Swan Song by Robert McCammon. I am told it is similar to The Stand, I cannot say having not read The Stand. But a fantastic book. Boy's Life by him is one of my favorite books too
@@romeronyc Read then both SOOOOO many years ago. I think Alas Babylon was the first post apocalyptic novel I ever read. And On The Beach has always haunted me. I have never forgotten them.
Swan Song is awful. Do not bother with it. It's essentially a fanfic-quality fantasy story in which the good guys are purely good and beautiful while the bad guys are evil ugly devils. Everything works out for the good guys and they are made even more beautiful and pure while the evil ugly bad guys fail because they are dumb evil bad guys. Less important, but none of the details of the story make sense. There is no real explanation of how anyone is surviving in the post-apocalyptic world. No explanation for how they continue to find fuel and food for themselves. Despite that, lots of descriptions of violence and suffering. So, it all just feels unearned, unmotivated, and fake cheap allegory.
I love The Road too. One that I also really enjoyed was Station Eleven, love it as much as The Road. It also has a great adaptation (1 season) on HBO they changed a few things but both are amazing
Earth Abides by Stewart is the granddaddy of all end of life as we know it novels. It was written in the 1940s and is still the best for conveying what it would feel like to be one of a few survivors, meaning you have lost everyone and everything that made life meaningful. It's also very hopeful as people do adjust and find hope. Another that is more of a curiosity is The Last Man by Mary Shelley. She wrote it after Frankenstein The writing is very Victorian but it's an interesting read.
I totally agree about Earth Abides. It is a more personal story as it follows the main character Ish, but certainly holds up even 80 years after it was written. It will always be at the top of my own list of favorite distopians.
Earth Abides has been made into a movie coming out this December. I fear the worst. There isn't much action in the novel so the movie may ruin it by adding lots of cliched action. I hope I'm wrong.
Never saw any of your videos before this. I have read 5 of the books on your list and now have added the other 5 to my TBR. I'm going to watch some of your other videos now because it appears we might enjoy similar books. Thanks for the list.
One Second After series by William R. Forstchen is really good as well. The novel is based on what would happen if an EMP is set off in the upper atmosphere. A very real threat. Its wild how fast civilization could/will collapse in a situation like that...
No one mentions Justin Cronin’s The Passage, which is the first book of a trilogy. I like the story better than The Stand or Swan Song. I’ve read it twice.
@@laurasedor4641 Wow, I never knew there was one. I don't want to sound all hoity, but I don't really watch TV. I tried to watch Game of Thrones, but I found it very cheesy compared to my imagination and watching it was ruing my remembrance of the books, so I stopped. I knew what was going to happen anyway, so why bother?
Those I've read listed in the video are among my favorites as well. I do have some issues with "The Road," as much as I enjoyed it, and I agree that once getting used to the prose style, it becomes very powerful. I scanned through the responses and culled what looked like good titles for future reading. I would add "The Handmaid's Tale" as well, which has been a favorite of mine since it was first published mid-80's. Atwood also wrote a trilogy beginning with "Oryx and Crake" that I find myself re-reading, plus my all-time favorite, "The Lathe of Heaven" by Ursula LeGuin (that would have been #1 on my own list). Great vid!
One that a friend of mine turned me onto years back, that I ended up enjoying so much I hunted down a very rare hardback copy of, is Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven’s Lucifer’s Hammer. I have a deep love for it as a lot of where it takes place is where I live but honestly, it’s not only a fun read but a tad terrifying being how probable this is how the world ends…(mostly ends). I’m sure you’ve read it but by chance if it slipped by, I highly recommend. They have several books that I’ve enjoyed so far. Footfall is another.
Great list🎉 Roadside Picnic and The Road are my absolute favourites in this genre so far. I would add one more to the list : I who have never known men . Its a fantastic, thought provoking novel!
Thank you so much for this list! I was so happy to see several books that I have read and loved. Your description and analysis of each book was very intriguing and made me want to read all of them.
Cormac. He has never written anything but greatness. My favorite is All The Pretty Horses. I take that back. I can never decide which of his is my favorite. Blood Meridian is often touted as his greatest, and makes The Road come across as a rom-com it's so bleak. They are all great. Recommend.
I was more traumatized by The Road than Blood Meridian. Both great books, but the kid in Meridian could have just run off, which he did, and there is no escape in The Road.
Actually Vincent Price's "The Last Man on Earth" was probably closer to Matheson's work. Will Smith evades the ending by showing "there are other Last Men on Earth," just way out in the country.
