Looking for a post apocalyptic/odd/ anti-government book

[jesterx7769]

So as the title says that is what I am looking for. I have read Vonnegut, Jennifer Government, and Clockwork Orange, etc. I am really looking for a post apocalyptic book as I have never read one and I love the Fallout series, the old show Jeremiah, and played the beta of the new mmo of similar nature but most of the books I have looked up take placing DURING wars instead of after. Help or suggestions anyone?

[Clarity]

So as the title says that is what I am looking for. I have read Vonnegut, Jennifer Government, and Clockwork Orange, etc. I am really looking for a post apocalyptic book as I have never read one and I love the Fallout series, the old show Jeremiah, and played the beta of the new mmo of similar nature but most of the books I have looked up take placing DURING wars instead of after. Help or suggestions anyone?

 

Have you tried Children Of The Dust

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_the_Dust_(novel)

[jesterx7769]

I have not but that sounds very interesting I will have to see if the local book store has it in stock.

[Hyde Hill]

Not so much post apocolypse but 1984 is of course a must. The Stand by King is great, the movie as well, On the Beach is a classic must read if you have even an inkling of intrest in the cold war.

[Vladamire Dracos]

You could look for the graphic novel "Vic and Blood: The Continuing Adventures of a Boy and His Dog" or even "A Boy and His Dog", the short story it continues. Both are out of print now, however. The series had an infuence on the Fallout series (JFK survives the assassination attempt and causes an arms race with the Communist countries that leads to the apocalypse, survivors live in underground shelters, etc.), so it might be worth it to you to find them (and the movie adaption of the short story with the same name if you haven't seen it).

[jesterx7769]

That sounds interesting, and thanks for the suggestion Hyde but I am looking for stuff that doesn't deal with wars as I have read enough of the WW II books and such, thats why I thought a book like this would be interesting since its something I've never read.

[alphadraighon]

Try the Avery Cates series by Jeff Somers (The Electric Church, Digital Plague, and The Eternal Prison, so far.) I cam across the first book by accident in my local library, and couldn't put it down. I found them to be fascinating. A little bit far reached on the science, but that tends to happen sometimes.

[Hyde Hill]

Well the stand is due to disease not war. 1984 doesn't actually feature an apocolypse but is more a downturn of the human situation falling in the odd/anti goverment equestion. On the beach focusses on the survivors and not the war itself and well the 80s where kinda the catalyst for post apocolyptic writing together with ww1 and hiroshima if you are Japanese. For a good look on the last mentioned I can't really mention a book but Akira in the non edited version is a must see.

[panix04]

I have to second 1984, absolute classic! (and not just because I played the lead in the play version!) I read it having been in the play and having watched the film and the book is better by a country mile, so beautifully written and a really great story, plus not far fetched either, there are oddly parts that kind of relate to modern life and thats what makes it seem close to the mark. EG the widespread use of CCTV etc. Plus how can you not like a book that contains the line "if you want a picture of the future imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever"

[D. Boons Ghost]

Akin to Stephen King's The Stand:

 

Robert R. McCammon's Swan Song is one of my all-time favorites. Check it out.

[d_w_w]

What about The Road by McCarthy?

[jesterx7769]

Re-awakening this thread instead of starting a new one.

 

read all four of the Avery Cates novels, great, funny, and lots of action although the last one disappointed me and I fear the 5th will as will.

 

Also read The Road. Didn't like it at first but the most I thought about it after I liked it.

 

Also read 1,400 page "Under The Dome" by Stephen King, one of the BEST if not books I have ever read, however one of the WORST if not worst endings.

 

now the main reason I brought this thread back, has anyone read "Feed" by Mira Grant? I heard good things about it and am feeling a good zombie book might be good. I was either going to read that or "Dead to the BCS". Hmm fiction or knowledge that can be used at work? Hmmmmm FICITON!

[D-Lyrium]

Have you read I Am Legend yet? If not, you should. Post-apocalyptic zombies! Sounds right up your street.

[20LEgend]

1984 is a must read.

[jesterx7769]

I saw the o am legend movie is it the exact same? Also I have 1984 and read 2 chapters but I just haven't picked it back up despite everyone telling me I have to

[SaySo]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51g64QUOgRL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

 

Link - http://www.amazon.com/Patriots-Surviving-James-Wesley-Rawles/dp/156975599X

 

Description - America faces a full-scale socioeconomic collapse--the stock market plummets, hyperinflation cripples commerce and the mounting crisis passes the tipping point. Practically overnight, the fragile chains of supply and high-technology infrastructure fall, and wholesale rioting and looting grip every major city.

 

As hordes of refugees and looters pour out of the cities, a small group of friends living in the Midwest desperately tries to make their way to a safe-haven ranch in northern Idaho. The journey requires all their skill and training since communication, commerce, transportation and law enforcement have all disappeared. Once at the ranch, the group fends off vicious attacks from outsiders and then looks to join other groups that are trying to restore true Constitutional law to the country.

 

Patriots is a thrilling narrative depicting fictional characters using authentic survivalist techniques to endure the collapse of the American civilization. Reading this compelling, fast-paced novel could one day mean the difference between life and death.

