Too much hard core erotica for my taste

Yeah...  After awhile your thinking to yourself.... "DUDE....  Can you spend more time on staying alive and quit thinking with your penis the entire time?"   LOL     BUT...  if you skip past the sex parts of "Aftermath" it's a very well done story of survival after the SHTF...  

If you keep in mind the site the story was written for is a SEX story site and not a post-apocalyptic story site, it makes a bit more sense.

Aftermath is one of my favorite stories & not just for the poon parts  It is a very well written book and I read it every year or two.

We're currently having our semi-annual city book sale, one of the biggest ones in the country.

http://www.booksale.org/

I always try to hit the first and last days of the sale; first day for the stuff that'll disappear quick, and last day for the cheap remnants. I walked out with about 20 TEOTWAWKI books for my collection on the first day this last weekend.

If anyone is looking for a particular hard to find SHTF novel or author , Foxfire book on the cheap, etc, let me know and I'll keep an eye open for you when I go the last day of the sale.

I hope everybody who's offended by it won't be too offended by TSHTF. There's liable to be lots of sex and violence then, and it might be hard to keep their eyes closed for all of it.

Right now I am reading Wastelands, an anthology edited by John Joseph Adams and published by Nightshade Books. Twenty short stories about PAW societies. Half way through it and the stories are so-so.

Last night I downloaded a sample of "Patriots".

The opening sequence read like something from the current headlines.

I downloaded the whole eBook this morning....

The Granddaddy of all EOTWAWKI books:

The Last Man by Mary Shelley

http://books.google.com/books?id=qL8NAAAAQAAJ&dq=inauthor:Mary+inauthor:Shelley&lr=&as_brr=1
edit:
since others have posted a list of their collection, i will do the same. I am sure I've missed a few that are scattered in the rest of my collection, but here goes.

