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A friend will be teaching a class at a university to English students about post-apocalypse books, focused on the major themes. He is familiar with the major works on the subject, and the class reading list so far includes: "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller, Jr. "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson My friend had noted that "I Am Legend is a bit shorter than he had expected, so he may need a few additional books for the class. Please recommend some of the best examples of the genre that would be good for a class. Also, if you have any ideas for in class videos or short excerpts, that would also be appreciated. I am thinking of recommending mentioning the Fallout universe, and maybe clips from the movie "The Day After." Thanks!
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Dec 23, 2012 23:21
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I've really enjoyed David Brin's "The Postman", at least the book. The movie's a significant departure from the book on a number of points, though, most of which were not well received by fans. Without knowing exactly what themes your friend is going for, I think it's probably hard to recommend sources for in-class viewing. Off the top of my head though, I'd imagine that the Mad Max series or Waterworld could be helpful. And while I haven't seen or read On the Beach, it's a fairly well known work from a generation or two back.
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Dec 24, 2012 00:05
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Depending on your definition of post-apocalypse, you could consider Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. Less classic and more recent is Wool by Hugh Howey.
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Dec 24, 2012 00:24
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Day of the Triffids or The Chrysalids, both by John Wyndham. The Death of Grass by John Christopher.
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Dec 24, 2012 00:43
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Maybe Nevil Shute's On The Beach? And I guess Cloud Atlas could be considered post-apocalyptic, so you could show parts of the movie, too.
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Dec 24, 2012 01:44
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Riddley Walker
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Dec 24, 2012 02:43
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The Windup Girl Ship Breaker Wool A Boy and His Dog
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Dec 24, 2012 03:06
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The American Book of the Dead - This is not a bad read, and I believe you can get it on Kindle for free. Although it's not a long book either. Basically is about a caricature of a republican winning presidency, thinking himself as the second coming and proceeding to completely destroying the world.
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Dec 24, 2012 03:49
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Farnham's Freehold by Heinlein.
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Dec 24, 2012 04:02
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Flatscan posted:Day of the Triffids or The Chrysalids, both by John Wyndham. The Chrysalids!! Great vision of how certain types of knowledge has been lost (eg, sailors bring home ridiculous rumours of people exactly the same as us, but black from head to toe!) and religion teaching "the tribulations" were punishment for some unknown sin.
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Dec 24, 2012 04:30
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Great! I hadn't heard of a lot of these, like Chrysalids, Riddley Walker, or Farnham's Freehold, and they sound like great fits. Thank you for these recommendations, I will put them into a list and send them to him to review.
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Dec 24, 2012 05:58
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I can't believe nobody mentioned Alas, Babylon. It's one of the original nuclear age post apocalyptic novels.
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Dec 24, 2012 06:19
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Earth Abides is definitely worth a look.
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Dec 24, 2012 07:01
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If you don't mind going old school, then I recommend the book 'Alas Babylon.' It was written in 1959. It's about a group of people in Florida attempting to survive in the aftermath of nuclear war. Very well written.
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Dec 24, 2012 07:44
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If he's looking to have his students compare and contrast how post-apocalyptic literature has changed over the years, he might also try Mary Shelly's "The Last Man". Very old school, it was published in 1826. Compared to modern post-apoc literature, it revolves almost solely around interpersonal and internal conflict, rather than man vs. nature survivalism. And, as an added plus, it is free through Amazon Kindle and Google Play Books.
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Dec 24, 2012 08:14
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Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. A different kind of apocalypse from the usual, and it's a very personal tale that weaves together how the apocalypse actually happened and also what life is like after it. Lots of stuff for students to examine, too, from all the commentary on consumerism and class issues to the religious parallels and themes.
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Dec 24, 2012 11:28
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Stephen Baxter's Flood and Ark are a pair of post-apocalyptic novels with a somewhat more unusual take on the apocalypse, think Waterworld in the extreme. I'd suggest them because they cast the post-apocalyptic world in a fairly different light than most other post-apocalyptic novels. Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle is based on a meteor impact, but it's a bit old-fashioned and a little racist. The Killing Star by Charles Pellegrino and George Zebrowski is actually my favorite post-apocalyptic novel, taking place in the intermediate future when humanity is suddenly attacked by vastly superior aliens. All three of these novels include large sections detailing various apocalypses, so they may not suit if the class is meant to cover only the period after one. I saw someone already recommended Farnham's Freehold. I'd be careful about that one, because it is a very racist book, and probably the worst/weirdest Heinlein wrote.
