Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
I love survival fiction. It’s fun to read about what people might do in worst-case scenarios. If you need some motivation to prepare for a disaster or inspiration to get through one, try reading one of these books.
If you know of any other books that should be on this list, please say so in the comments section. The books are in alphabetical order.
1. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank. The struggle for survival in a small Florida town after a nuclear war cuts it off from the rest of civilization.
2. Brushfire Plague by R.P. Ruggiero. A devastating plague pushes society into chaos. Meanwhile, one man searches for a cure when his son falls ill.
3. Dark Advent by Brian Hodge. Post-apocalyptic story about life after an illness wipes out most of the world’s population.
4. Earth Abides by George R. Stewart. The attempt to build a new civilization and preserve knowledge after a plague wipes out most of mankind.
5. Footfall by Larry Niven. After aliens invade Earth, the people must learn to survive in urban areas without the infrastructure they once depended on.
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6. Good News by Edward Abbey. The economy collapses and a small group of people in Arizona attempt to fend off a rising military dictatorship.
7. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. A young-adult novel that chronicles the aftermath of an asteroid knocking the moon out of orbit. Many aspects of survival are involved.
8. Lights Out by David Crawford. This book 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.
9. Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. After a comet strikes, the shit hits the fan overnight and chaos follows.
10. No Blade of Grass by John Christopher. A plague wipes out most of the world’s grain. The story follows a group of survivors fleeing London.
11. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. After humanity has been mostly wiped out by a plague, one man struggles to survive in a world where he may be the last human.
12. Out of the Ashes by William W. Johnstone. In a post-apocalyptic America, a man searching for his family ends up joining the Resistance forces.
13. Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse by James Wesley Rawles. The most educational survival novel out there. Great story, but reads like a non-fiction book at times.
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14. Survivors by Terry Nation. The survivors of a severe pandemic migrate south to get away from dangerous neighbors.
15. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. A dystopian novel about a girl who is forced by her government to participate in a game of survival where the last person alive wins.
16. The Stand: Expanded Edition by Stephen King. Follows the stories of various survivors after a plague kills 99% of the population. Great story of good versus evil.
17. Vandenberg by Oliver Lang. A cold war novel about life in the United States after the invasion of Soviet Russia.
18. Wolf And Iron by Gordon R. Dickson. After an economic collapse, a lone man travels across the country and eventually starts a new community.
19. World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler. Peak oil, pandemics, and nuclear terrorism all play a role in the story of people who have to learn basic skills in an agrarian village.
20. Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O’brien. Story of a young woman surviving on her parents’ farm after a nuclear war.
I read Alas Babylon when it was first published and will never forget it. It changed many of my views of the word. Wish I had a copy now, Is it still available. It is the best I have read.
I’d like to recommend my novel ( THE GOLDEN MOMENT ) a survival story, by Bic Parker. Its new and not long out, If you like cliff hangers give it a read, I’m sure you’ll like it. B P
One Second After and 1 year after are both Great books.
Cyberstorm is another great book.
Podcast 1 has a Thrilling tells podcast and they do audiobooks and that’s where I heard these books.
They do a New book every Monday and post 1 hour episodes til the book is finished and release them all on Mondays.
I’m a truck driver and it kills my time driving and love it.
The “299 days” series is a good read too. It’s a 10 book series. I listened to them on audio book and they are great for long trips in the car.
The Dying Time: Impact and After The Dying Time by Raymond Dean White. Very prepper friendly and all too real.
you would the think Hatchet by Gary Paulsen woulld be on on here
Hatchet should not only be on this list, it should be required reading for anyone who goes into the woods.
I realize it’s a children’s book, but I enjoyed Hatchet. It was a required book report for one of my kids.
It’s mislabeled. This isn’t really a survival fiction list, it’s a post apocalypse fiction list. Otherwise Hatchet would be here.
Hatchet would be a great addition to this list. It shows the dynamic growth of a character. Most readers don’t get that the boy attempts suicide about half way through the novel and is committed to change in the last half of the book. He’s whinny and a whoa-is-me character until the change and then he becomes a confident, mature character. Gary Paulsen is a phenomenal writer!!!
