
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are
genre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
s of
speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...
in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The
apocalypse event may be climatic, such as
runaway climate change; astronomical, an
impact event
An impact event is a collision between astronomical objects causing measurable effects. Impact events have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems, though the most frequent involve asteroids, comets or meteoroids and have minimal effe ...
; destructive,
nuclear holocaust
A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear annihilation, nuclear armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a Futures studies, theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes widespread destruction and radi ...
or
resource depletion
Resource depletion occurs when a natural resource is consumed faster than it can be replenished. The value of a resource depends on its availability in nature and the cost of extracting it. By the law of supply and demand, the Scarcity, scarcer ...
; medical, a
pandemic
A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
, whether natural or human-caused;
end time, such as the
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism.
Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...
,
Second Coming
The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christianity, Christian and Islam, Islamic belief that Jesus, Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his Ascension of Jesus, ascension to Heaven (Christianity), Heav ...
or
Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, (also Ragnarok; or ; ) is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, a ...
; or any other scenario in which the outcome is apocalyptic, such as a
zombie apocalypse
Zombie apocalypse is a subgenre of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Usually, only a few individuals or small bands of human survivors are left living.
There are many d ...
,
AI takeover
An AI takeover is an imagined scenario in which artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as the dominant form of intelligence on Earth and computer programs or robots effectively take control of the planet away from the human species, which relies o ...
,
technological singularity
The technological singularity—or simply the singularity—is a hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable consequences for human civilization. According to the ...
,
dysgenics
Dysgenics refers to any decrease in the prevalence of traits deemed to be either socially desirable or generally adaptive to their environment due to selective pressure disfavouring their reproduction.
In 1915 the term was used by David Starr J ...
or
alien invasion
Alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and films, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade Earth to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it, harvest people for food, steal the planet's resource ...
.
The story may involve attempts to prevent an
apocalypse
Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...
event, deal with the impact and consequences of the event itself, or it may be post-apocalyptic, set after the event. The time may be directly after the catastrophe, focusing on the psychology of survivors, the way to keep the human race alive and together as one, or considerably later, often including that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been mythologized. Post-apocalyptic stories often take place in a non-technological future world or a world where only scattered elements of society and technology remain.
Numerous ancient societies, including the Babylonian and Judaic, produced
apocalyptic literature
Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post- Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. '' Apocalypse'' () is a Greek word meaning "revelation", "an unveiling or unfolding o ...
and mythology which dealt with the end of the world and human society, such as the ''
Epic of Gilgamesh
The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...
'', written c. 2000–1500 BCE. Recognizable modern apocalyptic novels had existed since at least the first third of the 19th century, when
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
's ''
The Last Man'' (1826) was published; however, this form of literature gained widespread popularity after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, when the possibility of global annihilation by
nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
s entered the public consciousness.
Themes

The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as
runaway climate change; natural, such as an
impact event
An impact event is a collision between astronomical objects causing measurable effects. Impact events have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems, though the most frequent involve asteroids, comets or meteoroids and have minimal effe ...
; man made, such as
nuclear holocaust
A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear annihilation, nuclear armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a Futures studies, theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes widespread destruction and radi ...
; medical, such as a plague or virus, whether natural or man-made; religious, such as the
Rapture
The Rapture is an Christian eschatology, eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and, joined with Chr ...
or
Great Tribulation
In Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation () is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as a sign that would occur in the time of the end.
At , "the Great Tribulation" () is used to indicate the period spoken of by Jesus. us ...
; or imaginative, such as
zombie apocalypse
Zombie apocalypse is a subgenre of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Usually, only a few individuals or small bands of human survivors are left living.
There are many d ...
or
alien invasion
Alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and films, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade Earth to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it, harvest people for food, steal the planet's resource ...
. The story may involve attempts to prevent an apocalypse event, deal with the impact and consequences of the event itself, or may be post-apocalyptic and set after the event. The time frame may be immediately after the catastrophe, focusing on the travails or psychology of survivors, the way to maintain the human race alive and together as one, or considerably later, often including the theme that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been forgotten (or mythologized). Post-apocalyptic stories often take place in a non-technological future world, or a world where only scattered elements of society and technology remain.
Other themes may be
cybernetic revolt
An AI takeover is an imagined scenario in which artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as the dominant form of intelligence on Earth and computer programs or robots effectively take control of the planet away from the human species, which relies o ...
,
divine judgment,
dysgenics
Dysgenics refers to any decrease in the prevalence of traits deemed to be either socially desirable or generally adaptive to their environment due to selective pressure disfavouring their reproduction.
In 1915 the term was used by David Starr J ...
,
ecological collapse
An ecosystem, short for ecological systems theory, system, is defined as a collection of interacting Organism, organisms within a biophysical environment. Ecosystems are never static, and are continually subject to both stabilizing and destabiliz ...
,
pandemic
A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
,
resource depletion
Resource depletion occurs when a natural resource is consumed faster than it can be replenished. The value of a resource depends on its availability in nature and the cost of extracting it. By the law of supply and demand, the Scarcity, scarcer ...
,
supernatural phenomena
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanings since the an ...
,
technological singularity
The technological singularity—or simply the singularity—is a hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable consequences for human civilization. According to the ...
, or some other general disaster.
The relics of a technological past "protruding into a more primitive... landscape", a theme known as the "ruined Earth", have been described as "among the most potent of
cience fictions icons".
Ancient predecessors
Ancient
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
n texts containing the oldest surviving
apocalyptic literature
Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post- Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. '' Apocalypse'' () is a Greek word meaning "revelation", "an unveiling or unfolding o ...
, including the
Eridu Genesis
Eridu Genesis, also called the Sumerian Creation Myth or Sumerian Flood Myth, offers a description of the story surrounding how humanity was created by the gods, the circumstances leading to the origins of the first cities in Mesopotamia, how the o ...
and the
Epic of Gilgamesh
The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...
, both of which date to around 2000-1500 BCE. Both describe angry gods sending floods to punish humanity, and the Gilgamesh version includes the ancient hero
Utnapishtim
Uta-napishtim or Utnapishtim (, "he has found life") was a legendary king of the ancient city of Shuruppak in southern Iraq, who, according to the Gilgamesh flood myth, one of several similar narratives, survived the Flood by making and occupyi ...
and his family being saved through the intervention of the god
Ea.
The
Biblical
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...
myth of
Noah
Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...
and his
ark describes the destruction of the corrupt original civilization and its replacement with a remade world. Noah is assigned the task to build the ark and save two of each animal species in order to reestablish a new post-
great flood
A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primeva ...
world.
The Biblical story of the destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah
In the Abrahamic religions, Sodom and Gomorrah () were two cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Sodom and Gomorrah are repeatedly invoked throughout the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical texts, and the New Testament as symbols of sin, di ...
also has post-apocalyptic elements. The daughters of
Lot, who mistakenly believe that the destruction had engulfed the whole world and that they and their father were the only surviving human beings, conclude that in such a situation it would be justified - and indeed vitally needed - to have sex with their father in order to ensure the survival of humanity. Such situations and dilemmas occur in modern post-apocalyptic fiction.
The Biblical
Genesis flood narrative is retold in the
71st Chapter of the
Quran
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
;
In the
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
Dharmasastra, an apocalyptic deluge plays a prominent part. According to the
Matsya Purana
The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the h ...
, the
Matsya
Matsya () is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's Dashavatara, ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu (Hinduism), Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya may be dep ...
avatar of Lord
Vishnu
Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
, informed the King Manu of an all-destructive deluge which would be coming very soon.
Matsya Purana
The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the h ...
, Ch.I, 10–33 The King was advised to build a huge boat (ark) which housed his family, nine types of seeds, pairs of all animals and the
Saptarishi
The Saptarshi ( ) are the seven seers of ancient India who are extolled in the Vedas, and other Hindu literature such as the Skanda Purana. The Vedic Samhitas never enumerate these rishis by name, although later Vedic texts such as the Br ...
s to repopulate Earth, after the deluge would end and the oceans and seas would recede. At the time of the
deluge
A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood.
The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the biblical book of Genesis.
Deluge or Le Déluge may also refer to:
History
*Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-L ...
, Vishnu appeared as a horned fish and
Shesha
Shesha (), also known by his epithets Sheshanaga () and Adishesha (), is a serpentine demigod ( naga) and king of the serpents ( Nagaraja), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the ...
appeared as a rope, with which
Vaivasvata Manu fastened the boat to the horn of the fish. Variants of this story also appear in
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and
Jain scriptures.
The 1st centuries CE saw the recording of the
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...
(from which the word ''
apocalypse
Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...
'' originated, meaning "revelation" in ancient Greek), which is filled with prophecies of destruction, as well as luminous visions. In the first chapter of Revelation, the writer
St. John the Divine explains his divine errand: "Write the things which thou hast seen, the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter" (Rev. 1:19). He takes it as his mission to convey—to reveal—to God's kingdom His promise that justice will prevail and that the suffering will be vindicated (Leigh). The apocalyptist provides a beatific vision of Judgement Day, revealing God's promise for redemption from suffering and strife. Revelation describes a new Heaven and a new Earth, and its intended Christian audience is often enchanted and inspired, rather than terrified by visions of Judgment Day. These Christians believed themselves chosen for God's salvation, and so such apocalyptic sensibilities inspired optimism and nostalgia for the end times.
The
Norse poem ''
Völuspá
''Völuspá'' (also ''Vǫluspá'', ''Vǫlospá'', or ''Vǫluspǫ́''; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress') is the best known poem of the ''Poetic Edda''. It dates back to the tenth century and tells the story from Norse Mythology of ...
'' from the
Poetic Edda
The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse ...
details the creation, coming doom, and rebirth of the world. The world's destruction includes fire and flood consuming the earth while mythic beasts do battle with the
Aesir gods, during which they all perish in an event called
Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, (also Ragnarok; or ; ) is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, a ...
. After the destruction, a pair of humans, a man and woman, find the world renewed and the god
Baldr
Baldr (Old Norse also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, he is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was known in ...
resurrected.
In society
Such works often feature the loss of a global perspective as protagonists are on their own, often with little or no knowledge of the outside world.
Furthermore, they often explore a world without modern technology
whose rapid progress may overwhelm people as human brains are not adapted to contemporary society, but
evolved
Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
to deal with issues that have become largely irrelevant, such as immediate physical threats. Such works depict worlds of less complexity, direct contact,
[ and primitive needs. It is often the concept of change as much as the concept of destruction that causes public interest in apocalyptic themes.][
Such fiction is studied by ]social science
Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...
s, and may provide insights into a culture's fears,[ as well as things like the role imagined for ]public administration
Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
.
Since the late 20th century, a surge of popular post-apocalyptic films can be observed.
Christopher Schmidt notes that, while the world "goes to waste" for future generations, we distract ourselves from disaster by passively watching it as entertainment. Some have commented on this trend, saying that "it is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism".
Pre-1900 works
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
's 1816 poem "Darkness", included in '' The Prisoner of Chillon'' collection, on the apocalyptic end of the world and one man's survival, was one of the earliest English-language works in this genre. The sun was blotted out, leading to darkness and cold which kills off mankind through famine and ice-age conditions. The poem was influential in the emergence of "the last man" theme which appeared in the works of several poets, such as "The Last Man" by Thomas Campbell (1824) and "The Last Man" (1826) by Thomas Hood
Thomas Hood (23 May 1799 – 3 May 1845) was an English poet, author and humorist, best known for poems such as "The Bridge of Sighs (poem), The Bridge of Sighs" and "The Song of the Shirt". Hood wrote regularly for ''The London Magazine'', '' ...
, as well as "The Last Man" by Thomas Lovell Beddoes. The year 1816 was known as the Year Without a Summer because Mount Tambora had erupted in the Dutch East Indies in 1815 that emitted sulphur into the atmosphere which lowered the temperature and altered weather patterns throughout the world. This was the source for Byron's poem.
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
's novel '' The Last Man'' (1826) is a continuation of the apocalyptic theme in fiction and is generally recognized as the first major fictional post-apocalyptic story. The plot follows a group of people as they struggle to survive in a plague-infected world. The story's male protagonist struggles to keep his family safe but is inevitably left as the last man alive.
Shelley's novel is predated by Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville
Jean-Baptiste () is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following:
Persons
* Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was K ...
's French epic prose poem
Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form while otherwise deferring to poetic devices to make meaning.
Characteristics
Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associated with poetry. However, it make ...
'' Le Dernier Homme'' (English: ''The Last Man'' 805, and this work is sometimes considered the first modern work to depict the end of the world. Published after his death in 1805, de Grainville's work follows the character of Omegarus, the titular "last man," in what is essentially a retelling of the Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...
, combined with themes of the story of Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
. Unlike most apocalyptic tales, de Grainville's novel approaches the end of the world not as a cautionary tale, or a tale of survival, but as both an inevitable, as well as necessary, step for the spiritual resurrection of mankind.
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
's short story "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion
"The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, an apocalyptic science fiction story first published in '' Burton's Gentleman's Magazine'' in
December 1839.
