End of the World as We Know It: Apocalyptic, Post-Apocalyptic, and Dystopian Worlds
Why are dystopian and post-apocalyptic stories so popular? These novels are usually responses to changing socio-political landscapes, serving as both entertainment and a warning of possible futures to come.
In the early- to mid-20th century, fear of technology, communism, xenophobia, and nuclear war fueled the minds of writers and readers, resulting in some of the most well-known and well-regarded dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction. George Orwell’s 1984 and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 are classic dystopian warnings about government surveillance, propaganda, and censorship. Although these two landmark novels are more than 50 years old, the fears they represent are still real and relevant to modern-day readers. As new technology, and therefore new problems, develop, the dystopian and post-apocalyptic genres will always have new material.
Dystopian, apocalyptic, and post-apocalyptic fiction are subgenres of speculative fiction, typically placed under the science fiction heading. Although the subgenres are often used interchangeably, there are actually two different types of narratives. The categorization depends on what caused the dystopia or apocalypse within the story: If it was science, the book is science fiction. If it was magic, then it is fantasy.
What is dystopian fiction?
A utopia is a perfect society, in which citizens never encounter oppression, distress, or poverty. A dystopia is the opposite of that. Any society whose citizens experience oppression (racism, classism, sexism) or distress (poverty, for example) can technically be classified as a dystopia.
What is apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic fiction?
This refers to stories that deal with the aftermath of a catastrophic event that devastates humanity. The catastrophe can be manmade, such as a nuclear war, or a natural disaster such as an asteroid hitting the Earth or a new plague. There are no limits to what can cause the damage in this genre, as long as it results in the extreme deterioration of quality of life and society as a whole.
What are the differences?
Dystopian novels typically focus on the impact of the imperfect society on the characters. Writers will use that framework to explore the effects of racism, classism, sexism, and resistance. In The Hunger Games, the character Katniss Everdeen lives in a dystopian society created in the aftermath of a devastating nuclear war, meaning The Hunger Games is also technically a post-apocalyptic story. The narrative focuses on how Katniss is affected by her society, however, rather than the effects of the nuclear war.
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic stories tend to follow characters trying to survive a devastated landscape. If the disaster or catastrophe occurs during the course of the story, then the novel is termed apocalyptic. If the event has already happened, it is post-apocalyptic. Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore’s The Walking Dead comic book series is one example of a post-apocalyptic tale, as it follows a group of survivors struggling to stay alive after a zombie plague has taken over the world.
The publication of The Hunger Games in 2008 sparked a renewed interest in dystopian fiction, specifically young adult dystopian fiction, a trend that lasted for a few years. Likewise, the release of The Walking Dead television series in 2010 triggered a sort-of zombie plague on post-apocalyptic fiction that also lasted a few years. The popularity of these subgenres has always waxed and waned according to the socio-political landscape of the time.
Because there will always be interest in these subgenres, we have gathered a selection of titles that we hope will guide you through the bleak—yet never completely hopeless— landscape of dystopian, apocalyptic, and post-apocalyptic fiction.
Dystopian Fiction
1984by George Orwell
Orwell depicts a gray, totalitarian world dominated by Big Brother and its vast network of agents, including the Thought Police—a world in which news is manufactured according to the authorities' will and people live tepid lives by rote.
Winston Smith, a hero with no heroic qualities, longs only for truth and decency. But living in a social system in which privacy does not exist, and where those with unorthodox ideas are brainwashed or put to death, Winston knows there is no hope for him.
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire's greatest military academy, in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim they will help save her brother from execution.
Battle Royale: The Novel by Koushun Takami, new translation by Nathan Collins
Takami's notorious high-octane thriller envisions a nightmare scenario: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan—where it became a runaway best seller—Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Hundreds of years in the future, the World Controllers have created an ideal civilization. Its members, shaped by genetic engineering and behavioral conditioning, are productive and content in roles they have been assigned at conception. Government-sanctioned drugs and recreational sex ensure that everyone is a happy, unquestioning consumer; messy emotions have been anesthetized and private attachments are considered obscene. Only Bernard Marx is discontented, developing an unnatural desire for solitude and a distaste for compulsory promiscuity. When he brings back a young man from one of the few remaining Savage Reservations, where the old, unenlightened ways still continue, he unleashes a dramatic clash of cultures that will force him to consider whether freedom, dignity, and individuality are worth suffering for.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Told through a central character, Alex, this disturbing novel creates an alarming futuristic vision of violence, high technology, and authoritarianism. A modern classic of youthful violence and social redemption set in a dismal dystopia, whereby a juvenile delinquent undergoes state-sponsored psychological rehabilitation for his aberrant behavior. Includes the controversial final chapter deleted from the first American edition and Burgess's introduction "A Clockwork Orange Resucked."
