Good post apocalyptic fiction recomendations?
Mike C
Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style fiction
for me?
I've read very little science fiction (I think Dune is the only book that
could apply), my readings have tended towards the fantasy end of the
spectrum, but I wouldn't mind if the book was science fiction. Authors I
like (don't know if this will help much) include Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy,
George RR Martin, Steven Erikson, Frederick Forsyth, David Gemmell, Robert
Jordan. Enjoy most sword and sorcery authors too.
I think I'd prefer it if it was more fantasy than science fiction, but I'm
open to anything you think is good.
I hope I'm posting this in the right place, I assumed that by it's nature
post apocolyptic fiction is pretty much automatically SF of some kind.
Thanks in advance
Mike
Don D'Ammassa
news:mcSWa.25793$pK2....@news.indigo.ie:
Earth Abides - George R. Stewart
Re-Birth - John Wyndham
A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter Miller
The Long Tomorrow - Leigh Brackett
Davy - Edgar Pangborn
Dan Goodman
> Hullo all,
Sort of. One strain -- Extruded Survivalism Product -- has become its own
genre.
What _kind_ of post-apocalyptic fiction do you want? Do you want it set
right after the disaster, a generation or two later, or several thousand
years later? Do you want a complete wipeout of life on Earth, with the only
survivors being in space? Do you want the survivors to be human?
--
Dan Goodman dsg...@visi.com
Journal: http://dsgood.blogspot.com
Mike C
"Don D'Ammassa" <damm...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:Xns93CB9D7BCEACBd...@198.99.146.18...
Thank you Don, I'll check those out.
Mike
Mike C
"Dan Goodman" <dsg...@visi.com> wrote in message
news:Xns93CBA3C977D...@209.98.13.60...
> "Mike C" <bonot...@hotmail.com> wrote in
> news:mcSWa.25793$pK2....@news.indigo.ie:
>
> > Hullo all,
> >
> > fiction for me?
> Sort of. One strain -- Extruded Survivalism Product -- has become its own
> genre.
I want to stay away from that kind I think.
> What _kind_ of post-apocalyptic fiction do you want? Do you want it set
> right after the disaster, a generation or two later, or several thousand
> years later? Do you want a complete wipeout of life on Earth, with the
only
> survivors being in space? Do you want the survivors to be human?
Ok. As to when it's set, I don't mind.
I'd prefer if it was set on earth.
Some of the survivors should be human, it'd be nice if there were horribly
mutated creatures out for their blood too!
I love _I am Legend_ btw, the "one man against army of undead" stuff is
excellent, and I'd like anything similar, with zombies etc.
Realism is always good too, gritty and violent.
Thats my list :-)
Mike
Chuck Bridgeland
> Hullo all,
>
> Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style fiction
> for me?
I assume you're taking apocolypse to mean "disaster" rather than
"revelation".
Two that come immediately to mind are George Stewart's _Earth Abides_,
published around 1950, and Niven & Pournelle's _Lucifer's Hammer_. _Earth
Abides_, in particular, gets discussed (argued about) regularly in
rec.arts.sf.written -- not bad for a 50 year old book.
--
"We all have our keepers, you see." -- George W. Mollari
Chuck Bridgeland, chuckbri at computerdyn dot com
http://www.essex1.com/people/chuckbri
Brandon Ray
All of those are good -- note that the Wyndham is also
published under the title "The Chrysalids".
A few others worth looking for:
Alas Babylon - Pat Frank
The Forge of God - Greg Bear
When Worlds Collide - Edwin Balmer & Phillip Wylie
Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Luke Webber
news:slrnbioe62....@lennier.chuckbri.org...
> On Sat, 2 Aug 2003 18:05:55 +0100, Mike C <bonot...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > Hullo all,
> >
> > Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style
fiction
> > for me?
>
> I assume you're taking apocolypse to mean "disaster" rather than
> "revelation".
>
> Two that come immediately to mind are George Stewart's _Earth Abides_,
> published around 1950, and Niven & Pournelle's _Lucifer's Hammer_. _Earth
> Abides_, in particular, gets discussed (argued about) regularly in
> rec.arts.sf.written -- not bad for a 50 year old book.
I think _Lucifer's Hammer_ is a good choice, but there's also...
_Emergence_ by David Palmer
_The Day of the Triffids_ by John Wyndham
_Z for Zachariah_ by (mumble)
Luke
Donald J. Harlow
news:3F2C528D...@avalon.net... (reage al Mike C)
>
> > > > Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style
> > > > fiction for me?
>
>
> Alas Babylon - Pat Frank
> The Forge of God - Greg Bear
> When Worlds Collide - Edwin Balmer & Phillip Wylie
> Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
However, if I remember correctly these are all "apocalypse" and
"pre-apocalypse" and not "post-apocalypse" works (though there is some
immediate post-apocalypse stuff in the second half of Niven & Pournelle, and
perhaps a bit in Frank. For Balmer & Wylie, the title to look at for this is
"After Worlds Collide", though of course you have to read "When Worlds
Collide" -- not simply get the movie -- to enjoy it).
--
-- Don HARLOW
http://www.webcom.com/~donh/don/don.html
http://donh.best.vwh.net/Esperanto/
scottm
news:3F2C528D...@avalon.net...
I'd add Nevil Shute's "On the Beach", but its been years since I read that.
how...@brazee.net
how...@brazee.net
On 2-Aug-2003, "scottm" <sco...@grandecom.net> wrote:
> > The Forge of God - Greg Bear
> > Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
>
> I'd add Nevil Shute's "On the Beach", but its been years since I read
> that.
How are these "POST" apocalyptic?
how...@brazee.net
On 2-Aug-2003, Chuck Bridgeland <chuc...@computerdyn.com> wrote:
> I assume you're taking apocolypse to mean "disaster" rather than
> "revelation".
Otherwise, the selection is rather small. Even Job is mostly
pre-apocolyptic.
Pip R. Lagenta
wrote:
[snip]
>_Z for Zachariah_ by (mumble)
The very same mumble who wrote _Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH_
Robert C O'Brien
_Z for Zachariah_ is quite good.
內躬偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,
Pip R. Lagenta Pip R. Lagenta Pip R. Lagenta Pip R. Lagenta
�虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌`偕爻,虜,齯滌
-- Pip R. Lagenta
President for Life
International Organization Of People Named Pip R. Lagenta
(If your name is Pip R. Lagenta, ask about our dues!)
---
<http://home.comcast.net/~galentripp/pip.html>
(For Email: I'm at home, not work.)
Mike Dworetsky
-- "Brandon Ray" <pub...@avalon.net> wrote in message
news:3F2C528D...@avalon.net...
>
>
Star Man's Son - Andre Norton (published in the early 1950s)
Also don't forget After Worlds Collide, the sequel to When...
Mike Dworetsky
(Remove "pants" spamblock to send e-mail)
Keith Stokes
Heinlein's "Farnham's Freehold."
Keith
Stewart Robert Hinsley
<bonot...@hotmail.com> writes
>Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style fiction
>for me?
Perhaps "Souls in the Great Machine". (Google for recent discussion on
this froup.)
Mary Gentle's "Golden Witchbreed" and "Ancient Light" are simultaneously
post-apocalyptic and pre-apocalyptic/apocalyptic, though the apocalypses
take place on Orthe, not Earth.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley
Wendy Darling
by Storm Constantine, available in omnibus format or sep. books as:
Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit
Bewitchments of Love and Hate
Fulfilments of Fate and Desire
There's a new fourth book to it, Wraiths of Will and Pleasure, starting out
a second trilogy. I can't recommend any of those book highly enough. Be
warned though, that if you can't deal with gay themes, eroticism or gender
issues, might not be your cup o' tea.
Another trilogy, recently put back into print, is the Sime~Gen Unity
Trilogy, by Jacqueline Lichtenberg & Jean Lorrah. The emphasis of that
really isn't on post-apocalyptic conditions themselves but the story set-up
is based on the human race having been through something pretty traumatic
that in addition to f'ing up the normal scheme of things, has split humans
into two types, Simes and Gens, and that though they are biologically intent
on killing one another, they must live together in order for either side to
survive. That book was just put out by Meisha Merlin (www.meishamerlin.com)
after originally being published in the 70s.
Wendy
"Mike C" <bonot...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:mcSWa.25793$pK2....@news.indigo.ie...