Great list and hello from Australia. One of our most treasured literary authors (Tim Winton) has just released a new book called Juice. It's post apocalyptic Australia but not in that Mad Max style. Apparently it's pretty darn good. It might be your bag.
The Windup Girl, thank you, no one on booktube talks about it and it's such a good book. It is a little hard to recommend though,with how graphic some of the scenes are.
Ridley Walker is one of my all time favourites. The way the language and place names have evolved to become something both familiar and strange fascinates me. The Rampart Trilogy (Book of Koli) is similarly effective
Love your list and interpretations.... Ive read 8 of your 10. And The Road may be my #1 as well.... but my number 2 I have not heard from anyone in your comments either, but a sleeper from out of nowhere is "Dog Stars" by Peter Heller (sometimes in recollection it surpases The Road). Also made me cry the 2nd most of the rest as well.
Fahrenheit 451 is one of my all time favorites. Except for it and Brand New World and 1984 (which I loved as well), I haven't read any of the others. Thank you for the discoveries! Great videos.
THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964) B&W with Vincent Price captured the spirit and atmosphere of the book better than any of the others. I read the book in the late 1960s & saw the movie later. The book is one of my all-time favorites.
Love the video. I haven't read all of the books listed, but agree with your top two in no particular order. Metro 2033 is enjoyable, but I found it a bit redundant after a while and there isn't much in character development that made me care about anyone but Artyom.
Yep, of those i've read, no "crazy" entries :). Time to re-read 'The Road' I think, everyone keeps saying how depressing it is but I found the ending kind of beautiful (so maybe i'm just in denial :). (some recs in the same vein: "Ice" by Anna Kavan and "Riddley Walker" by Russell Hoban - both of which aren't going to be for everyone i'd say - and "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller which is similarly niche in that it'll only appeal to humans _with_ hearts :)
It's a short story, not a novel, but I feel like a list like this should always mention "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison. Great list, BTW.
10. The Grace Year by Kim Liggett 9. The Girl Who Owned a City by OT Nelson 8. Z for Zachariah by Robert C O'Brien 7. A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison 6. The Book of the Unnamed MidWife by Meg Ellison 5. The Holdfast Chronicles (a quadrilogy) by Suzy McKee Charnas 4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 3. Swan Song by Robert B McCammon 2. Psalms of Herod//Sword of Mary by Esther Friesner 1. The Parable Duet by Octavia S Butler and/or The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - it's a tie Runners-up The Logan Trilogy by William D Nolan The MaddAddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood The Stand by Stephen King Floating Dragon by Peter Straub Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel I am Legend by Richard Matheson Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card Vox by Christine Dalcher Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin Red Clocks by Leni Zumas Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Under the Fang - an anthology edited by Robert B McCammon The Gate to Women's Country by Sherri S Tepper.
Great list. The Road was first to my mind. It's just so detailed and realistic in how savage the world becomes. You feel the fear and McCarthy lets you connect the subtle dots between the details. The overwhelming dark side of humanity is balanced with this thin human thread of hope. I always remember parts of this book as a father but particularly the imagery of the light/torch.
I love 1984! The end was crazy. It is one of my fav books. I’m always trying to get everyone to read it. I have tried reading The Stand but I get nightmares and stop. I need to suck it up and just finish reading it.
Can't argue with any of your choices. Check out "Lucifer's Hammer" by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven. And the "Island in the Sea of Time" and "Dies The Fire" by S.M. Stirling. Two sides of the same series. Also by S.M. Stirling is his "T2" trilogy, which is about a million times better than any of the awful Terminator sequels we received.
We is great. Really interesting to get something like that from a Russian author so soon after the revolution. Also worth it to see where 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit may have gotten some of their inspiration.
Triumph,The End of the Dream, The Disappearance, When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie, Make Room, Make Room by Harry Harrison, Chaga by Ian McDonald, The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman.
Someone already mentioned them below but I just read “On the Beach” by Nevill Shute, and found it an unusually brilliant concept and very moving. “Alas Babylon” is another wonderful post apocalyptic novel. Also mentioned below is “We” by Zamyatin written well before “1984.”
You got a like the second you mentioned Metro 2033. One of my favorite post apocalyptic novels ever, the philosophical musings mixed in among the horrifying tunnel segments and the safe havens and unpredictable politics of the stations, such a unique take on the genre.