Plot summary
Two people, who have been renamed Eiros and ...
" (1839) follows the conversation between two souls in the afterlife as they discuss the destruction of the world. The destruction was brought about by a comet that removed nitrogen from Earth's atmosphere; this left only oxygen and resulted in a worldwide inferno. Similarly, Giacomo Leopardi
Count Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. Considered the greatest Italian poet of the 19th century and one of the greatest a ...
's short dialogue " Dialogue between a Goblin and a Gnome" (1824) features a world without the presence of the human beings, most likely because they "violate the laws of nature, and entcontrary to their welfare".
Richard Jefferies
John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm had a great influ ...
' novel '' After London'' (1885) can best be described as genuine post-apocalyptic fiction. After a sudden and unspecified catastrophe has depopulated England, the countryside reverts to nature and the few survivors return to a quasi-medieval way of life. The first chapters consist solely of a description of nature reclaiming England: fields becoming overrun by forest, domesticated animals running wild, roads and towns becoming overgrown, London reverting to lake and poisonous swampland. The rest of the story is a straightforward adventure/quest set many years later in the wild landscape and society, but the opening chapters set an example for many later science fiction stories.
H.G. Wells
Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
wrote several novels that have a post-apocalyptic theme. ''The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is an 1895 dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells about a Victorian scientist known as the Time Traveller who travels to the year 802,701. The work is generally credited with the popularizati ...
'' (1895) has the unnamed protagonist traveling to the year 802,701 A.D. after civilization has collapsed and humanity has split into two distinct species, the elfin Eloi and the brutal Morlocks. Later in the story, the time traveler moves forward to a dying Earth beneath a swollen red sun. ''The War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...
'' (1898) depicts an invasion of Earth by inhabitants of the planet Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
. The aliens systematically destroy Victorian England with advanced weaponry mounted on nearly indestructible vehicles. Due to the infamous radio adaptation of the novel by Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
on his show, ''The Mercury Theatre on the Air
''The Mercury Theatre on the Air'' is a radio series of live radio dramas created and hosted by Orson Welles. The weekly hour-long show presented classic literary works performed by Welles's celebrated Mercury Theatre repertory company, with mus ...
'', the novel has become one of the best known early apocalyptic works. It has subsequently been reproduced or adapted several times in comic books, film, music, radio programming
Radio programming is the process of organising a schedule of radio content for commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting by radio stations.
History
The original inventors of radio, from Guglielmo Marconi's time on, expected it to be use ...
, television programming, and video games.
Post-1900 works
Aliens
'' Childhood's End'' is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke, in which aliens come to Earth, human children develop fantastic powers and the planet is destroyed.
Argentine
Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
comic writer Héctor Germán Oesterheld's comic series '' El Eternauta'' (1957 to 1959), an alien race only mentioned by the protagonists as ''Ellos'' ("Them") invades the Earth starting with a deadly snowfall and then using other alien races to defeat the remaining humans.
In Alice Sheldon's Nebula
A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...
-winning novelette " The Screwfly Solution" (1977), aliens are wiping out humanity with an airborne agent that changes men's sexual impulses to violent ones.
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...
's '' Hitchhiker's Guide'' series (1979–2009) is a humorous take on alien invasion stories. Multiple Earths are repeatedly "demolished" by the bureaucratic Vogons to make way for a hyperspace bypass, to the chagrin of the protagonist Arthur Dent
Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character and the hapless protagonist of the comic science fiction series ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Douglas Adams.
In the radio, LP and television versions of the story, Arthur is played b ...
.
In Gene Wolfe
Gene Rodman Wolfe (May 7, 1931 – April 14, 2019) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith. He was a prolific short story writer and no ...
's '' The Urth of the New Sun'' (1987), aliens (or highly evolved humans) introduce a white hole
In general relativity, a white hole is a hypothetical region of spacetime and Gravitational singularity, singularity that cannot be entered from the outside, although energy, matter, light and information can escape from it. In this sense, it is ...
into the sun to counteract the dimming effect of a black hole
A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...
, and the resulting global warming
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
causes a sea-level rise that kills most of the population (though this may be redemptive, like Noah's Flood
The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is a Hebrew flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microcosm of Noah's ark.
The B ...
, rather than a disaster).
In Greg Bear
Gregory Dale Bear (August 20, 1951 – November 19, 2022) was an American science fiction writer. His work covered themes of Interstellar_war, galactic conflict (''The Forge of God, Forge of God'' books), parallel universes (''The Way (Greg Bear ...
's '' The Forge of God'' (1987), Earth is destroyed in an alien attack. Just prior to this, a different group of aliens is able to save samples of the biosphere and a small number of people, resettling them on Mars. Some of these form the crew of a ship to hunt down the homeworld of the killers, as described in the sequel, '' Anvil of Stars'' (1992).
Al Sarrantonio's ''Moonbane'' (1989) concerns the origin of werewolves
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either purposely or after bei ...
(he attributes it to the Moon, which is why they are so attracted to it), and an invasion after an explosion on Luna sends meteoric fragments containing latent lycanthropes to Earth, who thrive in our planet's oxygen-rich atmosphere. ''Moonbane''s tone is reminiscent of H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
' '' War of the Worlds'' (1897).
Charles R. Pellegrino and George Zebrowski's novel '' The Killing Star'' (1995) describes a devastating attack on a late-21st-century Earth by an alien civilization. Using missiles traveling at relativistic speed
Relativistic speed refers to speed at which relativistic effects become significant to the desired accuracy of measurement of the phenomenon being observed. Relativistic effects are those discrepancies between values calculated by models consider ...
, they are determined to destroy the human race in a preemptive strike, as they are considered, after watching several episodes of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' which shows human domination in space, a future threat.
In the video game ''Chrono Trigger
is a 1995 role-playing video game by Square. It was originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the first entry in the ''Chrono'' series. The game's development team included three designers that Square dubbed the "Dr ...
'' (1995), the giant alien creature Lavos collides with the earth in prehistoric times, subsequently hibernating beneath the earth. As millions of years pass, the monster feeds on the energy of the earth, eventually surfacing in 1999 to wreak complete destruction of the human race, atmosphere, and general life on the planet in the form of a rain of destruction fired from its outer shell, known as the "Day of Lavos".
In the video game ''Half-Life Half-life is a mathematical and scientific description of exponential or gradual decay.
Half-life, half life or halflife may also refer to:
Film
* Half-Life (film), ''Half-Life'' (film), a 2008 independent film by Jennifer Phang
* ''Half Life: ...
'' (1998), hostile alien creatures arrive on Earth through a portal after a scientific experiment goes wrong. In its sequel, ''Half-Life 2
''Half-Life 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It was published for Windows on Valve's digital distribution service, Steam. Like the original ''Half-Life'' (1998), ''Half-Life 2'' is played ent ...
'' (2004), it is revealed to the player the creatures encountered in the first game are merely the slaves of a much more powerful alien race, the Combine, who have taken over the Earth to drain its resources after subduing the entirety of Earth's governments and military forces in only seven hours.
In the 2000 Don Bluth
Donald Virgil Bluth ( ; born September 13, 1937) is an American filmmaker, animator, video game designer and author. He came to prominence working for Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions before creating his own film studio in ...
animated film ''Titan A.E.
''Titan A.E.'' is a 2000 American animated post-apocalyptic science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, and starring Matt Damon, Bill Pullman, John Leguizamo, Nathan Lane, Janeane Garofalo and Drew Ba ...
'', Earth has been destroyed by the Drej, due to a human experimental discovery called Project Titan, which made them fear “what humanity will become”.
The 2011 TV series ''Falling Skies
''Falling Skies'' is an American science fiction television series set in a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic era, created by Robert Rodat and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, executive produced by Steve ...
'', by Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
, follows a human resistance force fighting to survive after extraterrestrial aliens attempt to take over Earth by disabling most of the world's technology and destroying its armed forces in a surprise attack. It is implied that the attacking aliens are in reality former victims of an attack on their own planet and are now the slaves of an unseen controller race.
The television series '' Defiance'' (2013–2015) is set in an Earth devastated by the "Pale Wars", a war with seven alien races referred to as the "Votan", followed by the "Arkfalls", which terraforms Earth to an almost unrecognizable state. Unlike most apocalyptic works, in this one Earth is not inhospitable, and humanity is not on the verge of extinction.
'' The World's End'' is a 2013 British-American comic science fiction
Science fiction comedy (sci-fi comedy) or comic science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that exploits the science fiction genre's conventions for comedy, comedic effect. The genre often mocks or satirizes standard scie ...
film directed by Edgar Wright
Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical Film genre, genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zo ...
, written by Wright and Simon Pegg
Simon John Pegg (; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. He and Wright co-wrote the ...
, and starring Pegg, Nick Frost
Nicholas John Frost (born 28 March 1972) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He has appeared in the '' Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of films, consisting of '' Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), and '' The World's ...
, Paddy Considine
Patrick George Considine (born 5 September 1973) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and musician. He is known for playing antiheros in independent films. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard British ...
, Martin Freeman
Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won two Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Freeman's most ...
, Eddie Marsan
Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008).
Early life and ...
and Rosamund Pike
Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike (born 1979) is an English actress and producer. Known for psychological thrillers and dramas, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rosamund Pike, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Em ...
. The film follows a group of friends who discover an alien invasion during a pub crawl
A pub crawl (sometimes called a bar tour, bar crawl or bar-hopping) is the act of visiting multiple pubs or bars in a single session.
Background
Many European cities have public pub crawls that serve as social gatherings for local expatriates ...
in their hometown.
In the 2018 horror film ''A Quiet Place
''A Quiet Place'' is a 2018 American post-apocalyptic horror film directed by John Krasinski. The screenplay was written by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods from a story they conceived, with contributions by Krasinski after he joined the project. T ...
'', the 2021 sequel ''A Quiet Place Part II
''A Quiet Place Part II'' is a 2020 American post-apocalyptic horror film written, directed and co-produced by John Krasinski. It is the sequel to the 2018 film ''A Quiet Place'', following the family from the first film as they continue to nav ...
'', and a 2024 movie '' A Quiet Place: Day One'' society has collapsed in the wake of lethal attacks by extraterrestrial creatures who, having no eyesight, hunt humans and other creatures with their highly sensitive hearing; the scattered survivors live most of their lives in near-silence as a result.
Astronomical
In Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer's novel '' When Worlds Collide'' (1933), Earth is destroyed by the rogue planet Bronson Alpha. A selected few escape on a spaceship. In the sequel, '' After Worlds Collide'' (1934), the survivors start a new life on the planet's companion Bronson Beta, which has taken over the orbit formerly occupied by Earth.
In J. T. McIntosh's novel '' One in Three Hundred'' (1954), scientists have discovered how to pinpoint the exact minute, hour, and day the Sun will go "nova
A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...
" – and when it does, it will boil away Earth's seas, beginning with the hemisphere that faces the sun, and as Earth continues to rotate, it will take only 24 hours before all life is eradicated. Super-hurricanes and tornadoes are predicted. Buildings will be blown away. A race is on to build thousands of spaceships for the sole purpose of transferring evacuees on a one-way trip to Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
. When the Sun begins to go nova, everything is on schedule, but most of the spaceships turn out to be defective, and fail en route to Mars.
In Neal Stephenson
Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and baroque.
Stephenson's work explores mathemati ...
's novel ''Seveneves
''Seveneves'' is a science fiction novel by Neal Stephenson published in 2015. The story tells of the desperate efforts to preserve ''Homo sapiens'' in the wake of apocalyptic events on Earth after the unexplained disintegration of the Moon an ...
'', The Moon is destroyed by an unknown agent, forming a massive debris cloud. This cloud threatens to produce a White Sky, which then causes a massive bombardment of Moon fragments. Due to this, a multinational effort is put in place to construct an ark for the preservation of Humanity, built around the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
.
Brian Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for oc ...
' novel '' Hothouse'' (1961) occurs in a distant future where the Sun is much hotter and stronger, and the human population has been reduced to a fifth of what it had been.
J. G. Ballard's novel '' The Drowned World'' (1962) occurs after a rise in solar radiation that causes worldwide flooding and accelerated mutation of plants and animals.
Jerry Pournelle
Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and ergonomics, human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. ...
and Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His 1970 novel ''Ringworld'' won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus, Ditmar Award, Ditmar, and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula award ...
's novel, '' Lucifer's Hammer'' (1977), is about a cataclysmic comet hitting Earth and various groups of people struggling to survive the aftermath in southern California.
Hollywood—which previously had explored the idea of the Earth and its population being potentially endangered by a collision with another heavenly body with the '' When Worlds Collide'' (1951), a film treatment of the aforementioned 1933 novel – revisited the theme in the late 1990s with a trio of similarly themed projects. ''Asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
'' (1997) is an NBC-TV miniseries
In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
about the U.S. government trying to prevent an asteroid from colliding with the Earth. The following year saw dueling big-budget summer blockbuster movies '' Deep Impact'' (1998) and ''Armageddon
Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...