Don D'Ammassa
Actually, those aren't post-apocalyptic. They take place during the
event itself. Another good one is Malevil by Robert Merle, but I suspect
it would be hard to find.
Don D'Ammassa
@netnews.att.net:
> Lots of good discusion all ready, but I didn't see anyone mention
> Heinlein's "Farnham's Freehold."
>
> Keith
>
No, because it's dreadful.
Brandon Ray
"The Forge of God", I'll give you -- the sequel, "Anvil of
Stars", would be the post-apoc story, although (imho) it is
the lesser work.
"Lucifer's Hammer" certainly is post-apocalypse -- something
on the order of the second half of the book is set after the
disaster, and involves the struggle for survival. "On the
Beach" (which I did not care for) certainly fits the bill --
the atomic war is already over on page one.
Brandon Ray
"Donald J. Harlow" wrote:
>
> "Brandon Ray" <pub...@avalon.net> skribis en mesagxo
> news:3F2C528D...@avalon.net... (reage al Mike C)
> >
> > > > > Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style
> > > > > fiction for me?
> >
> > A few others worth looking for:
> >
> > Alas Babylon - Pat Frank
> > The Forge of God - Greg Bear
> > When Worlds Collide - Edwin Balmer & Phillip Wylie
> > Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
>
> However, if I remember correctly these are all "apocalypse" and
> "pre-apocalypse" and not "post-apocalypse" works (though there is some
> immediate post-apocalypse stuff in the second half of Niven & Pournelle, and
> perhaps a bit in Frank. For Balmer & Wylie, the title to look at for this is
> "After Worlds Collide", though of course you have to read "When Worlds
> Collide" -- not simply get the movie -- to enjoy it).
More than a bit in Frank. The war is essentially over by
chapter three or four; the bulk of the novel is
post-apocalyptic, with the war being merely the set up.
Brandon Ray
Mike Dworetsky wrote:
>
> -- "Brandon Ray" <pub...@avalon.net> wrote in message
> news:3F2C528D...@avalon.net...
> > A few others worth looking for:
> >
> > Alas Babylon - Pat Frank
> > The Forge of God - Greg Bear
> > When Worlds Collide - Edwin Balmer & Phillip Wylie
> > Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
>
> Star Man's Son - Andre Norton (published in the early 1950s)
>
> Also don't forget After Worlds Collide, the sequel to When...
>
I hadn't forgot about it; I just didn't like it as well.
Brandon Ray
Don D'Ammassa wrote:
>
> Brandon Ray <pub...@avalon.net> wrote in
> news:3F2C528D...@avalon.net:
> > A few others worth looking for:
> >
> > Alas Babylon - Pat Frank
> > The Forge of God - Greg Bear
> > When Worlds Collide - Edwin Balmer & Phillip Wylie
> > Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
>
> Actually, those aren't post-apocalyptic. They take place during the
> event itself. Another good one is Malevil by Robert Merle, but I suspect
> it would be hard to find.
I think you're splitting hairs. "Forge of God" I'll give
you. In the other three, a substantial part of the story
takes place AFTER the apocalyptic event, and involve the
struggle for survival (remember the First Passing of the
Bronson Bodies in the Balmer and Wylie).
As has been noted elsewhere in the thread, there is a sequel
to "Forge of God" -- "Anvil of Stars", which would
technically be the post-apocalypse story. I didn't like it
as well, but it was still a good read. Ditto "After Worlds
Collide". Worth reading, but not as good as the first book.
Brandon Ray
Or not. But it is certainly controversial. RAH tended to
challenge his readers.
El Capitan
I don't think it's dreadful so much as it's dated. Not one of my fave
Heinleins to begin with, it has not aged gracefully.
--
A rose by any other name would be "deadly thorn-bearing assault vegetation."
A.C.
news:z_VWa.25818$pK2....@news.indigo.ie...
> Some of the survivors should be human, it'd be nice if there were horribly
> mutated creatures out for their blood too!
Yes, that would be just lovely.
A.C.
news:3F2D3D55...@avalon.net...
Challenged them not to throw his books across the room maybe.
Crispin Roche
> Hullo all,
>
> Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style fiction
> for me?
Most of the classics seem to have been mentioned but one I like is Kim
Stanley Robinson's The Wild Shore.
Crispin Roche
Nancy Lebovitz
Mike C <bonot...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>Ok. As to when it's set, I don't mind.
>I'd prefer if it was set on earth.
>Some of the survivors should be human, it'd be nice if there were horribly
>mutated creatures out for their blood too!
>I love _I am Legend_ btw, the "one man against army of undead" stuff is
>excellent, and I'd like anything similar, with zombies etc.
>Realism is always good too, gritty and violent.
>
>Thats my list :-)
I feel compelled to mention Egan's _Diaspora_--it's got an apocalypse and
and an aftermath, but it doesn't meet any of your other specs. It's probably
the least visceral apocalypse I've ever read.
On the more helpful side, didn't Robert McCameron write an sf/horror
apocalypse novel?
NonOBQuote: From _Moonwise_: "What has it got in its apocalypses?"
--
Nancy Lebovitz na...@netaxs.com www.nancybuttons.com
Now, with bumper stickers
Using your turn signal is not "giving information to the enemy"
Keith Stokes
wrote:
>> Lots of good discusion all ready, but I didn't see anyone mention
>> Heinlein's "Farnham's Freehold."
>>
>> Keith
>>
>
>No, because it's dreadful.
I thought it a great story, up until the point where they encounter
the future society.
After reading it (around 1968, when I was in my early teens) I bought
a book on bridge and taught myself to play.
Keith
Don D'Ammassa
In this case, he was challenging his readers to stay awake to the end.
Griffith
wiebke...@juno.com says...
> For an gothic fantasy spin on post-apocalyptic, go for the Wraeththu trilogy
> by Storm Constantine, available in omnibus format or sep. books as:
>
> Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit
> Bewitchments of Love and Hate
> Fulfilments of Fate and Desire
>
> There's a new fourth book to it, Wraiths of Will and Pleasure, starting out
> a second trilogy. I can't recommend any of those book highly enough. Be
> warned though, that if you can't deal with gay themes, eroticism or gender
> issues, might not be your cup o' tea.
I wasn't overly impressed with the one Wraeththu book I read
(Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit). On the other hand I thought
_Calenture_ and _Burying the Shadow_ were among the very best fantasy
novels I've ever read. Are the other Wraeththu books better?
Al
Griffith
na...@unix1.netaxs.com says...
> On the more helpful side, didn't Robert McCameron write an sf/horror
> apocalypse novel?
Robert McCammon wrote one called _Swan Song_. I haven't read it, though.
A lot of Stephen King fans seem to regard it as an inferior version of
_The Stand_.
Al
scottm
remember the name of). These stories take place generations after the
apocolypse. Of course, they don't exactly fit your criteria of taking place on
Earth or having human as main characters, per ce.
"Brandon Ray" <pub...@avalon.net> wrote in message
news:3F2D3BD0...@avalon.net...
scottm
"Stewart Robert Hinsley" <{$news$}@meden.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:6+qiZEAQ9QL$Ew...@meden.demon.co.uk...
That'll teach me to read all the posts in a thred before replying to one. My
apologies for repeating your post.
Ancient Light, Ancient Light...gotta remember that.
Wendy Darling
Enchantments had its rough, boring patches. However, the new edition
available from Immanion Press (www.immanionpress.wox.org) is way, way
better. Basically Enchantments was a first novel where it wasn't until the
second half that the author really found her groove -- and it wasn't until
years later that she got a real clue about actual world-building! The second
and third books of Wraeththu (Bewitchments... and Enchantments...) are very
strong. The latest Wraeththu book, Wraiths of Will and Pleasure, is also
excellent and there are two more coming.
BTW, to show you how much I love these books, actually I am the editor
(mainly proofing) on the new edition of Enchantments and will also be editor
for new editions of the other two original books. I am also pre-publisher
editor of the new Wraeththu trilogy. I started out as a FAN but managed to
really get my dream job!
Wendy
"Griffith" <agri...@delete.bigpond.net.au> wrote in message
news:MPG.19986b59...@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
Pip R. Lagenta
I read _Swan Song_ and it *is* inferior to many things. It is part of
a short-lived sub-sub-genre of science fiction which was started by
_The Stand_ and denied its science fiction roots. It claimed *Horror*
as its progenitor, and had a post apocalyptic/magic flavor. Few, if
any, of that sub-sub-genre were quality works. Its passing is not
mourned.