 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41IngbazFOL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

 

Link - http://www.amazon.com/One-Second-After-William-Forstchen/dp/0765317583/ref=pd_sim_b_4

 

Description - In this entertaining apocalyptic thriller from Forstchen (We Look Like Men of War), a high-altitude nuclear bomb of uncertain origin explodes, unleashing a deadly electromagnetic pulse that instantly disables almost every electrical device in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. Airplanes, most cars, cellphones, refrigerators—all are fried as the country plunges into literal and metaphoric darkness. History professor John Matherson, who lives with his two daughters in a small North Carolina town, soon figures out what has happened. Aided by local officials, Matherson begins to deal with such long-term effects of the disaster as starvation, disease and roving gangs of barbarians. While the material sometimes threatens to veer into jingoism, and heartstrings are tugged a little too vigorously, fans of such classics as Alas, Babylon and On the Beachwill have a good time as Forstchen tackles the obvious and some not-so-obvious questions the apocalypse tends to raise.

 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51J1LS%2B7v5L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

 

Link - http://www.amazon.com/Rising-Brian-Keene/dp/0843952016/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293255357&sr=1-1

 

Description - The dead are returning to life as intelligent zombies. Trapped by the undead, escape seems impossible for Jim Thurmond. But Jim’s young son is alive and in dire peril hundreds of miles away. Despite overwhelming odds, Jim vows to find him— or die trying.

 

Joined by an elderly preacher, a guilt-ridden scientist, and a determined ex-prostitute, Jim embarks on a cross-country rescue mission. They must battle both the living and the living dead. And for Jim and his companions, an even greater evil awaits them at the end of their journey. This is the time of...The Rising

 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51PyCBwONlL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

 

Link - http://www.amazon.com/City-Dead-Brian-Keene/dp/0843954159/ref=pd_sim_b_1

 

Description - In this sequel to the Stoker-winning The Rising (2003), Keene ingeniously asks, if human corpses can be reanimated, why not dead dogs, rats, sparrows, goldfish, etc.? His other innovation is the news that the zombie swarm is inhabited by demons who are angry at God for trying to exile them in the Void. They want to get revenge by killing everything on Earth, and they are numerous, clever and indestructible enough to accomplish the task. Opposing the demon-zombies are a few living survivors, chiefly an ex-hooker, a young father and his little boy. Finding no shelter elsewhere, they wind up in a fortified Manhattan skyscraper, commanded by an old millionaire who's certain he can outlast any attack. Keene does a fine job keeping the mechanics of the siege clear, while switching viewpoints among his large cast of characters. He's also inventive in imagining ways the human body can be disassembled, with vivid descriptions of torn flesh and spraying fluids. After a while, though, the relentless dread becomes tiresome. Reading this book is like being trapped in a long, gory, unwinnable video game.

[Jericho Rules]

Fahrenheit 451 is a good one, although I don't think it could quite be called post-apocalyptic. It's a really good read though.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451

[masterded]

I saw the o am legend movie is it the exact same? Also I have 1984 and read 2 chapters but I just haven't picked it back up despite everyone telling me I have to

 

The movie and the book are so far apart it isn't funny. Though if you have saw The Last Man on Earth it is close to the book.

 

Edit: Also just to add to something that has already been said I consider The Stand to be one of the if not the best books I have ever read (If not the best story I have ever read, seen, or heard).

[timmyismint]

The Man In The High Castle by Phillip K Dick: Amazing book.

[Unregistered]

Since I dont have much time, a good book that sort of fits the genre is Lucifers Hammer by Larry Niven. The first bit is a bit slow, but it ends up bringing you on an awesome ride.

[darthsiddus2]

If you want good anti-government material check out in5d on youtube. He's got good stuff on there.

[Remianen]

Also read 1,400 page "Under The Dome" by Stephen King, one of the BEST if not books I have ever read, however one of the WORST if not worst endings.

 

I'm a King fanboi (his wife is a mentor of mine) but I despised that book. Junior lived too long, for one thing, and the entire premise at the end fell apart.

 

But how about "Make Room! Make Room!" by Harry Harrison? It was the basis for the movie Soylent Green though, like many similar films, the book is a lot deeper and thought provoking than even that great movie.

[BurningHamster]

I'm a King fanboi (his wife is a mentor of mine) but I despised that book. Junior lived too long, for one thing, and the entire premise at the end fell apart.

 

But how about "Make Room! Make Room!" by Harry Harrison? It was the basis for the movie Soylent Green though, like many similar films, the book is a lot deeper and thought provoking than even that great movie.

 

Harry Harrison is good times and it warms my heart to hear him mentioned. Strangely I never read "Make Room! Make Room!" ... guess it's time I did.

[dvdWarrior]

For post-apocalyptic books, The Road is probably my favorite, but I've always been a fan of The Stand as well. Haven't gotten around to reading I Am Legend yet, but I very much want to, and and I wasn't all that thrilled with Under The Dome either, (despise would be too strong a word for me, it just didn't make my favorites list).

 

For odd or unusual, I like Harry Turtledove's alternate history fiction quite a bit - you'd probably have to buy those if you wanted to read them though: he writes books in series, and my local library only has one book from this series and one book from that series, making it kinda hard to keep up. I'd imagine other libraries might act the same way. Anywho, his series about an America in which the South won the Civil War, (starting with "How Few Remain"), was pretty interesting.

 

He also has a series about a world where an alien invasion occurred at the height of World War II. I haven't read that one yet, but it sounds unique.

[PeterHilton]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash

 

This is one of my favorites and hasn't been mentioned yet. Fantastic book, Stephenson always explores very smart topics, the characters are tremendous, and it his those Blade Runner type mythos with unique twists that will make the setting feel new even though it was written years ago.