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I went through almost the entire Going Home series, and the only reason I can explain it is because, "I wasted this much time, so why not finish it?"
The first book talks about places I know, and know well, so it had me hooked. The Bottomless Backpack of Useful Shit just kept going, and going, and going... Eventually, it turned into what felt like another series of Ahern books, and I eventually wrote it off as wasted time. |
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Quoted: I don't feel so bad about not finishing that. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I liked the first 2/3 of SevenEves. Very gripping, technical stuff.. once you get to the "end" I didn't much care anymore. They've been working on a film adaptation for years, not sure how'd they'd do it justice in anything less than a mini series. Me either, penguin. |
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Quoted: This exact thread is why I wrote my own ten years ago. The genre got flooded with some good but mostly even more bad stuff after I published and I haven’t read SHTF/post collapse since. I wrote the guilty pleasure story that I would want to read. A book you can read on the toilet without the good guy getting it all right all the time and a little humor sprinkled throughout. What turned into a trilogy did really well, but never gets mentioned in book recommendation threads like these. That’s not why I wrote my stuff but hard to ignore lol Starts with Against the Grain by Ian Daniels View Quote Fuck it. I'll try your stuff, if for no other reason than Milner. |
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I can highly recommend ‘The Remaining’ and the ‘Harden’ series as well, same Author & Characters.
Quoted: Ringo is great until he outsources the writing when he gets bored like he did with Black Tide. Zombie Rules is a great series. The Remaining is very good. The Arisen series is great. William Allen has some excellent teotwawki books as does Stephen Fuchs. View Quote |
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Monica! Grew up reading these throughout high school. Have all the books!
Quoted: Honestly, I thing this genre has always attracted a fairly low brow level of writing. I think I recall reading a SHTF series where the main hero had a pair of Detonics Combat Master pistols in dual shoulder rigs? I may be confusing some details... My personal guilty pleasure in the past for SHTF action was this series: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/314595/220px-Pilgrimage_to_Hell_jpg-2030619.JPG which is basically post-apocalyptic Snake Plissken and his super hot, sexually willing but slightly mutated girlfriend (plus a gang of misfits) wander the wastelands and right wrongs. Or something. There's a fairly significant sci-fi aspect to this series, so maybe it's not pure "SHTF" fiction. View Quote |
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Malevel, The Road, and two older ones by John Christopher....Ragged Edge and No Blade OF Grass................
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@Scratch45 what is the issue with Rawles? Quite enjoyed the series no nothing about him otherwise
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There were several decent ones over in Survival Forum. Not in SF, but you can Google find it: Aftermath by AL Steiner You have to suspend some disbelief and not mind some kinky sex. But it was enjoyable. |
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Quoted: I read the first one and remember liking it. I’ll have to check out the others. View Quote I actually had them priced lower but the last time I went through and re-edited some things Amazon had reset the minimum prices. Deep winter was great. Well the first two in that series anyway. That, one second after, patriots and a few others were some of the bigger books in the genre when I started. Never did finish patriots. So they got me kind of hooked, then I read all the other stuff… Incidentally, make sure you guys leave reviews if you like a book. Amazon’s algorithms are based on views, downloads, and purchases so it won’t show up in the lists of similar products or whatever unless the specific book reaches some magic number that they won’t tell you what it is. Reviews are crucial for small time guys like me that want to know if the second one in a series is liked more than the first, what worked and maybe what can be better. Plus, when you’re shopping, you’re going to pick the ones with more and better reviews. |
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Forgotten Forbidden America
Blue Plague Dark Titan Without Law (Super campy, lighthearted, fun, x rated) The Bonner Incident |
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Quoted: Quoted: Not the typical apocalyptic. John Ringo's take on Larry Correia's series. https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Hunter-Memoirs-3-book-series/dp/B074C1RQ16?ref=dbs_m_mng_rwt_0000_ext Monster Hunter Memoirs Grunge, Sinner, & Saints Ridiculously good reading. RIP Iron Hand SPOILERS!!!! I read and listen to that series at least once a year. |
