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As both a reader and writer of post-apocalyptic fiction, I’m a big fan of the genre. And the fact that you’re here right now, possibly ushered by a Google search, suggests the same about you.
That’s good, because we’re about to take a deep dive into the post-apocalyptic genre. We’ll explore the history, common themes and characteristics, and a long list of notable works.
The Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Genre Defined
Let’s kick things off with a definition of the post-apocalyptic genre, and then move on to the common characteristics of these stories.
Definition: The post-apocalyptic fiction genre includes short stories and novels that take place after some kind of catastrophic event. These stories often depict characters struggling to survive in a dangerous new world without electricity, running water, law and order, or societal structure.
We can also define the genre by dividing the label into two parts:
- The prefix “post” means after, later, subsequent, or following.
- Apocalyptic means “showing or describing the total destruction and end of the world, or extremely bad future events.” (Cambridge Dictionary)
Combine the two, and we have a genre of fiction where the main events occur after some kind of devastating and destructive event. The story follows the catastrophic event, hence the “post” prefix.
Many publishers and booksellers refer to post-apocalyptic fiction as a sub-genre of science fiction. But the truth is, it doesn’t always work that way. In some of these stories, the catastrophic events are caused by a supernatural or fantasy-based element, rather than a sci-fi origin. It varies.
Common Themes and Characteristics
Post-apocalyptic novels and stories can differ greatly from one another. Like any other literary genre, there’s quite a bit of variety when it comes to doomsday fiction. Still, many of these books tend to have certain themes and characteristics in common:
Societal change — Stories within the post-apocalyptic genre often feature the complete upheaval or destruction of society as we know it. Civilization and all of its norms (industry, education, energy, food production) are wiped away, with a new kind of society rising in its place. Many post-apocalyptic books depict nomadic or tribal societies, where individuals and small groups struggle to survive.
Constant struggle — In fiction, life after the apocalypse is a never-ending struggle, just as it would be in real life. That’s partly what makes the apocalyptic genre so popular among readers. We get to see characters struggling against great odds, which in turn reveals more of their character. We also get to imagine ourselves enduring that kind of day-to-day survival, from the comfort of our functional world.
Hope vs. surrender — Characters within post-apocalyptic fiction often deal with internal struggles as well. A common example is hope versus surrender. Characters will sometimes question themselves and the world around them, wondering what reason they have to “go on.” Some will cling to hope, believing that a better existence is still possible. Others might fall into despair.
Moral decline — People behaving badly. We see plenty of this in the post-apocalyptic genre. We’ve even witnessed it in real life, when people were hoarding toilet paper during the early COVID lockdowns. “Forget about everyone else … I have to take care of my people.” In post-apocalyptic fiction, selfish behavior, self-preservation and overall moral decline become amplified by dire circumstances. We see people doing things out of desperation they wouldn’t have dreamed of doing in the old world.
Empathy and human connection — Often, post-apocalyptic stories depict characters who are forced to rely on one another. They might show characters with good hearts helping total strangers during tough times. This is the polar opposite of the “moral decline” mentioned above. Among other things, empathy and the need for human connection give fictional characters more depth. It also allows us, as readers, to root for them throughout the story. After all, every story needs a “good guy” or girl.
Types of Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
Readers who enjoy a good doomsday story have many to choose from. That’s because writers have many ways to end the world.
An “apocalyptic” story deals with some kind of catastrophic event. That’s something they all have in common. But there’s a lot of variety within that broad definition. The catastrophe can be sudden and violent, like a nuclear war or an asteroid strike; or more gradual, like climate change or resource depletion.
Here are some common types of stories that fall within the post-apocalyptic genre:
- Alien invasion and destruction
- Astronomical catastrophes (solar flares, asteroids, gamma rays and more)
- Electromagnetic pulse or EMP
- Environmental Catastrophe (a.k.a., climate fiction or “cli-fi”)
- Machine, robot or AI uprising
- Medical (disease, pandemics and outbreaks)
- Natural disaster (super volcanos, massive firestorms, etc.)
- Nuclear war / holocaust
- Reproductive failure / infertility (no more babies)
- Resource depletion (water or food shortage)
- Supernatural phenomena (something inexplicable, like in Bird Box)
- Zombies
If you’re interested: I’ve explored some of these scenarios in a separate article.
While the above list is not exhaustive, most post-apocalyptic books of past and present fall into one of these main categories. Even so, there’s still room for innovation. An imaginative writer could devise a new and interesting way to wipe out civilization. Imagination is infinite.
Here’s how Amanda Pagan of the New York Public Library system explained it: “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.”
A Brief History of ‘Doomsday Fiction’
Apocalyptic stories go way back. They were around long before the invention of the printing press, passed down in oral form from one generation to the next. Many early and ancient civilizations had some version of a doomsday — the final judgment, the reckoning, the end of times, etc.
The post-apocalyptic genre, on the other hand, is much younger by comparison.
While the subject is open to debate, many literary historians believe that Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (of Frankenstein fame) wrote the first post-apocalyptic book. The novel is called The Last Man, first published in 1826.
You can read it for free through Project Gutenberg and other online sources. Just know that it’s fairly dull by modern standards.
About 60 years later, in 1885, the world received another post-apocalyptic fiction novel by another English writer. This time, the doomsday story came from a Victorian-era nature writer named Richard Jefferies. After London shows what happens to England after an unspecified catastrophic event eliminates most of the population.
Learn more about these pioneers of the post-apocalyptic genre.
Popular & Notable Books Within the Genre
Fans of the post-apocalyptic genre have a dizzying array of books and stories to choose from. Below, I’ve curated an alphabetical list of books that exemplify the genre in some way. These books span many decades and include a wide variety of catastrophes, ranging from nuclear war to vampires.
- Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank
- Bird Box, by Josh Malerman
- The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham
- Edge of Collapse, by Kyla Stone
- The Girl With All the Gifts, by M.R. Carey
- The Holdbacks, by Brandon Cornett (yes, that’s me)
- I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
- Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer
- Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven
- Metro 2033, by Dmitry Glukhovsky
- On the Beach, by Neil Shute Norway
- One Second After, by William Forstchen
- The Passage, by Justin Cronin
- Planet of the Apes, by Pierre Boulle
- The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
- Robopocalypse, by Daniel H. Wilson
- The Stand, by Stephen King
- A Song for a New Day, by Sarah Pinsker
- Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel
- Swan Song, by Robert McCammon
- Wool, by Hugh Howey
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little tour of the post-apocalyptic fiction genre, and I welcome your comments or questions. Feel free to drop them in the box below.