Serg
> Hullo all,
>
> for me?
D. Brin _Postmen_
Sean Williams _Metall Fatigue_ (especially if you liked _Postmen_)
Brett Mount
}"Mike C" <bonot...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<mcSWa.25793$pK2....@news.indigo.ie>...
}> Hullo all,
}>
}> Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style fiction
}> for me?
}
}D. Brin _Postmen_
_The Postman_, I think.
}Sean Williams _Metall Fatigue_ (especially if you liked _Postmen_)
It's dated, but Zelzany's _Damnation Alley_ might be worth a look- mutant
beasties roaming about, wild gangs, random acts of violence, all that
post apocalyptic sort of stuff.
--
Regards
Brett
"You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can't bomb it into peace".
The edress is real, but not checked often.
Griffith
wiebke...@juno.com says...
> Actually I'm in love with all of them but I agree, the *original*
> available from Immanion Press (www.immanionpress.wox.org) is way, way
> better. Basically Enchantments was a first novel where it wasn't until the
> second half that the author really found her groove --
It's not that I really disliked it, it just didn't seem to flow. But
other later books of hers that I've read have been superb.
Al
James Nicoll
Pip R. Lagenta <morbiu...@comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>
>I read _Swan Song_ and it *is* inferior to many things. It is part of
>a short-lived sub-sub-genre of science fiction which was started by
>_The Stand_ and denied its science fiction roots. It claimed *Horror*
>as its progenitor, and had a post apocalyptic/magic flavor. Few, if
>any, of that sub-sub-genre were quality works. Its passing is not
>mourned.
What other examples did you have in mind?
I'll admit a soft spot for Romero's _Night of the Living Dead_,
sequels and remake [1] and the various All Flesh Must Be Eaten anthologies
have been, I think, on the whole quite readable. They don't really explain
why dead things got up and started eating people and that's probably just
as well.
James Nicoll
1: But not the _Return of the Living Dead_ films, whose sole virtue
was that the first one has the example I turn to to illustrate what
a completely gratuitous nude scene looks like.
--
"Sequels never enhance a work. They only serve to trivialize
it."
Frank Herbert
Pip R. Lagenta
>In article <supriv8jasulura9p...@4ax.com>,
>Pip R. Lagenta <morbiu...@comcast.net> wrote:
>>I read _Swan Song_ and it *is* inferior to many things. It is part of
>>a short-lived sub-sub-genre of science fiction which was started by
>>_The Stand_ and denied its science fiction roots. It claimed *Horror*
>>as its progenitor, and had a post apocalyptic/magic flavor. Few, if
>>any, of that sub-sub-genre were quality works. Its passing is not
>>mourned.
>
> What other examples did you have in mind?
I remember going into Dangerous Visions Bookstore in (or about) 1988
and seeing these things. They were all big books (because _The Stand_
was big -- and successful in the years before this) and they all had
similar covers
<http://www.robertmccammon.com/images/ss_50_pb.jpg>
<http://mwstaffo.com/tv/stand/stand.jpg>
with "horror" on the spine. I read _The Stand_ and _Swan Song_ and a
third one that I can't remember at all right now (except that it had a
cover very much like _Swan Song_ but more blue (A moon?)). But, while
I did not read it, I think _Fire_ by Alan Rodgers is one of these,
although _Fire_ does not fit the pattern with the cover art. Sorry
that I can't be of more help. It was a visual (marketing) thing: I
would see them in the bookstore and think "oh, another one." But that
was 1987-1990 and the books *were* forgettable.
>
> I'll admit a soft spot for Romero's _Night of the Living Dead_,
>sequels and remake [1] and the various All Flesh Must Be Eaten anthologies
>have been, I think, on the whole quite readable. They don't really explain
>why dead things got up and started eating people and that's probably just
>as well.
>
> James Nicoll
>
>1: But not the _Return of the Living Dead_ films, whose sole virtue
>was that the first one has the example I turn to to illustrate what
>a completely gratuitous nude scene looks like.
>
David Cowie
> Hullo all,
>
> Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style fiction
> for me?
_Riddley Walker_ by Russel Hoban.
Set in the South-East corner of England some time (centuries?) after an
apocalypse, society is non-technological, but it seems that something
dangerous is about to be rediscovered. Some people may find the invented
dialect off-putting.
--
David Cowie david_cowie at lineone dot net
Randy Money
As often as possible?
I kind of enjoyed _RotLD_ as a comic version of _NotLD_. Still, it's
been awhile since seeing it, so I might change my mind if I saw it now.
Back to main topic: Tim Lebbon's _The Nature of Balance_ might fit the
bill. I haven't read it yet, but the cover copy indicates apocalypse.
His short novel, "White," which is in one of the recent Stephen Jones'
Best Horror volumes and in _White and Other Stories_ from NightShade
Books, certainly fits.
Randy M.
John Andrew Fairhurst
{$news$}@meden.demon.co.uk says...
> Mary Gentle's "Golden Witchbreed" and "Ancient Light" are simultaneously
> post-apocalyptic and pre-apocalyptic/apocalyptic, though the apocalypses
> take place on Orthe, not Earth.
>
Something less than sweet had happened on Earth, or bits of it, though...
--
John Fairhurst
In Association with Amazon worldwide:
http://www.johnsbooks.co.uk/Books/DrWho/
Dr Who Books and Programmes
Mark 'Kamikaze' Hughes
> What other examples did you have in mind?
> I'll admit a soft spot for Romero's _Night of the Living Dead_,
> sequels and remake [1] and the various All Flesh Must Be Eaten anthologies
> have been, I think, on the whole quite readable. They don't really explain
> why dead things got up and started eating people and that's probably just
> as well.
For SFnal zombies, there's always _I Am Legend_ and the two
uninspiring attempts at making a movie of it (without the ending, what's
the bloody point?). And more recently, _28 Days Later_, which is easily
the best zombie movie ever made (even better than _Cemetary Man_, though
they're very different). _Lifeforce_'s lesser vampires are basically
zombies.
And then there's the awesome movie _Moontrap_, with Walter Koenig and
Bruce Campbell as shotgun-armed astronauts vs. alien cyber-zombies on
the moon, with a 50,000-year-old woman from when the cavemen had their
space program. Yeah, well, I like it a lot anyway. "We don't take no
shit from a machine!"
> 1: But not the _Return of the Living Dead_ films, whose sole virtue
> was that the first one has the example I turn to to illustrate what
> a completely gratuitous nude scene looks like.
I like RotLD3. Gothy angst and zombies, and it ends as badly for
everyone as you'd expect.
--
<a href="http://kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu/~kamikaze/"> Mark Hughes </a>
"The computer is incredibly fast, accurate, and stupid.
Man is unbelievably slow, inaccurate, and brilliant.
The marriage of the two is a force beyond calculation." -Leo Cherne
Michael Stemper
>Don D'Ammassa wrote:
>> sfre...@sffNOSPAM.net (Keith Stokes) wrote in news:3f2cff58.1125992876 @netnews.att.net:
>>
>> > Lots of good discusion all ready, but I didn't see anyone mention
>> > Heinlein's "Farnham's Freehold."
>>
>
>Or not.
Obviously, different people have different opinions. However, are you
merely playing devil's advocate here, and saying that somebody, somewhere,
might like FF, or are you saying that you, yourself, like it?
> But it is certainly controversial.
The only controversy I've ever seen about it here in rasw was in
December, 1993, when Joseph Askew tried to use it (specifically
Duke's comments) to prove that RAH was a racist. I've never seen
any debate about its (lack of) literary merits.
--
Michael F. Stemper
#include <Standard_Disclaimer>
"Writing about jazz is like dancing about architecture" - Thelonious Monk
Carl Burke
>
> On 2-Aug-2003, Chuck Bridgeland <chuc...@computerdyn.com> wrote:
>
> > I assume you're taking apocolypse to mean "disaster" rather than
> > "revelation".
>
> Otherwise, the selection is rather small. Even Job is mostly
> pre-apocolyptic.
If taking "Apocalypse" literally, is there much of anything
out there other than that "Left Behind" series? (Which I haven't
bothered to read, so I can't comment on the quality.)
"The Stand" might qualify, although that's mostly mid-Apocalypse.
Going with the nuclear disaster scenario, there were a lot of books
set after that, including Davy and Canticle, which were already mentioned.