Strongly recommend the “Holding their own” series by Joe Nobody. Here’s the Amazon link to the series. amazon.com/Holding-Their-Own-10-Book/dp/B011964E0U/
Yes. Great
“In The Land of White Death” by Valerian Albanov is a true story about a group searching for new hunting grounds and one of my personal favorites. Another great read was “Survive The Savage Sea”, all be it, another true story (true stories of survival have always been more intriguing to me) about Dougal Robertson and his family surviving 38 days in open ocean after their sail boat was sunk by randy whales. Both are well written, easy, satisfying reads. Thanks for sharing this list.
I’ve never heard of those. Thanks for sharing, I’ll have to add them to my wishlist.
Going Home series (based on an EMP) by A. American incorporates many items and situations.
Yes loved them. A long lonely road.
Read all of these. Started out great (read the first one several times) but the vulgar, childish humor got to be real tedious. Seems the humor became filler to keep from including real story. I know it sounds prudish but it actually rules out a large market of readers who are turned off by this. I had a lot of people in mind I would have purchased the series for had the vulgarity not been there.
Swan Song by Robert McCammon is a fave!
Would definitely agree, Swan Song is an amazing book that combines the perfect amount of the extra-ordinary with the realities of a harsh world after nuclear war. One of my favorites!
Totally agree and I’d add One Second After by William Forstchen.
Definitely One Second After, an EMP survival situation. Another new one All Systems Down, by BA Anderson similar but survival in a big city after an EMP. EMP by a rogue state is considered by the US military one of the 5 most likely apocalyptic events. Non-fiction I would recommend as an easy read on the topic Anthony Furey’s Pulse Attack.
I loved the Last Light series by Terri Blackstock. One Second After was good,too.
Yep and One Year After.
Oryx and Crake by margaret atwood
Pretty comprehensive. Nice job!
No swan song?
That’s right, I love that book! Can’t believe I didn’t think of it. At some point I’ll revise my top 20.
There’s a Young Adult series by Susan Pfeffer that starts with the book, Life As We Knew It. It chronicles the aftermath of an asteroid knocking the moon out of orbit. It’s about survival – food, energy, illness, family. Good for young ones to read, but I loved the 3-book series myself as I love dystopian fiction.
also check out “Dies the Fire” by S. M. Stirling published in 2004. where the author does point out with the actions taken in this story by the characters, that being aware and not sitting around waiting for things to fix themselves or wait for help (that never comes) means survival. Also being prepared to defend what you have from those who would simply take. The twist is that laws of physics have been twisted so gunpowder abd batteries do not work in addition to the usual electronic failures of an EM pulse.
Dies the Fire wa a great series for at least the first four novels. Tails off a little after that, but so far I have persisted and managed to get my dollars worth out of them.
I’d add Wofl and Iron by Gordon R. Dickson, and the Deathland series by Axler. I’m writing a similar type of story over on my blog at http://www.liamfisher.com
I would like to suggest that you add “The Last Centurion” By John Ringo. Even though I am a left leaning moderate and he writes this from the point of view the right, I found it immensely interesting on how the downfall world economy occurs and what it takes to be able to survive and pull ourselves back up.
another good series is the Deathlands series by James Axler.
Looks really interesting. Thanks!
The Road – Cormac McCarthy
Great List! One Second After by William Forstchen is also a great read!
Another vote for One Second After. very well written. It deals with the scenario of an unknown agent launching nukes and creating high altitude EMP’s which fry the grid of a number of countries, although this book deals with a small town in North Carolina. The main character is a History professor (as is fortschen) who was formerly in the army and taught military history and strategy. This character becomes one of the lead figures in the town, helping to direct their strategy in dealing with the collapse of the grid, setting up defenses, dealing with the issues of food, water, and medical care. Also how to handle the massive movements of refugee’s abandoning the cities en mass & the mass marauder gangs that have been preying on anyone they come across. The writer obviously put a lot of time and research into this book & it’s one of the best of it’s genre.