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Quoted: The 10-book "Survivalist series" by 'A. American' was pretty good. (first book is "Going Home") Basically in the first book, the main character is 250 miles from home when there's some sort of EMP I believe? Been a while.. I know he has to walk home, and has a GHB (Get Home Bag) with him. One of the other characters jokes that has "everything but the kitchen sink" in it, which isn't far from the truth... I'd like to know how heavy the pack would be in real life. The editing in the first few books were poor but get better in later books. The supporting characters are great, slick conversations I thought. It is rare that I come to actually care about characters in a book, and you'd hate to see them killed off.... There's plenty of name-dropping for gear here, and as long as you can suspend your disbelief it is entertaining, and hauntingly prophetic at times. Slight spoilers: There are FEMA camps, pyschos in power, and roving gangs of criminals. View Quote That series was hot garbage. I made it through book 5 on a friend's recommendation and couldn't torture myself any further. I honestly thought/think the writer is a gear queer who owns a survival store somewhere, and the series was just an ad campaign to hawk the shit he sells. 60+lb backpack with THREE different cooking systems, TWO different sleep systems...who TF would carry all that shit. And encountering various random people he encounters in a nationwide grid down scenario who just want to throw a feast for him and/or give him all sorts of cool/free shit? Lol. Everyone is either a) ridiculously unprepared, or b) apparently so well prepared, that they can throw feasts and give away all kinds of gear. If you want something similar but written a lot better without the ridiculous idiocy, read Franklin Horton's 'Borrowed World' and 'Locker Nine' series. Currently my favorite author in the post-apocalyptic genre. |
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For a good story about a smaller SHTF situation I recommend Devolution by Max Brooks.
You'll start out hating the characters, but they will grow through the story as they're faced to confront real world challenges followed up by some crypid ones. |
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Quoted: The 10-book "Survivalist series" by 'A. American' was pretty good. (first book is "Going Home") Basically in the first book, the main character is 250 miles from home when there's some sort of EMP I believe? Been a while.. I know he has to walk home, and has a GHB (Get Home Bag) with him. One of the other characters jokes that has "everything but the kitchen sink" in it, which isn't far from the truth... I'd like to know how heavy the pack would be in real life. The editing in the first few books were poor but get better in later books. The supporting characters are great, slick conversations I thought. It is rare that I come to actually care about characters in a book, and you'd hate to see them killed off.... There's plenty of name-dropping for gear here, and as long as you can suspend your disbelief it is entertaining, and hauntingly prophetic at times. Slight spoilers: There are FEMA camps, pyschos in power, and roving gangs of criminals. View Quote I enjoyed the series as well |
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Quoted: The Third World War by General Sir John Hackett. Written in the late 70s and a glimpse into what WW3 could have been like. A real British General, who held high commands and was a bad ass in WWII. http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1183080736l/1375759.jpg This book is credited as being an influence on the style and format of how World War Z was written. View Quote |
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Quoted: There are all time greats, for sure Lucifer's Hammer Light's Out One Second After Earth Abides Alas, Babylon The Scarlett Plague The Stand ETC and good mediocre - at least good food for thought Unintended Consequences Patriots by that weirdo James Wesley Rawles and a metric sh*t ton of crap. I wish the genre attracted better writers. View Quote |
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Quoted: The Third World War by General Sir John Hackett. Written in the late 70s and a glimpse into what WW3 could have been like. A real British General, who held high commands and was a bad ass in WWII. http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1183080736l/1375759.jpg This book is credited as being an influence on the style and format of how World War Z was written. View Quote I have the hardcover of this in the office. Always liked it. |