"Level 7", by Mordecai Roshwald, stands out in my mind as a very
claustrophobic take of "On The Beach" (and since it was so readily
available in our library, it probably wasn't very good <g>.)
The Horseclans series by (mumble Adams) were set in a post-nuclear USA.
I remember another series from the 70s and 80s that was set in
the midwest post-apocalypse, but I no longer remember the author,
titles, or much else about them except that some of the tribes did
a lot of running, sometimes along "eye-ways" (the ruins of the old
interstate highway system). [This was not the Sime/Gen series, which
also was set post-holocaust.] And, naturally, the Extruded Survivalist
Product "men's adventure" series(') that had a niche for a while.
--
Carl Burke
cbu...@mitre.org
Richard Williams
_Kiteworld_ by Keith Roberts, (presumably) set centuries after a nuclear
war, in an isolated country 'defended from Demons' by manned Kites (which
are, perhaps, a sort of cargo-cult early warning system).
Richard.
aRJay
'Kamikaze' Hughes <kami...@kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu> writes
> And then there's the awesome movie _Moontrap_, with Walter Koenig and
>Bruce Campbell as shotgun-armed astronauts vs. alien cyber-zombies on
>the moon, with a 50,000-year-old woman from when the cavemen had their
>space program. Yeah, well, I like it a lot anyway. "We don't take no
>shit from a machine!"
I to like this movie, especially the twisted cliché with the scientist
who tries to talk to the cyber-zombie at NASA HQ.
Has this been novelised decently by anyone, or better yet was it
originally a book or short story.
--
aRJay
"In this great and creatorless universe, where so much beautiful has
come to be out of the chance interactions of the basic properties of
matter, it seems so important that we love one another."
- Lucy Kemnitzer
Phil Brown
"I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson
and the Worlds trilogy by Joe Haldeman
Phil Brown
Robert A. Woodward
wrote:
> how...@brazee.net wrote:
> >
> > On 2-Aug-2003, Chuck Bridgeland <chuc...@computerdyn.com> wrote:
> >
> > > I assume you're taking apocolypse to mean "disaster" rather than
> > > "revelation".
> >
> > Otherwise, the selection is rather small. Even Job is mostly
> > pre-apocolyptic.
>
<Snip of several examples>
> I remember another series from the 70s and 80s that was set in
> the midwest post-apocalypse, but I no longer remember the author,
> titles, or much else about them except that some of the tribes did
> a lot of running, sometimes along "eye-ways" (the ruins of the old
> interstate highway system).
The Pelbar series by Paul O. Williams? (_The Breaking of Northwall_,
_The Ends of the Circle_, _The Dome in the Forest_, _The Fall of the
Shell_, _An Ambush of Shadows_, _The Song of the Axe_, _The Sword of
Forbearance_).
--
Robert Woodward <robe...@drizzle.com>
<http://www.drizzle.com/~robertaw
Captain Button
>>
>> On 2-Aug-2003, Chuck Bridgeland <chuc...@computerdyn.com> wrote:
>>
>> > I assume you're taking apocolypse to mean "disaster" rather than
>> > "revelation".
>>
>> Otherwise, the selection is rather small. Even Job is mostly
>> pre-apocolyptic.
>
>If taking "Apocalypse" literally, is there much of anything
>out there other than that "Left Behind" series? (Which I haven't
>bothered to read, so I can't comment on the quality.)
I think apocalypse originally just meant a prophecy, but then St. John
wrote an apocalypse about the end of the world, and it was so popular that
the word took on the "end of the world" meaning
>"The Stand" might qualify, although that's mostly mid-Apocalypse.
>
>Going with the nuclear disaster scenario, there were a lot of books
>set after that, including Davy and Canticle, which were already mentioned.
>"Level 7", by Mordecai Roshwald, stands out in my mind as a very
>claustrophobic take of "On The Beach" (and since it was so readily
>available in our library, it probably wasn't very good <g>.)
I enjoyed "Level 7" when I read it back in high school, but I reread (or at
least reskimmed) it recently and it seemed horribly simplistic and dated.
>The Horseclans series by (mumble Adams) were set in a post-nuclear USA.
>I remember another series from the 70s and 80s that was set in
>the midwest post-apocalypse, but I no longer remember the author,
>titles, or much else about them except that some of the tribes did
>a lot of running, sometimes along "eye-ways" (the ruins of the old
>interstate highway system). [This was not the Sime/Gen series, which
>also was set post-holocaust.] And, naturally, the Extruded Survivalist
>Product "men's adventure" series(') that had a niche for a while.
I haven't read them, but at a wild guess this might be the "Fifth
Millenium" novels by SM Stirling and others.
In the "during and right afterwards" category, there are two books by David
Mace, _ Fire Lance _ (or maybe that's one word) and _ Demon 4 _. both near
the technothriller/military science fiction border line.
There was an anthology _ After the Fall _ of "light-hearted end of the
world stories" which had some good stories, mostly of a humorous nature.
Best one is the one where the Apocalypse is being done as a motion picture
produced by God, directed by Cecil B De Mille (sp)?, script by Harlan
Ellison.
John Christopher has written a lot in this genre. He has written two
trilogies for young adults which are sorta fantasy flavored science
fiction:
_ The Prince in Waiting _
_ Beyond the Burning :Lands _
_ The Sword of the Spirits _
In an England after some sort of nuclear or environmental disaster, society
has collapse into a medieval level of warring city-states. A son of the
Prince of Winchester is ambitious and events ensue.
_ The White Mountains _
_ The City of Gold and Lead _
_ The Pool of Fire _
Centuries ago, the Tripods came and conquered Earth. They fit all adults
with mind control "Caps" and restrict them to a pre-industrial level of
technology and an agrarian society. A young man asks too many questions
and falls in with a bad crowd. 8-)}
There is also a prequel set in the 20th century _ When the Tripods Came _
or soemthing like that. I found it unimpressive.
IIRC he has also written "The Long Winter" and "The Death of Grass", in
this genre but I've never read them.
_ Day of the Triffids _ by [mumble] is one of the classic of this genre,
but I've never read it.
--
American Express says I'm deceased. Boo! Consider yourself haunted.
Captain Button - but...@io.com
Carl Burke
> In article <3F2FF29E...@mitre.org>, Carl Burke <cbu...@mitre.org>
> wrote:
> > I remember another series from the 70s and 80s that was set in
> > the midwest post-apocalypse, but I no longer remember the author,
> > titles, or much else about them except that some of the tribes did
> > a lot of running, sometimes along "eye-ways" (the ruins of the old
> > interstate highway system).
>
> The Pelbar series by Paul O. Williams? (_The Breaking of Northwall_,
> _The Ends of the Circle_, _The Dome in the Forest_, _The Fall of the
> Shell_, _An Ambush of Shadows_, _The Song of the Axe_, _The Sword of
> Forbearance_).
Yes! Thank you, that's exactly the series I was thinking of.
--
Carl Burke
cbu...@mitre.org
Nancy Lebovitz
>>
>If taking "Apocalypse" literally, is there much of anything
>out there other than that "Left Behind" series? (Which I haven't
>bothered to read, so I can't comment on the quality.)
There was a collection of short stories about the apocalypse, but I don't
remember title, editor, or anything about the stories except that a couple
or three of them involved giant grasshoppers (probably giant locusts).
--
Nancy Lebovitz na...@netaxs.com www.nancybuttons.com
Now, with bumper stickers
Using your turn signal is not "giving information to the enemy"
Carl Burke
> ...And, naturally, the Extruded Survivalist
> >Product "men's adventure" series(') that had a niche for a while.
>
> I haven't read them, but at a wild guess this might be the "Fifth
> Millenium" novels by SM Stirling and others.
I think the specific example I had in mind was the "Warbots" series
by G. Harry Stine, but I remember there being several examples with
different takes on the subject.
--
Carl Burke
cbu...@mitre.org
Geoduck
> In article <slrnbiukn0.2...@kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu>, Mark
> 'Kamikaze' Hughes <kami...@kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu> writes
>> And then there's the awesome movie _Moontrap_, with Walter Koenig and
>>Bruce Campbell as shotgun-armed astronauts vs. alien cyber-zombies on
>>the moon, with a 50,000-year-old woman from when the cavemen had their
>>space program. Yeah, well, I like it a lot anyway. "We don't take no
>>shit from a machine!"
>
> I to like this movie, especially the twisted cliché with the scientist
> who tries to talk to the cyber-zombie at NASA HQ.
