Mumsnet Talk

On The Beach almost put me off books in general, let alone just sci-fi as a genre. So incredibly idiotic were its dialogues. Towards the end, I was just wishing that all those morons would just hurry up and die.

They speak very highly of you too

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is brilliant.

They're all dead. As well they deserve

You would think any group of people with a radioactive cloud coming from the north to take their effing submarine and go further south. Even if that's the South Pole. Use the time you have to knit thick clothes, stop meaningless bickering about whether or not to start fishing season early this year , and at least try to save the lives of your children.

Morons.

The Pesthouse by Jim Crace is very, very good. Interesting view of society 3 generations (I think) after most of it being wiped out by a plague of some kind. Not quite as depressing as The Road.

Also of course, Cloud Atlas ends in a post-apocalyptic world. Terribly sad ending of everything.

I also second 'The Passage' as a good post-apocalyptic read. DH is currently reading 'The Twelve' and I can't prise it off him.

Oh gods, don't get Cote started on Cloud Atlas, whatever you do!



Valium - dp and I also had a huge difference of opinion about The Road. he thought it was a work of genius and I thought it was a poor relation to The Stand, which added little if anything to the genre and had a cop out ending. It left me cold tbh.

Jim Crace 'The Pest House' is okay. He's a bit sentimental in places though and a bit slapdash in others.

In the country of last things by Paul Auster.
No zombies or vampires, promise.
It's a post apocalyptic novel though but good, and surprisingly similar to the Road. It predates it, it was written in the 1980's somewhere.

Remus Did you not admire the way I have refrained from recommending Cloud Atlas on this thread? Of course its dystopian and post-apocalyptic stories are exceptionally good and it's a tragedy that you still haven't read them but I think OP would be happier with a book completely devoted to a post-apocalyptic story.

Remarkable self control, Cote. Have a gold star.

"Into the Forest", "Alas, Babylon", "Earth Abides", "A Gift Upon the Shore", "The Old Man and the Wasteland" - I could go on all day
If you search a dystopian/post-apocalyptic book on Amazon then follow the list of "people also bought" or "books like this" thing down the page, you will find all sorts of weird and wonderful suggestions.
Also, if you search "Megapack" they have them in lots of genres including Apocalypse. Or even just search for "Apocalypse" - there are lots of really good anthologies out there with EOTW stories in them just waiting for you
I could be here all night suggesting stuff - it's a big popular genre!

The Stand by Stephen King is very good.

And I'm halfway through Extinction Point by Paul Antony Jones, which is about a woman called Emily who seems to be the last person alive after a mysterious event wipes out the rest of the human race. After spending a few days alone in a deserted New York City Emily comes to believe she might not be alone after all, and sets off on a journey through a vastly changed America.

I've also read The Passage and The Twelve and enjoyed them both, waiting for the next one now.

Have you tried A Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier? That one is also about a young woman who seems to be the only person left alive.

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
I was going to say Russell Hobans Riddley Walker too
- loved it
The wizard of earthsea Ursula le Guin plus following books

World War Z (Kindle edition) is £1.19 on Amazon, if anyone is interested.

If you've got time for a classic i'd vote 1984 George Orwell (Distopia) or Brave New World - Aldous Huxley, definitely second After the Flood.

As a curve ball "A monster calls" Patrick Ness one of the best things I've read this year, very very dark but on a personal level.

The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall. Brilliant.

Patrick Ness' 'The Knife Of Letting Go' series is v good too.

That looks like YA, too.

Are there any similar series written for adults?

Then by Julie Myerson set in LONDON... It was 9.22, the moment when everything stopped. First there was the burning air, then came the darkness, the fire, and finally the frost. Now, in a frozen, wasted London, a woman - uncertain even of her own name - is fighting to stay alive....

Yes, the Ness is YA. I don't know of any well-written series for adults. Unfortunately most adult fantasy etc is v poorly written.

I didn't like, 'Then' v much. I found the author got in the way of her own story somewhat and the characters were annoying.

Thank you all.

I'm going to download lots of them & close my eyes when I look at the bank statement!

Is there anyone who would like to chat about Then with me? I need to debrief

I will franca. New thread?

Me too - but you'll need to jog my memory! i think i had a thread on it at the time - will have a look.

Yes!!!
With spoilers obviously

Shall I start on? I can't link with phone