Post-apocalyptic fiction is extremely popular right now. There are many choices out there and since discovering Audible books I’ve read many.
Prepper fiction is just that – fiction. With that said all of these books provide a multitude of scenario’s to consider. This can assist in pre-planning and developing contingencies. So, beyond entertainment, these books can be very useful in preparing for whatever may await us in the future.
Top 10 Must Read Post Apocalyptic Books:
1. 299 Days by Glen Tate – 299 Days: The Preparation, the first book in the 299 Days series, depicts the inner struggles Grant must face as he exists in a social system he recognizes as unsustainable and on the verge of collapse, but one in which he has built his life around. What begins as a return to his roots, self-sufficiency, and independence, becomes a full-blown move to prepare for what may come.
2. Going Home: A Novel(The Survivalist Series Book 1) – When Morgan Carter’s car breaks down 250 miles from his home, he figures his weekend plans are ruined. But things are about to get much, much worse: the country’s power grid has collapsed. There is no electricity, no running water, no Internet, and no way to know when normalcy will be restored—if it ever will be. An avid survivalist, Morgan takes to the road with his prepper pack on his back.
3. The Survivalist: Frontier Justice Book 1 – The Superpox-99 virus has wiped out nearly the entire human race. To stay alive, U.S. Deputy Marshal Mason Raines must forage for food, water, and gasoline while outgunning those who seek to take advantage of the apocalyptic anarchy. Together with his giant Irish wolfhound, Bowie, he aligns with survivors of the town of Boone in a life and death struggle against a gang of violent criminals. With each deadly encounter, Mason is forced to accept his place as one of the nation’s few remaining lawmen. In a world now populated by escaped convicts, paranoid mutants, and government hit squads, his only hope to save the townspeople is to enforce his own brand of frontier justice.
4. What’s Left of My World: A Story of a Family’s Survival – Lauren Russell often wondered why her father had been so adamant about teaching her skills that most other fathers wouldn’t even consider teaching their daughters. Ever since she was little, she had been taught how to live and survive outdoors, and how to use firearms to protect herself and those around her. Some of the training had been a bit extreme. Or had it been?
5. Fight Like a Man: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller(The SHTF Series Book 1) – As a prepper, Grayson Rowan was prepared for almost anything; anything other than being totally alone when the sh*t hits the fan. While he sat back and watched the United States rattle swords with Korea, play chicken with Russia, and strong-arm China, he felt sure if the lights went out, that he and his family would be ready and safe–whether it was due to a natural disaster or a man-made event. They had everything they needed at their homestead. What he wasn’t prepared for, was his family not being home if it ever happened.
6. Locker Nine: Book One of the Locker Nine Series – Grace’s dad taught her survival, self-defense, and shooting, then sent her away to college hoping she’d never need those skills. All he wanted was to give her a fighting chance if the world fell apart. Then it did. Near the end of Grace’s freshmen year, coordinated terror attacks take place at dozens of locations around the country – including on the campus of Grace’s university.
7. The Borrowed World – Jim Powell thought he was ready. He was a regular guy who traveled a lot for work and hated every second he was away from his young family. But when ISIS operatives unleashed a coordinated attack on America’s infrastructure, his entire world shattered. The electrical grid collapsed, communication networks were damaged, critical bridges and dams were destroyed, and major fuel refineries have gone up in massive fiery clouds. Now, with an Executive Order halting fuel sales to the public, Jim Powell finds himself in a terrifying predicament. He’s trapped hundreds of miles away from his family, and with thousands of stranded travelers and scarce law enforcement across the country, the miles between Jim and his family become a brutal gauntlet where the rules of a civilized society no longer apply.
8. Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse – America faces a full-scale socioeconomic collapse—the stock market plummets, hyperinflation cripples commerce and the mounting crisis passes the tipping point. Practically overnight, the fragile chains of supply and high-technology infrastructure fall, and wholesale rioting and looting grip every major city. As hordes of refugees and looters pour out of the cities, a small group of friends living in the Midwest desperately tries to make their way to a safe-haven ranch in northern Idaho. The journey requires all their skill and training since communication, commerce, transportation and law enforcement have all disappeared. Once at the ranch, the group fends off vicious attacks from outsiders and then looks to join other groups that are trying to restore true Constitutional law to the country.
9. EMP: Equipping Modern Patriots – EMP: Equipping Modern Patriots is a harrowing story of survival following the destruction of the electric grid and nearly every electronic device in the country. Can you imagine a world with no phones, no TV, no internet, and no way to access your bank account? Without the electric grid, there would be no lights, no heating or air conditioning in your house, no public water, and the sewer would likely back up into your home. Without modern vehicles or interstate trucking, the supermarkets would quickly run out of food and supplies. Unprepared, the government would be helpless to feed the masses and maintain order. Our humanity is questioned when the survival of the fittest becomes reality.
10. Lights Out – Lights Out 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.
This is my personal list and there are numerous great books out there that could easily have made it. Having some other suggestions? Leave them in the comments.
recently did Mike Sheridan’s “No Directions Home”, Mark Goodwin’s Economic Collapse Series, and Days or Noah Series, Steven Konkoly’s Jakarta Pandemic, and Perseid Collapse, William Weber’s – Last Stand Set., less recently William Forstchen – One Second After.. odd one which was interesting .. Emmy Layborne – Monument 14. All of the above are failures Economic, Pandemic, or Financial. They all have something to offer.. .fiction certainly, but scenarios are good to make you think.
We are all far more likely to have ICE, or Hurricane, Tornado or Fires to compensate for.. something we have seen just in 2017. Enjoy the trip, and learn some things along the way.. save some of the old skills to pass along to the kids… More is always better for those skills.. and get out in it.. make some friends and memories with family. Self sufficiency is always good if you can get there.
GG58
The wasteland trilogy by Nic cole and the dog stars by David heller
I’ve read all but the 299 Days series and Locker Nine: Book One of the Locker Nine Series.
Most everything I would mention has been covered above. I would add a series, if you enjoy the zombie side of things, called “The Remaining” by D.J. Molles.
Almost forgot- Another great series the “The Loyal Nine: The Boston Brahmin series” by Bobby Akart. No zombies.
If I could only read the first book in a series: I would recommend these 3:
The Borrowed World, Franklin Horton
The Jakarta Pandemic, Steven Konkoly
Going Home, A.American
While it’s pretty popular at the moment I’m seeing how many people are using these stories as instruction manuals of how to act or what to do during a certain event. I’m on a FB site that just started with a bunch of authors and you want to talk about people who are taking the books TOO literal. They want to know where everyone is at, start up a way to secretly contact each other if SHTF happens and they can come to their house or have a ‘safe house’ to get back home, they are posting pictures of their dozens of books yet when asked how are their preps most not comment or some say “I don’t have the money to prep”….yet have dozens of books! Entertainment is very important but at some point it needs to turn into more realistic things. I’d have to add Tom Sherry’s Deep winter and book 2 “Shatter” to the list.
I would love to know the name of that site
I would recommend John Grits’ Apocalypse Law series and the very intense two book series, Feathers on the Wings of Love and Hate. The dialogue between the senior Raines and the little girl in Arthur Bradley’s series (The Survivalist) is very entertaining. Jernigan’s War by Ken Gallender is also very good.
Right now Emergency Essentials is having a sale on Potassium iodide pills- for the thyroid in case of nuclear attack. I just ordered some.
Not sure if we need to be most concerned with nuclear or an ice age- both are probable. Lightning
Thanks for this! I’d add “One second after”, “One year after”, and “The final day” by John Fortschen
life after war series by angela white