(snip)
I thought the fact that they used one of the old Apollo rockets to get to
the moon was a nice touch.
--
Geoduck
http://www.olywa.net/cook
http://mansionofe.keenspace.com
Keith Stokes
<robe...@drizzle.com> wrote:
>The Pelbar series by Paul O. Williams? (_The Breaking of Northwall_,
>_The Ends of the Circle_, _The Dome in the Forest_, _The Fall of the
>Shell_, _An Ambush of Shadows_, _The Song of the Axe_, _The Sword of
>Forbearance_).
Forgot about that set. Might be worth re-reading, this winter.
Keith
William December Starr
jdni...@panix.com (James Nicoll) said:
> I'll admit a soft spot for Romero's _Night of the Living Dead_,
> sequels and remake [1] and the various All Flesh Must Be Eaten
> anthologies have been, I think, on the whole quite readable. They
> don't really explain why dead things got up and started eating
> people and that's probably just as well.
>
> 1: But not the _Return of the Living Dead_ films, whose sole virtue
> was that the first one has the example I turn to to illustrate what
> a completely gratuitous nude scene looks like.
Elucidate?
(By way of inversion, I vote for the scene in James Cameron's "The
Abyss" in which the crew is desperately performing CPR on the
recently drowned Lindsey Brigman (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio),
including exposing her chest for compressions (and defibrillation
paddles? can't remember), as one of the _least_ gratuitous nude
scenes I've ever seen. (As opposed to the ludicrous moment in
"Flatliners" in which the lack of a nudity clause in her contract
required them to leave Julia Roberts' bra on in a strongly analogous
scene.))
-- William December Starr <wds...@panix.com>
Doug
> In article <bglnrn$8s7$1...@panix3.panix.com>,
> jdni...@panix.com (James Nicoll) said:
>
> >
> > 1: But not the _Return of the Living Dead_ films, whose sole virtue
> > was that the first one has the example I turn to to illustrate what
> > a completely gratuitous nude scene looks like.
>
> Elucidate?
Is that the one where the girl was riding the tombstone like a bucking
bronco for no particular reason?
Doug
Doug
Definitely worth re-reading. Excellent series.
Doug
Andrew Plotkin
I keep meaning to check them out. Then I realize that the last time I
saw as many as four volumes in the same place was 1990.
(Yes, all things come to those who hunt assiduously. But it took me a
year to find all of Duncan's "Seventh Sword" trilogy, and Duncan is
still in play.)
--Z
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
* Make your vote count. Get your vote counted.
Doug
>
> I'd prefer if it was set on earth.
> Some of the survivors should be human, it'd be nice if there were horribly
> mutated creatures out for their blood too!
> I love _I am Legend_ btw, the "one man against army of undead" stuff is
> excellent, and I'd like anything similar, with zombies etc.
> Realism is always good too, gritty and violent.
Then you definitely need to read Zelazny's _Damnation Alley_.
Another book I haven't seen mentioned yet is Kathleen Goonan's _Queen
City Jazz_, set in a post-apocalyptic Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, in
a world ravaged by nanotechnology run amok.
(I connected those two in my mind because Hell Tanner has to drive
around "the hole that used to be Dayton" on his trip through the
Alley.)
Doug
Eric Jarvis
> Serg can see Paradise by rec.arts.sf.written's light:
>
> }"Mike C" <bonot...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<mcSWa.25793$pK2....@news.indigo.ie>...
> }> Hullo all,
> }>
> }> Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style fiction
> }> for me?
> }
> }D. Brin _Postmen_
>
> _The Postman_, I think.
>
it is indeed and a superb book it is too
most of the others that I'd recommend already have
been...but I'd like to add another plug for Davy
others
Dr Bloodmoney by Philip K Dick
The Godwhale by TJ Bass
Escape Plans by Gwyneth Jones...is post apocalypse, no
mutants
Armageddon, The Musical by Robert Rankin (though "good"
may not be appropriate as a description)
Dhalgren by Samuel Delany...isn't as such, but has a
similar "feel"
--
eric
www.ericjarvis.co.uk
"Hey Lord don't ask me questions
There ain't no answer in me"
Troy Cauble
> Brett Mount wrote:
>
>>Serg can see Paradise by rec.arts.sf.written's light:
>>
>>}"Mike C" <bonot...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<mcSWa.25793$pK2....@news.indigo.ie>...
>>}> Hullo all,
>>}>
>>}> Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style fiction
>>}> for me?
>>}
>>}D. Brin _Postmen_
>>
>>_The Postman_, I think.
>>
>
>
> it is indeed and a superb book it is too
Yes. Don't be put off by the movie.
Also
Algis Budrys _Some Will Not Die_
Orson Scott Card _The Folk of The Fringe_
Walter Miller _A Canticle For Leibowitz_
Also, this site might be of interest
http://www.emptyworld.info/index.html
"EmptyWorld: The Apocolyptic Fiction Site"
-troy
Robert J. Kolker
Troy Cauble wrote:
>> it is indeed and a superb book it is too
>
>
> Yes. Don't be put off by the movie.
Quite so. I will not watch any more Kevin Kostner movies. He is a
self-indulgent putz.
Bob Kolker
Doug
> Here, Doug <tr...@cinci.rr.com> wrote:
> > sfre...@sffNOSPAM.net (Keith Stokes) wrote in message news:<3f31850c....@netnews.att.net>...
> > > On Tue, 05 Aug 2003 22:36:50 -0700, "Robert A. Woodward"
> > > <robe...@drizzle.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > >The Pelbar series by Paul O. Williams? (_The Breaking of Northwall_,
> > > >_The Ends of the Circle_, _The Dome in the Forest_, _The Fall of the
> > > >Shell_, _An Ambush of Shadows_, _The Song of the Axe_, _The Sword of
> > > >Forbearance_).
> > >
> > > Forgot about that set. Might be worth re-reading, this winter.
> >
> > Definitely worth re-reading. Excellent series.
>
> I keep meaning to check them out. Then I realize that the last time I
> saw as many as four volumes in the same place was 1990.
I just did a quick look at Amazon and there seems to be quite a few
copies of all the books avaliable through them from used booksellers
at reasonable prices. (Some for a penny!)
If I didn't already own the set, I'd buy them.
Doug
Peter Meilinger
>"Mike C" <bonot...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> Some of the survivors should be human, it'd be nice if there were horribly
>> mutated creatures out for their blood too!
>Yes, that would be just lovely.
Wouldn't it, though?
For that sort of thing, I just have to recommend the various
editions of the Gamma World role-playing game - humans, mutated
humans, mutated animals, mutated plants, robots, all trying to
either kill each other or just get along. Wonderful fun.
Various people have mentioned the men's adventure post-
apocalyptic stuff. I can sort of recommend the early
Deathlands books by James Axler and the early Survivalist
books by Jerry Ahern. I enjoyed them as a teen, at least.
The Endworld series by maybe David Robbins had its moments,
too.
As for better fare, I can't believe no one has mentioned
Hiero's Journey and The Unforsaken Hiero by Sterling
Lanier. It definitely fits the "as much fantasy as SF"
feel.
People have mentioned Wyndham's Day Of The Triffids, which
is one of my favorite books. I also liked his From The
Depths, or maybe it was Out Of The Depths. That wasn't
quite an apocalypse, but it wasn't much fun, either.
Let me check my bookshelves. Hold on...
Not much that hasn't already been mentioned, I'm afraid.
I've got one book called Shudder Child by Warren C. Norwood.
Something about the aftermath of killer earthquakes. I haven't
read it.
I've got a collection called Catastrophes! It's got a number
of categories, like Sun Destroyed, Earth Destroyed, Civilization
Destroyed, and so on. It's been a while since I read it, but
I remember enjoying it. Asimov, Martin Greenberg and Charles
Waugh edited it.
There's also the short story "Strange Monsters of the Recent
Past" by Howard Waldrop. Ever wonder what would happen if
all those monsters from the 50's movies came to life? It
ain't pretty, I'll tell you that.
Pete
Peter Meilinger
>>I read _Swan Song_ and it *is* inferior to many things. It is part of
>>a short-lived sub-sub-genre of science fiction which was started by
>>_The Stand_ and denied its science fiction roots. It claimed *Horror*
>>as its progenitor, and had a post apocalyptic/magic flavor. Few, if
>>any, of that sub-sub-genre were quality works. Its passing is not
>>mourned.
