End of the World Books

[warrenss2]

@Warrenss2 - if you think that is too religious, I guess you won't be interested in the Left Behind series of novels then?

I saw the movie and liked it, but have read none of the books. I'm not anti-religious or anything like that... I'm just a firm believer in "God helps those who try to help themselves." I think it would be counter-productive to fall to one's knees and pray for protection from the advancing zombie horde when God has given you two perfectly good legs. 

I wish I could find a copy of Malevil (http://www.amazon.com/Malevil-Robert-Merle/dp/2070374440) in the local used book exchange.

I remember someone writing about reading a new vampire book that's apocalyptic... wish I could remember the name of it! 

[Thantsants]

A classic in the genre: Day of the Triffids.

John Wyndham was a superb writer - The Kraken wakes is extremely cool also even if the Man isn't totally wiped out.

also check out John Christopher -
World in Winter and Death of Grass - no big alien baddies but very scary visions of a near future world brought to its knees by Ice Age or crop disease respectively.

[Bako]

For a book report I read Bill McGuire's "A guide to the end of the world: everything you never wanted to know". It's non-fiction though, it's a collection of natural disasters waiting to happen, quite an entertaining read

Ooo, I got that one somewhere in my collection.

The Stand by Stephen King also gets a vote from me.

The Dark Tower (1-7) by Stephen King are also somewhat apocalyptic mixed with pre-apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic (and probably my favorite series ever ).

I definitely recommend these too.

[sukhe_bator]

For different perspectives about what happens when the 'balloon goes up' try Thomas N Scortia's 'Earthwreck' about US and Russians on their respective space stations coming to terms with the end of the world below them. Do they fight, give up or try to survive together?
Also David Graham's 'Down to a Sunless Sea' about a civilian airliner trying to escape and find a safe haven as the bombs go off.

[FM]

An old one:
On the beach, by Nevil Shute

The northern hemisphere is destroyed in a nuclear war, Australia is waiting for their inevitable demise, because of nucleair fall out slowly coming their way