You nailed it with The Road in first place. It is a work of magnificent desolation, and is absolutely beautiful literature. I was surprised you didn't mention The Purple Cloud, though. I haven't read it in a long time, and it might not be great, but I thought it was at least well-known. I saw Alas, Babylon mentioned below.
Great list! Love to see Metro and Roadside Picnic since they are lesser known to most audiences compared to the others on the list. I will list some below that I enjoyed that you might as well since you are a fan. Children of Men by PD James Summer of the Apocalypse by James Van Pelt Eternity Road by Jack McDevitt Wolf and Iron by Gordon R. Dickson Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh Slow Apocalypse by John Varley Swan Song by Robert McCammon The Rift by Walter Jon Williams The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood Earth Abides by George R Stewart The Postman by David Brin Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank War Day by Whitley Strieber
Stalker is my favorite foreign film but i realize that ive never read the book 🤦♀️ Windup Girl is on my top 10 of any genre 🙌🏻 Handmaids Tale is in my top 10 dystopian 🤓 Great video 🎉
Interesting list. Both surprised and not surprised that Canticle makes the list. What makes Canticle interesting is that it is a very specifically Catholic view of history and the end of times.
I just finished this one a couple weeks ago. I wouldn't consider it to be as action-filled as ,say, The Stand, but it's a very human story. I think it approaches the end of the world from a more philosophical perspective and eventually touches on things people would inevitably have to consider. I also enjoyed how it touches on how children would react to life when "after" is all they'd ever known. Maybe a little long but well worth the read. It's also interesting that it inspired King to write The Stand, which involves 2 groups on their respective odyssies, while Earth Abides mostly takes place in one neighborhood.
Cormac McCarthy is great! The Road is an incredible story, but it’s one I wouldn’t want to read twice. His book, Blood Meridian, is another classic in the Western genre- my favorite by him.
I am a huge Stephen King fan, I read Carrie and Pet Semetery in the 5th grade in late 90s. The Road is my favorite dystopian future, fantastic film as well.
I'm currently reading/reviewing one that hasn't been published yet called, "The Garden" by Nick Newman. The setting for the story is a time and place unknown. Its focus is two sisters living alone in a garden. It's really interesting so far. So far it has been shelved as fantasy though but reviewers are calling it apocalyptic feel to it. Definitely worth checking out.
@@rammelbroadcasting You should read it, it's a unique take on the post-apocalyptic genre. I believe Day of the Triffids should at least have an honourable mention in the list of post-apocalyptic books. Another thing is that this is mostly a list of dystopian books at least half of them are not post-apocalyptic at all. And I have doubts that there are ten good enough purely post-apocalyptic books to make a top 10 list.
That’s a great list! If you want to try more of a pulp dystopian novel try Deathlands by Jack Adrian. It’s a series that started in 1987 and went on and on with various authors using this same name. They are fun.
For sheer entertainment I'd recommend The Rising and City of the Dead by Brian Keene. It's a zombie apocalyse with a bit of a twist. He's also got a couple related books set in that world as well as the Dead Sea series. Then there is Earthworm Gods (aka Conqueror Worms) which has more of a Lovecraftian feel.
I love Keene. The Rising is my favorite zombie novel. I got fired from a job to go to a book signing of his leading to, IMO, coolest notes. In my copy of Kill Whitey it says "I'm sorry you lost your job to get this signature."
Agree with 'The Road' in the number one slot - amazing book. If you only read one of his other books make it 'Blood Meridian' 'Ridley Walker', by Russell Hobane, and 'Earth Abides', by George R. Stewart, would be somewhere in my top 10.
1984 was great, I really enjoyed it but I liked Brave New World better. The mix of utopia and dystopia was so interesting and how the end was written was just great.
"The Windup Girl" is an incredible book also in the genre of biopunk!! I think that one deserves an adaptation. Paolo has some interesting concepts. Metro, I have not read the books but I played the video games.
Giles Goat Boy by John Barth is wicked strange but a great read for me. both Stand on Zanzibar & The Shockwave Rider by John Brunner and also Catch A Falling Star and the Northwall series by Paul O. Williams - 7 books The Long Walk by Stephen King (as Bachman) Dhalgren by Samuel R Delaney A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett Just a few I liked but did not see anyone else suggest
The Road…. That book made such an impact in me. The last few chapters were lots of crying…. I also highly recommend the Passage trilogy by Justin Cronin.