> What other examples did you have in mind?
I just saw one in a used book store that was about Satan rising
in LA (where else?) and the end times beginning. Can't remember
the author or title, of course. It looked like a fairly new
book, though, and the author's last name must have been in the
M-S section.
>1: But not the _Return of the Living Dead_ films, whose sole virtue
>was that the first one has the example I turn to to illustrate what
>a completely gratuitous nude scene looks like.
If it's the Linnea Quigley scene you're referring to, I refuse
to think of any scene with her naked as gratuitous.
Pete
Peter Meilinger
or Tillman, or Til-something.
Pete
Martin Wisse
_The Chalk Giants_ by the same writer is a look at post apocalyptic
England, from just after the disaster to centuries later. Interesting.
Martin Wisse
--
"Check out these HOT lounge chairs do anything but lounge!
Better get that garden hose!"
<http://www.furnitureporn.com>
Bruce Baugh
Peter Meilinger <mell...@bu.edu> wrote:
> For that sort of thing, I just have to recommend the various
> editions of the Gamma World role-playing game - humans, mutated
> humans, mutated animals, mutated plants, robots, all trying to
> either kill each other or just get along. Wonderful fun.
I'm developing a new edition of that, actually - out in September or
October from Sword & Sorcery Studio. Let me see what I put in the
bibliography for interesting apocalypses and aftermaths....
FILM AND TELEVISION
Akira (1985, 2001 - I highly recommend the 2001 re-release for vastly
improved subtitling and dubbing and just general excellence)
La Dernier Combat (1983).
Mad Max (1979) and Max Max 2 (1982), with a lesser nod to the third
flick.
The Shape of Things to Come (1936).
Six-String Samurai (1998).
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1988). 'If you're anything like the developer and
authors of the book you have in hand, you may have asked at some point,
'Say, could I turn myself into a post-human cyborg entity using only
common household implements and materials stolen from factories?' This
black-and-white Japanese film answers that question. Yes, you could, but
the results would be messy. This is a very stark and intense film, and
you should definitely not watch it if you have a low threshold for gore.
But thereąs no better source for the look and mentality of the cyborg on
a budget."
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000).
BOOKS AND STORIES
THE DROWNED WORLD; THE CRYSTAL WORLD; THE BURNING WORLD, all by J.G.
Ballard.
MOTHER OF STORMS, by John Barnes.
THE POSTMAN, by David Brin.
A CANTICLE FOR LIEBOWITZ, by Walter J. Miller, Jr.
EARTH ABIDES, by George Stewart.
"Damnation Alley", by Roger Zelazny. The original story, that is.
COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (Record of a Yokohama Shopping Trip), written
and drawn by Ashinano Hitoshi. This series is currently appearing in
the Japanese manga anthology Kodansha Afternoon, with at least two
fan-created translations into English available on the World Wide Web
at http://www.ykk.misago.org . This is a personal favorite of the
developer, a lush, beautiful,
slow-moving story of a human-seeming robot and her neighbors in a
village outside now-drowned Yokohama. An extremely complex story about
Alpha, her long-lost creator and others unfolds gradually, mixed in
with slice-of-life stories sometimes offering nothing but one gorgeous
moment. This is the model for post-apocalyptic stories with drama even
in the almost complete absence of action.
INTERNET RESOURCES
http://www.emptyworld.info/ ‹ łEmpty World,˛ created and maintained by
Bryan Anderson. This is a really good place to get more suggestions for
bibliography, many of them with useful commentary.
http://oboylephoto.com/ruins/index.htm ‹ Shaun OąBoyle photographs the
ruins of modern buildings with beauty and style. Look here to see how
factories, hospitals, harbors and other industrial constructions decay.
Itąs great inspiration for any campaign that includes ruins.
--
Writer of Fortune
Journal: http://bruceb.livejournal.com/
"Everything possible to be believ'd is an image of truth."
Robert Sneddon
<bba...@mac.com> writes
>In article <bh436i$39t$1...@news3.bu.edu>,
> Peter Meilinger <mell...@bu.edu> wrote:
>
>> For that sort of thing, I just have to recommend the various
>> editions of the Gamma World role-playing game
>I'm developing a new edition of that, actually - out in September or
>October from Sword & Sorcery Studio. Let me see what I put in the
>bibliography for interesting apocalypses and aftermaths....
>
>
>COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS
>
>Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (Record of a Yokohama Shopping Trip), written
>and drawn by Ashinano Hitoshi. This series is currently appearing in
>the Japanese manga anthology Kodansha Afternoon, with at least two
>fan-created translations into English available on the World Wide Web
>at http://www.ykk.misago.org .
YKK is also coming out as a four-volume OAV series, two of which are
currently available fansubbed on BitTorrent. Look down the list at:
http://a.scarywater.net/animeco/
> This is a personal favorite of the
>developer, a lush, beautiful,
> slow-moving story of a human-seeming robot and her neighbors in a
> village outside now-drowned Yokohama.
A personal favourite of mine too. I came up with a seriously misleading
description for an on-line group:
Gun-toting lesbian robots on motorbikes wander a post-apocalyptic world
populated with mutants and giants while cool dispassionate observers in
a giant aircraft watch from high in the stratosphere. A boy, perhaps the
last of his kind, patrols the skies in his mecha as a fanged demon
terrorises frightened children.
--
Email me via nojay (at) nojay (dot) fsnet (dot) co (dot) uk
This address no longer accepts HTML posts.
Robert Sneddon
Lin Digs Books
> On Tue, 5 Aug 2003 18:36:32 +0000 (UTC), rdwi...@hgmp.mrc.ac.uk
> (Richard Williams) wrote:
>
> >In article <pan.2003.08.04....@lineone.net>,
> >David Cowie <see...@lineone.net> wrote:
> >>On Sat, 02 Aug 2003 18:05:55 +0100, Mike C wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hullo all,
> >>>
> >>> Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style fiction
> >>> for me?
> >>
> >>_Riddley Walker_ by Russel Hoban.
> >>Set in the South-East corner of England some time (centuries?) after an
> >>apocalypse, society is non-technological, but it seems that something
> >>dangerous is about to be rediscovered. Some people may find the invented
> >>dialect off-putting.
> >
> >_Kiteworld_ by Keith Roberts, (presumably) set centuries after a nuclear
> >war, in an isolated country 'defended from Demons' by manned Kites (which
> >are, perhaps, a sort of cargo-cult early warning system).
>
> _The Chalk Giants_ by the same writer is a look at post apocalyptic
> England, from just after the disaster to centuries later. Interesting.
>
> Martin Wisse
I actually read every post so I know that no-one has mentioned _False
Dawn_ by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. It's definitely post-apocalyptic SF and
is very grim (as is her wont). I agree with whoever mentioned _Alas,
Babylon_ by Pat Frank. His book is hopeful; hers is not.
Lindig Harris
Mike C
Thanks for all the suggestions, armed with a list and a fistfull of dollars
I'm going to raid every bookshop in dublin some time next week and see what
I can get my grubby little hands on.
Gracias!
Mike
David Kennedy
> There's also a series called The Amtrak Wars, by Patrick Tilden
> or Tillman, or Til-something.
Tilley. Loved them as a teenager.
--
David Kennedy
www.dkennedy.org
Harry Haller
Hello, I lurk in this group from time to time but haven't posted. I know
there were quite a few responses to this question, but I don't think anyone
mentioned "Engine Summer" by John Crowley. It is an astounding, beautiful,
post-apocylpse SF novel that is one of my favorite books (not only SF) of
all time. It is really a masterfully told tale, and I can't tell you how
many people I have tried to get to read this book over the years.
It takes place hundreds of years after civilization on Earth has collapsed;
I can't really do justice to it in a synopsis (Crowley is something of a
cult favorite and you can read about his work on lots of fan websites.) The
book is somewhat hard to come by, although a 3-novel collection of Crowley's
was just released... sorry, I can't remember the name of it.
There is also another one I remember from quite a few years ago by Niven. I
don't recall the name of it, but is about a man who goes on a
near-speed-of-light journey, returning to the solar system after several
million years to find Earth in orbit around Jupiter, and most of humanity
missing.
Captain Button
"Harry Haller" <hal...@spamouflage.com> wrote:
[ snip ]
>There is also another one I remember from quite a few years ago by Niven. I
>don't recall the name of it, but is about a man who goes on a
>near-speed-of-light journey, returning to the solar system after several
>million years to find Earth in orbit around Jupiter, and most of humanity
>missing.