A Canticle for LeibowitzWalter M. Miller, Jr
A Gift Upon the ShoreM.K. Wren
A Heritage of StarsClifford D. Simak
A Hunters FireFloyd D. Dale
A Hymn Before BattleJohn Ringo
A meeting at CorvalisS.M. Stirling
A Sweet Sweet SummerJane Gaskell
A Time for DragonsGary Gentile
After the BombGloria D. Miklowitz
After the RainJohn Bowen
AftermathCharles Sheffield
AftershockChuck Scarborough
AfterwarJanet Morris ( editor )
Against the Fall of NightArthur C. Clarke
Against the Tide of Years                     S.M. Stirling
Alas, BabylonPat Frank
The Alien YearsRobert Silverberg
All Fools dayEdmund Cooper
Alongside NightJ. Neil Schulman
AgviqMichael Armstrong
Among MadmenJim Starlin, Daina Graziunas
The Andromeda StrainMichael Crichton
ArielSteven R. Boyett
Armageddon 2419 A.D.Philip Francis Nowlan
Armageddon’s ChildrenTerry Brooks
ArmorJohn Steakley
Ashes AshesRene Barjavel
AtlantisGreg Donegan
Ballroom of the SkiesJohn D. MacDonald
BeastsJohn Crowley
Between the Strokes of NightCharles Sheffield
Beyond ArmageddonWalter M Miller Jr ( editor )
Beyond the Burning LandsJohn Christopher
The Black DeathGwyneth Cravens, John S. Marr
Black MondayBob Reiss
Body Armor: 2000Joe Haldeman ( editor )
Bone DanceEmma Bull
The Breaking EarthKeith Laumer
Califia’s DaughtersLeigh Richards
Cally’s warJohn Ringo, Julie Cochrane
The Calling of BaraSheila Sullivan
CarriersPatrick Lynch
Cataclysm :Day the World DiedDon Pendleton
Chapterhouse DuneFrank Herbert
Chicago RedR.M. Meluch
Childhoods EndArthur C. Clarke
Children of DuneFrank Herbert
City of IllusionsUrsula K. LeGuin
ConquistadorS.M. Stirling
Costigan’s NeedleJerry Sohl
Countdown to MidnightH. Bruce Franklin ( editor)
The Country of the Blind                     Michael Flynn
Damnation AlleyRoger Zelazny
Dark DecemberAlfred Coppel
Darkening IslandChristopher Priest
DavyEdgar Pangborn
Dawns Uncertain LightNeal Barrett, Jr
The Day After Doomsday                     Rena Vale
The Day New York Went DryCharles Einstein
The Day the Oceans Overflowed-         Charles L. Fontenay
The Day of the DronesA.M. Lightner
Daybreak-2250 A.D.Andre Norton
Dead MornPiers Anthony, Roberto Fuentes
Deadly ImageEdmund Cooper
DeathdayWilliam C. Dietz
Deep FathomJames Rollins
Deus Ex MachinaJ.V. Brummels
DhalgrenSamuel R. Delany
Dies the FireS.M. Stirling
DomainJames Herbert
DoomsdayFred Warshofsky
Down There in the DarknessGeorge Turner
Down to a Sunless SeaDavid Graham
The DroughtJ.G. Ballard
The Drowned WorldJ. G. Ballard
DuneFrank Herbert
DustCharles Pellegrino
The DyingLeslie Horvitz
EarthriseWilliam C. Dietz
Earth WinterRichard Moran
Earthwreck!Thomas N. Scortia
Ecotopia EmergingErnest Callenback
The EdictMax Ehrlich
EmpireOrson Scott Card
The Empire of IceRichard Moran
The End of the DreamJohn Brunner
ErewhonSamuel Butler
Eternity RoadJack McDevitt
Evolutions ShoreIan McDonald
Exiles TrilogyBen Bova
Exit EarthMartin Caidin
Fallen AngelsLarry Niven, jerry Pournelle, Michael Flynn
False DawnChelsea Quinn Yarbro
Farnham’s FreeholdRobert A. Heinlein
Fire LanceDavid Mace
FireworksJames A. Moore
The First to AwakenGranville Hicks
FootfallLarry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Footprints of ThunderJames F. David
The Forever HeroL.E. Modesitt, Jr
The Forever WarJoe Haldeman
Future PrimitiveKim Stanley Robinson ( editor )
The Gate to Women’s CountrySheri  S. Tepper
Gorgon ChildSteven Barnes
The Green RainPaul Tabori
GreybeardBrian W. Aldiss
Gust FrontJohn Ringo
The HarvestRobert Charles Wilson
HeatArthur Herzog
Heavy WeatherBruce Sterling
Hell’s FaireJohn Ringo
Hello AmericaJ.G. Ballard
Here Abide MonstersAndre Norton
Heretics of DuneFrank Herbert
Hiero’s JourneySterling E. Lanier
The Hot ZoneRichard Preston
IceAnna Kavan
Ice!Arnold Federbush
Ice and IronWilson Tucker
The Ice SchoonerMichael Moorcock
Ice QuakeCrawford Kilian
Ill WindKevin J. Anderson, Doug Beason
The ImmortalsTracy Hickman
In The DriftTerry Carr ( editor )
Island in the Sea of Time                      S.M. Stirling
IrisWilliam Barton. Michael capobiango
IronmasterPatrick Tilley
The Last BreathEugene Carl Shaffer