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Dec 24, 2012 13:11
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Seconding the recommendation for 'Alas, Babylon' as it's written from the time period where a swift and sudden attack by the Soviets was a very real possibility, with none of the tongue-in-cheek attitudes towards such a thing that appear in later nuclear novels. If you'd like something a bit out of left field, James Blish's 'The Day After Judgement' and 'Black Easter' feature an apocalypse brought about by a black magician opening the gates of Hell and releasing all the demons upon the Earth. Finally, a class may benefit from 'Wastelands' collected by John Joseph Adams, which has about 16 or 17 post apocalyptic short stories by various authors (Steven King and George RR Martin among them) they're of wildly varying quality and subject matter, but it's a pretty good cross-section of the genre.
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Dec 24, 2012 15:10
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Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
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Dec 24, 2012 16:16
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Written in 1909 and still one of the best sci-fi/post-apoc stories I've ever read: The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster.
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Dec 24, 2012 16:33
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Our own Mr. Parson's Liminal States is pretty rad.
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Dec 24, 2012 16:36
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The Martian Chronicles goes from hope and ambition through destruction and aftermath, if that counts.
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Dec 24, 2012 16:39
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I suggest The Ice People from René Barjavel because it offers a nice twist from the classic post-apoc settings.
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Dec 24, 2012 16:58
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100Dachshunds posted:Finally, a class may benefit from 'Wastelands' collected by John Joseph Adams, which has about 16 or 17 post apocalyptic short stories by various authors (Steven King and George RR Martin among them) they're of wildly varying quality and subject matter, but it's a pretty good cross-section of the genre. I picked this up as a "why not" and it is pretty good. Maybe skim it and offer a selection but it has a pretty wide range of stories. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People_of_Sand_and_Slag I particularly remember this one as being very interesting and pretty strange.
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Dec 24, 2012 17:24
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Hokuto no Ken  A thorough, brutal, beautiful, and heartfelt examination of the meaning of sacrifice and manhood in a world without mercy or safety, Hokuto no Ken (or "Fist of the North Star" as it is known to ignorant baka no gaijin) reflects the superior Japanese fear of a nuclear apocalypse and the "fallout" (enjoy the jiguchi, or "pun") of the breakdown of civilized society from the honorable Nippon-style system to one of total chaos, much like that of your own barbaric Western cities of today. The themes include the very Westernized characters exhibiting perfectly the values of their cultures by repeatedly verbalizing the appreciation for the new world in which the strong may take from the weak whatever, whenever they please. Three brothers forge their own paths to new peace in a world devastated by the fires of nuclear war; scorched deserts and irradiated wastewater puddles pockmark the scarred wastelands as roving bandits pillage and slaughter for some temporary reprieve from the despair of living. The brothers are the only thing standing between meager attempts at civilization and the horrors of bandit ravages: Raoh, the path of domination and violence; Toki, the path of healing and peace; and Kenshiro, who walks the difficult and bloody path of divine retribution and justice to lead to peace. Serious: "By the Waters of Babylon" is a great short story to with which to work.
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Dec 24, 2012 19:24
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The Stand by Stephen King. Edit: Would the Walking Dead graphic novels be something to consider? What about World War Z? Spammy fucked around with this message at 20:01 on Dec 24, 2012 |
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Dec 24, 2012 19:58
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Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky is about the world picking up the pieces from an abrupt and overwhelming alien invasion with lasting consequences, and directly inspired the Stalker franchise. It's one of the most important pieces of Russian sci-fi.
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Dec 24, 2012 20:22
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If your friend is a complete sadist, he could include a selection from the Left Behind series. They're awful, lovely books with awful, lovely theology and thinly veiled awful, lovely politics written by a "biblical prophecy expert" and the erstwhile author of preachy sports-comic strip Gil Thorp, but they do represent a very particular strand of Western Evangelical apocalyptic discourse.
flatpack flapjack fucked around with this message at 20:50 on Dec 24, 2012 |
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Dec 24, 2012 20:44
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PD James' The Children of Men seems like a good and obvious choice for a class like this, especially with the very well regarded movie from a few years ago.
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Dec 25, 2012 05:39
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quote:Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky is about the world picking up the pieces from an abrupt and overwhelming alien invasion with lasting consequences, and directly inspired the Stalker franchise. It's one of the most important pieces of Russian sci-fi. It also inspired Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky. Really nails the "I'll never feel happiness again" aspect of the genre and has a pretty interesting take on life after the apocalypse, with a few thousand survivors subsisting in the Moscow metro after nuclear war.