This is _ A World Out of Time _, IIRC. An expansion of the shorter work,
"Rammer".
Spacejohn77
right frame of mind), I'm surprised no one mentioned "The Gunslinger"
by Stephen King.
By itself, it's a mysterious epic that seems to take place long after
civilization has had some serious regression (implication of a nuclear
war).
William December Starr
da...@dkennedy.org said:
>> There's also a series called The Amtrak Wars, by Patrick
>> Tilden or Tillman, or Til-something. [Peter Meilinger]
>
> Tilley. Loved them as a teenager.
Did that series actually end, or did it just stop being
written/published?
Mike McKeown
I seem to recall that Tilley was feeling burnt out. So at the end of
book 6, events seem very rushed and a little out of left field as he
hurriedly tied up the story to date (no spoilers but if you've read the
series you'll know what I mean) and there's a two page coda that's
basically the outline for what should have been about another three or
more books. The books have been steadily available ever since original
publication in the UK, with a full reprint of all six in 98-99, so I
don't think the publishers have dropped him.
As far as I know Tilley's alive and well and living in Wales, but hasn't
written anything else much since 1990 - there was a piece of comic sf,
_Star Wartz_, in the mid-90s. I know that on his web page he
occasionally hints that he's going to carry on with the _Amtrak Wars_,
but I suspect that he may be just hoping that he'll start writing
seriously again.
OTOH there are omnibuses of the _Amtrak Wars_ planned in for next year
and available for pre-order on Amazon, maybe the publisher is ramping up
for something new ...
Mike M
--
Xenocyte Books. Now on eBay. They're back. And this time it's serious.
http://tinyurl.com/g1jt
A.T. Hagan
>
> There's also the short story "Strange Monsters of the Recent
> Past" by Howard Waldrop. Ever wonder what would happen if
> all those monsters from the 50's movies came to life? It
> ain't pretty, I'll tell you that.
>
> Pete
That would be cool! I collect those old movies, especially the atomic
monster movies (but not Godzilla).
"FLAMETHROWERS! I tell you, we NEED flamethrowers!"
.....Alan.
A.T. Hagan
>
[snip]
> > I hope I'm posting this in the right place, I assumed that by it's
> > nature post apocolyptic fiction is pretty much automatically SF of
> > some kind.
>
> Sort of. One strain -- Extruded Survivalism Product -- has become its own
> genre.
>
OK, I'll bite. Precisely what is "Extruded Survivalism Product"? And
how does it distinguish itself from Apocalyptic Fiction whether it be
pre, current, or post-apocalyptic?
.....Alan.
A.T. Hagan
> Hullo all,
>
> Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style fiction
> for me?
> could apply), my readings have tended towards the fantasy end of the
> spectrum, but I wouldn't mind if the book was science fiction. Authors I
> like (don't know if this will help much) include Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy,
> George RR Martin, Steven Erikson, Frederick Forsyth, David Gemmell, Robert
> Jordan. Enjoy most sword and sorcery authors too.
> I think I'd prefer it if it was more fantasy than science fiction, but I'm
> open to anything you think is good.
> I hope I'm posting this in the right place, I assumed that by it's nature
> post apocolyptic fiction is pretty much automatically SF of some kind.
>
>
>
> Mike
It seems that many of us define 'post apocalyptic' a little
differently. Nevertheless, I'll name a few that I've read that I'd
classify that way.
"Wolf and Iron" by Gordon Dickson. America after "things fall apart"
and a man's journey across the country to a place of refuge.
"Footfall" by Niven and Pournelle. Alien invasion story (they look
like small elephants with bifurcated trunks).
"Dust" by Charles Pelligrino. ALL of the insects on Earth die and the
consequences of that occurring.
"Aftermath" by Charles Sheffield. Earth experiences a nearby
supernova (relatively speaking) and receives a world wide
electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that fries virtually everything electronic
and plays hell with the weather south of the equator.
"Systemic Shock" by Dean Ing and the two sequels. Nasty
nuclear/biological war between the U.S./Russia and China/India with
the political ramifications thereof.
"Ariel" by Steven Boyett. Not SF, but fantasy in that magic suddenly
comes back into the world along with a number of magical creatures
while much advanced technology suddenly stops working.
There's a great deal more than that in the field, but at the moment
those are the ones that come to mind that haven't already been
mentioned. Just at the moment we're 'organizing' the house again so I
can't find half my book collection to skim for titles.
.....Alan.
StrikitRich
> "Mike C" <bonot...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:<mcSWa.25793$pK2....@news.indigo.ie>...
>> Hullo all,
>>
>> Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style fiction
>> for me?
>> I've read very little science fiction (I think Dune is the only book that
>> could apply), my readings have tended towards the fantasy end of the
>> spectrum, but I wouldn't mind if the book was science fiction. Authors I
>> like (don't know if this will help much) include Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy,
>> George RR Martin, Steven Erikson, Frederick Forsyth, David Gemmell, Robert
>> Jordan. Enjoy most sword and sorcery authors too.
>> I think I'd prefer it if it was more fantasy than science fiction, but I'm
>> open to anything you think is good.
>> I hope I'm posting this in the right place, I assumed that by it's nature
>> post apocolyptic fiction is pretty much automatically SF of some kind.
>>
>> Thanks in advance
>>
>>
>> Mike
>
SR1
Unknown
wrote:
you forgot "Armagooners go Butthump Looney with the Backwoods
Browngirls," by Condoleeezer Oats.
maybe you left it in the field.
Dan Goodman
news:cfae5f4f.03082...@posting.google.com:
It's like the difference between good fantasy and Extruded Fantasy
Product.
Extruded Survivalism Product is post-apocalypse (secular version, not
Left Behind version) fiction which is written to a pattern, without much
original thought. I would place James Axler's novels in that category;
though I'm open to other opinions.
Note: Currently, there seem to be three different readerships for post-
apocalyptic fiction -- with very different requirements. 1) sf readers.
2) survivalist novel readers. 3) Left Behind (and its imitators) readers.
Any writer who managed to appeal to all three audiences could become
rich.
--
Dan Goodman dsg...@visi.com
Journal: http://dsgood.blogspot.com
ThunderHawk
> > Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style
fiction
> > for me?
Patriots, TEOTWAWKI, and Triple Ought
Lucifer's Hammer, by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven (I really liked this
one)
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (Classic nuke scenario)
Pulling Through by Dean Ing (a more modern nuke scenario + a mini nuke
survival manual)
Some Will Not Die by Algis Budrys (Total plague wipe out scenario)
No Blade of Grass by John Christopher (Massive crop disease/social breakdown
scenario from the British perspective...)
Vandenberg by Oliver Lange (Invasion scenario)
And...
Unintended Consequences by John Ross. (Small scale CW II scenario.) Due to
its political incorrectness, it is hard to find in libraries. I highly
recommend it (except for the kinky sex scenes, which detracted from an
otherwise top-notch novel.)
I also like an adventure series of books written by William W. Johnston.
Starting with From out of the Ashes. All titles end with the word Ashes.
ThunderHawk
Tim May
<thund...@nethere.com> wrote:
> > > Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style
> fiction
> > > for me?
>
>
> Patriots, TEOTWAWKI, and Triple Ought
> Lucifer's Hammer, by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven (I really liked this
> one)
> Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (Classic nuke scenario)
> Pulling Through by Dean Ing (a more modern nuke scenario + a mini nuke
> survival manual)
> Some Will Not Die by Algis Budrys (Total plague wipe out scenario)
> No Blade of Grass by John Christopher (Massive crop disease/social breakdown
> scenario from the British perspective...)
> Vandenberg by Oliver Lange (Invasion scenario)
>
> And...
>
> Unintended Consequences by John Ross. (Small scale CW II scenario.) Due to
> its political incorrectness, it is hard to find in libraries. I highly
> recommend it (except for the kinky sex scenes, which detracted from an
> otherwise top-notch novel.)
Well, ThunderHawk, you're either James Wesley, Rawles, or you're
plagiarizing him. This is what he (you?) had on his Web site:
<http://www.rawles.to/appb.htm>
--begin excerpt--
Lucifer's Hammer, by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (Classic nuke scenario)
Pulling Through by Dean Ing (a more modern nuke scenario + a mini nuke
survival manual)
Some Will Not Die by Algis Budrys (Total plague wipe out scenario)
No Blade of Grass by John Christopher (Massive crop disease/social
breakdown scenario from the British perspective...)