“The Last Policeman” trilogy series is wonderful. Would also recommend “Spin” by Robert Charles Wilson and “Moonseed” by Stephen Baxter. Greg Bear has written 2 terrific novels:”Forge of God” and “Blood Music.”
I have always thought yhe meaning to The Road is thay beauty, goodness and hope are everywhere, more so when it seems they are lost. It always makes me feel better.
Good list. I would include World War Z by Max Brooks and The Flood by Stephen Baxter (I swim like a brick so The Flood is especially frightening to me).
If you haven't read We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, you should try it. It's the OG dystopian novel from 1924, written by yet another Russian author. Some say it influenced the big three, but they deny it. 1984 is quite similar in my opinion.
![[#2024MAMA] BIGBANG (빅뱅) - 뱅뱅뱅 (BANG BANG BANG) + FANTASTIC BABY | Mnet 241123 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EQsYfiPR9uM/mqdefault.jpg)
Kind of hard to get enthused about dystopic stories when you are entering a dystopic period in society.
It’s been dystopian for a long time
Swan Song by Robert McCammon. I am told it is similar to The Stand, I cannot say having not read The Stand. But a fantastic book. Boy's Life by him is one of my favorite books too
Margaret Atwood's MadAddam trilogy, especially Year of the Flood.
Some mentions on the apocalyptic spin
Swan Song by Robert McCammon
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
Lucifer’s Hammer by Jerry Pournelle & David Niven
Swan song for me was about as good as The Stand... definately one to read if you like this genre
On The Beach by Nevil Shute and Alas Babylon by Pat Frank
Two of my favorite post-apocalyptic novels but I must give the edge to Alas Babylon.
@@romeronyc Read then both SOOOOO many years ago. I think Alas Babylon was the first post apocalyptic novel I ever read. And On The Beach has always haunted me. I have never forgotten them.
The Postman is one of my top post apocalyptic books. It feels very real to me.
I started it, then put it down. I have to come back to it.
Yes, I liked it too.
Great list! If you haven’t read Swan Song, you should.
@@HunterHilly I haven't. I'll have to check it out.
@@rammelbroadcasting incredible post apocalyptic…
+1 for Swan Song
Swan song was very good
Swan Song is awful. Do not bother with it. It's essentially a fanfic-quality fantasy story in which the good guys are purely good and beautiful while the bad guys are evil ugly devils. Everything works out for the good guys and they are made even more beautiful and pure while the evil ugly bad guys fail because they are dumb evil bad guys. Less important, but none of the details of the story make sense. There is no real explanation of how anyone is surviving in the post-apocalyptic world. No explanation for how they continue to find fuel and food for themselves. Despite that, lots of descriptions of violence and suffering. So, it all just feels unearned, unmotivated, and fake cheap allegory.
I love The Road too. One that I also really enjoyed was Station Eleven, love it as much as The Road. It also has a great adaptation (1 season) on HBO they changed a few things but both are amazing
I'll have to check that one out
Earth Abides by Stewart is the granddaddy of all end of life as we know it novels. It was written in the 1940s and is still the best for conveying what it would feel like to be one of a few survivors, meaning you have lost everyone and everything that made life meaningful. It's also very hopeful as people do adjust and find hope.
Another that is more of a curiosity is The Last Man by Mary Shelley. She wrote it after Frankenstein The writing is very Victorian but it's an interesting read.
I'm really curious about the last man.
I totally agree about Earth Abides. It is a more personal story as it follows the main character Ish, but certainly holds up even 80 years after it was written. It will always be at the top of my own list of favorite distopians.
Earth Abides has been made into a movie coming out this December. I fear the worst. There isn't much action in the novel so the movie may ruin it by adding lots of cliched action. I hope I'm wrong.
Scrolling down to check, and if no-one else had, I'd have thrown Earth Abides into the list too.
Never saw any of your videos before this. I have read 5 of the books on your list and now have added the other 5 to my TBR. I'm going to watch some of your other videos now because it appears we might enjoy similar books. Thanks for the list.
Great video! I'm curious-where is Swan Song? I'd say it's arguably as good as, or perhaps even better than, The Stand!
Day of the Triffids is a great read
I completely agree.
One Second After series by William R. Forstchen is really good as well. The novel is based on what would happen if an EMP is set off in the upper atmosphere. A very real threat. Its wild how fast civilization could/will collapse in a situation like that...
Those were good ... but One Year After was a bit much.
