Books about an apocalypse caused by virus/disease/plague etc

[hitmouse]

I think some are moving away from the virus/disease criteria..
On the Beach was radiation
Drowned World was flooding

Erm, you did say, in bold: man made or natural, flu or virus. Did I read that wrong?

 

[Danny McG]

Erm, you did say, in bold: man made or natural, flu or virus. Did I read that wrong?

My meaning was man-made or natural apocalyptic diseases.

Like made in a bio warfare lab
or
popping up in the rainforest and spreading to urban areas.

I should have made it a bit clearer really, sorry.

 

[Astro Pen]

The Drowned World
The Drought
The Crystal World

all by JG Ballard

These are my favourite books! They pulled me out of Asimovian space opera and into something altogether more profound. I think they permanently changed the way I saw the world around me. The only other writer I got the same vibe from was when I read Keith Roberts short story "The Lake of Tuonela".

 

[Pyan]

The Scarlet Plague - Jack London.
London’s 1912 novel, originally published in serial form, is an essential early example of the apocalyptic disease genre. In The Scarlet Plague, London’s protagonist wanders through a post-apocalyptic San Francisco Bay area and tells the reader about his life before the arrival of the plague–and the terrible things he witnessed when the disease took hold.

Helliconia Summer - Brian Aldiss.
In the heat of the planet Helliconia’s centuries-long summer, Brian W. Aldiss’ twin fictional diseases–“bone fever” and “the fat death”–run rampant. And while some humans live in safety above the Earth-like planet in a space station, Aldiss cleverly imagines them growing so bored in confinement that they often volunteer to head to the planet’s surface and risk exposure to the deadly diseases.

The Last Man - Mary Shelly.
In The Last Man, Shelley’s protagonist lives in a world where a terrible plague has brought on the apocalypse.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

The Death of Grass by John Wyndham

Did you mean John Christopher?

The Death of Grass - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

The Purple Cloud by M. P. Shiel.
"The story is about a man, Adam Jeffson on a polar expedition who discovers a mysterious and deathly Purple Cloud. In the wake of the massive global deaths wrought by the Purple Cloud, Jeffson becomes ruler of the world and builds a huge palace to his glory. He meets a young woman and the two become the heirs to the future of humanity."

The Purple Cloud - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Dave]

Did you mean John Christopher?

The Death of Grass - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Yes, sorry I did. I'm still jet lagged. John Christopher. I'll go back and edit my error if no one objects

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Last Ones Left Alive fits - post some kind of disease in Ireland - but there is also a sort of monster element

 

[Bagpuss]

Empty World by John Christopher - virus causes people to age to death.

 

[Ursa major]

Here's one with a happy ending**:

War of the Worlds by H.G.Wells....​

​

​

** - If the ending includes not watching the most recent TV adaptation.

 

[Randy M.]

Does Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle fit? There's also a plague in Slapstick, one of the sillier plagues I've ever read about, but it does fit the tone of that novel.

Randy M.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

My own Memory Seed fits the bill, though the overall focus is on the environmental consequences of humanity's deeds. But there are plenty of bugs and viruses, too...

 

[Wyrmlord]

Station Eleven is another highly regarded post apocalyptic novel.

Came here to say this, but Vaz beat me to it.

Station Eleven is a great book, one of my favorites of 2018.

 

[Vince W]

It's a comic, but Judge Dredd: Day of Chaos.

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

One thing I will never read after this virus is post apocalyptic novels or stories.

 

[nixie]

I had a nightmare last night, think it was due to the conversation my brother and I had when he picked me up from work last night.
He mentioned his imagination is working over time due to the amount of post apocalyptic books he reads. I said I hadn't really thought about it.

Woke up in a sweat, shaking like a leaf, I dreamt I was on bus, only pasenger (as it has been a couple of times this week) when suddenly the driver starts to foam at mouth and trying to eat me.
Irrational as once on bus I wouldn't see driver but it was a good 5 minutes before I stopped shaking.

 

[BAYLOR]

The Purple Cloud by M P Shiel . The population of the earth gets wiped out by noxious cloud.
Invaders From Rigel by Fletcher Pratt . Invading aliens release a mass which deepening on how epos toy get , does one of three things . Those with the Highest exposure become lifeless metal statues , those with the second most exposure become self aware mechanical beings retaining al human meant facilities and end up ensued to the invading aliens. Tthose with the least exposure stay human but, their skin takes on a blue coloring. It's a weird book. But its apocalyptic in that most of the world population gets wiped out by the gas.

 

[Danny McG]

@nixie

Woke up in a sweat, shaking like a leaf, I dreamt I was on bus, only pasenger (as it has been a couple of times this week) when suddenly the driver starts to foam at mouth and trying to eat me

 

[Astro Pen]

Woke up in a sweat, shaking like a leaf, I dreamt I was on bus, only pasenger (as it has been a couple of times this week) when suddenly the driver starts to foam at mouth and trying to eat me.

I paid the extra for the dream where only you and the Victorias Secrets girls are left alive to repopulate the planet and you can take any Mercedes you want from the dealership to drive to the beer and chocolate warehouse in San Tropez

 

[-K2-]

The Book of Revelation, the Christian Bible by John
You'll also find other examples in the Christian Bible and the Jewish Torah (Exodus), the Islamic Quran, and I suspect most religions texts.

K2