Future Survivors, the Apocalypse Group discussion

What's your favorite type of apocalypse to read about (natural disaster, zombies, etc...), and what book embodies it?

It has to be the good old virus. It leaves the canvas completely blank (well, apart from all the dead bodies , of course) and gives authors carte blanche to create their story from the ground up.

King's The Stand is a perfect example, for me.

Since my book is about a government released virus that melts people, I'll say a good old virus too. But, there's something to be said for a zombie apocalypse.

Leilla wrote: "What's your favorite type of apocalypse to read about (natural disaster, zombies, etc...), and what book embodies it?"

I'm a zombie writer, so I'm clearly partial to that chain of events.

i like the landscape to be cleared, but the remnants of civilization to remain intact, with some straggling survivors to interact with. Exploring empty cities fascinates me. So I guess I'll go with plague apocalypse. Or one of those 'everyone just disappeared' sorts of deals. Aliens and nukes are just too destructive.

Just realized I forgot to write my own - at the moment I'm partial to severe food shortages, as I find it interesting how people react to such a change (never mind that, that was the case throughout most of history), I like Baciaglupi's the windup girl, and the death of grass is on my to-read list.
So zombies and viruses seem to be popular, hmm... you think there's a connection there? (lots of dead bodies, I guess)

For some reason, I have a thing for cataclysmic events... ie nuclear war, astroid, supernova, loss of sun / sunlight... that sort a thing.

A close second or tie would be for viral apocalypses... but so much can be stuffed into that heading, its not very specific either. For example, so many zombie / vampire apocalypses are explained as such.

But heck, I find them all interesting!

I like natural disasters but I gotta say viral apocalypse is my favorite. It terrifies me.

Natural disasters are the most interesting to me because there are just so many different scenarios that could happen. Nuclear war apocalypses are my second favorite.

Ahh! finally someone who isn't in love with the virus!
I was wondering, all things considered,that if these things were half as disastrous as we think, the world would have already ended? I mean with the exception of zombies there, all these things have happened (the virus: Spanish flu & black death, nuclear: Japan & Chernobyl, natural disasters: too many to count...)
Or may be the apocalypse has happened and we just haven't noticed?

I love natural disasters eg volcanoes , earthquakes & anything plague related

Near future, somewhat plausible disasters. Peak Oil, Economic Collapse, Global Warming are all good. Virus books are o.k., but seem like more of an excuse to get rid of all the people quickly. Most of the time the viruses are too deadly, and act too quickly.

I personally prefer war and all the mechanics that go into it. Not one singular event (like a nuclear bomb) but a decomposition over time. Bombing, loss of natural resources, collapse of society because of wartime etc etc...

I also love when it's not even SAID why, my imagination can fill in the blanks.

I like 'em biblical. Good vs. Evil. Nothing better than having two heavyweights using the earth and its mortals as their personal game of Risk.

I get to be the blue pieces.

I think I like those about natural apocalypse more. A lot of things can happen, you know.

I like the technical apocalypse. Like the EMP pulse in One Second After. Or the plastic consuming nanobots of Ill Wind.

Love natural disasters (Life as We Knew It ) and viral disasters. Although mad takeover of crazy government ( The Handmaid's Tale ) are my cup of tea too. They're just usually post-apocalyptic.

I like s.m. stirling's ” change” version of apocalypse.

I love a bit of mystery and am thrilled when the reader isn't really enlightned as to what exatly caused the dystopian scenario. The Road or the Wool series would be excellent examples of this. In both, you are kindof thrown into this world and left to speculate.

I don't think I have any particular preference for the type of apocalypse, but I don't really care much for the scenarios where just the main characters(protagonists) survive and are freed from the constraints of civilized society. That seems a bit too convenient, but there can be interesting takes on it. I tend to gravitate more towards the man-made destruction scenarios where there are scattered remnants of peoples around the world and you have to worry just as much about those other groups of people as with anything else. While I really liked The Road, it was so much of a downer that I don't think I will be rereading it. I like a bit more brightness and hope. Just a bit more. ;)

I prefer 'quiet' apocalypse novels to the more action-oriented ones, books that focus on what happens after all the shooting and mass-dying have occurred.

The best book of this kind is EARTH ABIDES. It focuses on the empty cities, and did so decades before THE WORLD WITHOUT US made such things popular.

