monster.

9. World War Z – Max Brooks

A lot of fun and, somehow, the only real zombie novel on this list, World War Z is an account of a global apocalypse from the perspectives of people at the forefront of the struggle for survival. Told with the benefit of hindsight as part of a documentary-style report, its stories are varied in tone and message, but there are a lot of gems in here.

10. I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream – Harlan Ellison

Honestly better than many full-length novels, Ellison’s short story packs every sentence with an almost nauseating level of detail. The world, ended at the hand of a malevolent AI, lives on through those saved to be subjected to eternal torment. As true and accurate a depiction of Hell as I ever hope to experience, this story keeps the pain train up until the very last word.