15 Best 「apocalyptic survival」 Books of 2024| Books Explorer

In this article, we will rank the recommended books for apocalyptic survival. The list is compiled and ranked by our own score based on reviews and reputation on the Internet.
May include product promotions in this content
Table of Contents
  1. Lights Out
  2. Parable of the Sower (Parable, 1)
  3. Going Home: A Novel (The Survivalist Series)
  4. Who Fears Death
  5. One Second After (John Matherson Novel)
  6. Panther in the Hive
  7. Zone One
  8. Alas, Babylon (Perennial Classics)
  9. Brown Girl in the Ring
  10. Lucifer's Hammer: A Novel
Other 5 books
No.1
100

Downloaded from the internet over three million times, this exciting, action-packed, survival story is finally available in book form. Lights Out chronicles the challenges of Mark “Karate Man” Turner when the lights go out over most of the free world. He must find in himself the ability to unite his family, friends, and neighbors if any of them are to survive the harsh reality that everyday life becomes when the veneer of civilization is stripped away.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.2
100

Parable of the Sower (Parable, 1)

Butler, Octavia E.
Grand Central Publishing

This acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from an award-winning author "pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale" and includes a foreword by N. K. Jemisin (John Green, New York Times).When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions.Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.3
88

Book 1 of The Survivalist SeriesIf society collapsed, could you survive?When Morgan Carter’s car breaks down 250 miles from his home, he figures his weekend plans are ruined. But things are about to get much, much worse: the country’s power grid has collapsed. There is no electricity, no running water, no Internet, and no way to know when normalcy will be restored—if it ever will be. An avid survivalist, Morgan takes to the road with his prepper pack on his back.During the grueling trek from Tallahassee to his home in Lake County, chaos threatens his every step but Morgan is hell-bent on getting home to his wife and daughters—and he’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.Fans of James Wesley Rawles, William R. Forstchen's One Second After, and The End by G. Michael Hopf will revel in A. American's apocalyptic tale.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.4
88

Now optioned as a TV series for HBO, with executive producer George R. R. Martin!An award-winning literary author enters the world of magical realism with her World Fantasy Award-winning novel of a remarkable woman in post-apocalyptic Africa.In a post-apocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways; yet in one region genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. A woman who has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an enemy general wanders into the desert, hoping to die. Instead, she gives birth to an angry baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand. Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different—special—she names her Onyesonwu, which means "Who fears death?" in an ancient language.It doesn't take long for Onye to understand that she is physically and socially marked by the circumstances of her conception. She is Ewu—a child of rape who is expected to live a life of violence, a half-breed rejected by her community. But Onye is not the average Ewu. Even as a child, she manifests the beginnings of a remarkable and unique magic. As she grows, so do her abilities, and during an inadvertent visit to the spirit realm, she learns something terrifying: someone powerful is trying to kill her.Desperate to elude her would-be murderer and to understand her own nature, she embarks on a journey in which she grapples with nature, tradition, history, true love, and the spiritual mysteries of her culture, and ultimately learns why she was given the name she bears: Who Fears Death.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.5
83

A post-apocalyptic thriller of the after effects in the United States after a terrifying terrorist attack using electromagnetic pulse weapons.New York Times best selling author William R. Forstchen now brings us a story which can be all too terrifyingly real...a story in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war, in one second, a war that will send America back to the Dark Ages...A war based upon a weapon, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). A weapon that may already be in the hands of our enemies.Months before publication, One Second After has already been cited on the floor of Congress as a book all Americans should read, a book already being discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a truly realistic look at a weapon and its awesome power to destroy the entire United States, literally within one second. It is a weapon that the Wall Street Journal warns could shatter America. In the tradition of On the Beach, Fail Safe and Testament, this book, set in a typical American town, is a dire warning of what might be our future...and our end.The John Matherson Series#1 One Second After#2 One Year After#3 The Final DayOther BooksPillar to the Sky48 Hours

