I love a good cataclysm. There are some I will be reading, Earth Abides is on the west face of Mt Toberead. As kid I remember when things like Forbidden Planet were still Friday night movies on the TV. So it is that I became a fan of the late great George Pal. You can imagine my excitement to get my hands on a copy of the novel of When Worlds Collide (1933 by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie). Now there are some minor religious overtones in the movie version which I attributed to Pal or a producer but when I read the book I realised I owed them a huge apology. It was a very near DNF because a lot of it is written like a sermon about how humanity deserves annihilation (mostly because Jazz exists apparently). I've never encountered so much overt religiosity in SF before. That's like mixing acids and bases, lol.
Hi Jon. Very exhaustive overview I must say. Fascinating subject of course. I'd like to recommend a recently read book and an old classic in the post disaster category if I may. Edmund Coopers The Tenth Planet in which the remnants of a dead Earth arrive at the previously uncharted tenth planet (via Mars) and become a stagnant, unambitious society - until the arrival of a dead astronaut. Then there's Harlan Ellison's A Boy And His Dog - technically a novella - which deals with a brutal and uncompromising journey through post-apocalyptic America. My two penny's worth . . .
I've read Greybeard which as you said was beautifully written, loved it. Earth Abides puzzled me with the way Ish kind of made a half-hearted attempt to teach the children, but seemed to give up pretty quickly. Overall I enjoyed it, but had some issues with it. Station Eleven was scarily prescient when it came out in 2015. I can't stop thinking about that plane that landed at the airport and just parked away from the terminal and nobody ever disembarked... I read A Canticle for Liebowitz a million years ago when I was young and just got another copy so I can re-read it. I remember I loved it at the time, but don't recall much of the story now. Lots of new-to-me titles here, adding to my TBR!! LOL
Great video jon very entertaining . If you like these books may I recommend the black cloud by Fred Hoyle . I do like the sound of seveneves and Lucifer‘s hammer.
Very good video. Some other recomendations: Nanotechnology - Moonseed by Stephen Baxter Asteroid impact - Shiva Descending by Gregory Benford & William Rotsler, The Last Policeman trilogy by Ben Winters Alien Invasion - The Last Mile by Tim Waggoner Alien Years by Robert Silverberg The Border by Robert Mccammon The Immaculate Void by Brian Hodge Nuclear War - Swan Song by Robert Mccammon, On The Beach by Nevil Shute Undead - Cell by Stephen King, The Way of All Flesh by Tim Waggoner Also you should have added a category of of some kind of transendence, evolutionary or biological like in Clarke's. Childhood's End or Greg Bear's Blood Music
I will always champion Blood Music by Greg Bear about our world, at least, coming to an end in favour of something very different. And I once found a book called “Dust” ,by Charles Pellegrino, about the Earth’s biosphere apparently turning on humanity unexpectedly.Great video!
Blood Music is awesome! One of the most densely packed (with ideas) by the great Greg Bear. 🙂😉. Recommend Infinity Concerto and the Serpent Mage if you want Greg writing in the Fantasy genre, yet even more densely packed with ideas. 😮
Cosmic weather apocalypses are rare but there are some. Radix by A.A. Attanasio has an apocalypse caused by finding itself in the random wake of a wormhole projecting black hole.
Excellent work putting this together - been looking forward to this one. Got a couple more to add to my tbr now, but pleased to say that most of these I've either already read or own and waiting on my shelf 😁
I read Nevil Shute's "On the beach" about 60 years ago when the USA and the USSR were locked in the deadly game of international brinkmanship called The Cold War. I lived just a few miles from a major U.S. Air Force airbase and everyone knew we would be one of the first areas hit in the event of thermonuclear war. "On the beach" was absolutely horrifying to my then teen self and I am frightened to this day that our world came so close to the nightmare described in that amazing novel.
@@SciFiScavenger Yes, very depressing but Shute was a very fine writer and some of those images have stuck with me for 60+ years! Enjoyed this segment very much!!!
I remembered I was going to mention On the Beach by Aussie thriller writer Nevil Shute. The book is on Mt. Toberead (surprisingly hard to find in Australia) but I've seen the Gregory Peck movie many times. PS. No alien invasions? I do hope you'll cover them too.
That would have been a good category. I did include The Kraken Wakes, but in the flood category. Alien invasion could be a different video by itself. I read On The Beach years and years agoznremember it being a bit dry (ironically). Cheers Brian, thanks for watching 👀!
Hey Jon, how was the run this weekend? Man, I hate this sub-genre of SF. And I was shocked how many books you´ve mentioned I´ve actually read over the decades. Personal faves are Canticle For Leibowitz and Parable of the Sower. Cheers! EDIT PS: I also want to mention Cordwainer Smith´s Instrumentality of Mankind stories which fit IMO into the genre too.