Oh, man. When I read One Second After it was definitely thought provoking and scary
No one mentions Justin Cronin’s The Passage, which is the first book of a trilogy. I like the story better than The Stand or Swan Song. I’ve read it twice.
YES The Passage was really really good. So disappointed about the TV series.
@@laurasedor4641 Wow, I never knew there was one. I don't want to sound all hoity, but I don't really watch TV. I tried to watch Game of Thrones, but I found it very cheesy compared to my imagination and watching it was ruing my remembrance of the books, so I stopped. I knew what was going to happen anyway, so why bother?
I've read it twice also❤
The Passage is SO good!! Unfortunately each of the sequels takes a step or two down from it, at least for me.
I loved that book too. Have the sequel but haven’t gotten to it yet.
Absolutely agree on The Road. Blood Meridian is brilliant, too.
Blood Meridian is greatness, awesome reading
I preferred the uncut version of The Stand, but it also made me appreciate that not all editing is a bad thing.
Roadside picknick is my absolute all time favorite. Nr 1.
And happy to hear you mention Dr Bloodmoney an other favorite of mine 🤗
excellent top 10 list and i am happy that metro getting recognition .
Those I've read listed in the video are among my favorites as well. I do have some issues with "The Road," as much as I enjoyed it, and I agree that once getting used to the prose style, it becomes very powerful.
I scanned through the responses and culled what looked like good titles for future reading. I would add "The Handmaid's Tale" as well, which has been a favorite of mine since it was first published mid-80's. Atwood also wrote a trilogy beginning with "Oryx and Crake" that I find myself re-reading, plus my all-time favorite, "The Lathe of Heaven" by Ursula LeGuin (that would have been #1 on my own list). Great vid!
One that a friend of mine turned me onto years back, that I ended up enjoying so much I hunted down a very rare hardback copy of, is Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven’s Lucifer’s Hammer. I have a deep love for it as a lot of where it takes place is where I live but honestly, it’s not only a fun read but a tad terrifying being how probable this is how the world ends…(mostly ends). I’m sure you’ve read it but by chance if it slipped by, I highly recommend. They have several books that I’ve enjoyed so far. Footfall is another.
Great list🎉 Roadside Picnic and The Road are my absolute favourites in this genre so far. I would add one more to the list : I who have never known men . Its a fantastic, thought provoking novel!
The Road Page 17, that’s the page you were thinking of. I remember it, life changing for a new father
Thanks for the fabulous list. I would have included "Parable of the Sower" by Octavia E. Butler. If you haven't read it, I would definitely recommend.
I don't think I'll ever read another Butler after reading Dawn. 🤮
Wholeheartedly recommend Parable of the Sower
Thank you so much for this list! I was so happy to see several books that I have read and loved. Your description and analysis of each book was very intriguing and made me want to read all of them.
Cormac. He has never written anything but greatness. My favorite is All The Pretty Horses. I take that back. I can never decide which of his is my favorite. Blood Meridian is often touted as his greatest, and makes The Road come across as a rom-com it's so bleak. They are all great. Recommend.
I was more traumatized by The Road than Blood Meridian. Both great books, but the kid in Meridian could have just run off, which he did, and there is no escape in The Road.
@toughbutsweet1 The Road was more personal being a story of a father and a son.
This was a such a fantastic list of one of my favourite genres! Thanks for the video!
Actually Vincent Price's "The Last Man on Earth" was probably closer to Matheson's work. Will Smith evades the ending by showing "there are other Last Men on Earth," just way out in the country.
Great list and hello from Australia. One of our most treasured literary authors (Tim Winton) has just released a new book called Juice. It's post apocalyptic Australia but not in that Mad Max style. Apparently it's pretty darn good. It might be your bag.
I agree with your final choice. The Road is one of my all-time faves. I recommended this book to my sons.
The Windup Girl, thank you, no one on booktube talks about it and it's such a good book. It is a little hard to recommend though,with how graphic some of the scenes are.
The water knife, by Bacigalupi is wonderful.
M-O-O-N that spells 1984! Great books! Looking forward to reading a few I haven't heard of before, such as Canticle. Thank you for the suggestions!
@@LadyValkyri no problem 👍
THE STAND is my favorite King book. Amazing character development and tapestry of story arcs. I also loved the 1994 miniseries.
Thanks for the intriguing recommendations!!
What I love about Roadside Picnic is how it went media full circle being made into a movie (Stalker by Tarkovsky) and video game (the Stalker games).
I agree. I can't wait for the new stalker game next month!
