With such a dangerous and scary world, people can’t help but think about when all this ends. Far from shying away from it though, many people embrace the discomfort and fear of losing the world.
From the horrors of mass destruction to the resilience of humanity, there are plenty of reasons to enjoy stories that deal with the apocalypse.
Books about the End of the World
There’s a strong interest in stories that tackle the end of the world. Below are just a few of these novels.
1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
A father and son traverse the ruins of America, brought down by an unspecified disaster. The wind carries ash, the sky is dark, and the land groans in its death throes.
With nothing but their clothes and a rundown cart, they spend their days searching for food and shelter. As cannibals roam these blasted Earth, all they can do is rely on each other for survival.
2. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
Triffids are tall, mobile, and venomous plants cultivated all around the world as a source of oil. But when a meteor shower renders most people on Earth blind, these plants begin to threaten humanity itself.
Bill Masen, one of the few sighted individuals left, wakes up in a hospital to discover that society is up in flames. Searching for a safe space, he must try to re-establish civilization and deal with the breakdown of social order among the survivors.
3. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
A flu pandemic has killed off most of the world. Twenty years later, a band of actors and musicians travel across the ruins to bring entertainment to isolated communities.
In one such community, they find a Prophet whose violent ways disturb the troupe. And though they quickly hurry off, a strange twist of fate begins to lead them to a single destination.
4. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
The world is prophesied to end this Saturday. In preparation, Good and Evil gather their armies while the world seems to have gone askew.
Everything’s according to Plan, except for one teeny tiny thing—the Antichrist is missing. Not to mention an angel and his demon friend don’t want the world to end.
5. The Drowned World by JG Ballard
Global warming has melted the ice caps, leaving most of the planet inhabitable. Humanity’s survivors travel to the planet’s Poles, rendered fit for habitation by the event.
A scientific expedition is sent to the remains of London to catalog its flora and fauna. They find an unfamiliar cityscape where nature reigns and civilization is nonexistent.
6. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
A plague has ravaged the world and those who didn’t survive are turned into bloodthirsty creatures. Robert Neville appears to be the only one immune and seeks to find a cure.
But, as months turn to years of depression and alcoholism, he arrives at a troubling confusion. The monsters he hunts might not be the monsters he’s made them to be.
7. The Stand by Stephen King
A patient escapes from a secure facility, setting off a pandemic that kills 99 percent of humanity in a matter of weeks. As fear and uncertainty grip the survivors, they begin to look for a leader.
108-year-old Mother Abagail urges those under her yoke to build a peaceful community. The Dark Man encourages his flock towards violence. Both are on an inevitable path of conflict—one that will decide humanity’s course.
8. The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
The world is ended, his wife is gone, and his friends are dead—and yet Hig remains. Now he lives in the hangar of an airport with a dog and a trigger-happy misanthrope.
When a transmission comes through the radio of his old Cessna, it sparks hope in him for something better. It is only a matter of time before he goes searching, both hopeful and afraid of what he might find.
9. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Snowman might just be the only living human left on our devastated Earth. He mourns the loss of his best friend Crake, along with Oryx, the beauty they mutually loved.
But he is not alone, being surrounded by Crakers, experimental humanoids who regard him as their teacher. Starving and wounded, he scavenges the ruins while reminiscing about how the world fell apart.
10. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller Jr.
A nuclear war has plunged the world back into the Dark Ages. In the far future, a group of monks dedicate themselves to the preservation of pre-apocalyptic knowledge, despite most of the world now being in fear of technology.
From there, time explores the cyclical nature of history. Humans discover and rebuild, relentlessly pursuing new heights. And yet they struggle to learn from the past, damned to make the same mistakes that have brought them low.
11. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Unchecked climate change, wealth disparity, and corruption ruin the world. People now live in heavily guarded communities or roam the land as scavengers.
Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives in a gated community, born with the ability to feel other people’s pain. When circumstances lead her outside, she takes to the road and gathers followers for humanity’s new destiny.
12. Girls’ Last Tour by Tsukumizu
The world is dead but that doesn’t mean there’s no place for adventure. Whether searching for spare parts or food, Chito and Yuuri are all for exploration and enjoying each other’s company.
Reading About the Apocalypse
The end of the world can be a powerful and versatile narrative device. Not just for its scale as an event, but also in how many ways you can apply it to a story.
You can use it as the catalyst for certain decisions and actions or as a cleansing agent that wipes everything clean and ready for a restart. In both these scenarios, human nature becomes the highlight of the story.
When the world ends, what matters to people the most? What will your last actions be? Who will you spend your last moments with? These are all questions that people wonder about and which apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic stories excel at answering.
What other books about the end of the world do you recommend? Share them in the comments below!
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Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