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Quoted: That series was hot garbage. I made it through book 5 on a friend's recommendation and couldn't torture myself any further. I honestly thought/think the writer is a gear queer who owns a survival store somewhere, and the series was just an ad campaign to hawk the shit he sells. View Quote Gear Queering turns me off, every time. If there are three or more brands introduced within the first two pages, I'm out. Slam it shut, find something else to do/read. "...The unexpected click sound coming from GQ Bob's Heckler and Koch MP 5 slapped him across the face with its 'Hey, Bob! You're out of Hirtenberger L12A1! Whatcha gonna do now?' cheery and unwanted message, and he reluctantly let the German weapon fall, side-slung, as he stoically drew his Emerson Bulldog folder from his now bloody Ranger 5.11 tactical patrol shorts. This wasn't how he'd planned to spend his afternoon." |
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Quoted: Gear Queering turns me off, every time. If there are three or more brands introduced within the first two pages, I'm out. Slam it shut, find something else to do/read. "...The unexpected click sound coming from GQ Bob's Heckler and Koch MP 5 slapped him across the face with its 'Hey, Bob! You're out of Hirtenberger L12A1! Whatcha gonna do now?' cheery and unwanted message, and he reluctantly let the German weapon fall, side-slung, as he stoically drew his Emerson Bulldog folder from his now bloody Ranger 5.11 tactical patrol shorts. This wasn't how he'd planned to spend his afternoon." View Quote You can feel the author living his fantasies through his work when you see that stuff. It's pretty funny. |
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Quoted: At least I have John Ringo, even though he never really finishes a story arc. View Quote This is so true that it's hilarious! |
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Quoted: I actually had them priced lower but the last time I went through and re-edited some things Amazon had reset the minimum prices. Deep winter was great. Well the first two in that series anyway. That, one second after, patriots and a few others were some of the bigger books in the genre when I started. Never did finish patriots. So they got me kind of hooked, then I read all the other stuff… Incidentally, make sure you guys leave reviews if you like a book. Amazon’s algorithms are based on views, downloads, and purchases so it won’t show up in the lists of similar products or whatever unless the specific book reaches some magic number that they won’t tell you what it is. Reviews are crucial for small time guys like me that want to know if the second one in a series is liked more than the first, what worked and maybe what can be better. Plus, when you’re shopping, you’re going to pick the ones with more and better reviews. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I read the first one and remember liking it. I’ll have to check out the others. I actually had them priced lower but the last time I went through and re-edited some things Amazon had reset the minimum prices. Deep winter was great. Well the first two in that series anyway. That, one second after, patriots and a few others were some of the bigger books in the genre when I started. Never did finish patriots. So they got me kind of hooked, then I read all the other stuff… Incidentally, make sure you guys leave reviews if you like a book. Amazon’s algorithms are based on views, downloads, and purchases so it won’t show up in the lists of similar products or whatever unless the specific book reaches some magic number that they won’t tell you what it is. Reviews are crucial for small time guys like me that want to know if the second one in a series is liked more than the first, what worked and maybe what can be better. Plus, when you’re shopping, you’re going to pick the ones with more and better reviews. I'll be picking them up next time I order something, too. |
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Quoted: Zombie -- Black Summer on Netflix. Season two was just recently added. I hope it is as good as the first. Apocalypse -- To The Lake, also on Netflix. View Quote Black Summer Season 2 was very meh. There is one episode that stands out in the second season, and it doesn't actually have much to do with the plot or setting (which is kinda counter-intuitive). You'll probably recognize it when you see it. The rest of it's extremely predictable, and the events at/of the ending seemed forced (and somewhat predictable). |
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Quoted: For a good story about a smaller SHTF situation I recommend Devolution by Max Brooks. You'll start out hating the characters, but they will grow through the story as they're faced to confront real world challenges followed up by some crypid ones. View Quote That's a good one. |
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Quoted: Go to the survival fiction forum here and look up sharkman6 and D C Bourone. You’re welcome. View Quote DC Bourone. The Soldier's Son. It's on Amazon. Really well written, and the author is a real dude that does man stuff. He's currently out on some trek in the wilderness and sent me this a few days ago. Attached File |