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
In a future, totalitarian state where books are banned and destroyed by the government, Guy Montag, a fireman in charge of burning books, meets a revolutionary schoolteacher who dares to read and a girl who tells him of a past when people did not live in fear…
Fuse by Julianna Baggott
In a post-apocalyptic world where those who dwell within the Dome are safe, and those who live outside struggle to survive, Pressia decodes secrets from the past in an effort to set the Wretches free of their fusings forever.
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community, and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
In Margaret Atwood’s dystopian future, environmental disasters and declining birthrates have led to a Second American Civil War. The result is the rise of the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian regime that enforces rigid social roles and enslaves the few remaining fertile women. Offred is one of these, a Handmaid bound to produce children for one of Gilead’s commanders. Deprived of her husband, her child, her freedom, and even her own name, Offred clings to her memories and will to survive. At once a scathing satire, an ominous warning, and a tour de force of narrative suspense, The Handmaid’s Tale is a modern classic.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual, televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the 12 districts against one another, 16-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.
Library Wars: Love & War, story and art by Kiiro Yumi, original concept by Hiro Arikawa, English translation and adaptation by Kinami Watabe
In the near future, the federal government creates a committee to rid society of books it deems unsuitable. The libraries vow to protect their collections, and with the help of local governments, form a military group to defend themselves—the Library Forces! Iku Kasahara has dreamed of joining the Library Defense Force ever since one of its soldiers stepped in to protect her favorite book from being confiscated in a bookstore when she was younger. Now that she's finally a recruit, she's finding her dream job to be a bit of a nightmare. Especially since her hard-hearted drill instructor seems to have it in for her!
Make Room! Make Room!by Harry Harrison
In a New York City groaning under the burden of 35 million inhabitants, detective Andy Rusch is engaged in a desperate and lonely hunt for a killer everyone has forgotten. For even in a world such as this, a policeman can find himself utterly alone…
Acclaimed on its original publication in 1966, Make Room! Make Room! was adapted into the 1973 movie, Soylent Green.
Metropolis (1927 film)
The story of a 21st century city run by a "super trustee" and his collaborators, who live in a paradise-like garden. Workers are totally enslaved by machines and condemned to live underground. In the midst of this misery, a young woman, Maria, arises and attempts to inspire the workers to throw off their oppressors.
The Running Man by Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman
"Tomorrow at noon, the hunt begins. Remember his face!"
Ben Richards is a desperate man. With no job, no money, no way out, and a young daughter in need of proper medical attention, he must turn to the only possibility of striking it rich in this near-future dystopian America: participating in the ultra-violent TV programming of the government-sanctioned Games Network.
Ben soon finds himself selected as a contestant on the biggest and best the Games Network has to offer: "The Running Man," a no-holds-barred 30-day struggle to stay alive as public enemy number one, relentlessly hunted by an elite strike force bent on killing him as quickly as possible in front of an audience all-too eager to see that happen. It means a billion dollars in prize money if he can live for the next month. No one has ever survived longer than eight days. But desperation can push a person do things they never thought possible—and Ben Richards is willing to go the distance in this ultimate game of life and death…
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
One snowy night, Arthur Leander, a famous actor, has a heart attack on stage during a production. Jeevan Chaudhary is in the audience and leaps to his aid. A child actress named Kirsten Raymonde watches in horror as Jeevan performs CPR, pumping Arthur's chest as the curtain drops, but Arthur is dead. That same night, as Jeevan walks home from the theater, a terrible flu begins to spread. Hospitals are flooded, and Jeevan and his brother barricade themselves inside as life disintegrates outside. This novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor's first wife and his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet.
V for Vendetta, written by Alan Moore; art by David Lloyd, coloring by David Lloyd, Steve Whitaker, Siobhan Dodds; lettering by Jenny O'Connor, Steve Craddock, Elitta Fell; art for "Vincent", additional art for "Valerie" and "The vacation" by Tony Weare
V, an anarchist revolutionary dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask, begins an elaborate, violent, and intentionally theatrical campaign to murder his former captors, bring down the government, and convince the people to rule themselves.
