Survivors was actually inspired by a video game, The Last of Us, but after discovering my love of post-apocalyptic stories via games I quickly moved on to books. There’s something freeing about these kinds of stories, to people who feel society can often be suffocating, it’s nice to imagine it burning down and something new and better rising from the ashes. My Survivors duology is the first of many books I hope. I’m a biomedical scientist in microbiology, and while these types of stories always require a certain suspension of disbelief, I’ve used some of my knowledge to create the world of Survivors. I hope you enjoy it!
Survivors throws you in at the deep end as we follow a group of strangers struggling to survive in a world gone mad. A horrifying disease is made all the worse by the government’s lies, and people are wholly unprepared for the chaos that ensues when the virus breaks free of the quarantine zones. With points of view from the immune university student, the hardened solider, and the ex-teacher with a deadly secret, Survivors will keep you on the edge of your seat as the group of strangers fight for safety and their lives in a world bent on taking away both.
Read for found family, terrifying infected, and characters you can’t help but root for.
This was the first post-apocalyptic book about zombies I can remember reading. It is unique in that the story happens in the past and is told via a series of interviews, which, while some may find that weird, I really liked. While the infected in my book aren’t quite zombies, I did take inspiration from World War Z in that they chase the characters, which I think adds to the experience. The zombies in this book scared me!
It began with rumours from China about another pandemic. Then the cases started to multiply and what had looked like the stirrings of a criminal underclass, even the beginning of a revolution, soon revealed itself to be much, much worse.
Faced with a future of mindless man-eating horror, humanity was forced to accept the logic of world government and face events that tested our sanity and our sense of reality. Based on extensive interviews with survivors and key players in the ten-year fight against the horde, World War Z brings the finest traditions of journalism to bear on what is…
Yes, I know this is a trilogy, but you can’t read one and not the others. In Parasite, scientists have created a, you guessed it, parasite that can cure most diseases. As a result, the majority of the world gets one implanted. This all goes terribly wrong when said parasites gain sentience and take over their host. This is more ‘during-apocalypse’ than ‘post-apocalypse,’ but it is a brilliant trilogy. My wife kept telling me to read it, and I’m so glad I listened to her.
From New York Times bestselling author Mira Grant comes a vision of a decade in the future, where humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease.
We owe our good health to a humble parasite — a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the Intestinal Bodyguard worm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system — even secretes designer drugs. It's been successful beyond the scientists' wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them.
But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives .…
Another trilogy? And a fantasy one at that? Well, while this is a fantasy series, it’s also post-apocalyptic. Sanderson said the idea ‘what if the bad guy won’ came to him, and this was the result. Set centuries after said bad guy won, we follow Vin and a team of thieves as they attempt to kill the supposedly immortal Lord Ruler. This was a great trilogy, and it introduced me to Sanderson’s other works. Be careful though! All his books are set in the same universe, just on different planets, and as such an overarching plot is simmering in the background. You might find yourself lost down a rabbit hole of easter eggs and character spotting!
Brandon Sanderson - the international phenomenon who finished the Wheel of Time sequence - introduces a fantasy trilogy which overturns the expectations of readers and goes on to tell the epic story of evil overturned in a richly imagined world.
A thousand years ago evil came to the land and has ruled with an iron hand ever since. The sun shines fitfully under clouds of ash that float down endlessly from the constant eruption of volcanoes. A dark lord rules through the aristocratic families and ordinary folk are condemned to lives in servitude, sold as goods, labouring in the ash…
This is a post-apocalyptic book set well after a war decimated civilisation. We follow two main characters, and it was lovely to see their relationship unfold and grow. Survival and trust are two big themes in this book, as they are in my own, and it was nice to read a similar book. This is for those who are more romantic at heart, as romance is a major part of the book. I really liked the characters. Plus, there’s a dog!
Civilization ended long before Lynn Tanner was born. Wild animals roam the streets, but mankind is still the biggest threat to a woman alone in the ruins of a world reclaimed by nature. Lynn survives by sleeping with one eye open at all times and trusting no one but her dog. When she is forced to go on a dangerous journey through the concrete jungle of New York City, Lynn does all she can to scheme her way to safety. Her guard, Dani Wilson, won’t be played that easily, however. As their lives become entwined, Lynn finds herself developing feelings…
This was recommended to me by a friend after I’d already watched the movie. It took me ages to read it, despite being a firm believer in ‘the book is always better than the film.’ I’m glad I did though! This had one of the scariest ‘monsters’ ever I think, purely because it’s never defined. Reader’s imaginations are forces to be reckoned with, and this book did an excellent job of harnessing that. Check it out!
My book recommendations reflect an abiding passion for Japanese literature, which has unquestionably influenced my own writing. My latest literary interest involves Japanese poetry—I’ve recently started a project that combines haiku and prose narration to describe my experiences as a part-time resident in a 1300-year-old Japanese hot spring town that Bashō helped make famous in The Narrow Road to the Deep North. But as a writer, my main focus remains novels. In late 2023 the second in a planned series of novels set in Ishikawa prefecture will be published. I currently live in Kanazawa, but have also been lucky to call Sapporo, Akita, Tokyo, and Fukui home at different times.
Emmitt’s plans collapse when his wife, Mirai, suddenly backs out of purchasing their dream home. Disappointed, he’s surprised to discover her subtle pursuit of a life and career in Tokyo.
In his search for a meaningful life in Japan, and after quitting his job, he finds himself helping his mother-in-law translate Kanazawa’s most famous author, Izumi Kyoka, into English. He becomes drawn into the mysterious death of a friend of Mirai’s parents, leading him and his father-in-law to climb the mountain where the man died. There, he learns the somber truth and discovers what the future holds for him and his wife.
Packed with subtle literary allusion and closely observed nuance, Kanazawa reflects the mood of Japanese fiction in a fresh, modern incarnation.
In Kanazawa, the first literary novel in English to be set in this storied Japanese city, Emmitt's future plans collapse when his wife, Mirai, suddenly backs out of negotiations to purchase their dream home. Disappointed, he's surprised to discover Mirai's subtle pursuit of a life and career in Tokyo, a city he dislikes.
Harmony is further disrupted when Emmitt's search for a more meaningful life in Japan leads him to quit an unsatisfying job at a local university. In the fallout, he finds himself helping his mother-in-law translate Kanazawa's most famous author, Izumi Kyoka, into English.
Interested in
the apocalypse,
dystopian,
and
genetic engineering?
10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them.
Browse their picks for the best books about
the apocalypse,
dystopian,
and
genetic engineering.