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Quoted: This exact thread is why I wrote my own ten years ago. The genre got flooded with some good but mostly even more bad stuff after I published and I haven’t read SHTF/post collapse since. I wrote the guilty pleasure story that I would want to read. A book you can read on the toilet without the good guy getting it all right all the time and a little humor sprinkled throughout. What turned into a trilogy did really well, but never gets mentioned in book recommendation threads like these. That’s not why I wrote my stuff but hard to ignore lol Starts with Against the Grain by Ian Daniels View Quote I'll give it a try. |
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Quoted: The Stand.awesome, until the belly flop end. View Quote Like all of King's work. His collection of short stories is the only thing that I finished reading without being pissed off at him "phoning in" the ending. I just made a couple of Kindle purchases to support a fellow arfcommer, will leave a review when I am done on Amazon. |
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The book can be found by searching "DCBourone The Soldier's Son" Amazon etc. Sample text:
He had stopped the Crown Vic at the top of a gentle rise, sloped in both directions and he walked the road a few yards to look back south. Look back in the direction he had come. On the very far horizon he thought he could see the palest glow in the night sky, that would be San Antonio. Brian had to remind himself that worldwide, the lights were still on. For awhile, at least. The atmospheric glow of this distant city wasn't an illusion. The infrastructure of the world was still intact. The Sinai Nuke had not killed anybody, or vaporized, let's say, Moscow, or London, or Paris, or New York, or Los Angeles. But Brian considered that the Sinai Nuke might have done something stranger, and even worse than killing a city of millions, if such a thing were possible. The Sinai Nuke had destroyed an essential narrative of the world: that nuclear weapons were safe. That nuclear weapons would never be used. Could never be used. That the governments of the world could keep the nuclear genie in its bottle, forever. And that by implication the governments of the world could protect everyone, forever. And that the systems and methods and institutions of man might not be perfect, but certain thresholds would never be crossed. It was as if that distant explosion had found a fracture line in the consciousness of the entire world. Brian knew that somehow the effect had been much larger than a fear of failing stock markets, abandoned currencies, feeble politicians, regional wars. Somehow, everything was in doubt. He wondered how fragile the world had been, that it had broken so fast... He traced the lettering on his weapon with his thumb. Inconceivable that he had already used it once. And would presumably, use it again. "Remington Arms Co., Ilion N.Y." "Made in U.S.A." The edges of the stamped letters polished flat. The steel blued the color of sapphire. An elegant weapon from a simpler time... Now reduced to the equivalent of a nail studded bat. He could still feel the ridges where he had hack-sawed the barrel. The splintered grip where he had cut off the stock. A sawed off 12 gauge shotgun reassured because it suggested that any episode of violence would be brief, and close; that he would be the aggressor, and that by and with his aggression he would surely prevail. The shotgun suggested simple solutions, to simple problems. Brian knew these were delusions approaching fantasy. He knew that in this bleakest of all futures he would need to use and understand every possible complexity of weapon, and that every possible complexity of weapon would be aimed at him. He wondered how long he would live. He wondered how he should count the days of his life. In months. Or weeks. Or days... He had a new thought, ever so brief, just the slightest breath of a new idea: in some strange way, perhaps the Sinai Nuke had also done the world a peculiar kind of favor. Brian was not religious. He believed in no spirits. He had always thought his version of prayer was a shout into darkness, a scream into an empty church. But for many years, he had felt like some kind of Old World, Biblical Devil was winning. Yes--That Devil. That Devil was winning... |
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Just purchased it. Look forward to reading on my next flight
Quoted: The book can be found by searching "DCBourone The Soldier's Son" Amazon etc. Sample text: He had stopped the Crown Vic at the top of a gentle rise, sloped in both directions and he walked the road a few yards to look back south. Look back in the direction he had come. On the very far horizon he thought he could see the palest glow in the night sky, that would be San Antonio. Brian had to remind himself that worldwide, the lights were still on. For awhile, at least. The atmospheric glow of this distant city wasn't an illusion. The infrastructure of the world was still intact. The Sinai Nuke had not killed anybody, or vaporized, let's say, Moscow, or London, or Paris, or New York, or Los Angeles. But Brian considered that the Sinai Nuke might have done something stranger, and even worse than killing a city of millions, if such a thing were possible. The Sinai Nuke had destroyed