The Last Hope of EarthLan Wright
The Last ShipWilliam Brinkley
The Last World WarDayton Ward
Level 7Mordecai Roshwald
Logans RunWilliam F. Nolan, George Clayton Johnson
Logans WorldWilliam F. Nolan
The Long Afternoon of EarthBrian Aldiss
The Long TomorrowLeigh Brackett
Long Voyage BackLuke Rhinehart
The Long WinterJohn Christopher
Looking BackwardEdward Bellamy
The Lost ContinentEdgar Rice Burroughs
Lost HorizonJames Hilton
Lucifers HammerLarry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Make Room! Make Room!                     Harry Harrison
MalevilRobert Merle
The Man Who AwokeLawrence Manning
The Marked ManCharles Ingrid
The Martian ChroniclesRay Bradbury
Maximum IceKay Kenyon
MemoriesMike McQuay
Mister TouchMalcom Bosse
MockingbirdWalter Tevis
MoonfallJack McDevitt
Nature’s EndWhitley Strieber, james Kunetka
NervesLester Del Ray
The Nitrogen FixHal Clement
No Room For manRalph S. Clem, Martin Harry Greenberg (editors )
Not This AugustC.M. Kornbluth
The Nuclear CatastropheBett Pohnka, Barbara C. Griffin
O-ZonePaul Theroux
October the First is Too LateFred Hoyle
On the BeachNevil Shute
Orion Shall RisePoul Anderson
Other AmericasNorman Spinrad ( editor )
The Parasite WarTim Sullivan
The Past Through TomorrowRobert A. Heinlein
The Peace WarVernor Vinge
People of the SkyClaire Bell
Perfect PeopleRobert Lieberman
Phantom RegimentsRobert Adams ( editor )
The PlagueAlbert Camus
Plague WarJeff Carlson
Plague YearJeff Carlson
Pockets of ResistanceWill Sundown
The PostmanDavid Brin
Pulling ThroughDean Ing
The Puppet MastersRobert A. Heinlein
Pure BloodMike McQuay
The Purple CloudM.P. Shiel
Queen City JazzKathleen Ann Goonan
Re-BirthJohn Wyndham
Red AlertPeter Bryant
Red ShadowsYvonne Navarro
Revolt in 2100Robert A. Heinlein
Rings of IcePiers Anthony
Riverworld series##Philip Jose Farmer
The RoadCormac McCarthy
The Ruins of EarthThomas M. Disch ( editor )
Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman-Walter M. Miller, Jr
The Scourge of GodS.M. Stirling
The Sea is Boiling HotGeorge Bamber
The Sheep Look UpJohn Brunner
Shudder ChildWarren C. Norwood
Single CombatDean Ing
Some Will Not DieAldis Budrys
The Steel, the Mist, and The Blazing Sun- Christopher Anvil
The Stone WarMedline E. Robins
The Sunrise LandsS.M. Stirling
SupernovaRoger MacBride, Eric Kotani
Survival 2000 series:James McPhee
Blood Quest
Frozen Fire
Renegade War
Survival MarginCharles Eric Maine
Survival WorldFrank Belknap Long
SurvivorsJohn Nahmlos
The Sword of the SpiritsJohn Christopher
Thunder of TimeJames F. David
The Time ConnectionThomas F. Monteleone
The Time of the Great FreezeRobert Silverberg
Time StormGordon R. Dickson
The Time Swept CityThomas F. Monteleone
Tomorrow!Philip Wylie
The Trinity Paradox*Kevin J Anderson, Doug Beason
TriumphPhilip Wylie
Twilight of the CityCharles Platt
Under the City of Angels                     Jerry Earl Brown
The Vampire Earth series                     E.E. Knight
VandenbergOliver Lange
Vault of the AgesPoul Anderson
VectorHenry Sutton
Voices of HopeDavid Feintuch
Voyage from YesteryearJames P.  Hogan
Walden TwoB.F. Skinner
WandererDonald E. McQuinn
War and PeaceStanley Schmidt ( editor )
War DayWhitley Strieber, James Kunetka
A War of ShadowsJack L. Chalker
WarriorDonald E. McQueen
WastelandsJohn Joseph Adams ( editor )
Watch the RhineJohn Ringo, Tom Kratman
Waters of DeathIrving A. Greenfield
The Way the World Ends                     James Morrow
When the Devil DancesJohn Ringo
When Worlds CollideEdwin Balmer, Philip Wylie
Where The Late Birds SangKate Wilhelm
Wild CountryDean Ing
The Wild ShoreKim Stanley Robinson
The Wind From Nowhere                     J.G. Ballard
WintermindMarvin Kaye. Parke Godwin
Winters DaughterCharles Whitmore
WitchDonald E. McQuinn
Wolf and IronGordon R. Dickson
The Wounded PlanetRoger Elwood, Virginia Kidd ( editors )
Year of the CloudTed Thomas, Kate Wilhelm
The Year of the Quiet Sun  Wilson Tucker
Yellow EyesJohn Ringo, Tom Kratman
8.4Peter Hernon
40 Minute WarJanet & Chris Morris
1633 ( and sequels )Eric Flint
43,000 Years LaterHorace Coon