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.6
83

Panther in the Hive is at once an unforgettable coming-of-age story and a captivating vision of an unsettling future. Tasha Lockett, orphan, oddball, and former fashion addict, is alone in a Chicago overrun with citizens-turned-weapons, the result of the cybertronic disaster that brought the country to its knees four days ago. When Tasha receives a letter from her estranged sister warning her of the catastrophe and urging her to travel to the South Side where there is rumored to be a safe zone, Tasha must face what the world has become. With only her precious Prada backpack and a sturdy kitchen knife, she embarks on an epic journey through the wasteland Chicago has become, forming alliances and discovering that although the world may be in pieces, she might still become whole. Readers who enjoy the likes of Margaret Atwood and Octavia Butler will enjoy this coming of age adventure in a not-quite unrealistic setting. Readers have called Panther in the Hive "the intersection of I Am Legend and The Devil Wears Prada."

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.7
81

Zone One

Whitehead, Colson
Anchor

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys: A pandemic has devastated the planet, sorting humanity into two types: the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead. • "One of the best books of the year." —EsquireAfter the worst of the plague is over, armed forces stationed in Chinatown’s Fort Wonton have successfully reclaimed the island south of Canal Street—aka Zone One. Mark Spitz is a member of one of the three-person civilian sweeper units tasked with clearing lower Manhattan of the remaining feral zombies. Zone One unfolds over three surreal days in which Spitz is occupied with the mundane mission of straggler removal, the rigors of Post-Apocalyptic Stress Disorder (PASD), and the impossible task of coming to terms with a fallen world. And then things start to go terribly wrong…At once a chilling horror story and a literary novel by a contemporary master, Zone One is a dazzling portrait of modern civilization in all its wretched, shambling glory.Look for Colson Whitehead’s new novel, Crook Manifesto!

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.8
81

Alas, Babylon (Perennial Classics)

Frank, Pat
Harper Perennial Modern Classics

The classic apocalyptic novel that stunned the world.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.9
80

Brown Girl in the Ring

Hopkinson, Nalo
Grand Central Publishing

In this "impressive debut" from award-winning speculative fiction author Nalo Hopkinson, a young woman must solve the tragic mystery surrounding her family and bargain with the gods to save her city and herself. (The Washington Post)The rich and privileged have fled the city, barricaded it behind roadblocks, and left it to crumble. The inner city has had to rediscover old ways -- farming, barter, herb lore. But now the monied need a harvest of bodies, and so they prey upon the helpless of the streets. With nowhere to turn, a young woman must open herself to ancient truths, eternal powers, and the tragic mystery surrounding her mother and grandmother. She must bargain with gods, and give birth to new legends.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.10
80

“The first satisfying end-of-the-world novel in years . . . an ultimate one . . . massively entertaining.”—Cleveland Plain-DealerThe gigantic comet had slammed into Earth, forging earthquakes a thousand times too powerful to measure on the Richter scale, tidal waves thousands of feet high. Cities were turned into oceans; oceans turned into steam. It was the beginning of a new Ice Age and the end of civilization.But for the terrified men and women chance had saved, it was also the dawn of a new struggle for survival—a struggle more dangerous and challenging than any they had ever known. . . .“Take your earthquakes, waterlogged condominiums, swarms of bugs, colliding airplanes and flaming what-nots, wrap them up and they wouldn’t match one page of Lucifer’s Hammer for sweaty-palmed suspense.”—Chicago Daily News

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.11
79

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • “A moving experience . . . a powerful cautionary tale.”—Whitley StrieberHe was a survivor—a wanderer who traded tales for food and shelter in the dark and savage aftermath of a devastating war.Fate touches him one chill winter’s day when he borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker to protect himself from the cold. The old, worn uniform still has power as a symbol of hope, and with it he begins to weave his greatest tale, of a nation on the road to recovery.This is the story of a lie that became the most powerful kind of truth. A timeless novel as urgently compelling as War Day or Alas, Babylon, David Brin’s The Postman is the dramatically moving saga of a man who rekindled the spirit of America through the power of a dream, from a modern master of science fiction.“The Postman will keep you engrossed until you’ve finished the last page.”—Chicago Tribune