Hi Thorsten, pretty tiring! Slowest 50 miles I've ever done (in a race). Still, nice day out in a beautiful part of the country. Thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavenger Did you just write 50(!) miles(!) Holy crap. I´ve done walks that far. Or better I had to back in the army, I´ll do 3 to 6 miles walks every day -but FIFTY. Holy....
@ronin47-ThorstenFrank yes, 80km. Pretty hilly too. It was hard work. I've done several at that distance and several even longer (100km, 160km) and for some reason it was a tough day out. 🤷♂️
You just had to pick one so close to my heart. Thanks for this, I needed this this morning. I would recommend 'The Vortex: An Apocalyptic Thriller (The End Is Here Book 1)' by Ian Fieldman. Yes, he is a newer writer, but the story is amazing and I have the preorder for his next book. From what I have heard through the grape vine, there might be a book 4 and I can't wait.
@@AlienBigCat23 Sorry if I came across as rude (or at least I hope I didn't). Good afternoon to you. I am always happy to see others who have a love for this genre. Happy reading and if you run into anything fun please send it my way.
11:50 - Speaking of flood brought by our own greed, short sightedness and stupidity, I admit I prefer slightly more optimistic outlook like in novels by Kim Stanley Robinson.
Soft Apocalypse - 2011 Will Macintosh It's a polarizing novel if you look at Goodreads scores. Occasional one and two stars - But dozens of five stars as well. It's an interesting concept where the story pushes forward as certain groups try to "carry on" as society crumbles around them. It reads like a series of snippets and slices of life. Each few chapters pretty unique although to some the character, anguish and personal struggles might get tiresome. If you read it and soak up the environments and the "slow decay" It's quite plausible and riveting. Definitely worth a shot for anybody. Looking for something slightly different in this genre.
After watching Mad Max 2 for the first time as a teenager, I loved post apocalyptic tales, but I never was particularly interested in the „how“. That might explain why I haven’t read Lucifers Hammer yet, although I own it for about 30 years now. The Road might have been the bleakest book I’ve ever read, but also one of the best. And am I the only one who loved the Postman movie with Kevin Costner?
I don't know if you're the "only" person that loved that Costner movie, but it's a small group! I'm not sure I've ever seen it, will have to look it up. Lucifer's Hammer is great fun, read it! Cheers Michael, thanks for watching 👀!
I was not familair with Road to Corlay - need to add that one to my list in this sub-genre. Cowper also wrote Kuldesak which takes place a couple thousand years after a holocaust. I was also not familiar with The Deluge by THAT author, but did know of The Deluge by Mark Morris! Not sure I would consider The Handmaid's Tale post-apocalyptic, but certainly dystopian, but who's splitting hairs when it comes to misery. You've hit on a bunch of the well known hits for sure. My current PA collector list (not owned, but to one day be owned!) stands at just under 500 books and is continually growing. The Dog Stars is one of the more recent reads that I really enjoyed. If you want a pulpy Moorcock book then The Ice Schooner is a fun read. Great video. Was looking forward to you running this one out!
Wow 500!!! That is dedication for sure! Fair point re Handmaid's Tale, although one might argue it's a slow-motion end of the world tale, since so few children are born, would be well below the replacement rate. Anyway your point is well made (or maid!). Cheers, thanks for watching 👀!
3:30 - This is one of their best. Individual character development as well as the transformation the society goes through is _way_ more realistic than in anything else they wrote.
I really enjoyed Footfall as well. I think Lucifer's Hammer was an early pitch for Footfall, theynwere told to focus on the comet and skip the aliens. It's been many years since I read Lucifer's Hammer, must give another gonat some point. Thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavenger _Footfall_ is the one with cute elephants who have trouble throwing javelins? I must re-read that one - it was long ago, and I wasn't particularly impressed. I believe it ends in a kind of compromise?
@bazoo513 that's the one! There's also a great example of an Orion spaceship, powered by atom bombs and a pusher plate. It's pretty silly but good fun.
If you want alien takeover by changing the ecology of Earth, I suggest the series War Against the Chtorr by David Gerrold. The first book (A Matter For Men) is much the best. Originally planned as a trilogy, Gerrold has decided it will comprise six books, with the last two yet to be published. Started in 1983, it's been a long time finishing, probably because it should have stayed as a trilogy.
And likely won't be published sadly. Been decades and the author is too old and those around him claim his brain 🧠 is mush and he's struggling to survive. Unless someone finds manuscripts from 20 years ago..... The series is over. ✅
@@8020Alive That's hard to hear. I really love Gerrold's books, though not the War against the Chtorr. His Star Wolf series is superb, and not to be missed. He pretty much wrote himself into a corner with the last book of the War against the Chtorr, and I've had a morbid anticipation of how he was going to get himself out of making the protagonist into scum...😮😵
@@User_Un_Friendly absolutely agree 💯 - in his prime he's quite talented. STAR hunt (I think it's called that it's the rewrite of yesterday's children or something) Was fascinating to me reading about space dog fighting but with the ships ripping in and out of hyperspace And both sides being blind akin to a submarine battle. Much more realistic than Star wars or Star Trek.
