The cabin had always been a special retreat for Isherwood Williams, a haven from the demands of society. But one day while hiking, Ish was bitten by a rattlesnake, and the solitude he had so desired took on dire new significance. Without a radio or phone, Ish had no idea of humanity’s abrupt demise.
The book upon which Stephen King based The Stand.
A classic. And no zombies.
This is one of those books that sticks with the reader for a long time. When I run into someone else who has read it, I always ask if they found the ending hopeful or depressing. I get a good sense of who they are by their answer.
One of those “books that birthed a thousand similar books” type reads. Loved it.
My all time favorite novel. I like my Apocalypse to be nearly empty almost completely without other people. This is that In Spades also none of the usual tropes of Warlords and zombies. Just a damn good story well told. It stays with you for days after you finish the last word.
If ever there was a “book for our time,” it would be this seventy year old novel. It is a haunting precursor to what could happen with a pandemic, and how those who survive cope.
Men go and come, but the earth abides”
― George R. Stewart, Earth Abides
Earth Abides is an amazing book that will stay with me for a long time, perhaps my entire life. The story is so sad and beautiful it plays with your emotions as you follow Ish through his life after the great disaster. There were a few spots that dragged, and I would have liked more travel adventures, but overall Earth Abides is one of the most …
This is a true post-apocalyptic book. You know very little about what happened to the world. The MC simply wakes up after a bout of sickness from being bitten by a snake, and voila, the world has plummeted into a place essentially without humans.
The MC takes a small neighborhood and begins to rebuild society one generation at a time. Lots of …
A relatively early – and astoundingly undated – entry into the end-of-the-world genre. (And one of Stephen King’s major inspirations for THE STAND.) After a virus eliminates most of humanity, loner Ish finds himself grappling with how to survive and, more profoundly, why to survive. In finding the answers, he takes the reader on a journey that is …
What might happen if you were thrust into a similar situation. Mistakes and all.
Bittersweet, believable story of the inevitable crumbling of the knowledge and technological achievements of which we are so proud as human society reverts to small, primitive tribes in the wake of a catastrophic, worldwide, very lethal epidemic. The use of quotes from Ecclesiastes is very effective in setting the mood. The description of how the …
A glimpse into our future and how our civilization has /might evolve in the event of an apocolypse.
I read this book when I was in high school and I remember it scared me and fascinated me at the same time. It was a library book, so I couldn’t keep it. Years later, before Amazon and I started a relationship I tried to track it down, wanting to read it again because it was still there in the back of my head. No luck. Fortunately, last year I …