Seeking a Good Book for the September 23 Apocalypse

The Postman, by David Brin
Forget the unfortunate Kevin Costner film adaptation—Brin’s novel is filled with great ideas. What truly sets it apart is the careful balance between typically grim post-apocalyptic scenarios (brutal dictators, man’s inhumanity to man, etc.) and an unabashedly hopeful streak. The titular character isn’t really a postman, a representative from a resurgent Federal Government rebuilding the United States of America—but people believe he is, and his deception slowly transforms into reality as people regain a sense of hope, based only on their belief in something as simple as the mail being delivered. Definitely a book that will give you some inspiration if September 24 turns out to be a bit grim.

The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway
Harkaway’s debut novel is raucous, bulging with an energy and spirit that belies its post-apocalyptic genetic code. The world outside the Livable Zone is an “unraveled” mess of postwar devastation and mutated monsters created by the use of “Go Away” bombs that, well, make reality “go away,” and civilization is hanging on by threads. But the novel never gets bogged down in the sepia-toned misery of much end-of-the-world fiction, instead introducing fun things like ninjas and mimes. The sheer controlled lunacy of the story makes it guffaw-inducing fun, so it should be ideal reading material for those days and weeks after your apartment has been turned into a shattered cliff overlooking what used to be a city.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide series, by Douglas Adams
The funniest books predicated on the destruction of the Earth ever written, the Hitchhiker’s series isn’t meant to be a grim, serious work of post-apocalyptic fiction, and yet they do have their serious moments, as Arthur Dent, more or less the protagonist of these rambling, shaggy SF stories, occasionally grieves for his destroyed home. The fact that the Earth makes a comeback a few times and is revealed to have been more of a science experiment than a planet—not to mention the fact that the universe itself teems with life and regards temporality as an inconvenience—softens the blow a bit, as does the endless litany of clever ideas and laugh-out-loud concepts. These books will make even the worst Armageddon scenario look a little self-important.

Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
It’s not often an uproarious comedy kicks off with the literal birth of the Antichrist in a London hospital, but that’s the strange genius of this collaborative novel. With the Rapture coming fast, a rag-tag collection of rebellious angels, demons, and terrestrial creatures (including a hellhound turned actual dog) work to avert The End for their own (usually fairly selfish) reasons. This hilarious book is often described as the spiritual successor to Douglas Adams, and it certainly is another complex story filled with inventive detail that doesn’t forget to be hilarious. Ideal for any post-apocalyptic world in which you suspect finding a good cup of coffee will be difficult, especially when a war in heaven is to blame.

Liberation: Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After the Collapse of the United States of America, by Brain Francis Slattery
This oddball novel, set after the economic collapse and political fragmentation of America into dozens of Balkanized states, is, in a word, swashbuckling. It’s not so much a science fiction novel (although set in the future, its apocalypse is political instead of speculative) as it is an adventure novel that takes its cues from the spirit of stories written in the 18th and 19th centuries. If your personal apocalypse has to do with the collapse of the dollar and a regret that you never bought a lot of gold, this book will keep your spirits up as you hide in your basement from the roving gangs of criminals seeking delicious people to eat in a world where there’s no money for fast food.
What will you be reading at the end of the world?