Vandenberg by Oliver Lange (Invasion scenario)
And...
Unintended Consequences by John Ross. (Small scale CW II scenario.)
Due to its political incorrectness, it is hard to find in libraries. I
highly recommend it (except for the kinky sex scenes, which detracted
from an otherwise top-notch novel.)
--end excerpt--
The reason I checked is because I remembered the mention a few years
ago of "kinky sex" in someone's review of "Unintended Consequences." So
I Googled the obvious terms to find who had used this language before.
So, if you're Mr. Rawles, welcome! (And I wish I had bought that
paperback copy of "Vandenberg" before the other guy saw it, back at
your table at the San Jose Gun Show in '99.)
If you're _not_ Mr. Rawles, shame on you for using his precise words.
--Tim May
Rob
>fiction
>> > for me?
>scenario from the British perspective...)
Also known as Death of Grass.
Jamie Hart
"A.T. Hagan" <ath...@atlantic.net> wrote in message
news:cfae5f4f.03082...@posting.google.com...
> "Mike C" <bonot...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:<mcSWa.25793$pK2....@news.indigo.ie>...
> > Hullo all,
> >
> > Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style
fiction
> > for me?
> > I've read very little science fiction (I think Dune is the only book
that
> > could apply), my readings have tended towards the fantasy end of the
> > spectrum, but I wouldn't mind if the book was science fiction. Authors I
> > like (don't know if this will help much) include Clive Cussler, Tom
Clancy,
> > George RR Martin, Steven Erikson, Frederick Forsyth, David Gemmell,
Robert
> > Jordan. Enjoy most sword and sorcery authors too.
> > I think I'd prefer it if it was more fantasy than science fiction, but
I'm
> > open to anything you think is good.
> > I hope I'm posting this in the right place, I assumed that by it's
nature
> > post apocolyptic fiction is pretty much automatically SF of some kind.
> >
> > Thanks in advance
> >
> >
> > Mike
>
Missed the original post so I'll jump in here. Sorry Alan.
Mike,
If you like fantasy then you might like Robert Adams' Horseclans series too.
Sort of a cross between SF/fantasy, set about 500 years after a nuclear war.
Noah Simoneaux
>"Mike C" <bonot...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<mcSWa.25793$pK2....@news.indigo.ie>...
>> Hullo all,
>>
>> Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style fiction
>> for me?
>> I've read very little science fiction (I think Dune is the only book that
>> could apply), my readings have tended towards the fantasy end of the
>> spectrum, but I wouldn't mind if the book was science fiction. Authors I
>> like (don't know if this will help much) include Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy,
>> George RR Martin, Steven Erikson, Frederick Forsyth, David Gemmell, Robert
>> Jordan. Enjoy most sword and sorcery authors too.
>> I think I'd prefer it if it was more fantasy than science fiction, but I'm
>> open to anything you think is good.
>> I hope I'm posting this in the right place, I assumed that by it's nature
>> post apocolyptic fiction is pretty much automatically SF of some kind.
(snip & piggybacking)
I recently re-read one from my list, Those Who Favor Fire, by Marta Randall.
Pretty good book.
Anyone who thinks there is some good in everyone hasn't interviewed enough people.
Eastman's Personnel Director's Law
Freddie
point on several interesting topics like the dangerousness of trading,
animal attacks, safe water and personal defense. I won't lie; it does get
a little mushy (love interest) in a few places but not enough to make you
blush.
"Farmham's Freehold" by Robert Heinlein is good survival science fiction.
The book is a straight forward in regard to group preparedness/survival
and the importance of solid leadership after a nuclear attack but the
plot swings to the science fiction after the first half.
"Guns don't kill people. The Government does."
- Dale Gribble
"... and I ran out of ammo. That's never happened before!"
- Bert Gummer
ath...@atlantic.net (A.T. Hagan) wrote in
news:cfae5f4f.03082...@posting.google.com:
> "Mike C" <bonot...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:<mcSWa.25793$pK2....@news.indigo.ie>...
>> Hullo all,
>>
>> Wondering if anyone could recommend come good post apolypse style
>> fiction for me?
>> I've read very little science fiction (I think Dune is the only book
>> that could apply), my readings have tended towards the fantasy end of
>> the spectrum, but I wouldn't mind if the book was science fiction.
>> Authors I like (don't know if this will help much) include Clive
>> Cussler, Tom Clancy, George RR Martin, Steven Erikson, Frederick
>> Forsyth, David Gemmell, Robert Jordan. Enjoy most sword and sorcery
>> authors too. I think I'd prefer it if it was more fantasy than
>> science fiction, but I'm open to anything you think is good.
>> I hope I'm posting this in the right place, I assumed that by it's
>> nature post apocolyptic fiction is pretty much automatically SF of
>> some kind.
>>
>> Thanks in advance
>>
>>
>> Mike
>
>--
Clark McIvor
<cfae5f4f.03082...@posting.google.com>...
> It seems that many of us define 'post apocalyptic' a little
> differently. Nevertheless, I'll name a few that I've read that I'd
> classify that way.
>
> "Wolf and Iron" by Gordon Dickson. America after "things fall apart"
> and a man's journey across the country to a place of refuge.
>
>
> consequences of that occurring.
>
This title has brought to mind:
_Children of the Dust_ by Louise Lawrence (a UK writer of YA) - some
catastrophe has occurred (only known to the protagonists as a sort of
dust).
One group of survivors have been in an underground bunker & emerge a few
years later. The other survivors are random survivors from the countryside,
some of which have gravitated together. The 2 groups meet up, with
suspicion on the bunker side (they being of a military bent).
Jane
Scott Lurndal
>This title has brought to mind:
>
>_Children of the Dust_ by Louise Lawrence (a UK writer of YA) - some
>catastrophe has occurred (only known to the protagonists as a sort of
>dust).
>
>One group of survivors have been in an underground bunker & emerge a few
>years later. The other survivors are random survivors from the countryside,
>some of which have gravitated together. The 2 groups meet up, with
>suspicion on the bunker side (they being of a military bent).
>
>Jane
_The Girl who Owned a City_ (O.T. Nelson) is another YA post-apocalypse
story.
scott
Peter Meilinger
>ath...@atlantic.net (A.T. Hagan) wrote in
>news:cfae5f4f.03082...@posting.google.com:
>> OK, I'll bite. Precisely what is "Extruded Survivalism Product"? And
>> how does it distinguish itself from Apocalyptic Fiction whether it be
>> pre, current, or post-apocalyptic?
>It's like the difference between good fantasy and Extruded Fantasy
>Product.
>Extruded Survivalism Product is post-apocalypse (secular version, not
>Left Behind version) fiction which is written to a pattern, without much
>original thought. I would place James Axler's novels in that category;
>though I'm open to other opinions.
I'd certainly place him in that category now, yeah. The first few
Deathlands books were pretty good, for what they were. Hell, the
latest ones might be good, too, for all I know. I stopped reading
a long time ago.
I'd say that's true of a lot of series fic - it can start off
fine, with some good ideas and decent writing, but if it catches
on it'll start being written to keep the series going. And that
doesn't even mean it'll be written badly, but I for one get
sick of reading the same story over and over again.
Pete
A.T. Hagan
That would be true with any series fiction though. I love the
Vorkosigan books but the time has come to put the series to bed.
Probably should have done that at least three books ago.
I'm not sure how one would write Apocalyptic fiction without a
pattern. A disaster occurs and the characters have to cope (or not,
as the case may be). Now series fiction like Ahern's Survivalist, the
Deathlands and so on don't take long at all to go rancid since having
survived the initial disaster the author is compelled to come up with
ever more fantastic encounters for his characters which strains
credulity to the breaking point in short order. I haven't read any of
Axler's stuff as I avoid series when I can.
.....Alan.
Luke Webber
news:3f53c999....@news.atlantic.net...
> That would be true with any series fiction though. I love the
> Vorkosigan books but the time has come to put the series to bed.
> Probably should have done that at least three books ago.
And flush _A Civil Campaign_? For my money, that was the best Vorkosigan
book to date!
Luke
Rachel K. Warren
> How about
> "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson
I bought the book - I'm trying to read it and failing. I guess I'm not
a horror fan.
Rachel
--
All men whilst they are awake are in one common world; but each of them,
when he is asleep, is in a world of his own. - Plutarch