I’ve always had a penchant for dystopian stories. It comes of being a child of the cold war. It was a tangible thing that could really happen and was ground into us every day, especially as I was, living right on top of a Naval establishment who’s sole purpose was deterrence of the Eastern bloc. The money from the establishment greased the wheels of daily life, it paid for pensions, it employed people leaving school, it watered and fed local businesses. Until it didn’t when the Berlin wall came down and it was all over. but still the existential fear lingered on. Here then is my choice, its a mixture of serious and non serious fiction if you can say such a thing. Some are considered classic, some are not.
10 Swan Song - Robert McCammon
Realism vs otherworldly : Midway
Artworthyness : Trashy
Horror : A fair bit
Length : Refreshingly long
Apocalypse because : Nuclear
Left field here - its very trashy. Highly depressing, its a realistic imagining of nuclear apocalypse. Very detailed rendering of how each of the storys sections would play out. Its grim and dour. Nothing really elevates it. But it is long, and not many are. A book like on the beach, or even the last of us, much as I love them greatly you can practically read on the toilet. They lack sustainability. Its also unflinching in its portrayal of horror. I also love how he imagines the people trying to live out their lives. Its brave in its scope even if it doesn’t reach the heights of great writing.
9 On the beach - Neville Shute
Realism vs otherworldly : Otherworldly
Artworthyness : Booker prize stuff
Horror : Not really
Length : classic novel
Apocalypse because : Nuclear
We are going a long way back here. Its from the 50s so even then, the real scope of what was to come was in the wings when he wrote it. Its the story of a group of survivors that get squeezed into the bottom half of Australia by a moving belt of deadly radiation. Trapped, they play out what remains of their lives until the end. There are lovely tableau of how the world ends. They have a group of American servicemen in a submarine that try and land to see if things have gotten any better and so the curtain is lifted a bit on the apocalypse. It has a car race at the end as well. What more do you need.
8 World war Z - Max Brooks
Realism vs otherworldly : Very otherworldly
Artworthyness : Trashy
Horror : A fair bit
Length : calssic novel
Apocalypse because : Virus and Zombies
Ignore the film - which is actually not that bad, this is totally different. Its an old cliché that the book is so much better than the film, but here that really is true. Another like A canticle for Leibowitz - its conceptual. The stories are told after the apocalypse, and so you get a lot of different characters who’s stories blend together to make a really interesting take on dystopian and zombie apocalypse. In actual fact none of it is that new, its all been used before but the format is so on its head that its totally refreshing.
7 The Unit - Ninni Holmqvist
Realism vs otherworldly : Otherworldly
Artworthyness : Serious fiction
Horror : Not really
Length : Classic novel
Apocalypse because : Environmental disaster
A really creepy one this, society has started to literally recycle unwanted people, those that don’t have children primarily but anyone thats deemed as useless into processing centres where they live a life of luxury for a while, but eventually their organs are harvested for more important members of society. Its got a lovely tonality, the buildings and atmosphere are all well rendered. Its got a clinical quality to it as well. There is definitely a touch of Nordic mixed in as well.
6 Pollen - Jeef Noon
Realism vs otherworldly : Highly otherworldly
Artworthyness : Maybe
Horror : Not especially
Length : Classic novel
Apocalypse because : Environmental
My key image on this page is because of Pollen. Its about as trippy as its gets here, the world which is full of mutant animal strain humans, mixed in with something like PSIs and the world is starting to break down because the flowers have gone into overdrive and producing excessive pollen which is gradually starting to make human life less and less possible. It also features just to make it really complicated the virtual world. People lick feathers to enter. And to top it all off it based in an imagined Manchester. Its a heady mix of all kinds of mythologies like Greek and counter culture. The Beatles even appear at one point in the guise of Sargent Peppers. Its a great book if a little hard to read at times.
5 Z for Zachariah - Robert C O'Brien
Realism vs otherworldly : A bit otherworldly
Artworthyness : Serious fiction
Horror : Generally not that horrific
Length : Short
Apocalypse because : Nuclear
I remember watching a very old adapted for TV film version, and there have been recent versions as well. It was written from an American point of view, The story takes place on a farm where there are conveniently all the required items to survive. Its very close to being a comfortable type of dystopia, but thats how it reels you in. The shocks are there, just waiting to drop on you. Having known the story as i watched the film, I was really surprised how well the story works in the book. A classic.
4 Drowned world - JG Ballard
Realism vs otherworldly : Otherworldly
Artworthyness : Serious
Horror : Not really
Length : Short
Apocalypse because : Environmental
Typical of Ballards writting style you enter a new environment, a bit like Hunter S T, everything is upside down and back to front. Nothing makes sense, especially the hero if you can call them that, whos actions seem like they might be suffering from a fever. But what makes this book great is the scope of the disaster. Really its a case of what you want to do to the world and then describe it and Ballard is great at this. The World drowns as implied. And rather than heading for the polar icecaps like everyone else, the hero heads for the equator.
3 A canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M.Miller
Realism vs otherworldly : Otherworldly
Artworhyness : Serious fiction
Horror : Not a lot only in abstract
Length : Standard novel
Apocalypse because : Nuclear
Conceptually brilliant. Not the greatest of writing styles. It has silly bits, but you cant knock that concept. A trainee holy boy happens across an old presumed nuclear shelter and from the knowledge contained within gradually technology is recreated and so the wheel of self destruction turns. There is always something round the corner in this book. Keeps you turning the pages. Great stuff.
2 The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Realism vs otherworldly : Quite realistic
Artworthyness : Pretty serious fiction
Horror : Plenty of gore and shocks
Length : Standard novel
Apocalypse because : Could be environmental or nuclear, its not explicit
A great novel, really only about two people, a father and a son who try and survive in the face of great odds. The apocalypse is abstract - you never really know whats happened. They do come across a nuclear shelter - implied, at one point, but its never explicitly stated. Cannibalism does feature as a motif but its a sillier aspect of the whole concept. Does society disintegrate and we start behaving like cannibals I'd like to think not. Life is very resilient. What I love about The road is the relationship between the father and son. Its very emotional. It packs a punch with the apocalypse as backdrop.
1 The last of us - Rob Ewing
Realism vs otherworldly : Highly realistic
Artworthyness : Not bad, its not shakespear but its not trashy
Horror : Plenty to hand, but not excessive
Length : Standard novel
Apocalypse because : Virus
Not to be confused with the very famous game and TV series. Flying in the face of the Guardian review, the story of an apocalyptic pandemic seen through the eyes of children. Particularly cogent post Covid. On paper this seems to be a rehash of other novels - The lord of the flies, The Stand ect. but its about that sense of complete and utter horror at the moment of disconnection to society. It has that and for me its the best. Its a shave of a nose out in front of The road. Whats the worst thing you can imagine, children being left to fend for themselves in the face of a gargantuan disaster. Yes, Lord of the flies, but that didn’t involve the whole world. Yes, The Stand, but that got silly with religion and so on. There is something about the tone and timbre of the novel that makes me want to read it again. All great artwork is a rehash, and so is this - I just loved it.
Bonus mention - Brother in the land - Robert E. "Bob" Swindells
Realism vs otherworldly : Realstic
Artworthyness : Pretty serious even though its for 'young adults'
Horror : Some
Length : very short - novella
Apocalypse because : Nuclear
This was created for school children and has a particular resonance. I think it could well have influenced the infamous Threads film. Its a very short book - like two hundred odd pages or so rendition of the end of society in a nuclear apocalypse. I have it here as I remember reading it whilst at school, and it therefore holds a special place. Grim reading for 12yr olds at a time when it was a definite possible reality.
