Good SHTF Survival Fiction Books

[suspiciousmind]

Finished Days of Wrath a while back.. Forgot to post! Should be required reading for sure.

I cringed knowing he was walking into thst school packing only a little LCP with no spare mag. Edited April 21, 2015 by suspiciousmind

[hipower]

So plausible that it is very hard to read.

I placed it alongside The Road, in bleak intensity.

[jdd65]

Some great titles mentioned already.  Some I have read, many I have not.

 

I would have to say one of my favorites is  "Mountain Man" by Vardis Fisher.  Although not really a "survival book" per se, it got me started on my preparedness journey when I was very young.  Growing up in an urban area, all the descriptions of bushcraft, especially all the outdoor cooking, transfixed my imagination and  inspired me to start learning about those skills.

 

Shortly after finishing that book, my dad gave me "Lucifer's Hammer" and I was hooked.

[hipower]

Some great titles mentioned already.  Some I have read, many I have not.

 

I would have to say one of my favorites is  "Mountain Man" by Vardis Fisher.  Although not really a "survival book" per se, it got me started on my preparedness journey when I was very young.  Growing up in an urban area, all the descriptions of bushcraft, especially all the outdoor cooking, transfixed my imagination and  inspired me to start learning about those skills.

 

Shortly after finishing that book, my dad gave me "Lucifer's Hammer" and I was hooked.

 

Lucifer's Hammer. Wow Brings back many memories. Must read Jerry Pournelle's works again. Those are excellent.

[dawgdoc]

I considered sending "Day of Wrath" to each member of my school board ( who have refused to authorize school carry, which they have the power to do under state law), but I figure someone would take it as a threat. I told my wife that it is horrifying, but every parent should read it, and now she is.

I have a small issue with the author. In both ths book and "One Second After," he mentions when a group of citizens band together that there were a variety of guns, including illegal machine guns. Now I understand that the narrator is omniscient, but he could have just as easily called them rare but legal machine guns.

Also, he doesn't name the gun as an LCP, but it sems obvoius that is one,mup until the slide locks back on empty. A minor quibble.

[Mark A]

I've kind of slowed down my reading in this genre as I'm pretty much caught up on all of the various series. Because of that I've gone back and started re-reading some of the classics.

 

I'd kind of forgotten what it is like to read books from experienced, polished authors. I spent the last few months reading Asimov and and others and it was really shocking to read them and then come back to the new breed of authors. In general the new guys are pretty hard to read until you stay with them a while.

 

I'm happy electronic publishing is giving new authors better exposure but some of them are real hacks...

 

Mark

[Mark A]

BTW, the new Olympus Device book is out.

 

Just started it...

[plank white]

I've kind of slowed down my reading in this genre as I'm pretty much caught up on all of the various series. Because of that I've gone back and started re-reading some of the classics.

 

I'd kind of forgotten what it is like to read books from experienced, polished authors. I spent the last few months reading Asimov and and others and it was really shocking to read them and then come back to the new breed of authors. In general the new guys are pretty hard to read until you stay with them a while.

 

I'm happy electronic publishing is giving new authors better exposure but some of them are real hacks...

 

Mark

I used to feel the same way but it is really hard. I just finished doing a complete overhaul on my first book yesterday and updating it with the help of my wife. I have seen some that are really bad, some that are okay, and some that have been professionally proofread and edited. Personally I would love to have my short stories proofread and edited professionally but I have been quoted at 10 cents per word and up for anyone worth paying, and even with a short story at 24,000 words I just can't afford to pay that.

 

I am very new to writing, though I've been reading for years and always wanted to take a shot at it, so I did. I knew if I'd had to wait and pay an editor and everything else I simply would have never published it. Book one did have quite a few errors that my eyes just don't seem to pick up when I try to edit my own work. My wife spotted something on nearly every single page so I'm thankful she helped. I imagine both books will still have some errors though and I just can't afford to have them done right. I think I've made about 6.00 on both books, lol but If I ever get the extra funds and can afford it I may try a professional editor at least once. 

Edited April 24, 2015 by plank white

[hipower]

I've kind of slowed down my reading in this genre as I'm pretty much caught up on all of the various series. Because of that I've gone back and started re-reading some of the classics.
 
I'd kind of forgotten what it is like to read books from experienced, polished authors. I spent the last few months reading Asimov and and others and it was really shocking to read them and then come back to the new breed of authors. In general the new guys are pretty hard to read until you stay with them a while.
 
I'm happy electronic publishing is giving new authors better exposure but some of them are real hacks...
 
Mark

Truth! I concur.

[Moped]

I would agree about polish on some of these books. Just finished The Survivors: Life After War. Kind of a post apocalypse fantasy. It was entertaining, but lacked depth and substance. Definitely not near as polished as George R.R. Martin.

[Erik88]

They are making a sequel to One Second After. I'm pretty excited about it.

 

http://www.amazon.com/One-Year-After-William-Forstchen/dp/0765376709

[Jamie Jackson]

Me too Erik. As I mentioned above I've already pre-ordered it...took him a bit and definitely hope it holds true to form and quality.

But judging by "Dies Irae: Day of Wrath" it shouldn't disappoint.

[Moped]

I like Forstchen's other books as well. He is a pretty good author! He doesn't just write post acocalypse books. Edited May 3, 2015 by Moped

[hipower]

Thought we'd already talked about this one, Dies Irae: Day of Wrath. Hmmm, getting memory loss I guess.

 

But I did read it and will say that it's every bit as disturbing as One Second After, and equally as thought provoking.