'' (1998), both of which involved efforts to save the Earth from, respectively, a rogue comet and an asteroid, by landing crews upon them to detonate nuclear weapons there in hopes of destroying them.
Characters in the six-part ITV television drama serial '' The Last Train'' (1999) awaken from a cryogenic
In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures.
The 13th International Institute of Refrigeration's (IIR) International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington, DC in 1971) endorsed a univers ...
sleep after an asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
the size of Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
strikes Africa, causing a worldwide apocalypse.
K. A. Applegate's 2001–2003 book series, '' Remnants'', details the end of the world by asteroid collision. The first book, ''The Mayflower Project'' (2001), describes Earth in a sort of hysteria as 80 people are chosen by NASA to board a spacecraft that will go to an unknown destination away from the destroyed Earth. The later books deal with the few survivors waking up from a 500-year hibernation and succumbing to both strange mutations and the will of a strange alien computer/spaceship that they land on. Eventually they return to Earth to find a couple colonies of survivors struggling on a harsh planet completely different from the Earth the Remnants knew.
''Melancholia
Melancholia or melancholy (from ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval, and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly depressed mood, bodily complain ...
'' (2011), the middle entry of filmmaker Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier (né Trier; born 30 April 1956) is a Danish film director and screenwriter.
Beginning in the late-1960s as a child actor working on Danish television series ''Secret Summer'', von Trier's career has spanned more than five decad ...
's "depression trilogy", ends with humanity completely wiped out by a collision with a rogue planet
A rogue planet, also termed a free-floating planet (FFP) or an isolated planetary-mass object (iPMO), is an interstellar object of planetary mass which is not gravitationally bound to any star or brown dwarf.
Rogue planets may originate from ...
. The depressed protagonist reverses roles with her relatives as the crisis unfolds, as she turns out to be the only family member capable of calmly accepting the imminent impact event.
In id Software
id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: game programmer, programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer T ...
's video game '' Rage'' (2011), Earth is heavily damaged, and humanity nearly wiped out, by the direct collision of the real asteroid 99942 Apophis
99942 Apophis ( provisional designation ) is a near-Earth asteroid and a potentially hazardous object, 450 metres (1,480 ft) by 170 metres (560 ft) in size, that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 when initial observatio ...
with the Earth in the year 2029.
Marly Youmans' epic poem ''Thaliad'' (2012) tells the story of a group of children after an unspecified apocalypse from the sky, perhaps connected with solar flares or meteor impact, resulting in people and animals having been burned and the skies having filled with ash. The children survive only because they were together on a school visit to a cave.
In the obscure 2013 Australian film '' These Final Hours'', a massive asteroid hits the Atlantic Ocean dooming all life. The film follows James, who decides to head to the 'party-to-end-all-parties' and there spend the last 12 hours before the global firestorm reaches Western Australia.
In the 2020 film ''Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
'', a massive comet, Clarke, is set on a collision course with Earth, with only a few people permitted into a massive complex of bunkers in Greenland. The film follows the Garrity family's attempts to reach these safe havens after they were unable to board the transport aircraft to the bunkers. Clarke collides with Earth, leaving the planet devastated; however, there are survivors throughout the world, implying that Humanity can still survive. A sequel is now in development called '' Greenland: Migration.''
Cozy catastrophe
The "cozy catastrophe" is not an intentional style of post-apocalyptic science fiction, but rather a criticism of certain apocalyptic works considered as not believably harsh enough for the critic's stated preferences.
Stories subject to this criticism generally involve some sort of catastrophe wherein civilization comes to an end with mass deaths, but the main characters survive relatively unscathed and are freed from the constraints of vulgar civilization in their hideaway, perhaps finding a kind of quiet happiness in the changed world.
The term was coined by Brian Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for oc ...
in ''Billion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction'' (1973). Aldiss was directing his remarks mainly at novels of English author John Wyndham
John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his name ...
such as '' The Kraken Wakes'' (1953), but especially his novel '' The Day of the Triffids'' (1951), whose protagonists did not suffer enough associated hardship from the collapse of society for Aldiss's taste, as well as other British books in the era following the Second World War.
The genre has been defended though as being a valid take on more low-key catastrophes of an ecological sort, and other books have been questioned if they qualify at all - Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...
defended ''The Day of the Triffids'' as not as "cozy" as alleged, for example.
Environmental disaster
'' The Purple Cloud'' (1901) by M. P. Shiel is a novel in which most of humanity has been killed by a poisonous cloud issuing from volcanic eruptions.
In Alfred Walter Stewart's 1923 novel ''Nordenholt's Million'', an engineered strain of bacteria denitrifies almost all plants, causing a collapse of food supply. The plutocrat of the title establishes a haven in central Scotland for a chosen group of survivors, while deliberately wrecking all alternative refuges.
In Alfred Bester
Alfred Bester (December 18, 1913 – September 30, 1987) was an American science fiction author, TV and radio screenwriter, magazine Editing, editor and scriptwriter for comics. He is best remembered for his science fiction, including ''Th ...
's story " Adam and No Eve" (1941), an inventor takes off in a rocket whose propulsion uses a dangerous catalyst. From outer space he sees that the entire world has been destroyed by fire in a runaway reaction caused by the catalyst. Fatally injured in a crash landing, he crawls to the sea so that the bacteria in his body can initiate new life on Earth.
In John Christopher's novel '' The Death of Grass'' (1956), a mutated virus kills cereal crops and other grasses
Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in ...
throughout Eurasia, causing famine.
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...
's novel ''Cat's Cradle
''Cat's Cradle'' is a satirical postmodern novel, with science fiction elements, by American writer Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut's fourth novel, it was first published on March 18, 1963, exploring and satirizing issues of science, technology, the p ...
'' (1963) ends with all the bodies of water turning into "ice-nine
Ice-nine is a fictional material that appears in Kurt Vonnegut's 1963 novel ''Cat's Cradle''. Ice-nine is described as a Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of ice which instead of melting at 0 °C (32 °F), melts at 45.8 � ...
", a fictional phase of ice that forms at room temperature.
In J. G. Ballard's novel '' The Burning World'' (1964, expanded into ''The Drought'' in 1965), pollution in the oceans creates a surface layer that resists evaporation, bringing about a worldwide drought.
John Brunner's novel '' The Sheep Look Up'' (1972) describes an environmentally degraded world rapidly collapsing into social chaos, revolution, and anarchy.
Richard Cowper's three-volume novel
The three-volume novel (sometimes three-decker or triple decker) was a standard form of publishing for British fiction during the nineteenth century. It was a significant stage in the development of the modern novel as a form of popular literatur ...
''The White Bird of Kinship'' (1978–82) envisions a future in which anthropogenic global warming
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
has led to a catastrophic rise in sea level. Most of it takes place two millennia later.
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...
's novel ''Always Coming Home
''Always Coming Home'' is a 1985 science fiction novel by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. It is in parts narrative, pseudo-textbook and pseudo-anthropologist's record. It describes the life and society of the Kesh people, a cultural group ...
'' (1985) takes place long after worldwide disasters—apparently largely environmental though nuclear war may also be involved—have drastically reduced the population. It paints an admiring picture of a primitive society that will not repeat the mistakes of civilization. It won the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize and was a runner-up for a National Book Award
The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...
.
Chuck Dixon's ''Chuck Dixon
Charles Dixon (born April 14, 1954) is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on the Marvel Comics character the Punisher and on the DC Comics characters Batman, Nightwing, and Robin in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Early life
D ...
'' comic has the anti-hero Scully and Rah-Rah the badger team up with teenage Wynn to take on a world fallen to winter. Continued in La Nina, Frozen Fleet, and the book Chuck Dixon
Charles Dixon (born April 14, 1954) is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on the Marvel Comics character the Punisher and on the DC Comics characters Batman, Nightwing, and Robin in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Early life
D ...
Palladium Books' '' Rifts'' roleplaying game (1990) features an apocalypse caused by various natural disasters including the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano which releases a large amount of magical energy that is amplified by deaths of millions occurring during a solstice, at midnight, during a planetary alignment, creating the titular rifts that bring forth various beings and monstrosities from throughout the Megaverse.
In Octavia Butler
Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction writer who won several awards for her works, including Hugo, Locus, and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to recei ...
's 1993 novel ''Parable of the Sower
The Parable of the Sower (sometimes called the Parable of the Soils) is a Parables of Jesus, parable of Jesus found in , , and the apocrypha, extra-canonical Gospel of Thomas.
Jesus tells of a farmer who sows seed indiscriminately. Some seed ...
'', climate change and corporatism are the human-caused reasons for societal collapse.
In the film '' The Day After Tomorrow'' (2004), based on Whitley Strieber
Louis Whitley Strieber (; born June 13, 1945) is an American writer best known for his horror novels '' The Wolfen'' and '' The Hunger'' and for '' Communion'', a non-fiction account of his alleged experiences with non-human entities. He has mai ...
's speculative non-fiction novel '' The Coming Global Superstorm'' (1999), extreme weather events caused by climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
invoke mass destruction across the planet, and eventually result in a new ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
.
The video game '' The Long Dark'' (2017) depicts survival in the wilderness of northern Canada during winter after a geomagnetic disaster has disabled all modern technology.
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (2002) features a world where a magic flood destroyed all settlements that were not located on mountain peaks.
Failure of modern technology
In E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author. He is best known for his novels, particularly '' A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910) and '' A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous shor ...
's novelette " The Machine Stops" (1909), humanity has been forced underground due to inhospitable conditions on Earth's surface, and is entirely dependent on "the machine," a god-like mechanical entity which has supplanted almost all free will
Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...
by providing for humankind's every whim. The machine deteriorates and eventually stops, ending the lives of all those dependent upon it, though one of the dying alludes to a group of humans dwelling on the surface who will carry the torch of humanity into the future.
In René Barjavel
René Barjavel (24 January 1911 – 24 November 1985) was a French author, journalist and critic who may have been the first to think of the grandfather paradox in time travel. He was born in Nyons, a town in the Drôme department in southeas ...
's novel '' Ravage'' (1943), written and published during the German occupation of France
The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...
, a future France is devastated by the sudden failure of electricity, causing chaos, disease, and famine, with a small band of survivors desperately struggling for survival.
Fred Saberhagen
Fred Thomas Saberhagen (May 18, 1930 – June 29, 2007) was an American science fiction and fantasy author most famous for his ''Berserker'' series of science fiction short stories and novels.
Saberhagen also wrote a series of vampire novels in ...
goes one better than Barjavel with the ''Empire of the East'' series which starts, in the 1968 book ''The Broken Lands'', sometime after the "Change" (with sincere nods from Boyett and Stirling), in which a defense designed to temporarily make nukes inoperative, permanently changes some of the laws of science for magic.
Steve Boyett's novel ''Ariel'' (1983, sub-titled "A Book of the Change") also has all technology—including electricity, gunpowder, and some physics principles—ceasing to function, while magic becomes real. He also contributed to the 1986 Borderland series, which investigates a return of the Realm of Faery
A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Ger ...
to the world.
'' The Quiet Earth'', a 1985 New Zealand movie notable for its visually stunning ending, follows a scientist's descent into madness after he wakes up to a world where every single member of the kingdom Animalia
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
has seemingly disappeared. After recovering and finding other people, he realizes his experiments with energy transfers through the Earth's magnetic field are to blame, and that unless he shuts down the experiment, it will destroy the planet.
S. M. Stirling also takes a swipe at the inconstant-physical-constants field with the ''Emberverse'' series. '' Dies the Fire'' (2004), '' The Protector's War'' (2005), and '' A Meeting at Corvallis'' (2006), depict the world's descent into feudalism
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
after a sudden mysterious "change" alters physical laws so that electricity, gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
, and most forms of high-energy-density technology no longer work. Civilization collapses, and two competing groups struggle to re-create medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
technologies and skills, as well as master magic. Like Boyett's novel, Stirling's features Society for Creative Anachronism
The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes ...
members as favorably disposed survivors, and a hang glider attack against a building.
'' Afterworld'' (first aired in 2007) is an animated American science fiction television series where a network of satellites firing persistent electronic pulses, combined with a strange nanotechnology, has not only destroyed most electronic technology on the planet, but also caused the deaths of 99% of humanity, and is now causing strange mutations to occur in lower forms of life.
The video game series ''S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
''S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'' is a first-person shooter survival horror video game franchise developed by Ukrainian game developer GSC Game World. The series is set in an Parallel universe (fiction), alternate version of the present-day Chernobyl Exclusio ...
'' is set after a second Chernobyl Disaster
On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...
which pollutes the Ukrainian Countryside, resulting in otherworldly changes to the environment, causing the flora, fauna and laws of physics to irreversibly morph and mutate.
John Barnes
John Charles Bryan Barnes (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. Often considered one of the greatest England players of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players, Barnes currently works as an ...
' ''Daybreak'' series (starting 2010) deals with an America devastated by a nanotech swarm.