A book that I read last year that made a real impression was YEAR OF THE QUIET SUN, which takes place only partly in a post-apocalyptic setting. We only see one small corner of a world devastated after a race war (among other things), but it is another example of this type.

For some reason, the SILENCE after the end is the eeriest thing.

The type where I survive. :)

Bob wrote: "The type where I survive. :)"

LOL! Perfect.

Until I read John's comment, I hadn't realized that I probably prefer the quiet ones, too. Earth Abides is a favorite, as are I Am Legend, On the Beach, World Made by Hand, & Alas, Babylon. All are very thought provoking.

When I was younger, I really liked the more action oriented ones. Damnation Alley, Lost Traveller, & Zardoz were all fun. The movie of the first was horrible & the last was funny. (Sean Connery running around in a mask & a loincloth with a rifle.)

I still like & read the action oriented stuff, though. E.E. Knight's Vampire Earth series is pretty good. It starts with Way of the Wolf. the Horse Clan books by Franklin Robert Adams were fun, too. I was & am entertained by them, but the quiet books always made me think a lot more.

I like when it's caused by humans. Kind of like a slap in the face to people everywhere, to show what could happen if we do things wrong.

ANGEL APOCALYPSE! Angelfall

Meteor

Angel apocalypse or some kinda The Host

But you know, every apocalypse is horrifying :x

True we all can die from it LOL so we'll have to be the heroines of ourselves

Joanna wrote: "True we all can die from it LOL so we'll have to be the heroines of ourselves"

Might as well start signing up for martial art classes, lol

LOL my parents actually signed us up for taekwondo and karate during elementary and high school years I forgot most moves already :(

Oh, that's cool. If only you didn't forget them :D But I really want to kick some a**. lool. Haha

I think favorite is not quite the right term for apocalypse as there is little pleasant in the apocalypse but I think that if I were to choose the type of apocalypse I would rather read about me top three would be:

1.nuclear apocalypse
2.alien invasion
3.zombie apocalypse

The number one spot does go to nuclear apocalypse as it seems the most realistic one at this point (I am looking at you Kim Jung Un!) and has had perhaps the most profound impact on the everyday life of people ever since the damn bomb was invented.

The number two spot is interesting as it offers a clear adversary and a chance for the humanity to stand united instead of tearing each other apart and then fighting mutants and bands of raiders who were at one point our fellow citizens!

The number three spot is the least realistic and the most cheesy but has been elevated to cult status thanks to the work of not fiction but cinematography (I am looking at you George Romero) still there are several quite striking works in the genre and I enjoy them as long as they keep that extra perspective of going beyond basic gore and into the realm of the sharp social commentary that the genre was born from.

natural disasters
economic collapse or government related
not quite zombie, but crazy virus

least favorite... aliens

I will check out anything that is apocalyptic, but there is a special place ("special" might not be the right word, exactly), for a zombie apocalypse. It's just the most frightening. Talk about hell on earth...

I've written three books so far in a series of four about the zombie apocalypse. In Mace of the Apocalypse, it starts with a terrorist attack in San Francisco.

On a beautiful spring afternoon in San Francisco a deadly toxin is released. Within hours it spreads like wildfire, consuming the entire Bay Area. A small group of survivors, desperate to stay alive, must travel through a gauntlet of raging corpses, battling their inner demons and each other along the way.

Through a priest, they gain access to a partial antidote. Holing up in a hospital in an attempt to create a safe zone, everything they believe in will be questioned. The antidote, they soon discover, is almost as dangerous as the infection.

Things unravel within their walls as teenage gang members deliberately infect themselves after receiving the partial cure. They revel in the power it gives them. Believing in their invincibility, they declare war on all who get in their way.

Faith will be lost. Lives will be surrendered

http://www.amazon.com/Mace-of-the-Apo...

Lol the one that doesn't happen. That or the puppy apocalypse. Uo.oU

My favorite? Damn this is a good question. I would have to say aliens. Natural disasters, war, etc. They are all things we have dealt with as a human race, but Aliens? Now that is a different type of apocalypse. How can we fight an alien species that has the technology to come light years to pillage our planet for resources? The answer is obvious. We can't fight them. We would be nothing more than a helpless ant being crushed under the paw of an Elephant.

