Author Topic: Classic survivalist or post apocalyptic books (Read 90205 times)

Lucretius · « **Reply #30 on:** November 26, 2008, 07:29:56 AM »

Quote from: Dan on November 25, 2008, 04:20:16 PM

Quote from: Hraz on November 24, 2008, 05:19:58 PM
Has anyone read The Road by Cormac McCarthy?
Yeah, what 19kilo said.

Yes, and then I agreed that The Road by Cormac McCarthy is the best PAW book in existence.

John Willis · « **Reply #31 on:** November 26, 2008, 08:15:56 PM »

Lights out. http://survivalmonkey.com/SF%20books/LightsOut!/LightsOut-Current.pdf

Deep Winter and shattered---

Cold camp----http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=20&t=616500

John Willis
www.SOetacticalgear.com

Jwatt · « **Reply #32 on:** December 01, 2008, 11:33:07 AM »

Great thread people!
I wrote down at least a dozen books from this list and will start knocking them out one by one. I just finished "The Road" by McCormack - great read!
This book really gets into the emotional and psychological side of dealing with an earth-changing catastrophe. I don't think anyone could prepare themselves adequately for the type of situation the man and his son - who are the protagonists of the book- had to face. It does make you realize the value of things so trivial and meaningless to us as shopping carts, forks and shoes.
I start started Steven King's "The Stand" since I couldn't find any of the other books on my list in the local library.

DeltaEchoVictor · « **Reply #33 on:** December 02, 2008, 12:28:30 AM »

Quote from: John Willis on November 26, 2008, 08:15:56 PM

Lights out. http://survivalmonkey.com/SF%20books/LightsOut!/LightsOut-Current.pdf

Deep Winter and shattered---

Cold camp----http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=20&t=616500

John Willis
www.SOetacticalgear.com

I can't access the Lights Out .pdf link.

It says the file can't be found on the server.

Any ideas John?

archer · « **Reply #34 on:** December 02, 2008, 10:46:17 AM »

Here is my copy of it:
link deleted

EDIT: Archer: Link removed to respect Authors copyrights.

flagtag · « **Reply #35 on:** December 02, 2008, 10:54:29 AM »

Great story! I've read it twice already.

MamaGator · « **Reply #36 on:** December 02, 2008, 05:32:55 PM »

The Earth's Children series by Jean Auel is to my mind a survival series, using absolutely no tech since the books are set about 15,000 years ago. In my opinion, the first three books are the most enjoyable, interesting and informative. Definitely sparked my interest in herbal remedies, though i wouldn't use the books as a reference - just a starting point. The first book, Clan of the Cave Bear, was published in 1980 so I'd consider it 'classic'.

http://www.amazon.com/Clan-Cave-Bear-Earths-Children/dp/0553381679/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294952460&sr=1-1

( link added by LC)

BerserkerPrime · « **Reply #37 on:** December 02, 2008, 06:20:12 PM »

1. Earth Abides

2. The Stand (classic)

3. The Road. Just read this one and it is really good, though leaves you asking alot of questions.....

BerskerPrime!!

BerserkerPrime · « **Reply #38 on:** December 02, 2008, 06:22:51 PM »

Also.....

If any of you download podiobooks, 7th Son is incredible....especially the last piece called Obsidian. Obsidian let the fans podcast stories of the aftermath in several ways. It got very creative.

DeltaEchoVictor · « **Reply #39 on:** December 03, 2008, 12:12:40 AM »

Quote from: Archer on December 02, 2008, 10:46:17 AM

Here is my copy of it:
link removed

Cool, thanks!

tash · « **Reply #40 on:** December 05, 2008, 10:27:50 AM »

I just got through reading 'The Road' yesterday. Yes, it was good. Very good. But damn... it was IMO completely depressing. Did no one else feel that way?

19kilo · « **Reply #41 on:** December 05, 2008, 10:07:16 PM »

Quote from: tash on December 05, 2008, 10:27:50 AM

I just got through reading 'The Road' yesterday. Yes, it was good. Very good. But damn... it was IMO completely depressing. Did no one else feel that way?

very very depressed. I finished that book thinking that there was no hope for the world. At all.

