One of my favorite genres, along with Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Abbreviated to PAW fiction for short it is a seldom discussed genre despite a lot of materials that are out there. The Deathlands Series, Joe Deavers Freeway Warrior. I find that Lovecraftian elements woven in with a cracking story can make for excellent reading. Civilization under attack or striving against the dangers of otherworldly forces really are underplayed in modern PAW fiction. After the 1980s ended a lot of the raw energy of that time gave way and other genres took precedent. The Cold War ended etc. Now though, with books like 'The Hunger Games' now becoming best-seller movies, a new generation is now coming of age. The 80s vibe is back again!
I like the genre, in theory at least. I've read dozens and dozens, from the "classic" (Silverberg's "Tom O'Bedlam" for example) to the trendy (assorted Zombie plagues, the Afterblight series, Day After Day Armageddon, and on and on). The stuff I like best focuses less on excuses for action and more on societal breakdown and attempts to put some sort of order back into the world, or deal with the new reality. Some quite well-respected non-SF authors have done books in this genre... P. D. James, John Updike, Cormac McCarthy to name three. Just like the fifties spawned a lot of (mostly bad) SF about atomic monsters and pod people, the current economic, geopolitical and environmental situation makes the reading public receptive to end of the world as we know it stories. I tried my hand at starting one but my mind isn't really suited to write such a work. But I think the audience is there. All you have to do is write something good. It's that easy! (as if that's easy).
I really enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction. The Road by Cormac McCarthy is probably the best book that fits into this genre that I've read so far. It's so bleak - almost difficult to read. I feel like The Hunger Games falls into a slightly different category. Dystopian rather than post-apocalyptic. There's not the same focus on destruction. There is civilisation in Panem, even if it is a brutal and basic one.
I read one of those. It was the one where they discovered Cererbus and the subterranean transporter. Well written and captivating. Pages turned.
Yeah the Deathlands Saga really got me thinking about advanced technology and what it would mean for those that have it and those that take a different route...
All you have to do is say Post Apocalyptic and the rules change. Deeper, its Fantasy. "Far into the future, in a land far away there were legends and people still around to write about them."