NBC's ''Revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
'' (2012–2014) also revolved around a "change" after which the principles of electricity and physics are inoperable; however, the focus of the story was how a group of protagonists tried to get the power back on while opposing the efforts of a tyrannical militia leader to understand it first (so that he can take absolute power).
The web series '' H+: The Digital Series'' (2012-2013) depicts in part, the aftermath of a world in which a computer virus
A computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and Code injection, inserting its own Computer language, code into those programs. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas ...
that infected a popular brain-computer interface killed one-third of the population, leading to a breakdown in order and the lack or shortage of electricity and other modern conveniences.
'' All Systems Down'' (2018) is an American novel which describes a cyber war that cripples Western infrastructure, resulting in the collapse of society.
Robert Harris's novel ''The Second Sleep'' (2019) is set in a fundamentalist agrarian society several centuries after the collapse of global civilisation, which is implied to be the result of a sudden breakdown of the internet, possibly as the result of cyberwarfare
Cyberwarfare is the use of cyberattack, cyber attacks against an enemy State (polity), state, causing comparable harm to actual warfare and/or disrupting vital computer systems. Some intended outcomes could be espionage, sabotage, propaganda, ...
.
AI takeover and technological singularity
The topic of technological singularity
The technological singularity—or simply the singularity—is a hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable consequences for human civilization. According to the ...
, also known as “singularity,” was first coined in 1993. Since then, the idea of the term has been used to produce countless major motion pictures and earn Hollywood producers millions of dollars at the box office. The "singularity" refers to a future moment in human history when science and science fiction, religion and philosophy, and hope and fear converge. The mathematician and science fiction writer Vernor Vinge
Vernor Steffen Vinge (; October 2, 1944 – March 20, 2024) was an American science fiction author and professor. He taught mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University. He was the first wide-scale popularizer of the technolo ...
coined the term to denote a juncture when artificial intelligence (AI) equals, and then in an intelligence explosion, far exceeds man intelligence.” In laymen's terms, technological singularity is the theoretical future moment when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence and becomes aware, autonomous, and potentially threatening to humans.
*''The Terminator
''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd and produced by Hurd. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in t ...
'' (1984), James Cameron
James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...
directs this science-fiction thriller about a futuristic killing machine called the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
), which is sent back to the year 1984 to assassinate a young woman named Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton
Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is an American actress. Known for portraying tough, resilient characters, she made her film debut in 1979 before achieving fame with her starring role as Sarah Connor (Terminator), Sarah Connor i ...
). The cyborg comes from the year 2029, following a nuclear war that has devastated the better part of civilization. Computer defense mechanisms have turned on their creators, starting another war, in an effort to eliminate the human race altogether. Man's valiant rebel leader is John Connor, Sarah's son. John is destined to help the human race win this war, and the Terminator is the only thing standing in the way. Sent back to the present, the cyborg must kill Sarah before John is born. It systematically eliminates every Sarah Connor in the city of Los Angeles. But Sarah escapes with the man sent to protect her, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn
Michael Biehn ( or ; born July 31, 1956) is an American actor, primarily known for his roles in science fiction films directed by James Cameron; as Sgt. Kyle Reese in ''The Terminator'' (1984), Cpl. Dwayne Hicks in ''Aliens (film), Aliens'' (1 ...
) before the Terminator can get to her. What follows is a massive chase that will eventually end in victory for mankind. Co-writer William Wisher Jr.
William Howard Peter Wisher Jr. is an American screenwriter, known for his work with long-time friend James Cameron on the screenplays for ''The Terminator'' and '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', and his work with Caleb Carr on '' Exorcist: The ...
has a cameo as a police officer.
Fossil fuel supply scarcities
The film ''Mad Max
''Mad Max'' is an Australian media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It centres on a series of post-apocalyptic and dystopian action films. The franchise began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ...
'' (1979), directed by George Miller, presents a world in which oil resources have been nearly exhausted. This has resulted in constant energy shortages and a breakdown of law and order. The police do battle with criminal motorcycle gangs, with the result being the complete breakdown of modern society and nuclear war as depicted in ''Mad Max 2
''Mad Max 2'' (released as ''The Road Warrior'' in the United States) is a 1981 Australian Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Utopian and dystopian fiction, dystopian action film directed by George Miller (filmmaker), G ...
'' (1981). The opening narration of ''Mad Max 2'' implies that the fuel shortage was caused not just by peak oil, but also by oil reserves being destroyed during a large scale conflict in the Middle East. The remnants of society survive either through scavenging, or in one notable case, as depicted in the third sequel '' Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'' (1985), by using methane derived from pig feces.
James Howard Kunstler's novel '' World Made By Hand'' (2008) imagines life in upstate New York after a declining world oil supply has wreaked havoc on the US economy, and people and society are forced to adjust to daily life without cheap oil.
Canadian novelist Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland (born 30 December 1961) is a Canadian novelist, designer and visual artist. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller '' Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture'', popularized the terms Generation X and McJob. He ...
's book '' Player One'' (2010) deals with four individuals taking refuge in a Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
airport bar while a series of cataclysmic events occurs outside.
Alex Scarrow's novel ''Last Light'' and its sequel ''Afterlight'' narrate the fall of British civilization after a war in the Middle East eradicates the majority of the Earth's oil supply.
The backstory of the video game series ''Fallout
Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the ...
'' revolves around the so-called "Resource Wars", beginning circa 2050, when oil supplies become depleted, leading to a disastrous series of wars that include Europe going to war with the Middle East before disintegrating into warring nation-states after all available oil is used up, the United Nations collapsing, the U.S annexing Mexico and Canada, and finally total nuclear war between the U.S and China in 2077 after over 25 years of war.
Pandemic
Comics
'' Crossed'' by Garth Ennis
Garth Ennis (born 16 January 1970) is a Northern Irish-American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' ''Punisher'' franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dar ...
is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which a bodily fluid-borne virus has destroyed civilization. Carriers of the virus develop a cross-shaped rash on their faces and act without inhibitions, raping, killing and torturing the few remaining uninfected humans.
'' Y: The Last Man'' by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra
Pia Jasmin Guerra is an American-born Canadian comic book artist and editorial cartoonist, best known for her work as co-creator and lead penciller on the Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo title ''Y: The Last Man''. She has worked in the comics industr ...
deals with the lives of Yorick Brown and his monkey Ampersand, after a plague wipes out all but three male mammals on the Earth, leaving the whole planet to be controlled by women.
'' The Walking Dead'' is a comic book series published by Image Comics
Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...
, written by Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman (; born November 30, 1978)Löchel, Ingo"The Walking Dead: Die Comic-Serie – Robert Kirkman" Zauberspiegel. Retrieved February 17, 2013. is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for co-creat ...
, with artwork initially by Tony Moore, and later by Charlie Adlard
Charles Adlard (born 4 August 1966) is a British comic book artist known for his work on books such as '' The Walking Dead'' and '' Savage''.
Career
Adlard began his work in the UK on ''White Death'' with Robbie Morrison and '' 2000 AD'' serie ...
. It began in 2003 and concluded in 2019. The story follows a group of survivors navigating a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies. '' The Walking Dead'' television series is based on the comic books. They have also spawned a motion comic.
Kamandi is an American comic book character, created by artist Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
and published by DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
. In the eponymous series, Kamandi is a teenage boy on a post-apocalyptic Earth that the textual narrative describes as "Earth A.D. (After Disaster)". The Earth has been ravaged by a mysterious calamity called the Great Disaster. The precise nature of the Great Disaster is never revealed in the original series, although it "had something to do with radiation" (in the series' letter column, Jack Kirby and his then-assistant Steve Sherman repeatedly asserted that the Great Disaster was not a nuclear war, a fact confirmed in issue #35). The Disaster wiped out human civilization and a substantial portion of the human population. A few isolated pockets of humanity survived in underground bunkers, while others quickly reverted to pre-technological savagery.
'' Xenozoic Tales'' (also known as ''Cadillacs & Dinosaurs'') is an alternative comic book by Mark Schultz set in a post-apocalyptic future starring mechanic Jack Tenrec and scientist Hannah Dundee. Earth has been ravaged by pollution and natural disasters and humanity survived by building vast underground cities. Some 600 years later, mankind emerged to find that the world had been reclaimed by previously extinct lifeforms (most spectacularly, dinosaurs). In the new 'Xenozoic' era, technology is extremely limited and those with mechanical skills command a great deal of respect and influence.
Killraven (Jonathan Raven) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by co-plotters Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...
and Neal Adams
Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...
, scriptwriter Gerry Conway
Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...
, the Martians from H. G. Wells' ''The War of the Worlds'' return in 2001 for another attempt at conquering the planet (later retconned
Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...
as extrasolar aliens using Mars as a staging area). After humanity's enslavement, men not used as breeders or collaborators are trained and forced to battle gladiator-style for the Martians' amusement; women are used as breeders to supply infants, which are eaten by the Martians as a delicacy. Jonathan Raven, dubbed Killraven as his gladiatorial nom de guerre, escapes with the help of the gladiatorial "keeper", but without his brother, Deathraven. Killraven joins the Freemen, a group of freedom fighters against Martian oppression.
Deathlok is a Marvel comic book character created by Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler (February 6, 1949 – May 19, 2017) was an Americans, American comics artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' in the mid-1970s and for creating the character Deat ...
and Doug Moench
Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American writer of comics, novels, short stories, newspaper feature articles, weekly newspaper comic strips, film screenplays and teleplays. He is notable for his ''Batman'' wo ...
. Colonel Luther Manning is an American soldier who was fatally injured and reanimated in a post-apocalyptic future (originally given the date of 1990) as the experimental cyborg Deathlok the Demolisher. He verbally communicates with his symbiotic computer, to which he refers as the abbreviated "'Puter". He battles the evil corporate and military regimes that have taken over the United States, while simultaneously struggling not to lose his humanity.
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the Gr ...
, as portrayed in the DC comic book series titled ''Hercules Unbound'', featured the adventures of Hercules in a post-apocalyptic future. It made use of characters and concepts, such as the Atomic Knights and the intelligent animals from Jack Kirby's ''Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth'' series as an attempt to tie in some of the future series.
''Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of the British weekly anthology Comic book, comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977). He is the magazi ...
'' is set in a future Earth damaged by World War III, a nuclear war instigated by corrupt U.S. President "Bad" Bob Booth in 2070. The majority of the world was left an irradiated wasteland filled with hostile mutant lifeforms, with the surviving population being centralized in the so-called Mega-Cities, massive urban sprawls covering entire states created to deal with overpopulation during the 21st century. Further massive conflicts during the comics' present, such as the "Apocalypse War" against East-Meg (the government of the former Soviet territories) and the "Day Of Chaos" has caused even more destruction.
''Axa
Axa S.A. is a French multinational insurance corporation headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It also provides investment management and other financial services via its subsidiaries. As of 2024, it is the fourth largest financi ...
'' is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth in the year 2080. Axa is a woman who, having grown sick of the regimented and stifling society inside a domed city, flees into the untamed wilderness. The strip mixed elements of science fiction and sword-swinging barbarian tales (the lead character herself bears more than a casual similarity to Red Sonja).
''Meltdown Man'' (SAS Sergeant Nick Stone) finds himself flung into the far-future by a nuclear blast, where the last remaining humans are led by a merciless tyrant called Leeshar and rule over the eugenically modified animal castes known as 'Yujees'. Accompanied by catwoman Liana, bullman T-Bone and loyal wolfman Gruff, Stone is intent on ending Leeshar's dark reign by leading the slave-like Yujees in rebellion.
'' Mighty Samson'' was set in the area around New York City, now known as "N'Yark", in an Earth devastated by a nuclear war. The series featured Samson, a barbarian adventurer, and was created by writer Otto Binder and artist Frank Thorne.
'' Druuna'' is an erotic science fiction and fantasy comic book character created by Italian cartoonist Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri. Most of Druuna's adventures revolve around a post-apocalyptic future, and the plot is often a vehicle for varied scenes of hardcore pornography and softcore sexual imagery.
Films and television
Director George A. Romero's ''Night of the Living Dead
''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American Independent film, independent zombie horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John A. Russo, John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Har ...
'' (1968), and its five sequels, including '' Dawn of the Dead'' (1978) and ''Day of the Dead
The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...
'' (1985), popularized the concept of a zombie apocalypse
Zombie apocalypse is a subgenre of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Usually, only a few individuals or small bands of human survivors are left living.
There are many d ...
, focusing on the breakdown of American society in a world where the dead are re-animating as mindless, undead cannibals due to some unknown disease, implied to be extraterrestrial in origin, and anyone bitten but not eaten will soon become a zombie as well.
The BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
television series '' Survivors'' (1975–1977) and its 2008 remake series focus on a group of British survivors in the aftermath of a genetically engineered virus that has killed over 90% of the world's population. The first series of both versions examine the immediate after-effects of a pandemic
A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
outbreak of the flu, while the subsequent series concentrate on the survivors' attempts to build communities and make contacts with other groups.
The Japanese film ''Virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...