Love the Stalker series, though they're very LOOSE adaptations
I love your t-shirt choice for this video 👍🏻
Thanks
Ridley Walker is one of my all time favourites. The way the language and place names have evolved to become something both familiar and strange fascinates me. The Rampart Trilogy (Book of Koli) is similarly effective
I would have included Earth Abides by George R. Stewart.
Yes and almost forgotten.
Love your list and interpretations.... Ive read 8 of your 10. And The Road may be my #1 as well.... but my number 2 I have not heard from anyone in your comments either, but a sleeper from out of nowhere is "Dog Stars" by Peter Heller (sometimes in recollection it surpases The Road). Also made me cry the 2nd most of the rest as well.
Fahrenheit 451 is one of my all time favorites. Except for it and Brand New World and 1984 (which I loved as well), I haven't read any of the others. Thank you for the discoveries! Great videos.
THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964) B&W with Vincent Price captured the spirit and atmosphere of the book better than any of the others. I read the book in the late 1960s & saw the movie later. The book is one of my all-time favorites.
Love the video. I haven't read all of the books listed, but agree with your top two in no particular order. Metro 2033 is enjoyable, but I found it a bit redundant after a while and there isn't much in character development that made me care about anyone but Artyom.
I just wanted to stop by and say your videos are awesome. Keep up the great work!
@@JesseRad Thank you.
Earth Abides still holds up.
Really enjoy your videos! Helps me add to my never ending list of books to check out. :)
@@JennaWeisz Thanks!
If you have not done so yet please read Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. It's incredible!
Fantastic list! I enjoyed all of these gems
Yep, of those i've read, no "crazy" entries :). Time to re-read 'The Road' I think, everyone keeps saying how depressing it is but I found the ending kind of beautiful (so maybe i'm just in denial :).
(some recs in the same vein: "Ice" by Anna Kavan and "Riddley Walker" by Russell Hoban - both of which aren't going to be for everyone i'd say - and "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller which is similarly niche in that it'll only appeal to humans _with_ hearts :)
It's a depressingly themed book, for sure. But, AT NO POINT did The Road make me cry!!! I think it can be quite affecting for dads.
It's a short story, not a novel, but I feel like a list like this should always mention "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison. Great list, BTW.
I love that story. I did a whole video on it and the rest of that collection.
@@rammelbroadcasting Oh wow! I'll look it up and watch it. Thanks.
Lots of Harlan Ellison is really good but I guess doesn’t really fit the post apocalyptic topic here. 🙂
10. The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
9. The Girl Who Owned a City by OT Nelson
8. Z for Zachariah by Robert C O'Brien
7. A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison
6. The Book of the Unnamed MidWife by Meg Ellison
5. The Holdfast Chronicles (a quadrilogy) by Suzy McKee Charnas
4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. Swan Song by Robert B McCammon
2. Psalms of Herod//Sword of Mary by Esther Friesner
1. The Parable Duet by Octavia S Butler and/or The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - it's a tie
Runners-up
The Logan Trilogy by William D Nolan
The MaddAddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood
The Stand by Stephen King
Floating Dragon by Peter Straub
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
I am Legend by Richard Matheson
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Vox by Christine Dalcher
Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin
Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Under the Fang - an anthology edited by Robert B McCammon
The Gate to Women's Country by Sherri S Tepper.
Great list. The Road was first to my mind. It's just so detailed and realistic in how savage the world becomes. You feel the fear and McCarthy lets you connect the subtle dots between the details. The overwhelming dark side of humanity is balanced with this thin human thread of hope. I always remember parts of this book as a father but particularly the imagery of the light/torch.
Parable of the sower by Octavia Butler highly recommend
Great list. I wasn't surprised that The Handmaid's Tale wasn't on it, though. I'd also recommend The Chrysalids and Swan Song.
I haven't actually read anything from Atwood yet. I was going to start with Oryx and Crake.
@@rammelbroadcasting That's a good one, although The Handmaid's Tale is better. I haven't read the sequels to Oryx and Crake (Maddaddam trilogy).
I can’t believe Swan Song didn’t make it. I like The Stand but I think Swan Song is better. I really enjoyed the Passage as well.
I love 1984! The end was crazy. It is one of my fav books. I’m always trying to get everyone to read it. I have tried reading The Stand but I get nightmares and stop. I need to suck it up and just finish reading it.