 

It really spotlights how easily the "security" of this nation can be compromised, and how quickly and devastatingly efficient a pack of terrorists could level a portion of the infrastructure to the point of mass panic.

 

 

OOPS! Silly me. I read that post incorrectly. Yes, One Year After is on the way.

 

Sort of let down that it doesn't continue with the same group of people, but this will allow more freedom in writing I guess.

Edited May 3, 2015 by hipower

[Jamie Jackson]

What happened?

 

Did you guys quit reading?

 

Was there something in the Obama/Republicrats new trade agreement banning PAW books?  :ugh:

 

 

 

Just in case I'm wrong... :cool:

 

Joe Nobody Book 10 of the Bishop series (The Toymaker) is pretty darn good so far, but I have just started it.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Toymaker-Holding-Their-Own-10/dp/1939473292/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433939427&sr=1-1&keywords=joe+nobody+books

 

and I have The Olympus Device Book 3 sitting on my nightstand to read.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Device-Book-Three/dp/1511593601/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433939625&sr=1-2&keywords=joe+nobody+books

 

 

 

A non-fiction book I would highly recommend to anyone interested in shooting, training, and relatively recent historical evolution of firearms training is:

 

Newhall Shooting:A Tactical Analysis by Michael E. Wood

 

http://www.amazon.com/Newhall-Shooting-Enforcements-Deadliest-Shootings/dp/144024099X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433939904&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=the+newhall+incident

 

Mr. Wood dispels a few of the "myths", or simply non-truths related to the Newhall incident that have permeated firearms training for a few decades now...such as "the officers put their spent brass in their pockets like they were taught to do on the practice range"...

The book is well written and extremely well documented with detailed references. It's more than worth your time if you have the interest.

 

 

So...if you folks still read books...What ya reading? :pleased:

[Erik88]

Prag, I'm still reading quite a bit. Here are some good ones I've read lately.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XQAQPIM/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o00_?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I really enjoyed this one. I know it's another EMP book but I found the plot and action to be better than most.

 

Book 6 of the Survivalist Series was great as usual.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V2GMFYK/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o01_?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

The most recent Last Stand book was also good.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VGF2DNK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o07_

[Jamie Jackson]

Thank you Erik. I knew you wouldn't let me down. :up:

 

I've read The Survivalist series and Last Stand up to, but not including, the ones you linked...They are now on my list.

 

1500 Miles looks good as well. Good reviews, especially regarding character development...which isn't always present in this genre unfortunately. Thanks for the head's up.

 

I always get anxious when I'm down to 1 or 2 books left to read in the "stack". :pleased:

[Defender]

They are making a sequel to One Second After. I'm pretty excited about it.

 

http://www.amazon.com/One-Year-After-William-Forstchen/dp/0765376709

Can hardly wait!

[dawgdoc]

On a related note, anyone watch "The Last Ship" on TNT?  I just finished season 1 in anticipation of season 2 that starts Sunday.  Also "Falling Skies" season premiere will be in 2 weeks.  Both are TEOTWAWKI shows, and now the "The Last Ship" is back on the mainland.  The surprise reveal of the last episode had a Soylent Green feel to it.

 

For a network founded by a big liberal, both shows heavily lean toward the issues that many of us embrace.  I've always thought it was a gutsy move to give Noah Wyle, who plays the principal character on "Falling Skies" an AK.  To us, it makes sense because he is a teacher turned soldier who apparently had little firearms experience, but to the average American, AKs are the bad guys' guns.

[Erik88]

Just finished two books I would recommend. 

 

I was really surprised how much I liked this first one. Zombie books can be corny but this one wasn't.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Convoy-19-A-Zombie-Novel-ebook/dp/B00QWGKK0G/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1435114120&sr=8-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WUNS1AQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o03_

[Mark A]

I'm a slacker for not updating in this thread. I didn't think I would like the The Perseid Collapse by Steven Konkoly (I think that is right) but it turned out to be pretty good. They also have a bunch of other writers developing stories that are complimentary to the books in the Amazon World program. 1 or 2 of these weren't great but most of them were pretty good and they are pretty cheap. In some cases the story lines filled in backstories of characters that were not main characters in the books. In other cases the stories covered things that happened that were not in the book at all. Several of these really added to the overall vision of the books.

 

Mark

[Mark A]

Just finished two books I would recommend. 

 

I was really surprised how much I liked this first one. Zombie books can be corny but this one wasn't.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Convoy-19-A-Zombie-Novel-ebook/dp/B00QWGKK0G/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1435114120&sr=8-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WUNS1AQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o03_

I added that to my inbox, thanks

[felinesNfreedom]

So I purchased "Dies Irae: Day of Wrath" last night and got through about 1/2 of it before bed. I wake up this morning and the first thing I see online is that ISIS has attached a Beach resort...... Good read so far, I loved 1 minute after and I am looking forward to his next one.

[Mark A]

I can see it now (random redneck guy headed to the beach): Honey, does this body armor and AR make my butt look big? 

 

No dear but the thong speedo isn't helping any...

 

 

Then we will get a whole series of posts about how to keep sand out of the BCG...

[felinesNfreedom]

I can see it now (random redneck guy headed to the beach): Honey, does this body armor and AR make my butt look big? 

 

No dear but the thong speedo isn't helping any...

 

 

Then we will get a whole series of posts about how to keep sand out of the BCG...

 

 

Just carry and AK and it does not matter if sand gets in it.... or your ham sandwich.