For the truly realistic version of a post-apocalyptic world, try The Earth Abides by George R. Stewart. No zombies, no nukes, just the few survivors of a killer plague trying to rebuild society in a world that changes day by day as the planet adjusts to losing its dominant life form.

Wasn't Steven King's The Stand post-apoclaypticesque? Thanks for this post - I'm off to the library!

Post-apocalyptic books written more than 10 years ago seem dated in a futuristic-retro sort of way as the authors have failed to incorporate the dramatic advancements we've made prior to their foreseen apocalypse.

I was recently stunned by the amazing "The Windup-Girl" by Paolo Bacigalupi. A new novel that folds in so many contemporary issues that it may be taking place only a few years from now. It takes place in a word where insects and disease have evolved in parallel with the genetic engineering of crops. The result is mass starvation and small groups of governments and corporations racing to hack the current strain of food genes to stay ahead of the bugs -similar to the way we work against the flu strain now. - and that's just the set up.

It is truly an amazing book.

http://www.amazon.com/Windup-Girl-Paolo-Bacigalupi/dp/1597801577

I have a bunch of post-apocalyptic novels somewhere in my book collection, but I really need to organize it better.

The one that I could find right away, that I am guessing is one you haven't read, is Time Storm by Gordon R. Dickson.

http://www.amazon.com/Time-Storm-Gordon-R-Dickson/dp/0671721488/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299928924&sr=8-1

Awesome book and very well done post-apocalyptic world.

OH! If you haven't read it: Alas, Babylon. I (think?) this is one of the first, if not the first, post-apocalyptic novel? I could be wrong on that. But even today it is fucking amazing.

Also, the short story I Am Legend. Ignore the movies and all that crap. Read the book. It will blow you away.

Some of my favorites that haven't been mentioned:

Not The End of the World by Kate Atkinson: end-of-the-world short stories with a strong whiff of magical realism.

World Made By Hand by James Howard Kunstler: a gentler-than-usual story about small-town life in a post-petroleum world.

A Brief History of The Dead by Kevin Brockmeir: a woman struggles to stay alive in Antarctica while the residents of a puragatory-like place try to figure out what they have in common.

Based on recommendations, I just picked up The Wild Shore by Kim Stanley Robinson, which is one of three novels he wrote about different futures for a California community.

Being a fan, it sounds like you've probably read most of what I would recommend, so I hope I'll be forgiven for linking to some library lists that have a better chance of tripping something you don't already know.

Here's a good post-apocalyptic post with a list of suggested titles from Shelf Talk, and another from Push to Talk using the popular Hunger Games novels as a departure point. Both have some great titles, and good suggestions in the comments as well, including Margaret Atwood's recent follow up to Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, (both of which have some of the same topical currency that Jim discusses in Paolo Bracigalupi's excellent The Wind Up Girl) and older titles as well.

Also, do take a look at a couple of recent threads here on QLand about dystopic/post-apocalyptic fiction (here, and here) which got some pretty good action.

There's a title coming out in April from the excellent mystery writer Eliot Pattison that sounds like a real winner - Ashes of the Earth: A Mystery of Post-Apocalyptic America - which Publisher's Weekly (in a starred review) calls "brilliant if grim mystery set in the 21st century 25 years after global mega-acts of terror have destroyed all U.S. government entities and almost all infrastructure." Pattison has made a name writing mysteries that present a vivid window on another culture, such as Tibet (The Skull Mantra, etc.), so he is gifted and building a world. Plus, although we've seen lots of futuristic mysteries, I'm not sure I've seen many post-apocalyptic ones, which is such a good idea that mystery writers all over have to be slapping themselves on the forehead and saying "Why didn't I think if that!!??" I'd expect imitators.

Another fresh angle on the genre was Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu's recent title set in a post-apocalypitic Saharan African, Who Fears Death. A lot about gender and race, and a fresh, original voice and world view less concerned with the preoccupations of the so-called first world: definitley worth a look.

Steven Amsterdam's collection Things We Didn't See Coming presents a veritable smorgasbord of post-apocalytpic scenarios. It is a serious mind-bender.

I've read a couple books recently that aren't your typical apocalyptic story but awesome if you ask me. If you don't mind zombies you should read Day By Day Armegedon by JL Bourne it'sthe story of a military guy's survival in a zombie apocalypse. Then there is Stephen King's Cell which is also a story of survival but I don't want to give away anything. I also saw someone mentioned The Road already which is another great apocalyptic story. Good luck!

Ah, one of my favorite topics. Right up there with mad scientists and new hummus recipes. Here are a few classics that should be in the library of anyone with a healthy appetite for the end of civilization as we know it.

Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle 1985. Earth gets slapped silly by a rogue comet, and a cast of characters try to survive the ensuing pandemonium. This book contains a satisfying mixture of scientific conjecture and character driven plotlines. I've read it at least twice. Alas Babylon by Pat Frank, 1958. Cold-war era novel about thermonuclear war and the aftermath in rural Florida. Character-driven, this is considered to be a classic. However, if you want a novel with scientific exposition or exotic twists, you'll need to look elsewhere. The Stand by Stephen King, 1978. An enormous book, not just in terms of page count but also in the number of characters, epic scope, and multi-leveled exposition. Many consider it to be King's best book. Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham in 1951. Another Cold War era apocalypse, this one about mutant walking plants that have nearly munched human civilization out of existence. A classic.

Happy reading.

Patrick

www.chaucerwells.com

I'm really surprised that Cormac McCarthy's The Road isn't on here. Probably one of my favorite books of all time, it's dark and dreary and fantastic.

Also, if you're into something a little weird, there's a genre of fiction called "bizarro" that kinda sprung out of Portland and while not specifically post-apocalyptic most often the world the stories take place in are in essentially an exaggerated and fucked up version of the one we live in.

"Earth Abides" by George Stewart, if you can find it, is an interesting post-apocalyptic read especially as it was written so long ago (1949). Because it's dated, there's the usual biases: female characters cook and get pregnant and black people are well, stereotyped. It's interesting because Stewart saw America from a post-WWII perspective but he still predicts some probable outcomes for the end of modern society.

Vonda McIntyre's "Dreamsnake" won the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards when it was published in 1979. Set in a future America, there's been a nuclear war, it's several generations post-nukes and people and animals are slowly coming back in areas without radiation. McIntyre's novel is also interesting because she talks about genetically engineered animals -- in 1979! When no one was talking about them. And there are snakes from outer space.

The prequel to Atwood's "Oryx & Crake", "Year of the Flood" is damn good. There's a minor character in both of Atwood's post-apocalyptic novels who bares a weird resemblance to Bill Gates.