Can't argue with any of your choices. Check out "Lucifer's Hammer" by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven. And the "Island in the Sea of Time" and "Dies The Fire" by S.M. Stirling. Two sides of the same series. Also by S.M. Stirling is his "T2" trilogy, which is about a million times better than any of the awful Terminator sequels we received.
S.M. Stirling is effin' great!
Oldtimer honorable mention:
Matthew Phipps Shiel - The purple cloud (big fart, all die)
Yevgeny Zamyatin - We (1921, proto 1984 novel, just as good)
We is great. Really interesting to get something like that from a Russian author so soon after the revolution. Also worth it to see where 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit may have gotten some of their inspiration.
New to your channel. Great recommendations! Where do you get the lovely editions you show?
Mostly from the folio society they are my favorite.
Triumph,The End of the Dream, The Disappearance, When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie, Make Room, Make Room by Harry Harrison, Chaga by Ian McDonald, The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman.
Someone already mentioned them below but I just read “On the Beach” by Nevill Shute, and found it an unusually brilliant concept and very moving. “Alas Babylon” is another wonderful post apocalyptic novel. Also mentioned below is “We” by Zamyatin written well before “1984.”
Another amazing book is "One Second After" Every one That borrowed my book loved it.
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
I forgot about The Wanderers! Wonderful book.
The road did break me. I’m afraid to go back.
You got a like the second you mentioned Metro 2033. One of my favorite post apocalyptic novels ever, the philosophical musings mixed in among the horrifying tunnel segments and the safe havens and unpredictable politics of the stations, such a unique take on the genre.
You nailed it with The Road in first place. It is a work of magnificent desolation, and is absolutely beautiful literature. I was surprised you didn't mention The Purple Cloud, though. I haven't read it in a long time, and it might not be great, but I thought it was at least well-known. I saw Alas, Babylon mentioned below.
Great list! Love to see Metro and Roadside Picnic since they are lesser known to most audiences compared to the others on the list. I will list some below that I enjoyed that you might as well since you are a fan.
Children of Men by PD James
Summer of the Apocalypse by James Van Pelt
Eternity Road by Jack McDevitt
Wolf and Iron by Gordon R. Dickson
Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh
Slow Apocalypse by John Varley
Swan Song by Robert McCammon
The Rift by Walter Jon Williams
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Earth Abides by George R Stewart
The Postman by David Brin
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
War Day by Whitley Strieber
Stalker is my favorite foreign film but i realize that ive never read the book 🤦♀️
Windup Girl is on my top 10 of any genre 🙌🏻
Handmaids Tale is in my top 10 dystopian 🤓
Great video 🎉
Xenogenesis saga by Octavia Butler
Interesting list. Both surprised and not surprised that Canticle makes the list. What makes Canticle interesting is that it is a very specifically Catholic view of history and the end of times.
I’d recommend Earth Abides by George Stewart for a different flavor of post apocalyptic. It inspired Stephen King to write The Stand
I just finished this one a couple weeks ago. I wouldn't consider it to be as action-filled as ,say, The Stand, but it's a very human story. I think it approaches the end of the world from a more philosophical perspective and eventually touches on things people would inevitably have to consider. I also enjoyed how it touches on how children would react to life when "after" is all they'd ever known. Maybe a little long but well worth the read.
It's also interesting that it inspired King to write The Stand, which involves 2 groups on their respective odyssies, while Earth Abides mostly takes place in one neighborhood.
Cormac McCarthy is great! The Road is an incredible story, but it’s one I wouldn’t want to read twice. His book, Blood Meridian, is another classic in the Western genre- my favorite by him.
The Road is so tragically beautiful. It breaks my heart every time I read it.
The Gate to Women’s Country by Sheri Tepper is a different type of post apocalyptic novel.
I am a huge Stephen King fan, I read Carrie and Pet Semetery in the 5th grade in late 90s. The Road is my favorite dystopian future, fantastic film as well.
I'm currently reading/reviewing one that hasn't been published yet called, "The Garden" by Nick Newman. The setting for the story is a time and place unknown. Its focus is two sisters living alone in a garden. It's really interesting so far. So far it has been shelved as fantasy though but reviewers are calling it apocalyptic feel to it. Definitely worth checking out.
Great List. Love Canticle for Leibowitz.
Hey, what do you think about Postman by David Brin? Also I was surprised I didn't see Triffids Day there judging how influential it was.
