Best apocalyptic fiction by new authors?

I just finished the Gone series by Michael Grant. I read six books in two weeks so it was clearly quite compelling!

It's YA, reminded me of The Stand and IMO much stronger than The Hunger Games. In a 20 mile area of the US surrounding a nuclear power plant, suddenly everyone over the age of 15 simply pops out of existence. The children left have to cope with sorting out food, water etc. Unfortunately some of them develop superpowers and not all of them are very nice. A battle between good and evil, and for survival,

Just finished White Horse by Alex Adams. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I didn't have a degree in biomedical sciences (had to suspend my disbelief and just go with it). The sequel (Red Horse) looks interesting.

I think I've just found my natural home on MN after a these years

I've skimmed the thread and I don't think anyone has mentioned:

Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban - post-apocalypse dystopian novel written in a fully developed dialect of its own. Absolutely glorious.

Spares - Michael Marshall Smith - like Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro - glorious and beautiful story

A Canticle for Leibowitz - awesome

Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland

Specimen Days - Michael Cunningham

Children of Men - P D James

The Unit - Ninni Holmqvist - a must read, beautifully translated

I really love post-apocalyptic, counter factual, dystopian type fiction, usually the more grim, the better

I have bookshelves dedicated to this kind of fiction but they're all jumbled up after my house move. I used to love Anne McCaffrey when I was a tween and I liked David Eddings (highly recommend as YA reading).

I have most of the classic 50s stuff but I'm having surgery next month and will be at home for at least 3 weeks, so I must find something engaging to get stuck into!

Just finished Bird Box after hearing about it here. Absolutely fabulously gripping, terrifying and just bloody BLOODY brilliant!!!!

About a third of the way through Bird Box after reading about it on this thread.

I may never sleep again. Or go outside. Or open my eyes...

Thanks for the recommendations :)

I've read the first two in the Extinction Point series but didn't realise the third was out, so thanks for that tip!

Agree that Plague is too harrowing. I read it pre-DD (14mo) - would not be able to handle it now! I find myself ruling out re-reads of a lot of Stephen King now- eg Cujo, Pet Semetary- because they have small children in.

I've just read a sample of Swan Song. Is it YA? Hard to tell from the sample.

at 'not enough pushbikes'

Also check out 'What Came After' (US) by Sam Winston. Under no circumstances read 'Crash' or its sequels by Michael Robertson. I read this on my kindle, but if it were a dead tree copy I'd be tempted to burn it!! I'll post more as I remember them.

Hi, had just a skim over the thread so apologies if this has been mentioned. A while back I read 'Since Tommorow' by Morgan Nyberg. It's a kindle one and its set in Canada (I believe) in the aftermath the collapse of society. It's got an unusual writing style to it - it's rather like watching a film with no exposition, with showing and no telling. It's well worth bearing with it though. I found the end unbearable and it still packs a wallop now. Just noticed he's written more - off to check them out!

More aliens and plague in "Breakers" by Edward W Robertson. I found the first third or so of this a bit dull, but it does get going. Bit bogged down with detail in some parts and too little elsewhere. (Not enough pushbikes imo)

It's a series, no idea what the rest of them are like since I'm on the first one still, and its free on Kindle.

Extinction Point is good, I second that recommendation
Empty World by John Christopher is good - I don't think it was classed as YA when it was written but it is fairly "gentle" and would possibly be more YA now iyswim.
Plague by Lisa C Hinsley is very good, but ever so harrowing if you have children (a small boy dying graphically of plague :( ) - I've enjoyed everything by LCH come to think of it, her others are dystopian but not plague stories.
There's the Plague 99 trilogy, but that's YA - the second one is Come Lucky April (and had a different title in the USA) and the third is Watchers at the Shrine.
If you enjoyed the Stand you would probably like Swan Song, I mentioned it further up this thread I think.
I expect I'll think of loads more later so I'll come back

If you like your aliens AND plague, I'm in the middle of reading a series of 3 (so far) books by Paul Antony Jones called 'Extinction Point' that has both. About a female reporter who has survived on her own and is trying to make her own way across the USA on her pushbike. Bits of it are scaring me.

Any recommendations for a plague apocalypse novel? Ideally not YA. I've read The Stand.

Or aliens, those are good too.

Basically I really like the Scott Sigler trilogy I recommended upthread, where the aliens cause the plague but having read that I now want something similar!

Giraffes

I have chime in with my defence of On the Beach. It's a book that I couldn't stop thinking about. I highly recommend it.

I read Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan recently. It starts off very silly with zombie cows but rapidly gets serious and creepy. Loved it.

Anyone got any good non-YA recommendations? Am fed up of picking up books which seem great, but turn out to be YA.

This thread is keeping me going through a stinking rotten Easter cold, thanks guys. So far I've read On the Beach and The Giver, which I think is mistitled as The Gift upthread.

I enjoyed On The Beach

Thanks PomBear!

And I've just downloaded Each New Morn to my Kindle - it looks just the sort of thing I like Thanks mako

That's Children of the Dust by Louise Lawrence littleredsquirrel

The Road is one of my all time favourite books (although it disturbed the hell out of me and made me start a food stash!)

Does anyone know what this book might be? I read it when a teenager so 25 years ago. I have a feeling it might be in three parts. There's a nuclear explosion and there's a bit with everyone having to block off rooms and seal windows etc, then some survive in an underground bunker and I have a recollection of the people up top being covered in white hair.

Might have just dreamt it

Just found this thread. I love post apocalyptic books. Started many moons ago with the Day of the Triffids. Agree Oryx and Crake is excellent, but couldn't get into The Year of the Flood.

This one is quite new on Kindle and is pretty good -

www.amazon.co.uk/Each-New-Morn-L-Thomson-ebook/dp/B00I9CAY7A/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1397937858&sr=1-1&keywords=each+new+morn

Each New Morn by LG Thomson. Gives a realistic take. No heroes, just ordinary people trying to survive. Good read.

Also like The Road by Cormac McCarthy, tense, but incredibly bleak.

Following this thread with interest

Nod

Forest of Hand and Teeth

I would like to add http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00GJM5T7C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1397850011&sr=1-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165 Nod

It's kind of dystopian crossed with post apocalyptic, only the 'apocalypse' involves most of the population losing the ability to sleep and decending into insanity. It only spans about 2 weeks or so but I thought it was great.

And http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B002VCR0BC/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1397850192&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX110_SY165 The Forest of Hands and Teeth

YA zombie post apocalypse, trilogy that spans a good 50 years. I really enjoyed it and it was quite dark towards the end. There are a couple of novellas too I think.