Realistic SHTF novels that set the mind abuzz ...

[BlackRyder]

The Passage is great as are the two other novels in that series.
Andy

I didn't know there were any sequels to that book- looks like I'm stopping by half price books on my way home tonight!!!
Woo!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

BlackRyder,
The sequels are The Twelve and new this past summer The City of Mirrors.
Happy reading!
Andy

 

[teflon6string]

The premise of Stephen King's "11/22/63" provoked thoughts of "what would I do?" on every page. While the whole tale wasn't post-SHTF, an interesting chapter later in the book touched on how things might've gone for modern civilization if specific events in history had been altered. I'm trying to be vague on purpose.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

11/22/63 is one of his best books.
Andy

 

[HuckleberryFun]

I've read just about every single book mentioned, but thank you for turning me on to a couple of new ones. I enjoy a well written "what if" flight of plausible imagination. Here's a new one I read within the past year that is well written, has a plausible scenario, and shows good character development that (like The Road) earns it literary status:

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

America is wiped out by a plague combined with other bad happenings. Scattered small groups of survivors. Two men, one young-ish the other old, make base camp on an abandoned airfield in Colorado. The crotchety old man holds off the occasional bad guy from the control tower with his sniper rifle while the other guy flies patrols with his small plane to spot baddies from the air from far off long before they arrive. Different, with a really unexpected "no way!" surprise ending.

 

[teflon6string]

+1 with the others, this is a great thread.

With a 45-minute drive to see my sweetheart, a mommy in Salem, and not quite retired, I spend a fair amount of time each week on the road or near a desk. Next year I'll suddenly have a LOT more time to read.

In the meantime, I discovered an iPhone app called Overdrive which allows me to download audiobooks for free from the public library. There's another app they support (hoopla), which seems even more robust. Basically, I always have a book going at work after others leave, and certainly on Bluetooth in the car.

I already have one of the OP's choices lined up to "read" after I catch up on some Bradbury.

 

[BlackRyder]

Instant access to audiobooks is one of my favorite things about smartphones.

 

[ORYGUNHolsterCompany]

Do these count?

 

[Jerry]

James Rawles "Patriot/Founders" series is a darn good read.

 

[Stomper]

You want "mini SHTF" on a personal level and "dealing with it"... more like a James Bond genre:

Don Pendleton's, "Mack Bolan- The Executioner" series (HUNDREDS of paperback volumes) is a good read.

I grew up reading those, and the funny thing is I actually remembered and used some of the tactics/techniques I read in the books while out in the field on a couple different Army "missions".... LOL!

 

[Stomper]

Do these count?

View attachment 313207

Nice bullet collection!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Do these count?

View attachment 313207

Looks like part of my bookshelf.
I think they duke it out at night or when no one is looking. LOL!
Andy

 

[sdlsaginaw]

Lavoy Finicum's book "Only By Blood And Suffering" is worth a read. Gets a lot more hate in the reviews than it deserves.

 

[ChiefStealth]

Reading "Zero Hour" by Bobby Akart. Giant CME scenario. Point of view of average near-rural community in Tennessee. Most seems plausible. Pretty easy reading, so far.

 

[PaulB47]

Favorites already mentioned are:
Lucifer's Hammer
One Second After
Earth Abides
Bracken's novels
Rawles novels

Earth Abides is one of THE classic sci-fi novels that everyone should read.

I thought Finicum's book was all right, but I don't remember it now.

Others somewhat in this genre are
Neither Predator Nor Prey by Mark Spungin
Molon Labe by Boston T. Party (both Mark and Boston are friends of mine)
Many of Robert Heinlein's books such as Revolt in 2100 and Friday.

Unintended Consequences is well worth the read, and almost created the genre of government-skepticism literature all by itself (they tried to keep it from being published). It's not really about "taking the law into your own hands and shooting/killing public officials because you don't agree with them"; the killing started when the protagonist defended against what he thought was an attack by criminals, and later realized he was dead anyway because it was BATFE agents. I bought and still have it, and have read it several times. It is excellent - for such a large book it is quite the page-turner.

Finally one for the northwest:
Cascadia's Curse by J.A. Charnov, about the "big one" on the coast of Oregon. The author clearly knows Oregon. Another favorite of mine.

 

[teflon6string]

Just finished listening to an audio download of the OP's recommended One Second After. Thought provoking and sobering. Good suggestion.

Another plug for downloadable audiobooks (Overdrive and hoopla), I listen to everything on 1.25x speed. Keeps things moving along, and now they seem draggy at normal speed.

 

[IheartSig]

Man, post collapse America fiction is my Jam!

That being said, I really enjoyed these series:


299 days series by Glen Tate. You guys want a semi realistic collapse series that takes place in the Pacific Northwest? Right here. Well written, realistic, not over the top comparatively speaking.

https://www.amazon.com/299-Days-Preparation-Glen-Tate/dp/0615680682

Another good series is the Going Home series by A. American... A story following a man trying to get back to his family after an EMP.

https://www.amazon.com/Going-Home-Novel-Survivalist-American/dp/0147516951

The Survivalist series by Arthur Bradley, is a good series as well. It follows a US Marshal and various other characters through a post biological attack decimated America.

https://www.amazon.com/Survivalist-Frontier-Justice-Arthur-Bradley/dp/148274631X

I really enjoyed the Last Stand series by William H Webber as well. Very good story.

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Stand-Surviving-Americas-Collapse-ebook/dp/B00JZW10HQ

 

[IheartSig]

Excellent thread! Thanks for posting.
Alas Babylon is one of my favorite reads.
I would add:
The Stand by Stephen King
Final Blackout by L. Ron Hubbard
Tunnel in the Sky and Farnhams Freehold by Robert A. Heinlein.
While the above titles might be a stretch on the realalistic ... I just couldn't help but mention them.
Andy

Andy have you read Swan Song by Robert McCammon?

 

[IheartSig]

11/22/63 is one of his best books.
Andy

It actually restored my faith in him. I stopped reading him somewhere after Geralds game. I read his short stories full dark no stars, but beyond that meh.

His early work was his prime.

 

[Timbertodd]

Andy have you read Swan Song by Robert McCammon?

I just finished the book and enjoyed it.