I haven't read the postman, so I can't speak on it. I have read the day of the triffids, and it's pretty great. I just like these ones better 🤷♂️
@@rammelbroadcasting You should read it, it's a unique take on the post-apocalyptic genre. I believe Day of the Triffids should at least have an honourable mention in the list of post-apocalyptic books. Another thing is that this is mostly a list of dystopian books at least half of them are not post-apocalyptic at all. And I have doubts that there are ten good enough purely post-apocalyptic books to make a top 10 list.
@@rammelbroadcasting The Postman is one of my favorites. I really like Brin's writing style.
That’s a great list!
If you want to try more of a pulp dystopian novel try Deathlands by Jack Adrian. It’s a series that started in 1987 and went on and on with various authors using this same name. They are fun.
Sounds interesting
Nailed it! Great list.
For sheer entertainment I'd recommend The Rising and City of the Dead by Brian Keene. It's a zombie apocalyse with a bit of a twist. He's also got a couple related books set in that world as well as the Dead Sea series. Then there is Earthworm Gods (aka Conqueror Worms) which has more of a Lovecraftian feel.
Keene is great in general. Working my way through his catalogue. I have read 8 of his books so far.
I love Keene. The Rising is my favorite zombie novel. I got fired from a job to go to a book signing of his leading to, IMO, coolest notes. In my copy of Kill Whitey it says "I'm sorry you lost your job to get this signature."
I loved Dies the fire. That is a long series that I have not finished.
Agree with 'The Road' in the number one slot - amazing book. If you only read one of his other books make it 'Blood Meridian'
'Ridley Walker', by Russell Hobane, and 'Earth Abides', by George R. Stewart, would be somewhere in my top 10.
The scariest thing about 1984 isn't that Big Brother wants to control you. It is that Big Brother wants you to love him.
Gotta agree with you on The Road ... it's shattering.
swan song would crack your top 5 for sure I'd bet
1984 was great, I really enjoyed it but I liked Brave New World better. The mix of utopia and dystopia was so interesting and how the end was written was just great.
I really enjoyed the America falls books if you haven't read them it's worthwhile starts a little slow then blows up and stays tugging on your mind
"The Windup Girl" is an incredible book also in the genre of biopunk!!
I think that one deserves an adaptation. Paolo has some interesting concepts.
Metro, I have not read the books but I played the video games.
I kept wondering when you’d mention The Road lol
The Road scared the ever loving shit out of me! 1984 is my favorite book of all time. And I agree that The Passage belongs on this list too.
Giles Goat Boy by John Barth is wicked strange but a great read for me.
both Stand on Zanzibar & The Shockwave Rider by John Brunner and also Catch A Falling Star
and the Northwall series by Paul O. Williams - 7 books
The Long Walk by Stephen King (as Bachman)
Dhalgren by Samuel R Delaney
A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison
The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett
Just a few I liked but did not see anyone else suggest
The Road…. That book made such an impact in me. The last few chapters were lots of crying…. I also highly recommend the Passage trilogy by Justin Cronin.
“The Last Policeman” trilogy series is wonderful. Would also recommend “Spin” by Robert Charles Wilson and “Moonseed” by Stephen Baxter. Greg Bear has written 2 terrific novels:”Forge of God” and “Blood Music.”
Here's a couple more for you: "This Perfect Day" by Ira Levin, and "Ridley Walker" by Russell Hoban
I have always thought yhe meaning to The Road is thay beauty, goodness and hope are everywhere, more so when it seems they are lost. It always makes me feel better.
@@courtneytrammell9474 My biggest takeaway is that, just because you are not a bad guy, doesn't necessarily mean you are a good guy.
Great list! I just received Metro 2033, 2034, 2035 in Russian language. I should get to them after I'm done reading Boy's Life by Robert McCammon.
Awesome! Hope you enjoy them!
Good list. I would include World War Z by Max Brooks and The Flood by Stephen Baxter (I swim like a brick so The Flood is especially frightening to me).
Great list. ❤
@@freespirit4574 Thank you.
If you haven't read We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, you should try it. It's the OG dystopian novel from 1924, written by yet another Russian author. Some say it influenced the big three, but they deny it. 1984 is quite similar in my opinion.
I've heard of it but never read it. Now I want to move it up on my TBR because I always hear good things about it.
@@haxxy40 It definitely influenced 1984! Without a doubt!
Nice list! I did not care for Brave New World, though.
FYI, there is a new graphic novel adaptation of the Road illustrated by Manu Larcenet. If you are into graphic novels, it's a must read.