Lucretius · « **Reply #42 on:** December 06, 2008, 09:43:08 AM »

Quote from: tash on December 05, 2008, 10:27:50 AM

I just got through reading 'The Road' yesterday. Yes, it was good. Very good. But damn... it was IMO completely depressing. Did no one else feel that way?

No.

It gave me hope.

The hole point is, despite the terrible circumstances, The Man did not give up. To me, that's central to survivalism: not just offing yourself the moment civilisation can't offer you a hot latte... Not to have some spare batteries for a two-hour blackout, but to have the will to survive the worst.
And to think about how many people actually have that little food today!

So I think the wives' reaction was kind of depressing, but found lots of strength in The Mans refusal to give up (and even read The Boy a story now and again).

BerserkerPrime · « **Reply #43 on:** December 06, 2008, 06:22:56 PM »

It was good, but I still didn't want to get naked and to the chim chim dance when I finished it. Wow......

I think I can figure out who Rober Duvall will play in the movie...

BP

19kilo · « **Reply #44 on:** December 06, 2008, 10:53:55 PM »

Quote from: BerserkerPrime on December 06, 2008, 06:22:56 PM

It was good, but I still didn't want to get naked and to the chim chim dance when I finished it. Wow......

I think I can figure out who Rober Duvall will play in the movie...

BP

The beach scenes were filmed right here in Erie. I guess it looks like the PAW.

19kilo · « **Reply #45 on:** December 06, 2008, 10:57:51 PM »

Quote from: Lucretius on December 06, 2008, 09:43:08 AM

Quote from: tash on December 05, 2008, 10:27:50 AM
I just got through reading 'The Road' yesterday. Yes, it was good. Very good. But damn... it was IMO completely depressing. Did no one else feel that way?

No.

It gave me hope.

The hole point is, despite the terrible circumstances, The Man did not give up. To me, that's central to survivalism: not just offing yourself the moment civilisation can't offer you a hot latte... Not to have some spare batteries for a two-hour blackout, but to have the will to survive the worst.
And to think about how many people actually have that little food today!
So I think the wives' reaction was kind of depressing, but found lots of strength in The Mans refusal to give up (and even read The Boy a story now and again).

I totally see whee you're coming from there. But I couldn't see where there was any fertile earth to grow anything to try and rebuilt. It had been quite a few years and the fires were still going on. That and what the father died of I think was affecting every one else to. that is why they were the cloth masks, to prevent inhaling the polluted air. I guess if I knew what caused there apocalypse, I would feel better about it.

Jwatt · « **Reply #46 on:** December 08, 2008, 04:38:10 PM »

It seems that the catastrophe was unsurvivable. There wasn't any chance for recovery or regrowth for at least a lifetime. The story was really beyond survivalism (see the God in Survivalism thread). You cannot prepare for this type of catastrophe and even if you manage to keep going for a while you will eventually fall victim one way or another.
One of the questions McCormack is dealing with is: What makes a man struggle to stay alive in a hopeless situation? In the end, survival itself was meaningless without a reason to survive. In The Man's case it was his son that provided the reason. Also, I don't think anyone can blame the wife for committing suicide and even wanting to take her child with her. How many of you would be prepared to risk seeing your child starve or become brutalized by vicious savages who would do unthinkable things to them? If death is inevitable (and not 20 years down the road but any day kind of inevitable), why not just get it over with quickly without taking the risk?

Judith · « **Reply #47 on:** December 08, 2008, 10:19:49 PM »

Thank you so much for posting your interesting books to read, SteveBluff. I have been searching for years, but more recently in great earnest, for the book Earth Abides. I read it in high school, but wanted to read it again and could not remember the title. By your synopsis of the book, I thought it might be THE book I was searching for and upon further exploration, found that, indeed, it was the book I had read many years ago. I just ordered a copy of it from Amazon.com and really appreciate your list of "good reads."

jpr9954 · « **Reply #48 on:** December 21, 2008, 05:02:17 PM »

I just finished the first of the Jerry Ahern "Survivalist" series. It is named "Total War" and features a post-nuclear USA. The hero or anti-hero is named John Rourke. I think this series started in the early 1980s and ran for about 25 books. It isn't "great" writing but it is good for what it is.

