Doomsday. The end of times. Humanity’s defeat. If you’re familiar with some of the best post apocalyptic books, you know all of these words come into play in this popular genre. Not for the faint of heart, post apocalyptic books will have you on the edge of your seat as you flip through page after page and follow protagonists all fighting for their survival.
In many of these best post apocalyptic books, normal Americans have to step up to become the heroes they’d never imagined themselves to be. Keep reading to discover tales of good versus evil, stories of survival, and surprisingly hopeful recounts of fights that are stacked against all odds.
Freebooksy’s Picks: The Best Post Apocalyptic Books
1. Riddley Walker
by Russell Hoban
This fictional book, set in the near future in a post-nuclear war England, is a completely unique take on the typical trope of the apocalypse. Author Russell Hoban pictures humanity as only semi-literate, being forced to invent their own language to form a new dawn of civilization.
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2. The Stand
by Stephen King
The Defense Department has led to the end of the world. One nanosecond of a computer-born error leads to a world completely stripped of what it previously had. Panicked survivors must choose sides, or be chosen, in a new society of good versus evil. This particular edition includes 500+ pages of materials that were removed from King’s initial publication.
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3. Station Eleven
by Emily St. John Mandel
Now a tv show on HBO Max! St. John Mandel’s book centers around protagonist Kirsten Raymonde: a woman who survived a vicious flu pandemic and witnessed civilization come to a grinding halt. She now moves between various settlements with a group of fellow actors and musicians who have decided it’s their duty to keep art alive.
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4. Alas, Babylon
by Pat Frank
“Alas, Babylon.” These final words led to the end. A nuclear holocaust soon ravages North America, killing tens of millions. The unlucky survivors flit between starvation, illness, and brutal violence. Miraculously, though, one small town in Florida is spared. The isolated inhabitants must come together to make it through their new world.
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5. One Second After (A John Matherson Novel Book 1)
by William R. Forstchen
Set in small-town North Carolina, One Second After is the story of a normal man fighting to save his family amidst a nuclear war crisis. When a deadly Electro-Magnetic Pulse weapon falls into the hands of America’s enemies, everyday citizens must become heroes.
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6. Lucifer’s Hammer
by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
A massive comet has slammed into the Earth. Now, its inhabitants face terrifying earthquakes that register thousands of times beyond what the Richter scale is capable of measuring. Cities become oceans. Oceans turn to steam. The new Ice Age begins just as humanity ends. But for those who survive, the fight for a new dawn is born.
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7. On the Beach
by Nevil Shute Norway
Detailing a group of strangers banding together in Melbourne, On the Beach looks into what could happen after a nuclear war and its resulting deadly radiation take the world by storm. Keep reading to find out why The New York Times called this a “haunting evocation” of atomic war.
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8. I Am Legend
by Richard Matheson
Part Sci Fi, part Horror – I Am Legend follows a world that has been ravaged by vampire bacteria. Against all odds, Robert Neville manages to survive, and must now make sense of what has happened to the city he previously knew so well. By scavenging and hiding, Robert comes to make a life for himself while also grappling with an unsettling truth about the vampires who roam the Earth.
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9. The Drowned World: A Novel
by JG Ballard
This imaginative novel pictures a world in which global warming has caught up to us: the ice caps have melted and a jungle has grown over London. In 2145, biologist Dr. Robert Kearns and his team fight off ever-growing lizards and a planet where nature is on a rampage.
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10. Dies the Fire (Emberverse Book 1)
by SM Stirling
Technology has been rendered completely useless. An electrical storm caused it, plunging the world into complete darkness and a new age that humanity wasn’t prepared to face. Michael Pound’s plane was in mid-flight when the storm occurred, forcing him and fellow passengers into an emergency landing and fight for survival.
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