* Not PAW. Time travel
## Not PAW, but interesting story

Just finished 'the passage" by justin cronin, 800 + page book, very well written and has alot of survival, end of the world type basis.

Book just came out this past week I believe.

This was kind of an unusual find.  Helping the kids sort through books to read over the summer, came across one my 13-year old daughter had ordered through the school book club (you know, the little flyer things they bring home every few weeks).  It was "Life As We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer.  Both my 13 and 10-year old girls had read it, and I opened it up and read the first few pages.

Now I can't hardly put it down!  Storyline is an asteroid strike on the moon, shifting the moon's orbit, and the ensuing calamity.  It's actually quite good, and very readable even for an adult.  It's told from the perspective of a teenage Pennsylvania girl's journal, and goes into the grocery, fuel and other shortages that are the regular fodder for most SHTF books.  But again, it's pretty good, and the best part is it held the interest of both my girls.  I was wondering why they never seem to question why we have such a large pantry!

This book is the first in a trilogy.  Ordering the others today.

ETA:a link

There's another series of books written for teens, called Firebrats, by Barbara and Scott Siegel. It wasn't too bad, but kind of hard to find. Also, younger readers might find the book Into the Forest, by Jean Heglund interesting.

Just finished "The Long Emergency" by James Howard Kunstler.  If you haven't read it, you really should. More than any of the other things that are a bit fantastic like EMPs, etc., Peak Oil will be a future challenge to the entire society as we know it, within the next 20 years.

I read The Long Emergency and liked it overall, but I didn't like the part where he said other areas might have problems with anarchy, but he figures his area should be safe(immune to that, I guess), and he seems to have a liberal bias against guns, but other than that I thought the book was good.

Yeah, I agree, it's funny how he thinks his neck of the woods will be the best place to be. I personally don't think the South will be as horrible as he points it out to be as there is still a lot of agricultural know-how and land down here, plus winter up north won't be too pleasant under the circumstances imagined in that book, IMHO.  Larger cities are, of course, going to be a bad place to be regardless of where in the country it is.  The book definitely has a lot of merit left to it still, even though he's quite biased.  Too many people are either ignorant of peak oil or are to "jiminy cricket" in their thinking that some miracle technology is going to pop up and save us at the last minute (like in a good hollywood flick). The future will not spare those who aren't willing to look at what's coming at them and do something about it.

Two that I do not think were mentioned:
The original EOTWAWKI book is the Bible. I think it coined most of the apocalyptic terms. Good read. Big cliff hanger at the end ... Also, I remember a series back in the 80s called The Survivalist. As a kid I enjoyed it. I remember it being weird with the frozen sleep/aging deal but still enjoyed it.

Also read many of those mentioned. Just finished Alas, Babylon a couple days ago. Loved it for what it was considering when it was. Reading Patriots actually led me to ar15.com folks who brought me to this site so you know I got love for that now even though it got a little fluffy at times. Pulled an all nighter on The Road earlier this year. I got a little boy so that became first person real quick. Amazingly talented writer. Haunted me.

Tonight it's Clockwork Orange and then One Second After.

After reading all these books I can tell you one thing for sure......... no matter how prepared I am, life is going to suck if the shit hits the fan.

This is my first time in the fiction forum, so maybe this has already been discussed ad nauseum...



Anybody remember the Survivalist Chronicles? It was a graphic novel that IIRC was advertised in Survive magazine in the early eighties.













Not quite as entertaining as Apocalypse Meow, but it isn't too shabby.

I remember the ads from when I was a kid.  Always wanted a copy for that reason (Otherwise I hate graphic novels.)  Dr Craig in NZ  was supposed to send me a zerox copy but i never got it.  There was also a cartoon strip in Eagle Magazine.

"I picked the place I live in for a reason. I feel confident that I am in a good place. It will hardly be untouched by the Long Emergency, but we are surrounded by excellent farmland here and I think my little corner of upstate New York may remain generally civilized."

That's what he wrote. I disagree, and wouldn't consider ANY part of New York a good place to be in bad times.

