Post apoc books (novels, fiction, prose, great)

[Opyelie]

Originally Posted by jtur88

Neil Stephenson's "Snow Crash"

I don't really see Snow Crash as post apocalyptic.

[SLippi]

A buddy of mine wrote a post apoc book last year. It follows what seems to be the standard trilogy model and in my slightly biased opinion it's a very good book. It's based here in CT and made me want to keep reading even though I'm not usually a fan of the genre or reading in general (bad eyes). Definately think it's worth a look and Amazon lets you read a few pages to test it out.

Amazon.com: 7 Scorpions: Rebellion (9781609112868): Mike Saxton: Books

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by brubaker

The Postman...lol'ing

The book was actually much better than the stupid movie...

[netwit]

Originally Posted by philwithbeard

New in 2010:
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

Nebula Award winner in May 2010. Hugo Award in November 2010, and a Locus Magazine award.

The "windup girl" is a robotic / artificial person who is powered by a mechanical spring energy source (which is wound up) instead of an environmentally toxic battery.

This is post environmental apocalypse novel that takes place in SE Asia. Very powerful political leaders treat everyone as cannon fodder and proceed to purge the city of each others followers. Story is mostly told from point of view of cannon fodder characters (who for the most part end up as what cannon fodder and spear carriers do.)

I started to read The Windup Girl a while back but I just haven't been able to get into it. Not sure why. I read about half of it and put it aside. I do tend to finish books and will in all likelihood finish this one eventually. Did you like it?

[philwithbeard]

Originally Posted by netwit

I started to read The Windup Girl a while back but I just haven't been able to get into it. Not sure why. I read about half of it and put it aside. I do tend to finish books and will in all likelihood finish this one eventually. Did you like it?

Yes, I liked the Windup Girl very much. It is written from the perspective of a writer more familiar with SE Asian culture and interplay between Asian ethnic groups; and much less focused on European and European derivative cultures by not having a "Stranger-In-A-Strange-Land" iconoclastic main character. Many characters, many viewpoints- More of a test of one's multi-tasking abilities, which I am woefully lacking, being a male.

FYI; many readers have expressed a dis-interest in the novel, due in part to the lack of being able to identify (sympathize?) with the cultural context of the setting of the novel.

Did you get to the part where a bunch of men run up the stairs in a high rise office building, and use their combined weight to make the elevator system take an honored guest to some office on the 5th floor without using electricity?

[netwit]

Originally Posted by philwithbeard

Yes, I liked the Windup Girl very much. It is written from the perspective of a writer more familiar with SE Asian culture and interplay between Asian ethnic groups; and much less focused on European and European derivative cultures by not having a "Stranger-In-A-Strange-Land" iconoclastic main character. Many characters, many viewpoints- More of a test of one's multi-tasking abilities, which I am woefully lacking, being a male.

FYI; many readers have expressed a dis-interest in the novel, due in part to the lack of being able to identify (sympathize?) with the cultural context of the setting of the novel.

Did you get to the part where a bunch of men run up the stairs in a high rise office building, and use their combined weight to make the elevator system take an honored guest to some office on the 5th floor without using electricity?

Yes, I did. As far as the cultural perspective, that was one of the reasons I picked up the book. As far as the robotic type female character, the book reminded me of a fairly recent book about clones - Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. They both take on how society can become inured or blinded to injustice, depending on where science takes us.

I did like that book however.

It might just be me and not the book. I find that if my reading time is continually interrupted, as it was when I started reading the book, I tend to not like the book as well as I might otherwise.

[netwit]

Originally Posted by LauraC

Unless the book is drastically different than the movie, I don't think it's post-apocalyptic.

I think it would qualify as socially apocalyptic. The world, as we now know it, ending less with a bang than a whimper, if you so will.

Like most of Atwood's books, I thought the ending was weak. I never saw the movie.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by LauraC

Unless the book is drastically different than the movie, I don't think it's post-apocalyptic.

I would consider the religious-military overthrow of the U.S. government, complete with wholesale murder of the executive and legislative branches, the resultant civil war on multiple fronts, nuclear and chemical wastelands, the relocation of Jews and blacks, the enslavement of women, and the elimination of entire populations, as an apocalypse.

I've never seen the movie; maybe all that wasn't covered.

[Ishouldknow]

Whether you like Stephen King or not "The Stand" really defines how to write a story of "The End". The multiple character building, the good - the bad, the event, the denial, government cover up, multiple short stories of peoples lives ending. Then the picking up of the pieces, society coming together, the rebuild. The final conflict. The Passage follows the formula. Lucifers Hammer did it well too. I'm sure there are others.

[Ketabcha]

Originally Posted by LauraC

Unless the book is drastically different than the movie, I don't think it's post-apocalyptic.

I consider it to be post-apocalyptic, LauraC.

It takes place after a war in which most women have been sterilized by the fallout of the chemical weapons.