an essential narrative of the world: that nuclear weapons were safe. That nuclear weapons would never be used. Could never be used. That the governments of the world could keep the nuclear genie in its bottle, forever. And that by implication the governments of the world could protect everyone, forever. And that the systems and methods and institutions of man might not be perfect, but certain thresholds would never be crossed. It was as if that distant explosion had found a fracture line in the consciousness of the entire world. Brian knew that somehow the effect had been much larger than a fear of failing stock markets, abandoned currencies, feeble politicians, regional wars. Somehow, everything was in doubt. He wondered how fragile the world had been, that it had broken so fast... He traced the lettering on his weapon with his thumb. Inconceivable that he had already used it once. And would presumably, use it again. "Remington Arms Co., Ilion N.Y." "Made in U.S.A." The edges of the stamped letters polished flat. The steel blued the color of sapphire. An elegant weapon from a simpler time... Now reduced to the equivalent of a nail studded bat. He could still feel the ridges where he had hack-sawed the barrel. The splintered grip where he had cut off the stock. A sawed off 12 gauge shotgun reassured because it suggested that any episode of violence would be brief, and close; that he would be the aggressor, and that by and with his aggression he would surely prevail. The shotgun suggested simple solutions, to simple problems. Brian knew these were delusions approaching fantasy. He knew that in this bleakest of all futures he would need to use and understand every possible complexity of weapon, and that every possible complexity of weapon would be aimed at him. He wondered how long he would live. He wondered how he should count the days of his life. In months. Or weeks. Or days... He had a new thought, ever so brief, just the slightest breath of a new idea: in some strange way, perhaps the Sinai Nuke had also done the world a peculiar kind of favor. Brian was not religious. He believed in no spirits. He had always thought his version of prayer was a shout into darkness, a scream into an empty church. But for many years, he had felt like some kind of Old World, Biblical Devil was winning. Yes--That Devil. That Devil was winning... View Quote |
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Quoted: I would say probably because it was written by someone who knew WTF he was writing about. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Read that as a teenager. "Shovel, this is six, oh my God!" Loved that book. I would say probably because it was written by someone who knew WTF he was writing about. |
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Quoted: I really enjoyed the Adrian Ring series written by Chris Philbrook. It's a bit different as it's a 1st person narrative written in the format of a journal but I found it pretty entertaining. Plus most of the characters aren't stupid.which is an added bonus. View Quote It was fun, but it felt like the author had a hard time asking, "What would a reasonable person do here?" |
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I've collected Post-apoc literature for going on 40 years.
The trend towards self-publishing and offering some of these newer SHTF authors a print edition of what should be an e-book at best is not doing the genre any favors. |
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Quoted: Zombie -- Black Summer on Netflix. Season two was just recently added. I hope it is as good as the first. View Quote They definitely improved all around. Season 1 seemed like sort of a test case, a proof of concept project set in the early days of the Z Nation universe. Unlike Z Nation, they went the serious route, and imo pulled it off. Production values were slightly lacking but they did a great job with what they had. Keep in mind, Z Nation was basically youtube-levels of production quality. Season 2 of BS is even more serious, and much more realistic in its depictions of the levels of savagery and barbarism a starving society would descend to. It is darker, grittier and meaner than season 1. Doesn't even feel zombie-centric, just apocalyptic in general and how bad it would be on every level. I recommend. |
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Quoted: This exact thread is why I wrote my own ten years ago. The genre got flooded with some good but mostly even more bad stuff after I published and I haven’t read SHTF/post collapse since. I wrote the guilty pleasure story that I would want to read. A book you can read on the toilet without the good guy getting it all right all the time and a little humor sprinkled throughout. What turned into a trilogy did really well, but never gets mentioned in book recommendation threads like these. That’s not why I wrote my stuff but hard to ignore lol Starts with Against the Grain by Ian Daniels View Quote Doenloaded your book after reading this and am 3/4 of the way through it. I'm liking it. |
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