Can anyone suggest any novels, movies, comics, that use the plot device of being alone in the world? For example, 'The Stand' or 'I am Legend', or 'The Quiet Earth' where the protagonists have to exist in a depopulated world, either alone or with a small group of other characters. I am oddly interested in this type of story and would like to read/view more along these lines. Thanks in advance!
Not strictly "alone", but The Road by Cormac McCarthy is brilliant. It's about a father and his son traveling across the country in a 'post-apocalyptic' landscape. It's quite fantastic, definitely recommend it.
Cheers! That does sounds like a very good story, and a Pulitzer Prize winner at that! I'm ordering that one off Amazon for sure.
Well, it's not conventional "man alone on earth" like you said, but the short story "The Outsider" by H.P. Lovecraft has an interesting concept of a man (or creature, you decide) who lives in a castle where it is always night and longs to be freed. Like all of Lovecraft's work, it is scrumptiously dark and detailed.
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer After reading this book, I was bugging my mom about needing to increase our extra food supply and water. It leaves you paranoid for days. The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier I have no idea how to explain this book. There are like 3 levels or tiers in it. I guess to sum it up I'd say it's about consciousness. Anyway, read it. It's a unique tale.
It sounds like you are asking for a list of post-apocalyptic literature/films. With the exception of Richard Matheson's "I am Legend" I don't know of any fiction where the MC is the SOLE living human (and he WAS the last human in the novella version, unlike that atrocious film) Here's a selected list of some of my favorite PA stories, but by no means exhaustive, but I'm sure that a Google search will help. Films -Mad Max (and any sequel) -Terminator -Resident Evil -just about any George A Romero zombie flick, seriously -The Matric Trilogy -Judge Dredd -Hardware (hard to find Australian flick, but cool) -Bladerunner (based on Do Androids dream---, see below) Novels/literature -A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller JR -Universe by Robert Heinlein, strictly not PA but deals with a society post-collapse -I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison -Goliath by Neil Gaiman (now I haven't read this one yet, but it's set in the Matrix universe, so yaa) -Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick -Minority Report by Philip K. Dick (the novella version was PA even though the movie wasn't, the pre-cogs were all mutants) -about 3/4 of Philip K. Dick's short stories were set in a PA future setting That's all I can think of for now, good luck with your story! PS GOOD recommendation for the short story by Lovecraft, the Outsider is an awesome story, and perfect in the context of the OP, because it deals with lonliness, seclusion, and the psychology of such.
Another Movie (Not sure if it comes in book form) Would be - Dark City. One man against a whole race hellbend manipulating humanity (Well - part of, so say).
Dang, you beat me to it. I agree, after reading that book I had the desperate urge to go buy as much food and water as possible. You could feel their hunger and terror seeping through the page. I'd also like to recommend the sequel to Life As We Knew It, called The Dead and the Gone.
I'd suggest The Last Man by Mary Shelley. I haven't had the time to read it myself yet, so I don't know if it's good, but the plot seems to be rather interesting.
Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. It's about the last human being left alive to care for a genetically engineered race of child-like "superior" beings. Depressing as all hell, but worth it.
Hi Green Tea I like those sort of novels too. I think you might like 'Night Work' by Thomas Galvinic. From the cover: 'There's nothing moving outside. no cars. no people. no birds. Nothing. No one. Anywhere. An ordinary man wakes up on an ordinary day to find that he's the only living creature in the city ...'. 'The radio and tv are suddenly filled with white noise, there's no newspaper, the internet is down and no one's answering the phone. Jonas seems to be the last living creature on the planet. But what happened? And why is HE still here?' --- I enjoyed it. It's a little eerie, very lonely, maybe even upsetting in parts. But worth reading. ---