'' (1980) illustrates the global effects of the deadly ''MM88'', a fictional virus that potentiates the effects of any other disease. It also features a doomsday device
A doomsday device is a hypothetical construction – usually a weapon or weapons system – which could destroy all life on a planet, particularly Earth, or destroy the planet itself, bringing " doomsday", a term used for the end of planet Earth ...
where it is discovered that the nuclear arsenal could be triggered by an earthquake in a chain reaction
A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events.
Chain reactions are one way that sys ...
.
''12 Monkeys
''12 Monkeys'' is a 1995 American Science fiction film, science fiction thriller film directed by Terry Gilliam from a screenplay by David Peoples and Janet Peoples, based on Chris Marker's 1962 short film ''La Jetée''. It stars Bruce Willis, M ...
'' (1995) is a science fiction film that depicts the remains of human civilization after an uncontrollable pandemic wipes out 99% of the human population. It is a semi-remake of '' La Jetée'' (1962), and both films focus on the theme of fate by introducing the ability to travel through time and make contact with pre-apocalyptic society. ''12 Monkeys
''12 Monkeys'' is a 1995 American Science fiction film, science fiction thriller film directed by Terry Gilliam from a screenplay by David Peoples and Janet Peoples, based on Chris Marker's 1962 short film ''La Jetée''. It stars Bruce Willis, M ...
'' is also a SyFy television series that premiered in 2015.
'' The Tribe'' (1999) is a television series that deals with a mysterious virus that kills the adult population, leaving the children of the world to fend for themselves. The kids are divided into different tribes and fight against each other for their survival. The show focuses on the tribe called the Mall Rats, who take shelter in the city's mall to protect themselves from the dangers outside; however, the virus mutates and begins to infect all the children, forcing the Mall Rats to search for the rumoured virus antidote hidden in government buildings that the adults left behind.
The film ''28 Days Later
''28 Days Later'' (sometimes stylised with ellipsis as ''28 Days Later...'') is a 2002 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. It stars Cillian Murphy as a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma to d ...
'' (2002) and its sequel ''28 Weeks Later
''28 Weeks Later'' is a 2007 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rowan Joffé, Enrique López Lavigne and Jesus Olmo. It serves as a standalone sequel to '' 28 Days Later'' (20 ...
'' (2007) revolves around a virus in Britain that turns anyone infected into a mindlessly violent psychotic, though still alive and not undead, in a variation of the classic zombie theme. This also makes the infected more dangerous, as they can run very quickly and their bodies are not decaying. The plot centers on groups of uninfected survivors and a handful of virus carriers who are immune to the effects of the disease.
In the Reboot series of ''Planet of the Apes
''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...
'', Will Rodman was a scientist of Gen-Sys who was working on an experimental drug he called ALZ-112 in an effort to save his father, who had been diagnosed with ''Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
''. The virus proved a success with ape test subjects by greatly enhancing their intelligence, and managed to cure Rodman's father, but only temporarily, as his body gradually developed antibodies against the virus. In order to make an stronger version, ALZ-113 (later dubbed Simian Flu) was created, which proved to be fatal to humans. During the first trial, the virus was accidentally released onto Robert Franklin when Koba kicked off Franklin's breathing mask. Franklin was later found dead, but not before he infected Rodman's neighbor Douglas Hunsiker. After the apes broke free and escaped to the Muir Woods, an infected Hunsiker went to his job as an airline pilot, triggering the spread of the ALZ-113 across the planet via international flight routes and leading to a worldwide pandemic that destroyed most of humanity. Later, the virus mutated, which caused humans to lose their speech capabilities and their advanced intelligence. Eventually, the Apes became the new predominant species of Earth, while humanity have regressed into a primitive state.
In the comedy film '' Zombieland'' (2009), a disease mutates most Americans (the rest of the world is not mentioned) and turns them into animal-like creatures hungry for human flesh. The story is about a group of people who stick together and try to survive against the zombies. Another comedy film, '' Warm Bodies'' (2013), adds a romantic twist to its story, as a zombie falls in love with an uninfected woman and protects her from his fellow zombies.
The AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
television series '' The Walking Dead'', based on the comic book series of the same name, premiered in 2010. It centers around a group of people in the state of Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
who struggle to survive and adapt in a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies (here called "walkers") and opposing groups of survivors who are often more dangerous than the walkers themselves. The popularity of the series has led to a spin-off franchise comprising an aftershow
An aftershow or after-show is a genre of television talk show whose topic is another television program. An aftershow is typically broadcast immediately after a new episode of its corresponding program, to help retain the audience, and to provide a ...
(''Talking Dead
''Talking Dead'' is a live television aftershow in which host Chris Hardwick discusses episodes of the AMC television series '' The Walking Dead'', ''Fear the Walking Dead'' and '' The Walking Dead: World Beyond'' with guests, including celebrit ...
''), a companion television series (''Fear the Walking Dead
''Fear the Walking Dead'' is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series created by Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson for AMC. It is a spin-off to '' The Walking Dead'', which is based on the comic book series of the same na ...
'', a prequel with different characters from the source material), video games (e.g., '' The Walking Dead: The Game (Season One)'', '' The Walking Dead: Season Two'' and '' The Walking Dead: Season Three'') webisodes (including ''The Talking Dead'' webisodes and the ''Fear the Walking Dead'' web series), and numerous parodies and spoofs.
''World War Z
''World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'' is a 2006 zombie apocalyptic horror novel written by American author Max Brooks. The novel is broken into eight chapters: “Warnings”, “Blame”, “The Great Panic”, “Turning the Tid ...
'' (2013) is an apocalyptic action horror film based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Max Brooks
Maximilian Michael Brooks (born May 22, 1972) is an American actor and author. He is the son of comedian Mel Brooks and actress Anne Bancroft. Much of Brooks's writing focuses on Zombie (fictional), zombie stories. He was a senior fellow at the ...
. The film focuses on a former United Nations investigator who must travel the world to find a way to stop a zombie pandemic.
'' The Last Ship'' (2014) is an American action-drama television series, based on the 1988 novel of the same name by William Brinkley. After a global viral pandemic
A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
wipes out over 80% of the world's population, the crew (consisting of 218 people) of a lone unaffected U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer
A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers which have a pr ...
, the fictional '' USS Nathan James (DDG-151)'', must try to find a cure, stop the virus, and save humanity.
''Train to Busan
''Train to Busan'' () is a 2016 South Korean action horror film directed by Yeon Sang-ho, written by Park Joo-suk, and starring Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an, Choi Woo-shik, Ahn So-hee, and Kim Eui-sung. The film mostly t ...
'' (2016) is an apocalyptic zombie film, based around a South Korean train from Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
to Busan
Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...
, hence the name. The virus was created from a chemical accident, and, when it infects any animal, gives the animal heightened senses and makes humans very violent. While they do get disoriented from darkness, they are very deadly. The story follows Seo Seok-woo (Gong Yoo
Gong Ji-cheol (; born July 10, 1979), known professionally as Gong Yoo (), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his starring roles in the television series ''Coffee Prince'' (2007), '' Guardian: The Lonely and Great God'' (2016–2017 ...
) and his daughter, Su-an ( Kim Su-an), as they find their way through a ravaged South Korea.
'' The Rain (TV series)'' (2018) is a Danish post-apocalyptic web-television series. After a rain-borne virus is released over the region of Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
, causing a pandemic. Simone Andersen (played by Alba August) and Rasmus Andersen, along with their mother and father, must make it to an underground bunker. Things soon go awry when the father must leave to find a cure and the children are forced out of the bunker due to lack of food.
'' The Last Man on Earth'' (2015) is a post-apocalyptic American comedy TV series over 4 seasons starring Will Forte. It plays the premise for laughs.
Novels and short stories
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
's '' The Last Man'', published in 1826, is set in the end of the 21st century. It chronicles a group of friends, based on Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
, Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...
and others, moving through Europe as a plague kills most of the world's population. '' The Scarlet Plague'' by Jack London
John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...
, published in 1912, is set in San Francisco in the year 2073, 60 years after a plague has largely depopulated the planet. Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...
's '' Nightfall'' (1941) describes a world with 6 suns, in constant daylight, except for an eclipse-based night every 2000 years, leading to mass hysteria and destruction. Written in 1949 by George R. Stewart, '' Earth Abides'' is the story of a man who finds most of civilization has been destroyed by a disease. Slowly, a small community forms around him as he struggles to start a new civilization and to preserve knowledge and learning.
'' Empty World'' is a 1977 novel by John Christopher
Sam Youd (16 April 1922 – 3 February 2012) was a British writer best known for science fiction written under the name of John Christopher, including the novels '' The Death of Grass'', ''The Possessors'', and the young-adult novel series ...
about an adolescent boy who survives a plague which has killed most of the world's population. Originally published in 1978, Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
's '' The Stand'' follows the odyssey of a small number of survivors of a world-ending influenza
Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...
pandemic, later revealed to be the man-made superflu "Captain Trips". It was eventually adapted for a 1994 miniseries of the same title starring Gary Sinise and Molly Ringwald. The novel was semi-inspired by King's earlier short story "Night Surf
"Night Surf" is a post-apocalyptic short story by Stephen King, first published in the spring 1969 issue of ''Ubris''. In 1978 in literature, 1978 it was collected in King's book ''Night Shift (short story collection), Night Shift''.
Plot summary ...
". Also published in 1977, Graham Masterton's novel titled ''Plague'', tells the story of a mutated (and incurable as well as fatal) version of Yersinia pestis
''Yersinia pestis'' (''Y. pestis''; formerly ''Pasteurella pestis'') is a Gram-negative bacteria, gram-negative, non-motile bacteria, non-motile, coccobacillus Bacteria, bacterium without Endospore, spores. It is related to pathogens ''Yer ...
sweeping across the United States. Gore Vidal's 1978 novel ''Kalki
Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages i ...
'' also involves an apocalyptic event caused by a man-made pandemic.
The 1982 novel '' The White Plague'' by Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science-fiction author, best known for his 1965 novel Dune (novel), ''Dune'' and its five sequels. He also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, ...
has molecular biologist John Roe O'Neill exploring vengeance on a global scale when his wife is killed in an IRA car bombing. He creates a pandemic that kills only women. Written in 1984, the novel ''Emergence
In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence occurs when a complex entity has properties or behaviors that its parts do not have on their own, and emerge only when they interact in a wider whole.
Emergence plays a central rol ...
'' by David R. Palmer is set in a world where a man-made plague destroys the vast majority of the world's population. The novel was nominated for several awards and won the 1985 Compton Crook Award.
José Saramago
José de Sousa Saramago (; 16 November 1922 – 18 June 2010) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese writer. He was the recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony 's 1995 novel ''Blindness
Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...
'' tells the story of a city or country in which a mass epidemic of blindness destroys the social fabric. It was adapted into the film ''Blindness (2008 film)">Blindness
Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...
'' in 2008. Published in 2003 by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...
, ''Oryx and Crake'' is set after a genetically modified virus wipes out the entire population except for the protagonist and a small group of humans that were also genetically modified. A series of flashbacks depicting a world dominated by biocorporations explains the events leading up to the apocalypse. This novel was also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
. A sequel, ''The Year of the Flood
''The Year of the Flood'' is a novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, the second book of her dystopian trilogy, released on September 22, 2009, in Canada and the United States, and on September 7, 2009, in the United Kingdom.
The novel was ...
'', was published in 2007, followed by '' MaddAddam'' in 2013, the trilogy's conclusion.
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres.
He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science ficti ...
's 1954 novel '' I Am Legend'' deals with the life of Robert Neville, the only unaffected survivor of a global pandemic that has turned the world's population into vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...
zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...
-like creatures. The novel has been adapted to film three times: '' The Last Man on Earth'' (1964), ''The Omega Man
''The Omega Man'' (stylized as ''The Ωmega Man'') is a 1971 American Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, postapocalyptic action film directed by Boris Sagal and starring Charlton Heston as a survivor of a pandemic. It was written by John W ...
'' (1971), and '' I Am Legend'' (2007). Jeff Carlson wrote a trilogy of novels beginning with his 2007 debut, ''Plague Year'', a present-day thriller about a worldwide nanotech contagion that devours all warm-blooded life below in elevation. Its two sequels, ''Plague War'' and ''Plague Zone'', deal with a cure that allows return to an environment that suffered ecological collapse due to massive increases in insects and reptiles.
'' World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War ''(2006) is an apocalyptic horror novel by Max Brooks
Maximilian Michael Brooks (born May 22, 1972) is an American actor and author. He is the son of comedian Mel Brooks and actress Anne Bancroft. Much of Brooks's writing focuses on Zombie (fictional), zombie stories. He was a senior fellow at the ...
. The book is a collection of individual accounts of desperate struggle during and after a devastating global conflict against a zombie plague, narrated by an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission. It also describes the social, political, religious, and environmental changes that result from the plague.