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.12
79

In the depths of the Utah desert, long after the Flame Deluge has scoured the earth clean, a monk of the Order of Saint Leibowitz has made a miraculous discovery: holy relics from the life of the great saint himself, including the blessed blueprint, the sacred shopping list, and the hallowed shrine of the Fallout Shelter.In a terrifying age of darkness and decay, these artifacts could be the keys to mankind's salvation. But as the mystery at the core of this groundbreaking novel unfolds, it is the search itself—for meaning, for truth, for love—that offers hope for humanity's rebirth from the ashes.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.13
78

Emergence

Palmer, David R.
Eric Flint's Ring of Fire Press

From The Journals Of CandidiaSmith-Foster:“By now reader probably wondering who or what H. post hominem might be. Or (at very least) me. Viewed in that light, introductions are in order:“Name: Candidia Maria Smith-Foster. Born 11 years ago to Smiths; orphaned six months later; adopted by Dr. and Mrs. Foster—‘Daddy’ and ‘Momma.’ Been known as ‘Candy’ since first breath.“Homo post hominem is new species, apparently immune to all ‘human’ disease, plus smarter, stronger, faster, etc., emerging to inherit Earth after H. sapiens eliminated selves in short, efficient bio-nuclear war. Am myself Homo post hominem. Rode out war in Daddy’s marvelous shelter, now engaged in walkabout, searching for fellow survivors. Of which reader must be one. . . .“Tomorrow morning, though not now. Tired. Disappointed. Perhaps just bad day: too long, too many expectations. Too much letdown.“Never mind. Tomorrow is another day—Pollyanna lives!”The original Emergence novella, Volume I herein, and its sequel, Seeking, Volume II, were published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine. Both earned Nebula Award nominations, Hugo Award nominations, as well as Philip K. Dick Award nominations for best new writer. In addition to those nominations (and coming in second in the final Hugo balloting in 1985), the Emergence novel won the Balticon’s Compton Crook Award for best first novel.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.14
78

"The Jakarta Pandemic is a terrifying, cautionary thriller that explores the depths of human desperation and its unremitting influence on our decisions.”THE JAKARTA PANDEMIC:Cases of a highly lethal virus appear in major cities around the globe. Most ignore the warning signs.Alex Fletcher, Iraq War veteran, has read the signs for years. With his family and home prepared to endure an extended period of seclusion, Alex thinks he's ready for the pandemic. He's not even close.The unstoppable H16N1 virus rapidly spreads across the United States, stretching the fragile bonds of society to the breaking point. Schools close, grocery stores empty, fuel deliveries stop, hospitals start turning away the sick...riots engulf the cities. As hostility and mistrust engulfs his idyllic Maine neighborhood, Alex quickly realizes that the H16N1 virus will be the least of his problems."It delivers a vicious punch of violence and heroism for the reader to endure and admire. I could hardly put The Jakarta Pandemic down until I finished it." - Amazon reviewer"The tension builds as difficult choices are made, when no good options seem to be available. I found certain segments to be uncomfortably realistic, at times creepy in the way you could feel things closing in around the family." - Amazon reviewer"It makes you think...how far are you willing to go to protect your loved ones? Every day that goes by, these characters have to question what is right and what is wrong. Take the trip thru this book. You won't be disappointed." - Amazon reviewer

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.15
77

Three hundred years after the rich and powerful fled for Mars, the Earth has become a wasteland, ravaged by apocalyptic storms and swarming with mutated creatures. Yet it is not entirely abandoned—for the discontents left behind by their corporate masters continue to struggle for survival, no matter how brutal the conditions.One of these castaways, Jack Erdman, has woken from hibernation with nothing but his wits and some meager gear to keep him alive in the face of constant terror and death. Across the sea, a group of companions are trying their best to escape what civilization is left, caught between two militias in a battle for dominance over the scrap heap. What these survivors have in common is their desperation to make a better world, even in the face of hideous odds. And other people might be their only chance—or their certain doom.Rigorous in its depiction of the mechanics of survival, The Hub is a propulsive, defiant story of the human spirit and its endurance, even at the end of the world.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
search