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Dec 25, 2012 06:58
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Stultus Maximus posted:The Martian Chronicles goes from hope and ambition through destruction and aftermath, if that counts. Lotish posted:Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky is about the world picking up the pieces from an abrupt and overwhelming alien invasion with lasting consequences, and directly inspired the Stalker franchise. It's one of the most important pieces of Russian sci-fi. I'd suggest grabbing as many short stories as you can. They're modular, quick to read and don't require the destructive process of extracting or abridging. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, by Harlan Ellison Twilight, by John W. Campbell (he's a racist shitheel and this opinion shows through, but it's still probably one of the best works about the dying earth theme) The Last Question, by Issac Asimov (as a short companion if the above is used) Triffids is definitely essential to covering the idea of the "cozy catastrophe", although it might not be worth fitting the whole novel into the curriculum. I'd say that certain scenes from the Mad Max trilogy are also essential to having a comprehensive view of the genre. mrtillo posted:If your friend is a complete sadist, he could include a selection from the Left Behind series. They're awful, lovely books with awful, lovely theology and thinly veiled awful, lovely politics written by a "biblical prophecy expert" and the erstwhile author of preachy sports-comic strip Gil Thorp, but they do represent a very particular strand of Western Evangelical apocalyptic discourse.
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Dec 25, 2012 07:55
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naughty_penguin posted:I can't believe nobody mentioned Alas, Babylon. It's one of the original nuclear age post apocalyptic novels. Seconded. Aside from being very well written, it covers a multitude of topics and was written long before the scene became popular. As such, it dealt with a number of interesting social issues as shown by the time. Plus, it was one of the few books that made me understand the fear of the era.
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Dec 25, 2012 11:02
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I made a thread about this in a/t a few years ago, and I think I compiled some 30-40 suggestions into the OP, in case anyone has archives. (I don't)
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Dec 26, 2012 00:30
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John Charity Spring posted:Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. A different kind of apocalypse from the usual, and it's a very personal tale that weaves together how the apocalypse actually happened and also what life is like after it. frenchnewwave fucked around with this message at 13:44 on Dec 26, 2012 |
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Dec 26, 2012 13:41
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frenchnewwave posted:I was going to recommend this as well. Many themes suitable for class discussion like the ones mentioned, plus environment , technology, and gender. The "prequel," The Year of the Flood, is also pretty good.
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Dec 26, 2012 18:20
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RBA Starblade posted:It also inspired Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky. Really nails the "I'll never feel happiness again" aspect of the genre and has a pretty interesting take on life after the apocalypse, with a few thousand survivors subsisting in the Moscow metro after nuclear war. Why is the hardcover going for nearly $1,000 on Amazon?
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Dec 26, 2012 19:22
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Argali posted:Why is the hardcover going for nearly $1,000 on Amazon? I have no idea. I bought the paperback english translation from there for about $10. 
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Dec 26, 2012 19:44
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I just want to second Riddley Walker. It's a really interesting take on the post-apocalypse idea dealing with a society that has collapsed back into barbarism, and the events leading up to the rediscovery of one of civilization's more dangerous technologies. I could see students hating the prose, though. It's written in this weird made-up dialect the author imagined as the end-game of the degeneration of the English language. I love it, personally, but it requires a sort of mental gear-shift to get into.
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Dec 26, 2012 22:30
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Poutling posted:PD James' The Children of Men seems like a good and obvious choice for a class like this, especially with the very well regarded movie from a few years ago. Pah! That book is nothing but a cheeky rip- off of Brian Aldiss's far superior Greybeard. So, choose that instead.
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Dec 26, 2012 23:01
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Lotish posted:Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky is about the world picking up the pieces from an abrupt and overwhelming alien invasion with lasting consequences, and directly inspired the Stalker franchise. It's one of the most important pieces of Russian sci-fi. But the short story isn't really post-apocalyptic in nature, despite what the movie and game adaptations did. I would suggest The Night Land, A Story Retold by John Stoddard. Its a modern English version of Nightland by William H. Hodgson who wrote in really bizarre and almost unreadable prose. Anyways, the story itself could be argued to have started the post-apocalyptic genre in the sense that its about humanity surviving after the collapse of civilization (or at least of the human domination of earth). Mr.48 fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Dec 27, 2012 |
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Dec 27, 2012 00:41
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