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Old 10-05-2009, 03:29 PM   #1
prudence
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Fictional disaster recommendations?

Can anyone recommend any fictional disaster novels or short stories? The sort of things would be 'end of the world' type things due to drought, heat or floods/tidal waves.

I never know what category to look under for these things.

I'm not strange, honest

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Sue
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Old 10-05-2009, 03:39 PM   #2
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I think most folks are going to put Stephen King's The Stand at or near the top of the heap. Your mileage may vary.

My personal favorite would be Harry Harrison's Make Room! Make Room!, the novel that was the basis of the film "Soylent Green."

I'm also responding to put in my personal recommendation that if anybody suggests Earth Abides, you run screaming in the opposite direction. I found it unacceptably racist, even when I attempted to view it in the light of the times in which it was written.
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Old 10-05-2009, 03:48 PM   #3
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We read 'Refuge' by Richard Herley as the MobileRead Book Club monthly choice a while ago. I thought that was an excellent read.
Available from Mr. Herley's website.

John Wyndham's 'The Day of the Triffids' is a terrific read; as his other post-apocalyptic novel 'The Chrysalids'.
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Old 10-05-2009, 04:01 PM   #4
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Brin's The Postman
Niven's Lucifer's Hammer
Jack McDevitt's Eternity Road
William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land
Stephen Baxter's The Flood
David Palmer's Emergence
The first 2/3 of The Stand

Don't remember the cause in The Postman, might have been war though. Not much focus on the cause, just the rise and adaptation of civilization afterward. Robert McCammon's Swan Song and William R. Forstchen's One Second After are both pretty good, but again nuclear war. The king of the after the nuke's novels though will probably always be Pat Frank's "Alas Babylon". I'm not a big fan of Earth Abides or On The Beach myself.

Last edited by wayspooled; 10-05-2009 at 04:09 PM.
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Old 10-05-2009, 04:13 PM   #5
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The Book of the Month for October Flash Forward seems like a bit of a disaster novel. I didn't read the whole synopsis, as it was spoiling the plot for me.

Then, there is the added bonus of being able to BS about it with your buddies here.
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Old 10-05-2009, 04:32 PM   #6
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Try "Post Apocalyptic" in the Amazon search under books.

My fav would be Anathem by Neal Stephenenson.
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Old 10-05-2009, 05:02 PM   #7
prudence
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Thanks everyone

Lots of suggestions here



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Old 10-05-2009, 06:40 PM   #8
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Hm.. in a case of reading what you're hoping to find: I just read the topic as "Disastrous Fictionwise recommendations". And putting this book in the "classic literature" section certainly seems to be that.
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Old 10-05-2009, 06:42 PM   #9
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Another vote for Refuge, I really liked that.
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Old 10-05-2009, 09:10 PM   #10
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Blood Music by Greg Bear - not a natural disaster
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I didn't like Oryx and Crake by Margaret Eleanor Atwood but many others did (man made disaster)

Ok, kind of a stretch - but Grapes of Wrath - Steinbeck

Plague Year by Jeff Carlson was ok -
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Old 10-05-2009, 09:52 PM   #11
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It was mentioned before, but I enjoyed Larry Niven's Lucifer's Hammer. It's probably not the most well-written book, but it's a fun read.

Another one, Trinity's Child by William Prochnau. In this the Soviet Union lauches a major nuclear strike against the United States. Most of the action tackes place in the cockpit of a B-52 flying towards its target in the USSR. A lot of talk, not as much action as you may expect, not much description of the nation-wide, or even global, effects of the strike. Even so, not too bad.

Not exactly end of the world, though close, is John Birmingham's new one, Without Warning. A huge, mysterious energy field engulfs and destroys 99% of the United States, leaving the rest of the world (physically) unaffected, but staring at an indescribable cataclysm. Easy to read, lots of characters and settings.

Have fun.

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Old 10-05-2009, 10:58 PM   #12
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S.M. Stirling has a series, starting with "Dies the Fire". I enjoyed it (if that's the right word to use about post-apocalyptic fiction!), but haven't continued on in the rest of the series yet...
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Old 10-05-2009, 11:54 PM   #13
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I liked the new book by William Forstchen "One Second After"...

I want to be your LatexSalesMan!!!!
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Old 10-05-2009, 11:59 PM   #14
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When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer
Malevil by Robert Merle
The Wind From Nowhere by J.G. Ballard
The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard
The Burning World by J.G. Ballard
The Crystal World by J.G. Ballard
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
No Blade of Grass by John Christopher
The War with the Newts by Karel Capek
I am Legend by Richard Matheson
City by Clifford Simak
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Old 10-06-2009, 12:14 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prudence View Post
Can anyone recommend any fictional disaster novels or short stories? The sort of things would be 'end of the world' type things due to drought, heat or floods/tidal waves.
If by "tidal wave" you actually mean "tsunami", then you might want to consider Nation by Terry Pratchett.
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