So when I find myself waking up in the middle of the night, terrified from a bad dream. It is usually due to aliens.

Now can I plug my new book? It isn't about aliens, but the plot does follow survivors after a nuclear war. It's pretty new so I am still looking for reviews. Free copy to those wanting to leave honest feedback. PM me. The Biomass Revolution

Nicholas wrote: "My favorite? Damn this is a good question. I would have to say aliens. Natural disasters, war, etc. They are all things we have dealt with as a human race, but Aliens? Now that is a different type ..."

I've read the blurb of your book and it sounds pretty interesting and intriguing! I love novels set in dystopian background. Will check it out after I finish what I'm currently reading :)

Either an asteroid hit6ting Earth, nuclear war, or what happens when we run out of oil would be good ones...

Bob wrote: "The type where I survive. :)"

Good one Bob!

I prefer the plague-survivor apocalypse or war driven nuclear holocaust with a small percentage of the population left.

Actually, I would like any type of apocalypse as long as it tackles survival-ism, dystopia and moral conflict.

F.m. wrote: "Bob wrote: "The type where I survive. :)"

Good one Bob!

I prefer the plague-survivor apocalypse or war driven nuclear holocaust with a small percentage of the population left.

Another interesting type of apocalypse would be a hidden one when certain processes are slowly shifting and twisting the world with most of the population unaware of what is going on. First of all, I would exclude any type of news coverage and that would make the whole thing that much more scary because no one would really know what is going on.

Actually, I would ..."

I really enjoyed the few tech-gone-wrong that I have read like Partials and Eden. Viruses do make for a good "clean" slate to start with and I love all the quirky rules and regulations that come with a government takeover. All in all, my favorites are the ones that showcase the survival aspect and also the changes in culture.

Ima have to go with natural disaster as my fav although zombies are a close second.... Natural disaster just seems more realistic to me

I like original post apocalyptic scenarios; Wrinkle in the Skin (GLOBAL EARTHQUAKE), Day of the Triffids (KILLER PLANTS) and Death of Grass (PLANT VIRUS) did this very well. Fresh ideas with great imagination.

Also books that expose a human struggle against atrophy and decay, shown so well in Survivors (Terry Nation) and Earth Abides. Where the population has decreased below a critical mass so simple technologies can't be sustained. I like this at it exposes how fragile our modern world is; like a house of cards founded on just-in-time supply systems with a deskilled labour market.

In addition scenarios such as The Road and The Crysalids where it is never actually said what happened but you deal with the scenario that follows (although it is fairly obvious what may have happened).

My own stories are set a long time (~150 years) after, long enough for there to be a stable new regime and way of life, but not so long that there aren't still some trappings of the old still around. It's also long enough after that actually no one cares what happened, although there is a distant almost race memory "my gran once met someone who..."

And what that turned out like is a blend almost of Survivors and Robin Hood.

I like viral apocalypse - disease, plague, natural viruses or manmade viruses. I think this is because when I was younger I always wanted to be one of the scientists in the suits researching cures for viruses like ebola etc.

I really like the "everybody's disappeared" kind of apocalypse.Half or less of the worlds population gone kind. I really can't think of a book like this but I'm watching a small series called The Sparticle Mystery.

At precisely 11:11 A.M. The Sparticle Project is turned on. Simultaneously, every person over the age of 15
Disappears. The kids begin to adapt to the life where tribes fight against each other,electricity is a luxury, food and water are scarce,and nuclear plants begin meltdown. Fortunately one group is working to undo the mistake of The Sparticle Project.

I like any apocalypse where you can point the finger at the flaws in human nature like nuclear war, man made super virus, environmental collapse, etc.

My own take on the genre is the virus. Various contributors have described 50% dead, the BBC Survivor series had 95%. In my own offering I have gone further but added a few twists. The everyone over puberty (or as mentioned by Cricket354 over 15 has been done. The TV series Jeremiah did over puberty but my problem with these and other renditions is they lack thought on how people would survive. I go into the statistics a bit in my book To The Survivors but also in my blog on the whole genre.

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

Although I have written about a virus in my take on the subject I still like the Nuclear War scenario. I am interested in some what if scenarios as well from older history - plague etc to Cuban Missile Crisis.

then there are the long term afterwards type like WaterWorld or Logan's Run