Really.... and what exactly do you know of Upstate?

Has some of the best fishing in the world, abundant large/small game hunting, wild fruits and vegs, wild mushrooms, thousands and thousands of square miles of forest.

So do lots of other areas not located near millions of other people.

Metro 2033 is an excellent read

Can't say if it is "good" yet,as I just started it, but I just bought " Liberation Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After the Collapse of the United States of America" by Brian Francis Slatery. I wont be too upset if its bad, since I bought it off the discount rack at the clearance bookstore.

I never thought about it before but I recently re-read Robinson Crusoe and itis a great SHTF book. It really focuses on the measures needed to be undertaken to produce self sustainability for a long duration. After the research and planning I have done for my prepping, it has me taking a new look at the same story.

Started re-reading Patriots: surviving the coming collapse by J. W. Rawles.  The first time through I had a hard time putting it down.  It is not the best literary work I've read, but it is good.  The story doesn't flow that smoothly and the characters could be developed a bit more.  But it is very believable.  Not sure about the ending though, but who knows.  Still lots of great info in the book.  I highly recommend it.

Do they still read "The Girl Who Owned a City" in school?

I'd love to read Unintended Consequences but I just can't read it on the computer.  Makes my eyes bleed.  When I try to read it on my phone I get real tired of dragging the screen right and left so that doesn't work.  I'd like to have a copy but have you seen what they want for it lately?  HOLY CRAP!
I've read Patriots and Lights Out of course.  Really liked both of those.
The last 2 weeks (vacation) I've read-
Apocalypse Law, John Grit  (father and son story that kinda pulled at the heartstrings)
The Birth of the Peacekeepers, Ricky Sides  (cheesy... but whatev.. it was a summer read, ya know?)
The Walk (quick read)
The Jakarta Pandemic, Steven Konkoly (actually still working on this one)
The Raggedy Edge (lots of flaws but entertaining)

I'm hooked on reading on my Kindle for iphone.  Man... it's the only way to go!   Dr's office, waiting on the kids, in bed, lunch? I ALWAYS have a book to read!  It's excellent.

Just read, A LAND OF ASH. It's a collection of short stories about the Yellowstone Caldera erupting. Very good.

Just picked up Patriots and One Second After...

Having a very hard time putting Patriots down.... But just enough will power to post to ARFCOM

A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter Miller is a classic.

Reading Patriots at the moment, really enjoying it.

Already Mentioned but I really love the Patriots :)

Don't know if its been mentioned already, I'm not going through 8 pages of reading lists, but I just finished the "American Apocalypse" series by Nova. Its pretty good, gets a little hokey toward the end of the second book, but its entertaining.

Got suckered into reading "Patriots" by the posts here, and even a year after having read it, the very thought of that book still pisses me off...

I find it completely asinine that the so-called "Patriots" in this book have the nerve to claim to be "the good guys" while ambushing, disarming, interrogating, strip-searching, & basically accosting every single PASSERBY on a PUBLIC roadway at gun-point, to which they afterward may rob or summarily execute at whim. So much utter BS this book contains... .

Not to mention the fact that the rest of the book reads more like a SHTF grocery list than an actual story.

That, and I went when they started praying in ancient Aramaeic.

I'm reading the new book now, and it doesn't go off on as many tangents, but man is it preachy.  Kinda felt the same way about the Shattered series.  Maybe there really are people that act/talk that way, but I've sure never met any.

I read this book four years ago and this SHTF shopping list was exactly what I needed at the time.
Now four yrs later, and having prepped for the same amount of time, I still use Patriots as a reference source.
Not only a good read but a very practical one for newbies.

...........Not sure if serious.

Some very good and cheap kindle reads are the SHTF fiction by Jacqueline Druga. Its perhaps more chic-lit friendly. Less wooden characters. Fewer ex-green berets (although some, of course).