I'm a big fan of S.M. Sterling's "Emberverse" series. One day for no reason at all, though "alien space bats" are suspected, all high-energy reactions stop working. Gunpowder will burn but not explode. Springs will store energy but only to a point. Steam will build pressure but not enough to be useful. Electricity refuses to flow through wires. The first book, "Dies the Fire", is mostly setup where the various factions are initialized with the following two books being mostly the resolution of the question "how do we survive and get along with our neighbors". The next 7 books are an epic quest tale of the original character's children treking across America to recover a macguffin. Magic of a sort returns to the world though it's bound to faith and the variations of it. The final 5 books involve the next generation and how they handle the transition of power and a broadening of the world. Sterling is known for his alternate history work and his tangential Nantucket trilogy is worth a look as the late 90's island is replaced with one from 3000 years prior and the modern day residents have to deal with a pre-christianity world.
@@User_Un_Friendly I've been meaning to read the General series. Picked up the 2nd book at a thrift store a few years back but haven't tracked down the first book yet.
@@SciFiScavenger If you didn't know, Alien Space Bats are a trope of the alternate history genre. Reserved for when the historical divergence is so unlikely to have occurred that it must have been cause by the aforementioned ASBs.
Of the ones you mentioned that I have actually read, these are my 5 out of 5 star reads: The Day of the Triffids The Sheep Look Up The Handmaid’s Tale Alas, Babylon Earth Abides The Stand The Scarlet Plague…… And then there’s Dr Bloodmoney, which is my favourite of all the novels you talked about - which means it’s my favourite PKD novel, my favourite apocalyptic read, and in fact it makes my Top Ten in terms of SF reads, probably around # 8 or 9. I just love it. Others I really enjoyed: The Death of Grass Parable of the Sower Riddley Walker Greybeard I have also read: The Kraken Wakes, Flood, The Drowned World, The Postman, I Am Legend, The Girl with all the Gifts, World War Z, The Long Tomorrow, A Canticle for Leibowitz, The Chrysalids, Ice, and Where Late The Sweet Birds Sang; only The Girl with all the Gifts really disappointed me even though a lot of people seem to love that one. Unfinished, in first attempt: Shelley’s The Last Man No I did not like it much: Oryx & Crake Recommended as well: Deluge, by S. Fowler Wright Greener Than You Think, by Ward Moore The Hopkins Manuscript, by R. C. Sherriff When Worlds Collide, and After Worlds Collide, by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer ‘48, by James Herbert Aftermath, by Charles Sheffield Goslings (aka World Without Men) by J. D. Beresford Theodore Savage, by Cicely Hamilton Five to Twelve, by Edmund Hamilton The People of the Ruins, by Edward Shanks Nordenholt’s Million, by J. J. Connington A lot of these suggestions come from 1904-1933, as a result of me doing a deep dive into SF’s “Radium Age”. I’m sure I could come up with more books marketed as Horror, if I really took time, but I could only come up with Herbert’s vampire novel, ‘48, off the top of my head.
Oops, can’t do an Edit on this thing, apparently, so let me correct something: Five to Twelve is by Edmund Cooper, not Edmund Hamilton (I blame Cicely Hamilton!).
@@SciFiScavenger Fair enough. That means I’ve got time to sneak in The Man Who Awoke by Laurence Manning, and The Shore of Women by Pamela Sargent. Now I’ll stop.
I read about sci-fi book once that takes place on a planet of just Amish people that had a zombie apocalypse. I was trying to find a zombie apocalypse story about Amish people and all I could find was a book based on a title the author made up for a joke xD
Both Postman and War against the Chtorr covered by other posts. Postman is nothing like the horrid movie. Full of ideas, including cyborg super soldiers, an idea lifted from Piper's Cosmic Computer, where sone people pretend they're guided by a genius supercomputer, and a disturbing finale, a movement where women hold themselves responsible for the birth of human monsters, and deciding to enact a (deleted!). Great book, profound impact on me when I read it decades ago. 🥺 War against the Chtorr started off well, books 1 to 3 were eye opening, and grimdark, gritty and dystopian. Book 4 was just WRONG. Recommend skipping it. I think the series came off the rails, and Gerrold couldn't recover. Read his excellent Star Wolf series instead. 😖 Great as usual, Jon. 🫡😉🙂
@@SciFiScavenger Forgot to mention...the people who actually triggered the apocalypse? It wasn't the nuclear war. It was the Survivalist subculture. 😳. The book mentioned how they could have survived the bombs, famine, and the collapse of the economy...if it wasn't for the Survivalists enacting their Darwinian Survival of the fittest philosophy. 😳🤯😵🙄. They raided the remaining enclaves of civilization and Law and order. 😵💫. Yep, Brin at his most ironic best. 😈