Emily St. John Mandel's '' Station Eleven'' (2014) takes place in the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
region after a fictional swine flu pandemic
A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
, known as the "Georgia Flu", has devastated the world, killing most of the population. The novel won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in May 2015. The award committee highlighted the novel's focus on the survival of human culture after an apocalypse, as opposed to the survival of humanity itself.[
James Dashner's ''The Maze Runner'' trilogy (2009–2011) takes place after Sun flares have scorched the Earth. As a result, the governments of the world released a virus to kill off some of the world's population to save resources. The virus turned out to be highly contagious, and it made humans lose control of their mind until they were an animal inside their head. This led to it being nicknamed, "The Flare". The series was made into movies by ]20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
, with ''The Maze Runner
''The Maze Runner'' is a 2009 dystopian novel by American author James Dashner. It takes place in a world suffering from a coronal mass ejection and whose surviving civilians fight to avoid an apocalyptic illness called the Flare. It is writt ...
'' released in 2014, '' The Scorch Trials'' in 2015 and the third in the series, '' The Death Cure'' in 2018.
Video games
'' Abomination: The Nemesis Project'' (1999) takes place in 1999 after the United States has been almost wiped out by a deadly plague. The disease started on the East Coast, and communication with the West Coast ceased within 72 hours. The last few groups of survivors stopped broadcasting after six days, and the overwhelming majority of the country's population has been wiped out. The player leads a team of eight genetically altered supersoldier
A super soldier (or supersoldier) is a concept soldier capable of operating beyond normal human abilities through technological augmentation or (in fictional depictions) genetic modification or cybernetic augmentation. Soldiers that obtain greate ...
s to defeat an infestation of a global genetic plague which slowly turns into a superorganism.
The ''Left 4 Dead
''Left 4 Dead'' is a 2008 first-person shooter game developed by Valve South and published by Valve. It was originally released for Windows and Xbox 360 in November 2008 and for Mac OS X in October 2010, and is the first title in the '' Left 4 ...
'' series (first released in 2008) is set in the days after a pandemic outbreak of a viral strain transforms the majority of the population into zombie-like feral creatures. The games follow the adventures of four survivors attempting to reach safe houses and military rescue while fending off the attacking hordes.
'' Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward'' (2012) takes place years after an artificial virus, called Radical-6, was released, exterminating almost all of humanity. The sequel '' Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma'' (2016) details the events that lead to the virus being released.
''Plague Inc.
''Plague Inc.'' is a real-time strategy simulation game developed and published by Ndemic Creations. The game was inspired by the 2011 film '' Contagion'' and the 2008 browser game ''Pandemic 2''. The player creates and evolves a pathogen to an ...
'' (2012) focuses not on the survival of humanity after or during an apocalypse, but rather on controlling the disease or creature responsible for the destruction of humanity.
''The Last of Us
''The Last of Us'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players control Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States ...
'' (2013) revolves around the premise of a mutated Cordyceps fungus spreading to humans, resulting in the deterioration of society within the United States. DLC '' The Last of Us: Left Behind'' (2014) takes place months before Ellie meets Joel. The sequel '' The Last of Us Part II'' (2020) continues the story of Joel and Ellie 5 years after the first game.
''Dying Light
''Dying Light'' is a 2015 survival horror video game developed by Techland and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game's story follows undercover agent Kyle Crane who is sent to infiltrate a quarantine zone in a fictiona ...
'' (2015) takes place in the city of Harran, quaratined due to a virus that has turned many of its citizens into zombie-like antagonists. An expansion titled '' Dying Light: The Following'' (2016) followed. The sequel '' Dying Light 2 Stay Human'' (2022) is set 22 years after the events of the first game, in the city Villedor.
'' They Are Billions'' (2018) is also an example of a post-apocalyptic future, in which players must establish, manage and defend colonies amidst a zombie apocalypse
Zombie apocalypse is a subgenre of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Usually, only a few individuals or small bands of human survivors are left living.
There are many d ...
.
''Tom Clancy's The Division
''Tom Clancy's The Division'' is a 2016 online-only action role-playing video game developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft. It was released on 8 March for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is set in a near ...
'' (2016) takes place in a pandemic-ravaged New York City that's become overrun by escaped prisoners, gang-members and a faction of 'Cleaners' that are determined to end the epidemic by incinerating anything that might possibly be infected.
'' The Walking Dead (video game series)'' (2012-2019) deals with the mysterious disease prevalent in all currently living people to become a walker or zombie either by being bitten by one or dying with the brain intact. Hostile survivors roam the remaining living world too and the protagonist, Clementine has to deal with them and friends accordingly.
'' Death Stranding'' (2019) is set in a post apocalyptic United States. The country is full of monsters and rain that can speed up the age of anything that it touches.
'' Infection Free Zone'' (early access released in 2024) is set in a post apocalyptic Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
on any location of the map. The game map uses 3D alteration of real Earth map data from OpenStreetMap
OpenStreetMap (abbreviated OSM) is a free, Open Database License, open geographic database, map database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveying, surveys, trace from Ae ...
.
Religious
Film
The 1970s evangelical horror film '' A Thief in the Night'' along with its sequels depict a world in which millions of born-again
To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...
Christians have been raptured; casual and liberal Christians, as well as non-Christians are left behind to live through the Great Tribulation
In Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation () is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as a sign that would occur in the time of the end.
At , "the Great Tribulation" () is used to indicate the period spoken of by Jesus. us ...
. They are persecuted and forced by the one-world government, part of the UN, to take the mark of the beast
The number of the beast (, ) is associated with the Beast of Revelation in chapter 13, verse 18 of the Book of Revelation. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of the beast is six hundr ...
or be killed. Hugely influential in the Christian entertainment industry, the film would inspire other works in Christian fiction in general and Christian horror and Christian apocalyptic themes in particular, such as the ''Left Behind'' series. The film was itself influenced by evangelical Christian author Hal Lindsey
Harold Lee Lindsey (November 23, 1929 – November 25, 2024) was an American evangelical writer and television host. He wrote a series of popular apocalyptic books – beginning with '' The Late Great Planet Earth'' (1970) – asserting that th ...
's popular 1970 book '' The Late Great Planet Earth''.
The Christian-themed ''Left Behind
''Left Behind'' is a multimedia franchise of apocalyptic fiction written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, released by Tyndale House Publishers from 1995 to 2007.
The bestselling premillennial novels are Christian eschatological narrat ...
'' series of 16 novels published between 1995 and 2007, and four film adaptations produced between 2000 and 2014, posits a world in which the righteous believers have suddenly been raptured, en masse, up to Heaven
Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...
, leaving behind an increasingly troubled and chaotic world in which the Antichrist
In Christian eschatology, Antichrist (or in broader eschatology, Anti-Messiah) refers to a kind of entity prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before ...
, foretold in the Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...
, arises to despotically rule over those unfortunate enough to have been "left behind". He is opposed by newly born-again Christians as the end of times (Tribulation
In Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation () is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as a sign that would occur in the time of the end.
At , "the Great Tribulation" () is used to indicate the period spoken of by Jesus. u ...
) approaches.
War
Film and television
H.G. Wells
Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
adapted his novel '' The Shape of Things to Come'' (1933) into the movie '' Things to Come'' (1936). In the movie, England is reduced to rubble by a prolonged conventional, chemical, and biological war. Survivors are depicted living under the rule of a local warlord who raids his neighbors in an attempt to get his fleet of rotting fighter planes in the air again. At the same time, surviving engineers create a technological utopia.
The film '' Panic in Year Zero!'' (1962) tells the story of a Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
family's fight to survive the violence and chaos that ensue in the aftermath of a nuclear war.
'' La Jetée'' (1962) deals with a time traveler sent back in time to help the people of the post-apocalyptic future rebuild civilization after nuclear war destroys most of the world. It was partially remade in 1996 in the film ''12 Monkeys
''12 Monkeys'' is a 1995 American Science fiction film, science fiction thriller film directed by Terry Gilliam from a screenplay by David Peoples and Janet Peoples, based on Chris Marker's 1962 short film ''La Jetée''. It stars Bruce Willis, M ...
''.
In 1965 the BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
produced ''The War Game
''The War Game'' is a 1966 British pseudo-documentary film that depicts a nuclear war and its aftermath. Written, directed and produced by Peter Watkins for the BBC, it caused dismay within the BBC and within government, and was withdrawn bef ...
'', but it was considered too graphic and disturbing to broadcast at the time; it was only in 1985 that it was shown. It portrays a nuclear attack on Great Britain and its after-effects, particularly the efforts of the Civil Defence
Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, ...
system.
''Planet of the Apes
''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...
'' (1968) and its first sequel, '' Beneath the Planet of the Apes'' (1970) are 40th century-set post-apocalyptic entries in its original five-film series while '' Battle for the Planet of the Apes'' (1973) is a turn of the 21st century turn of the third millennium post apocalyptic last entry of this series. The other two films between "Beneath..." and "Battle..." were pre-apocalyptic '' Escape from the Planet of the Apes'' (1971, pre-nuclear bomb Los Angeles of 'present day') and ''Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
''Conquest of the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1972 American science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson and written by Paul Dehn. The film is the sequel to '' Escape from the Planet of the Apes'' (1971) and the fourth installment in the ori ...
'' (1972, also pre-nuclear but this time circa 1991 and with a violent ape revolution).
'' Genesis II'' (1973) television film, created by Gene Roddenberry. Dylan Hunt, a NASA scientist, begins a multi-day suspended animation test right before an earthquake buries the underground laboratory. Discovered in 2133 still alive he is awakened by the organization PAX (descendants of NASA scientists) who promote peace in the world. This television pilot, if picked up, would have followed Dylan and a PAX team as they reach out to the remains of humanity in a post-apocalyptic world by means of a long forgotten underground sub-shuttle rapid transit system that spanned the world right before the Great Conflict. A second pilot, '' Strange New World'', also failed to be picked up as a television series.
The ABC made-for-TV movie ''The Day After
''The Day After'' is a 1983 American television film directed by Nicholas Meyer. The war film postulates a fictional conflict between NATO and the Warsaw Pact over Germany that rapidly escalates into a full-scale nuclear exchange between the ...
'' (1983) deals with a nuclear war between NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
and the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
, focusing on a group of people in the U.S. heartland states of Kansas and Missouri attempting to survive during and after the nuclear exchange.
''Testament
A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament.
Testament or The Testament can also refer to:
Books
* ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book
* ''Testament'', a thriller no ...
'' is a 1983 drama film based on a three-page story "The Last Testament" by Carol Amen which tells the story of how one small suburban town near the San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
slowly falls apart after a nuclear war destroys outside civilization.
The 1984 BBC television film '' Threads'' depicts life before, during, and after the detonation of a Soviet nuclear bomb over Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
, England.
The ''Terminator'' film franchise (first introduced in 1984) depicts an artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
called Skynet becoming self-aware in 1997 and trying to exterminate humanity by instigating nuclear war between the United States and Russia, which results in the death of three billion people. Many of the survivors eventually band together to destroy Skynet and its army of robots (called "terminators"). The series follows resistance leader John Connor
John Connor is a fictional character and the male protagonist of the Terminator (franchise), ''Terminator'' franchise. Created by screenwriter, writer/film director, director James Cameron, the character is first referred to in the 1984 film ''Th ...
and his mother, Sarah Connor, and their adventures before and after the nuclear strike (called "Judgment Day" in the film series).
CBS produced the TV series ''Jericho
Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017.
F ...
'' in 2006–2008, which focused on the survival of the town after 23 American cities were destroyed by nuclear weapons.
The Cartoon Network series ''Adventure Time
''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward and co-produced by Frederator Studios for Cartoon Network. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn the Human, Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...
'' (which began airing in 2010) takes place a thousand years in a future after a nuclear war (referred to as "The Great Mushroom War") where once existent but eventually forgotten magic is recreated and humans are nearly wiped out with all kinds of creatures that had taken their place.
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
's 2011 web series '' Electric City'' is a story based on a post-apocalyptic world. In this world, a group of matriarchs (the "Knitting Society") impose an altruistic but oppressive society to counter the aftermath of a brutal war that brings down modern civilization; however, in time, even this new "utopian" order is ultimately called into question by the inhabitants of the new society.
The CW series '' The 100'' (which began airing in 2014) is a story based on a post-apocalyptic world. After a nuclear war, Earth was uninhabitable and the only survivors were those on space stations which eventually came together to form the Ark; 97 years later on an undeterminable year the Ark is dying and 100 prisoners under the age of 18 are sent to see if Earth is now survivable. There they are faced with the challenges Earth brings and those who survived the nuclear war.
The movie '' Zardoz'' is a surreal take on the genre, revolving around a post-apocalyptic future England where a warrior caste called Exterminators worship a giant, floating stone head known as Zardoz, which gives them weapons and ammunition.
The movie '' The Book of Eli'' released in 2010. Starring Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...
and Gary Oldman
Sir Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Gary Oldman, various accolades, including an Academ ...
, a story of a lone wanderer trying to deliver a book through the wastelands after a nuclear apocalypse. Everyone has to wear sunglasses/goggles due to solar radiation and cannibalism is prevalent (identified by shaky hands). Oldman runs a town with access to water and supplies and tries to take the last copy of the Christian Bible, in braille, from Washington seeking its power. At the time he does not realize the Bible is in braille.