Also, while I mention it, whats up with SHTF fiction having a protagonist who is ex-special forces or military intelligence? Its ridiculous how many of these stories involve uber-soldiers or american ninjas. I think there is a weird niche for SHTF fiction a la Robinson Crusoe... something that focuses on survival in terms of food, not scavenging. Something that doesn't have its climax a battle between the ninja delta force agent and his motley friends versus the mutant zombies bikers. And while I'm feeling critical, its very odd to me that many stories start from a place of sincere adulation for the constitution and downright libertarian ideals... and up in a communitarian at best, dictatorial feudalism at worst (with aforementioned spec forces ninja drafted to be the president-for-life george washington of the survivors). Not of lot of democracy at the end of the world, I guess. Realistic, but it still seems odd.

Part of the appeal of the SHTF genre, if such a thing exists, is that its a return of the halcyon pioneer days. I dunno, our rural roots, fewer people and the challenge to be industrious. But the focus of stories is always on the shoot em up western.

Patriots is excellent.  Recently read One Second After and it stood my hair on end and gave me a lot to think about how people will survive post TEOTWAWKI... a lot of people aren't going to make it.  I just recently finished reading A Distant Eden... the Army decides to reduce forces and musters out a squad of special forces types who run around Texas bringing law and order as well as covering for their main group.  A quick read and highly entertaining.

Just finished 77 days in september. Really good read.

This book is awesome!  I read this when it first came out and really enjoyed it.  This is the first of 3 books he's writing and the second installment comes out in Oct.  I read the preview of the first chapter and if the rest of the book is as good, the second one might be even better.  It sounds a little strange from the book description but it will not disappoint.

Been on a reading spree as of late, figured I'd add to this thread.  Finished the following.

77 Days in September –– good read, just enough action to keep you going, much less than other books.  Author does a good job of looking at what Joe Average would go through, compared to the former military/Tier 1 operators in a lot of other books, see below.  Also, a good discussion of how a lot of what we know, or are used to, will be challenged and beliefs put to the test.  The

Earth Abides - interesting premise, but I only made it about half way through.  The book becomes a philosophical examination of everything from education to over population.  I usually read after the kids go to bed and by this time of night, I really don't want to slog through philosophy 101 again.

Lucifer's Hammer - takes a while to set the stage, but a great read.  Interesting take on what a community could do to survive and how people could quickly revert to previous fuedal forms of government, arranged marriages, etc.

One Second After - good take on an EMP.  I liked Lights Out better, however.  The hero here was retired military, which is crucial to the plot line.  Another good examination of how a community will have to drastically change and revert back to previous forms of governing to survive.  

Holding Their Own - overall a good book.  Not as well written as some of the other books.  The plot line goes from zero to TEOTWAWKI and leaves a lot out.  The main character is high speed, low drag and manages to always come out on top and just happens to have the proper tool/weapon stored in the back of his truck - need a smoke grenade, it just happens to be hangin' on to his uber tactical vest.  

I've previously read Alas Babylon, probably one of the best (a long w/ Lucifer's Hammer) written, Deep Winter, Cold Camp, and at the other end of the writing spectrum Rawle's book Patriots.  

I have loaded in my kindle account the follow up to Holding Their Own and am currently reading New World: Chaos.

Here's two that haven't been mentioned in this thread.

Both were kindle purchases and money well spent for a good story.

Cordyceps by Ian Duncan - Zombie like SHTF story.
Wool by Hugh Howey - It's a 5 book series.  Post APOC scenario.  Excellent character development and intriguing concept that I haven't come accross yet in my reading.

I just finished Mountain Man by Keith Blackmore.

Overall it was an enjoyable read and hard to put down.  I finished it in roughly 4 hours on my kindle.
It is a Zombie book but they seem to be more of a side thing once the story really develops.
I liked it for many things but it touched on some of the topics we regularly discuss/dbate.  Alcohol, depression, toilet paper, floss, etc.

I'm loading up Safari - Book Two

Yep finished Patriots about a week ago and just did not care for it.  Looking for a new read and might try Lucifers hammer.

Check out Shawn Chesser's Surviving the zombie apocalypse series: Trudge, Soldier on, and In Harms way. Pretty good read IMO, the 4th in the series is due out this fall sometime.

Anyone read "The Passage"?

I read it, long but good.  I hear they are doing another, a prequel maybe?