We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children. Both paths promise a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class.
Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student but her pedigree is a lie. She must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society.
And school couldn’t prepare her for the difficult choices she must make after graduation, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio.
Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or will she give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio—and a chance at a forbidden love?
Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
Animosity. Volume one, The Wake by Marguerite Bennett, creator and writer; Rafael de Latorre, artist.
Recommended by Antonio Cuneo
The world is plunged into chaos as the newly-intelligent Animals fight humanity, and simply fight each other, for their own life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. In the midst of the turmoil is Jesse, an 11-year-old girl, and her dog, Sandor, who is devoted to her and her protection. One year after the incident, Jesse and Sandor begin a cross-country journey to find Jesse's half-brother, Adam, who is living in San Francisco.
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
In an apocalyptic near-future world, a mother and her two small children must make their way down a river, blindfolded. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them—is it man, animal, or monster?
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham, introduction by Edmund Morris
Bill Masen, with bandages over his wounded eyes, misses the most spectacular meteorite shower England has ever seen. Removing his bandages the next morning, he finds masses of sightless people wandering the city. He soon meets Josella, another lucky person who has retained her sight. Together they leave the city, aware that the safe, familiar world they knew a mere 24 hours before is gone forever.
To survive in this post-apocalyptic world, one must survive the Triffids, strange plants that, years before, began appearing all over the world. The Triffids can grow to over seven feet tall, pull their roots from the ground to walk, and kill a man with one quick lash of their poisonous stingers. With society in shambles, they are now poised to prey on humankind.
East of West, written by Jonathan Hickman, art by Nick Dragotta, colors by Frank Martin, letters by Rus Wooton
This is the world. It is not the one we wanted, but it is the one we deserved. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse roam the Earth, signaling the End Times for humanity, and our best hope for life, lies in DEATH!
Enclave by Ann Aguirre
In a post-apocalyptic future, 15-year-old Deuce, a loyal Huntress, brings back meat while avoiding the Freaks outside her enclave. When she is partnered with the mysterious outsider, Fade, she begins to see that the strict ways of the elders may be wrong—and dangerous.
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
A plague has decimated the world, and those unfortunate enough to survive are transformed into bloodthirsty creatures of the night. Robert Neville is the last living man on earth. Every other man, woman, and child has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood. By day, he is the hunter, stalking the sleeping undead through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn. How long can one man survive in a world of vampires?
Snowpiercer: Vol. 1 The Escape, written by Jacques Lob, art by Jean-Marc Rochette, translated by Virginie Selavy, lettering by Gabriela Houston
Coursing through an eternal winter, on an icy track wrapped around the frozen planet, there travels a train that never stops. This is Snowpiercer: 1,001 carriages long. From fearsome engine to final car, all surviving human life is here, a complete hierarchy of the society we lost. The elite, as ever, travel in luxury at the front of the train—but for those in the rear coaches, life is squalid, miserable, and short. Now the poor have had enough: it's time to seize control of the engine—and their future!
Sweet Tooth. Book one by Jeff Lemire, story & art ; José Villarrubia, colors ; Pat Brosseau, letters ; Jeff Lemire, collection cover art & color.
Recommended by Antonio Cuneo
In these stories from SWEET TOOTH #1-12, meet Gus, a rare breed of human/animal hybrid who was raised in isolation following a pandemic. Now, with the death of his father, he's left to fend for himself--until he meets a drifter named Jepperd, who promises to help him. Jepperd and Gus set out on a post-apocalyptic journey into the devastated American landscape to find "The Preserve," a refuge for hybrids. Find out what happens when Gus is held captive with other hybrids in a camp where he meets a scientist studying the plague that's wiped out so much of the world.
The Walking Dead. Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye by Robert Kirkman, creator, writer, letterer; Tony Moore, penciler, inker, gray tones; Cliff Rathburn, additional gray tones
Police officer Rick Grimes is shot on the job and wakes up a month later to find that the world he knows is gone. Zombies have taken over, and are killing and eating those who are still alive. He sets out toward Atlanta, in the hope that his family is still alive, and endures many horrors along the way.
Y the Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan, writer; Pia Guerra, penciller; José Marzán, Jr., inker
In 2002, the world changes forever. Every man, every boy, every mammal with a Y chromosome everywhere on Earth suddenly collapses and dies. With the loss of more than half the planet's population, the gears of society grind to a halt, and a world of women are left to pick up the pieces and try to keep civilization from collapsing entirely.