Future Survivors, the Apocalypse Group discussion

There's only so many ways the world can get destroyed before it has a "been there, done that" feeling, right?


What books have you found that shakes up the genre? What do you think the genre is lacking?

I feel like there is a lot of YA dystopia out there. I like YA a lot but would also like to see more adult dystopia. Maybe it is there and I just don't know about it.
I know that is really general but the question made me think.of it.

The post-apocalyptic genre books have become very repetitive. The solution to that is going beyond the self-imposed limitations of the genre and into topics that can elevate it beyond the bomb/meteorite/zombie memes and into the plane of literature in general. For the conflicts we find or rather should find in the PA books are not the result of the bomb etc., that is just the detonator,,,the real events come from within the people who go through the event. I mean there is a lot to explore here. I would love to read PA detective story or a PA satire for a change. Enough heavyhandedness,,,bring in the clowns (preferably with atomic blasters)!

Thank you Poppy. I totally agree. I like YA fiction too but the market is just too saturated with it right now. I'd like to see some more-adult novels. It's just like a song that's been overplayed on the radio. I hate to say it but if I read one more book about a plucky teen hero fighting to survive a post-apocalyptic/dystopian society, I may vomit.

I don't really know what I'd want to see more of, but I do know what I don't wait to read anymore. Zombie stories are great, but the novels are becoming repetitive. In almost every new novel I read, the protagonist is some macho ex-military douchebag. I guess I would want to read more about how people come together after the apocalyptic event, like how society is rebuilt etc.

Hunger Games added a new dimension to post-society as we know it but yeah, after a couple book it is all the same. There is a newer one out I just finished - Against the Grain - that changes it up a little bit, in fact I'll start a new thread on it...

Hey guys, I'm new here, but was intrigued by this discussion. I'm actually gonna post something here that I wrote on another page...

The apocalypse…

I wanted to write science fiction, but not just for the sake of writing science fiction. Gabriel's Watch is ultimately a story for everyone. I wanted to bridge a gap between sci-fi fans and other readers, and the only way I could do that was to keep the reader grounded in something familiar.
Why did I go with a post-apocalyptic world?

Because Vampires are played out!

Just kidding. They’re both played out. The truth is, like everyone else, I love post-apocalyptic scenarios. However, I wanted to put a new spin on it–something (dare I say) unique.
I know what you’re thinking:
Unique? In science fiction?
But it’s true! I wanted to jettison the clichés and leave the reader with something real, something they wouldn’t think they could get from a book with a robot on the cover. I wanted them to be mentally rewarded.

And as much as I love the apocalyptic genre, I would totally understand if someone took one look at my book and said, “Geez, if I see one more book or movie about the end of the world, I’m gonna gouge my eyes out!”
I know what you mean, because I felt the same way! But as fans should be, we are loyal to the genre and stampede in hopes of seeing something new. I was disappointed far too many times, and the story I wanted just wasn’t coming. So I decided to write it myself.

I wrote a story that won't make you want to vomit, promise.
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Noah wrote: "Hey guys, I'm new here, but was intrigued by this discussion. I'm actually gonna post something here that I wrote on another page...

The apocalypse…

I wanted to write science fiction, but not ju..."


Is it published yet? I am intrigued

It is published. Thanks so much for your intrigue. You can find it on amazon or on my goodreads page.

whats the title? Or the link?

Sorry. It's called Gabriel's Watch. I'm such a doof. Forgive me.

no biggie. I LOVE Dysopian books, I will have to check this out

Hi Goodreaders, I'm J.L. I just wanted to add my two cents or...huh, maybe it's more like my two dollars, What can you do with pennies these days? Anyway, when my co-author and I decided to write a YA fiction we thought it might be interesting to set it fifteen years after a nearly apocalyptic catastrophe. And I think we came up with a somewhat unique idea. The world's almost torn apart when a huge crack opens up and travels around the globe. Then we fast forward and in our story the planet is in recovery. Our main character, who was born on The Day of Disaster, is faced with discovering how she is connected to those events. It's called Eleventh Elementum:Book One of The Primortus Chronicles. What do you guys think of a story that is more about recovery than dystopia?

Collapse

I've talked to the author about this. It starts from the point of an economic collapse, but his goal was to write a more "realistic" end of world book. One of the heroes is an autistic genius. Another has a bum leg and is addicted to the pain killers that make it bearable for him - but he isn't the stereotypical junkie.

I'd like to see more books like this and One Second After that requires less suspension-of-disbelief.

Separately, I am about to start writing a new zombie apocalypse book that will definitely be satire. I need a break from the doom-and-gloom of too life and my recent writing projects, including a politics-based blog to support my book on the Constitution.

I hope my story is a more realistic take on the subject, I have blogged about the genre as well.

Philip wrote: "I hope my story is a more realistic take on the subject, I have blogged about the genre as well."

I forgot to provide the links!




My blog on the whole subject can be found here

http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...

Paige wrote: "The best spin is the one you didn't know you wanted.
I'm currently working on a post-apocalyptic novel myself. I like to think that what separates it from the rest is that it's not about surviving..."

I'm actually publishing a YA apocalyptic fiction novel myself called DAWN OF THE APOCALYPSE on August 9. One of the things I made sure to do was incorporate lots of different aspects in it so that it could be enjoyed by people who normally didn't read my genre. I actually like books that show the apocalypse as it happens rather than post-apocalyptic, but you rarely see that anymore, except for in movies. But your book sounds really interesting, let me know when you release it!

just read an interesting article regarding dystopian vs. post apocalyptic novels. also suggests some books in the genre.

check it out: http://www.bookcountry.com/ReadAndRev...

Philip wrote: "Philip wrote: "I hope my story is a more realistic take on the subject, I have blogged about the genre as well."

I forgot to provide the links!




My blog on ..."

Had some very kind reviews on Amazon and Goodreads so maybe I have hit the right spot for this genre. A couple of reviewers have mentioned a sequel so I'll have to see. I wasn't intending to write a series at all.

Having just seen the list of books around mine in the Amazon charts I must have missed the audience for this forum as nearly all of them are zombie stories, which mine isn't. Is this just a trend or is that what people think this genre is about? If it is then I need a new genre!

Zombies are a major trend, kids are dressing up as zombies and having street events everywhere. Some people are getting tired of it but it's still going strong. I'd like to see more economic and environmental based work, and maybe for something unusual an apocalypse on an imagined alien world.

I'm late to the party on this one, but I think young adult is a bit heavily saturated in dystopia, and zombies are, too. But, if a book is good, it will turn the cliche into something exciting and worth reading.

Max wrote: "Zombies are a major trend, kids are dressing up as zombies and having street events everywhere. Some people are getting tired of it but it's still going strong. I'd like to see more economic and en..."

My draft for a hard core sci fi book working title World of Fives has this type of scenario, but I'm not making much progress on it. The technical side is proving very challenging - need to get the mathematics correct

Creativity involves synthesis, combining two or more elements into something new. While authors may have exhausted genre combinations (mash-ups), we haven't exhausted the combining process in general.

I enjoy reimagining technology's effects into human nontechnological skills. Most recently, for example, I reinvisioned the internet as a character's psychically traveling through collective minds, where other creatures live and plot against our realm.

Pick a technology and reframe it as a character's human ability, transform a social phenomenon (the Green Revolution, for instance) into a group's conspiratorial agenda, or rethink a scientific investigation (CERN?) into conscious plot to reshape the universe. The possibilities are endless.

This is more than just genre.... IT IS HAPPENING ALL AROUND US