Another one that is partially published online right now is "Absolved" by Mike Vanderboegh. It is in the "Unintended Consequences" or "Enemies: Foreign and Domestic" vein. I think it is supposed to be out this year or next in paper. It is about a fight between the State of Alabama and initially BATF. Here is the link to it:

http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2008/07/absolved-banner-connector.html

John

flagtag · « **Reply #49 on:** December 21, 2008, 11:26:28 PM »

I am reading one online right now called: "We Interrupt This Program". It's on Homesteading Today. I'm only about 1/2 way through.

swanson · « **Reply #50 on:** December 24, 2008, 10:59:07 AM »

timsuggs,

Thought you might like this -

Check out this link to graphic audio for Ahern's survivalist books on mp3...

http://www.graphicaudio.net/c-66-survivalist.aspx

Not bad.

swanson

flagtag · « **Reply #51 on:** December 24, 2008, 11:26:09 AM »

Quote from: flagtag on December 21, 2008, 11:26:28 PM

I am reading one online right now called: "We Interrupt This Program". It's on Homesteading Today. I'm only about 1/2 way through.

Just an update

Finished the story. It was pretty good. A little closer to "real life", I thing, than others I have read.

Hraz · « **Reply #52 on:** December 25, 2008, 09:18:22 PM »

My take on The Road was that the future would be brighter through the son. The father, though better than 99% of the people still had a dark side. I think the scene when the person stole their cart showed the difference between the father/the old world & the son/the future world.

Lucretius · « **Reply #53 on:** December 26, 2008, 09:12:00 AM »

Quote from: Hraz on December 25, 2008, 09:18:22 PM

My take on The Road was that the future would be brighter through the son. The father, though better than 99% of the people still had a dark side. I think the scene when the person stole their cart showed the difference between the father/the old world & the son/the future world.

+1. The only one who truly was alive was The Boy. The Man died when The Wife did what she did...

It's heartbreaking to think about the slim chances The Boy has. No homesteading there...

I really wonder what killed the world, though. Nuclear winter is the most popular theory, from what I've heard. Fits a lot of details in the book.
A sudden decline in solar activity would have much the same effects, but not the sudden blackout described in the flashbacks.

Jwatt · « **Reply #54 on:** December 30, 2008, 02:02:14 PM »

In a scenario like The Road, I think you might be better off dead. The only reason that boy had any life in him was because he never saw the world the way it was before. Would you really want to try and rebuild humanity in a world that the sun could not penetrate?

I learned one important lesson from that book:

Don't get caught without a gun and plenty of ammo for TEOTWAWKI.

I am almost finished with The Stand. It isn't such great survivalist literature. Steven King doesn't really deal with the details of survival in a post super-flu world.

Both authors imagined there would be groups of people who banded together to enact their sickest fantasies.

TimSuggs · « **Reply #55 on:** December 31, 2008, 10:33:46 AM »

Quote from: swanson on December 24, 2008, 10:59:07 AM

timsuggs,
http://www.graphicaudio.net/c-66-survivalist.aspx
swanson

Thanks my friend! I will like it, VERY much!

Tim.

Sister Wolf · « **Reply #56 on:** December 31, 2008, 11:09:08 AM »

Quote from: Jwatt on December 30, 2008, 02:02:14 PM

Both authors imagined there would be groups of people who banded together to enact their sickest fantasies.

Like Politicians?

Jwatt · « **Reply #57 on:** December 31, 2008, 11:28:51 AM »

No, like writers

TimSuggs · « **Reply #58 on:** January 01, 2009, 07:57:51 AM »

Quote from: Sister Wolf on December 31, 2008, 11:09:08 AM

Quote from: Jwatt on December 30, 2008, 02:02:14 PM
Both authors imagined there would be groups of people who banded together to enact their sickest fantasies.

Like Politicians?

Good one Sister Wolf! And so true too. A New Year's +1 fer ya!

Tim.

railroadman · « **Reply #59 on:** January 10, 2009, 06:48:10 PM »

i'm in the middle of reading Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series and I'm trying to figure it out. My thinking is that it is some sort of post-apocalyptic fiction but I'm not figuring it out yet. Its part of the mystery I guess. I just started "Wolves of the Calla"

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Author Topic: Classic survivalist or post apocalyptic books (Read 90205 times)

Lucretius

tash

Lucretius

Judith

Lucretius

railroadman