Tropes Post Apocalyptic

Post Apocalyptic

After the end. What survives, what rebuilds, and what humanity becomes when civilization is stripped away.

Refreshed just now · 23 books

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  1. 1
    The Road cover

    The Road

    Cormac McCarthy · Literary Fiction

    The searing, postapocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece.

    post apocalyptic · coming of age · survival · found family

  2. 2
    Station Eleven cover

    Station Eleven

    Emily St. John Mandel · Literary Fiction

    One snowy night Arthur Leander, a famous actor, has a heart attack onstage during a production of "King Lear." Jeevan Chaudhary, a…

    post apocalyptic · found family · multiple timelines · survival

  3. 3
    Children of Time cover

    Children of Time

    Adrian Tchaikovsky · Sci-Fi

    The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home.

    space opera · survival · post apocalyptic · first contact

  4. 4
    The Stand cover

    The Stand

    Stephen King · Horror

    A patient escapes from a biological testing facility, unknowingly carrying a deadly weapon: a mutated strain of super-flu that will wipe out 99…

    post apocalyptic · grimdark · dystopian society · survival · high stakes survival

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  5. 5
    Children of Strife cover

    Children of Strife

    Adrian Tchaikovsky · Sci-Fi

    From the award-winning master of sci-fi Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Strife is the unmissable follow-up space opera to the highly acclaimed…

    space opera · post apocalyptic · quest · found family

  6. 6
    Moon of the Crusted Snow cover

    Moon of the Crusted Snow

    Waubgeshig Rice · Literary Fiction

    "A daring post-apocalyptic novel from a powerful rising literary voice.

    dystopian society · coming of age · survival · post apocalyptic

  7. 7
    Swan Song cover

    Swan Song

    Robert McCammon · Horror

    In a wasteland born of rage and fear, populated by monstrous creatures and marauding armies, earth's last survivors have been drawn into the final…

    post apocalyptic · chosen one · high stakes survival · grimdark

  8. 8
    We Call Them Witches cover

    We Call Them Witches

    India-Rose Bower · Horror

    For fans of The Watchers and T. Kingfisher comes a queer, post-apocalyptic horror following one woman's journey across a merciless wasteland to save…

    dark romance · forbidden romance · post apocalyptic · dystopian society · found family · survival

    🌶️🌶️🌶️Moderate — some open-door scenes, not the focus
  9. 9
    The Dream Hotel cover

    The Dream Hotel

    Laila Lalami · Sci-Fi

    "From Laila Lalami-the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist and a "maestra of literary fiction" (NPR)-comes a riveting and utterly…

    dystopian society · psychological thriller · survival · post apocalyptic

  10. 10
    The Maze Runner cover

    The Maze Runner

    James Dashner · Sci-Fi

    When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name.

    chosen one · survival · dystopian society · post apocalyptic · amnesia · high stakes survival

  11. 11
    Last Light cover

    Last Light

    Claire Kent · Literary Fiction

    It only took four years for the world to fall apart.Now the last member of my family has died, and I'm forced to travel across what's left of three…

    post apocalyptic · psychological thriller · survival · trauma recovery

    🌶️🌶️🌶️Moderate — some open-door scenes, not the focus
  12. 12
    Cloud Atlas cover

    Cloud Atlas

    David Stephen Mitchell · Literary Fiction

    A stunning, innovative Matyroshka doll of six nested narratives, which start in the 19th century and vault us into a dystopian future.

    multiple timelines · magical realism · post apocalyptic · quest

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  13. 13
    All the Fiends of Hell cover

    All the Fiends of Hell

    Adam Nevill · Horror

    The red night of bells heralds global catastrophe.

    cosmic horror · high stakes survival · post apocalyptic · grimdark

    🌶️🌶️🌶️Moderate — some open-door scenes, not the focus
  14. 14
    The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances cover

    The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances

    Glenn Dixon · Sci-Fi

    In a near future, where even the smallest of appliances are sentient, a young Roomba vacuum sets out to save the humans of her house from a rising…

    dystopian society · survival · post apocalyptic

  15. 15
    Overgrowth cover

    Overgrowth

    Mira Grant · Sci-Fi

    Day of the Triffids meets Gretchen Felker-Martin's Cuckoo.

    dystopian society · post apocalyptic · unreliable narrator

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  16. 16
    Wool cover

    Wool

    Hugh Howey · Sci-Fi

    In a ruined and toxic landscape, a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep.

    dystopian society · survival · closed circle · post apocalyptic

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  17. 17
    The Stone Sky cover

    The Stone Sky

    N. K. Jemisin · Fantasy

    Humanity will finally be saved or destroyed in the shattering conclusion to the post-apocalyptic and highly acclaimed NYT bestselling trilogy that…

    grimdark · post apocalyptic · quest · survival

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit
  18. 18
    A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ cover

    A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ

    Walter M. Miller Jr. · Sci-Fi

    dystopian society · post apocalyptic · political intrigue

  19. 19
    Timelike Infinity cover

    Timelike Infinity

    Stephen Baxter · Sci-Fi

    Timelike Infinity: the strange region at the end of time where the Xeelee, owners of the universe, are waiting...

    space opera · survival · post apocalyptic · high stakes survival · quest

  20. 20
    The Chrysalids cover

    The Chrysalids

    John Wyndham · Sci-Fi

    This book is about a post apocalyptic world returned back to the times of the horse and carriage seen through the eyes of a young boy.

    post apocalyptic · dystopian society · coming of age · survival

  21. 21
    Seveneves cover

    Seveneves

    Neal Stephenson · Sci-Fi

    "What would happen if the world were ending?

    post apocalyptic · survival · high stakes survival · space opera

  22. 22
    The Day of the Triffids cover

    The Day of the Triffids

    John Wyndham · Sci-Fi

    John Wyndham's 1951 classic post-apocalypse novel introduced the world to triffids, walking man-eating plants, preying on humanity in a world struck…

    post apocalyptic · survival · high stakes survival · dystopian society

  23. 23
    Juice cover

    Juice

    Tim Winton · Sci-Fi

    One of The Guardian's best sci-fi books of 2024 An edge-of-your-seat post-apocalyptic thriller, perfect for fans of Station Eleven and The Road, from…

    post apocalyptic · high stakes survival · dystopian society · psychological thriller

    🌶️🌶️Mild — romantic tension, kissing, nothing explicit