Novels and short stories
Paul Brians's '' Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction'' (1987) is a study that examines atomic war in short stories, novels, and films between 1895 and 1984. Since this measure of destruction was no longer imaginary, some of these new works, such as Nevil Shute's '' On the Beach'' (1957), which was subsequently twice adapted for film (in 1959
Events
January
* January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
and 2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
), Mordecai Roshwald's '' Level 7'' (1959), Pat Frank
Harry Hart "Pat" Frank (May5, 1907October12, 1964) was an American newspaperman, writer, and government consultant. Perhaps the "first of the post-Hiroshima doomsday authors", ''Time'' (obituary), 23 October 1964, p 108. his best known work is ...
's ''Alas, Babylon
''Alas, Babylon'' is a 1959 novel by American writer Pat Frank. It is an early example of post-nuclear apocalyptic fiction and has an entry in David Pringle's book '' Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels''. The novel deals with the effects of ...
'' (1959), and Robert McCammon's ''Swan Song
The swan song (; ) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song just before their death while they have been ...
'' (1987), shun the imaginary science and technology that are the identifying traits of general science fiction. Others include more fantastic elements, such as mutants, alien invaders, or exotic future weapons such as James Axler's '' Deathlands'' (1986).
In Stephen Vincent Benét
Stephen Vincent Benét ( ; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He wrote a book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, '' John Brown's Body'', published in 1928, for which he receive ...
's story " By the Waters of Babylon" (1937, originally titled "The Place of the Gods"), a young man explores the ruins of a city in the northeastern United States, possibly New York City, generations after a war in which future weapons caused "The Great Burning".
According to some theorists, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 has influenced Japanese popular culture
Japanese popular culture includes Cinema of Japan, Japanese cinema, Japanese cuisine, cuisine, Television in Japan, television programs, anime, manga, Video gaming in Japan, video games, Music of Japan, music, and doujinshi, all of which retain ol ...
to include many apocalyptic themes. Much of Japan's manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
and anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
are filled with apocalyptic imagery. The 1954 film '' Gojira'' (1954, romanized as ''Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
'') depicted the title monster as an analogy for nuclear weapons, something Japan had experienced first-hand.
Judith Merril's first novel '' Shadow on the Hearth'' (1950) is one of the earliest post-World War II novels to deal with a post-nuclear-holocaust world. The novel recounts the ordeals of a young suburban housewife and mother of two children as she struggles to survive in a world forever changed by the horrors of a nuclear attack. Several of Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...
's short stories of ''The Martian Chronicles
''The Martian Chronicles'' is a science fiction fix-up novel, published in 1950, by American writer Ray Bradbury that chronicles the exploration and settlement of Mars, the home of indigenous Martians, by Americans leaving a troubled Earth tha ...
'' take place before, during, and after a nuclear war on Earth. The people flee Earth and settle on Mars but have constant conflicts with the native Martians. Several of these stories have been adapted to other media.
Andre Norton
Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen na ...
's ''Star Man's Son'' (1952, also known as ''Daybreak 2250''), is an early post-nuclear-war novel that follows a young man, Fors, in search of lost knowledge. Fors begins his Arthurian quest through a radiation-ravaged landscape with the aid of a telepathic mutant cat. He encounters mutated creatures called "the beast things", which are possibly mutated rats or a degenerate form of humans.
Wilson Tucker's novel '' The Long Loud Silence'' (1952) posits a post-nuclear holocaust America in which the eastern half of the country has been largely destroyed and its surviving inhabitants infected with a plague and barred from crossing the Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
to try to find refuge in the unscathed western part of the country.
A nuclear war occurs at the end of Bradbury's dystopian futuristic novel ''Fahrenheit 451
''Fahrenheit 451'' is a 1953 Dystopian fiction, dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. It presents a future American society where books have been outlawed and "firemen" Book burning, burn any that are found. The novel follows in the ...
'' (1953), with the outcasts, who had fled an unidentified American city to escape a despotic government which burned books in order to control the public by limiting knowledge, left alive to re-establish society.
John Wyndham
John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his name ...
's 1955 novel '' The Chrysalids'' (United States title: ''Re-Birth''), set in a small community untold centuries after a nuclear holocaust (not expressly told, but strongly hinted at with genetic mutations, glowing ruins, landscape baked to glass), tells the story of David, part of a small group of teens who share a limited form of telepathy that allows them to communicate with others who have the same talent; however, the fundamentalist society they live in, regards the slightest difference from the norm as a blasphemy and affront to God. The group attempt to remain hidden, then failing that, survive during a war between mutants and the fundamentalists while waiting for members of a distant advanced telepathic human civilization to rescue them.
In Walter M. Miller Jr.'s '' A Canticle for Leibowitz'' (1959) a recrudescent Catholic Church, pseudo-medieval society, and rediscovery of the knowledge of the pre-holocaust world are central themes.
Edgar Pangborn's ''Tales of a Darkening World: The Davy Series'', written mostly in the 1960s and 1970s, takes place after a nuclear war. The best-known story is the novel '' Davy''.
Poul Anderson
Poul William Anderson ( ; November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until his death in 2001. Anderson also wrote historical novels. He won the Hugo Award seven times an ...
's '' Maurai'' series (1959–1983) also takes place after a nuclear war, and his Hugo and Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...
award-winning story "No Truce With Kings
"No Truce With Kings" is a science fiction novella by American writer Poul Anderson. It won the Hugo Award for Best Short Fiction in 1964, and the Prometheus Award for Classic Fiction (the Hall of Fame award) in 2010. The title is taken from Rud ...
" takes place after a cataclysmic war. Both show the interactions among various kinds of societies that have developed in the centuries of recovery.
Robert Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...
's 1964 novel '' Farnham's Freehold'' follows the story of a group of people that have survived a nuclear explosion. The group survives the attack in a fallout shelter
A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designated to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War.
Durin ...
but are taken to a future in which Africans rule.
'' Damnation Alley'' is a 1967 science fiction novella by Roger Zelazny
Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American fantasy and science fiction writer known for his short stories and novels, best known for '' The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nominatio ...
, which he expanded into a novel in 1969. A film adaptation
A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...
of the novel was released in 1977.
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave science fiction, New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published wo ...
's novella '' A Boy and His Dog'' (1969) takes place in a world desolated by the nuclear warfare in World War IV. It was adapted into a 1975 film of the same name as well as a companion graphic novel titled ''Vic and Blood''. In turn, the 1975 film adaptation influenced the ''Mad Max
''Mad Max'' is an Australian media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It centres on a series of post-apocalyptic and dystopian action films. The franchise began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ...
'' films, particularly ''The Road Warrior
''Mad Max 2'' (released as ''The Road Warrior'' in the United States) is a 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic dystopian action film directed by George Miller, who co-wrote it with Terry Hayes and Brian Hannant. It is the second installment in ...
'' (1981).
Alexander Key
Alexander Hill Key (September 21, 1904 – July 25, 1979) was an American science fiction writer who primarily wrote children's literature.
Early life
Alexander Key was born in 1904 in LaPlatte, Maryland to Alexander Hill and Charlotte ( ...
's novel '' The Incredible Tide'' (1970) is set years after the Third World War. The weapons used were not nuclear, but ultra-magnetic that tore and submerged the continents. The story was adapted in the anime '' Future Boy Conan'' (1978).
Russell Hoban's '' Riddley Walker'' (1980), set in the English county of Kent around two thousand years after a nuclear war, also has religious or mystical themes and is written in a fictional future version of English.
In Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Anime, Japanese ani ...
's manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
(1982–1994) and anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
film '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (1984), human civilization is destroyed after a war known as the "Seven Days of Fire", which results in the Earth's surface becoming polluted and the seas turning poisonous.
William W. Johnstone wrote a series of books between 1983 and 2003 (35 books all containing the word "Ashes" in the title) about the aftermath of worldwide nuclear and biological war.
David Brin
Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American science fiction author. He has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, 's novel ''The Postman
''The Postman'' is a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic dystopian science fiction novel by David Brin. It is about a man wandering the desolate Oregon countryside who finds a United States Postal Service uniform, which h ...
'' (1985) takes place in an America where some are trying to rebuild civilization after the "Doomwar". It was adapted into the film ''The Postman'' (1997).
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...
's post-apocalyptic anthology '' The Folk of the Fringe'' (1989) deals with American Mormons
Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...
after a nuclear war.
Jeanne DuPrau's children's novel ''The City of Ember
''The City of Ember'' is a post-apocalyptic novel by American writer Jeanne DuPrau that was published in 2003. The story is set in Ember, an underground city threatened by aging infrastructure and corruption. It follows two young protagonist ...
'' (2003) was the first of four books in a post-apocalyptic series for young adults. A film adaptation, '' City of Ember'' (2008), stars Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...
and Saoirse Ronan
Saoirse Una Ronan ( ; born 12 April 1994) is an American-born Irish actress. Primarily known for her work in period dramas, she has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, with nominations for four Academy Awards and sev ...
.
Video games
In the computer game '' Wasteland'' (1988) and its sequels, nuclear war occurred in 1998 leaving a wasteland in its wake. The game centers around a player-controlled party of Desert Rangers. '' Wasteland 2'' was produced in 2015 and '' Wasteland 3'' in 2020, both continuing the story of the Desert Rangers.
''Fallout
Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the ...
'', an ongoing series of post-apocalyptic role-playing games
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, eith ...
first published in 1997, depicts a world after a series of resource wars that culminates in a massive nuclear exchange between the U.S and China in 2077. The games revolve around "vaults," underground bunkers for long-term survival (in reality social experiments created by the ruling elite of the pre-war United States), and exploring the outside wasteland, in locations such as California, Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, Washington D.C., New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
, and West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
. ''Fallout'' draws heavily from retro
Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It has been argued that there is a nostalgia cycle in popular culture.
Definition
The term ...
1950s sci-fi, and the setting combines elements of mid-20th century technology, such as vacuum tubes and monochrome screens, with highly advanced artificial intelligences and energy weapons.
In '' Metro 2033'' (2010), a nuclear war occurs in late 2013. Russia was targeted with atomic bombs, causing severe radiation across Moscow, forcing the rest of the people to live underground in the metro stations away from the deadly effects of radiation. Many animals and humans left behind mutated into creatures known as the Dark Ones, who were left outside for the next 20 years. The game is played from the perspective of Artyom, a 20-year-old male survivor and one of the many children brought into the metro right before the bombs dropped. The story takes place in post-apocalyptic Moscow, mostly inside the metro system, but some missions have the player go to the surface which is severely irradiated and a gas mask must be worn at all times due to the toxic air. A sequel, '' Metro: Last Light'' was released in 2013. A sequel to ''Metro: Last Light''; '' Metro: Exodus'' was produced in 2019.
Nuclear apocalypse followed by a demon invasion is a recurring staple of the ''Shin Megami Tensei
''Megami Tensei'', marketed internationally as ''Shin Megami Tensei'' (formerly ''Revelations''), is a Japanese media franchise created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji Okada, Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. Primarily developed ...
'' series. In those games it is generally seen as a major religious event created by or following the orders of God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
, an example of this is in the 1992 Super Famicom
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
game Shin Megami Tensei
''Megami Tensei'', marketed internationally as ''Shin Megami Tensei'' (formerly ''Revelations''), is a Japanese media franchise created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji Okada, Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. Primarily developed ...
, in which the Germanic Deity Thor
Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
, following the orders of God, rains ICBM
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...
s on the city of Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
initiating the second act of the game and setting up for its sequel, Shin Megami Tensei II. In this franchise, these events are referred to as The Great Cataclysm.
The ''Danganronpa
is a Japanese video game franchise created by Kazutaka Kodaka and developed and owned by Spike Chunsoft (formerly Spike). The series primarily surrounds various groups of apparent high-school students who are forced into murdering each oth ...
'' series is revealed to be set in a world where society has collapsed as a result of "The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History" which involves constant chaos, violence, and death for the sake of spreading of despair.
In '' Doom Eternal'', sometime after the events on Mars in ''Doom
Doom is another name for damnation.
Doom may also refer to:
People
* Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed
* Daniel Doom (1934–2020), Belgian cyclist
* Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitche ...
'', Earth has been overrun by demonic forces, wiping out most of the planet's population, under the now-corrupted Union Aerospace Corporation. What remains of humanity has either fled Earth or have joined the Armored Response Coalition, a resistance movement formed to stop the invasion, which has gone into hiding after suffering heavy losses. The Doom Slayer, having previously been betrayed and teleported
Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction and fantasy literature. Teleportation is often paired with tim ...
away by Dr. Samuel Hayden, returns with a satellite fortress controlled by the AI VEGA to quell the demonic invasion by killing the Hell Priests.
'' Call of Duty: Ghosts'' (2013) is set in a near future that follows the nuclear destruction of the Middle East. The oil-producing nations of South America form the "Federation of the Americas" in response to the ensuing global economic crisis and quickly grow into a global superpower, swiftly invading and conquering Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico.
'' Judgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulation'' (2016) is set during an ongoing Apocalypse, after a Hellgate opens on Earth and a host of demons enter the world. The player controls a group of survivors that found a base to fight back and find a way to repel the invasion.
The ''Splatoon
is a third-person shooter video game franchise created by Hisashi Nogami and Shintaro Sato and developed and owned by Nintendo. Set in the far future on a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Earth that has been repopulat ...
'' franchise takes place in a future where humans and all mammals died out due to accelerating climate change, multiple wars and the detonation of a nuclear device in the ice caps causing the ocean levels to rapidly rise. Although many groups of humans tried to survive for some time, both in an underground habitat called Alterna and on a spacecraft called Ark Polaris, all of the attempts resulted in accidents that led to the groups dying out, in the DLC "Splatoon 2 : Octo Expansion" the character of Commander Tartar is introduced, its purpose being to pass down humanity's knowledge to the next dominant species that may rise after the devastation of Earth's biosphere.
''Old World Blues'' is a ''Hearts of Iron IV
''Hearts of Iron IV'' is a 2016 grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. It is the sequel to 2009's ''Hearts of Iron III'' and the fourth main installment in the ''Hearts of Iron'' s ...
'' mod set in the ''Fallout
Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the ...
'' universe. This mod has been praised for its effective portrayal of the ''Fallout'' series within a grand strategy setting.
'' My Time at Portia'' and '' My Time at Sandrock'' (released 2019 and 2023 respectively) are both farm sim video games that were developed by Pathea. Both games took place 300 years after most modern technologies were destroyed.
Other
Anime and manga
'' Violence Jack'' (1973 debut), a manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
and anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
series by Go Nagai
, better known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of Japanese science fiction, science fiction, fantasy, Japanese horror, horror, and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with ''Meakashi Polikichi'', b ...
, is set in a post-apocalyptic world with corruption and psychotic gangs. It is credited with creating the post-apocalyptic manga and anime genre, depicting its post-apocalyptic world as a desert
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...
wasteland with biker gangs
An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or club (in Australia), is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purpo ...
, anarchic violence, ruined buildings, innocent civilians, tribal chiefs and small abandoned villages. This was similar to, and may have influenced, the desert wasteland settings of later post-apocalyptic franchises such as the film series ''Mad Max
''Mad Max'' is an Australian media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It centres on a series of post-apocalyptic and dystopian action films. The franchise began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ...
'' (1979 debut) and the manga/anime series ''Fist of the North Star
is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially collected in 27 volumes ...
'' (, 1983 debut). Goichi Suda (Suda 51), who cited ''Violence Jack'' as an influence on his video game series '' No More Heroes'' (2007 debut), stated: “All of the desert-setting titles are actually inspired by ''Violence Jack''. That came way before ', so that's the real origin of everything.”
Katsuhiro Otomo
is a Japanese Mangaka, manga artist, screenwriter, animator, and film director. He first rose to prominence as a pioneer founder of the New Wave (manga), New Wave in the 1970s. He is best known as the creator of ''Akira (franchise), Akira'', bo ...
's cyberpunk manga and anime series '' Akira'' (1982 debut) is set in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo. Buronson
, known by the pen names and , is a Japanese manga writer. Making his debut in 1972, he first found success with the hardboiled detective manga series '' Doberman Deka'' (1975–1979) alongside illustrator Shinji Hiramatsu. He is best-known fo ...
's ''Fist of the North Star
is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially collected in 27 volumes ...
'' (1983 debut) is a story about Kenshiro, the successor of the deadly ancient martial art, Hokuto Shinken, in a world destroyed by nuclear war
Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...
.
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Anime, Japanese ani ...
's manga series '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (1982 debut), later adapted into a 1984 anime film by Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...
, depicts a post-apocalyptic future where industrial civilization was wiped out in the "Seven Days of Fire" 1,000 years before the main events. A "Toxic Jungle" threatens the last of humanity. Nausicaä is the princess of The Valley of the Wind who, rather than destroying the Toxic Jungle, decides to study the flora and fauna in the hopes of co-existing with the forest.
The manga and anime series ''Dragon Ball Z
''Dragon Ball Z'' (''DBZ'') is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 ''Dragon Ball'' television series and adapts the latter 325 chapters ...
'' (1989 debut) and '' Dragon Ball Super'' (2015 debut), sequels to Akira Toriyama
was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He came to be regarded as one of the most influential and important authors in the history of manga, authoring highly influential and popular series, particularly Dragon Ball (manga), ''Dra ...
's ''Dragon Ball
is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 indi ...
'', contain parallel timelines generated by time-travel to the past from an apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic future. 2 Cybernetic humans caused the mass extinction of roughly two-thirds of Earth's human population, and years later, two higher dimensional beings Zamasu and Goku Black, killed all (but two) of the remaining population - along with an unknown amount of beings from other inhabited planets in that universe.
''Battle Angel Alita
''Battle Angel Alita'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese cyberpunk manga series created by Yukito Kishiro and originally published in Shueisha's '' Business Jump'' magazine from 1990 to 1995. The second of the comic's nine volumes was a ...
'' (1990 debut) is a cyberpunk manga about an amnesiac female cyborg, ''Alita''. It was later adapted into the James Cameron
James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...
film '' Alita: Battle Angel'' (2019).
The anime and manga '' X'' by Clamp features a supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
apocalypse. In it there is a battle over the end of the world between the "Dragons of Heaven" who wish to save humanity, and the "Dragons of Earth" who wish to wipe out humanity. The central character, Kamui Shirō, has to choose which side to fight for. The manga began in 1992 and has been on hiatus since 2003. It has been adapted as an anime film in 1996 and an anime television series between 2001 and 2002.
In ''Neon Genesis Evangelion
, also known as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and directed by Hideaki Anno. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from October 1995 to March 1 ...
'' (1995 debut), the story takes place on an earth shattered by the ''Second Impact'' (referring to the "giant-impact hypothesis 4.5 billion years ago, Theia
Theia (; , also rendered Thea or Thia), also called Euryphaessa (, "wide-shining"), is one of the twelve Titans, the children of the earth goddess Gaia and the sky god Uranus in Greek mythology. She is the Greek goddess of sight and vision, an ...
as the ''first impact'') in Antarctica, in which the security agency ''NERV'' tries to secure Neo Tokyo from a ''Third Impact'', while holding back the real story of the Second Impact from the public and even the protagonists. The Second Impact had led to mass extinctions and wars, as well as significant changes to the planet's climate and population.
'' Uchuu no Stellvia'' (2003 debut) describes an earth after being hit by a big electromagnetic wave from a supernova of a nearby star, where mankind needs to rescue the earth 189 years after this impact from a second wave of matter coming towards the solar system. The anime shows a globalized society who have put together to fight this "enemy".
In '' Black Bullet'' (2011 debut), the earth was devastated by an alien race, spreading a virus that transforms humans into some kind of insect. Only the major cities holding back behind big walls of some fictitious material and are under constant threat to be invaded when these walls fail.
''Attack on Titan
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It is set in a world where humanity is forced to live in cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to a ...
'' (2009 debut) showcases a similar story, but this time the society have fallen back into a medieval state, with humanity having taken refuge behind three massive stone walls that protect them from the ''Titans'', massive naked humanoid creatures, who feed on humans.
In ''Seraph of the End
is a Japanese dark fantasy manga series. It is written by Takaya Kagami, illustrated by Yamato Yamamoto and features storyboards by Daisuke Furuya. The series is set in a world that allegedly comes to an end at the hands of a "human- ...
'' (2012 debut) the world is destroyed by a virus created by humans who kill all humans except under 13 years old and vampires have taken over the Earth using humans for food.
In '' Kino's Journey'' the Story sets on Kino, a girl of 15 years who forms a link with a talking motorbike named Hermes. Together, the duo explores different places and different nations all the while, appreciating the young beauty of life. Their journey through the post-apocalyptic world and various ruins will teach them something useful about life and its unknown depths.
In '' Devilman Crybaby'' (2018 debut) the story describes the downfall of human race due to paranoia towards anyone after Ryo Asuka, the main villain, spreads false information that anyone can be a demon due to dissatisfaction with society.
In '' Apocalypse Hotel'' (2025 debut), the series follows the surviving robot staff working in a hotel in Ginza
Ginza ( ; ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, Tokyo, Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo ...
, a century after humanity left Earth following a disease left the air poisonous to humans. The robots end up taking other forms of guests such as visiting aliens.
Films and literature
In Ayn Rand
Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...
's novella ''Anthem
An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...
'' (1938), society has entered a near-medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
state after a new government forbids any kind of individual thought, even forbidding the words ''I'' and ''me''.
In Arthur C. Clarke's short story " The Nine Billion Names of God" (1953), the universe ends when Tibetan monks (making use of a specially-written computer program) finish writing all of the nine billion possible names of God. The story won a retrospective Hugo Award
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...
.
''The Day the Earth Caught Fire
''The Day the Earth Caught Fire'' is a 1961 British science-fiction disaster film directed by Val Guest and starring Edward Judd, Leo McKern, and Janet Munro. It is one of the classic apocalyptic films of its era. The film opened at the Odeon Ma ...
'' (1961) is a film by Val Guest
Val Guest (born Valmond Maurice Grossman; 11 December 1911 – 10 May 2006) was an English film director and screenwriter. Beginning as a writer (and later director) of comedy films, he is best known for his work for Hammer Film Productions, ...
about an Earth thrown out of its orbit around the Sun by excessive nuclear testing. It paints a picture of a society ready to believe that humans could destroy the planet, hoping that science could fix what it has broken but resigned to the possibility of irreversible doom.
The film '' Soylent Green'' (1973), loosely based upon Harry Harrison's science fiction novel '' Make Room! Make Room!'' (1966), is set in the dystopian future of 2022, in an overpopulated, heavily polluted world, where the masses of mostly homeless and destitute people have been herded into the overcrowded cities and barely survive on government-issued food rations made from the processed corpses of the dead.
Ernst Jünger
Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomology, entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir ''Storm of Steel''.
The son of a successful busin ...
's novel ''Eumeswil
''Eumeswil'' is a 1977 novel by the German author Ernst Jünger. The narrative is set in an undatable post-apocalyptic world, somewhere in present-day Morocco. It follows the inner and outer life of Manuel Venator, a historian in the city-state of ...
s (1977) key theme is the figure of the Anarch, the inwardly-free individual who lives quietly and dispassionately within but not of society and the post apocalyptic world.
John Crowley's novel '' Engine Summer'' (1979) takes place perhaps a thousand years after "the Storm" (not described) destroyed industrial civilization. Surviving cultures seem to be influenced by the 1960s and 1970s counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
.
Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr.; July 20, 1933 – June 13, 2023) was an American author who wrote twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays, and three short stories, spanning the Western, post-apocalyptic, and Southern Got ...
's '' The Road'' (2006) takes place several years after an unspecified cataclysm that forces a father and son to perpetually search for survival. It was adapted into a film in 2009.
Robert Reed
Robert Reed (born John Robert Rietz Jr.; October 19, 1932 – May 12, 1992) was an American actor. He played Kenneth Preston on the legal drama '' The Defenders'' from 1961 to 1965 alongside E. G. Marshall, and is best known for his role as pa ...
's short story "Pallbearer" (2010) deals with most of the developed world's population dying after a mass vaccination program in which the vaccines were purposefully tainted. The survivors are those who were not vaccinated, often for religious reasons, and their descendants. Most of the developing world does not receive the vaccine, and decades later, large numbers of its refugees are arriving to America's shores. The protagonist survives the disaster as a young boy and has a chance encounter with an elderly scientist and her fanatical younger family members.
James Wesley Rawles' novel '' Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse'' (2011) addresses a contemporaneous global economic crash, and focuses on the struggles of a large cast of characters who struggle to survive after what is termed "The Crunch." It covers both the lead up to the economic crash, as well as several years after the crash.
'' This Is The End'' (2013) centers on fictionalized versions of its cast in the wake of a global biblical apocalypse
Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...
. It is a feature-length film adaptation
A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...
of the short film '' Jay and Seth versus the Apocalypse'' (2007), also written by Seth Rogen
Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known primarily for his comedic Leading actor, leading man roles in films, the accolades he has received include nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, ...
and Evan Goldberg
Evan D. Goldberg (born September 15, 1982) is a Canadian screenwriter, film producer and director. He has collaborated with his childhood friend Seth Rogen on a variety of films, including '' Superbad'', '' Pineapple Express'', '' This Is the En ...
, with the short's director, Jason Stone, serving as an executive producer.
''Escape from New York
''Escape from New York'' is a 1981 American Independent film, independent science fiction film, science fiction action film co-written, co-scored and directed by John Carpenter, and starring Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald ...
'' and its sequel '' Escape from L.A.'', as well as supplementary materials published as comic books, is set in a fragmenting United States with rampant crime, pollution, and overpopulation. New York City has been walled off and turned into a gigantic maximum security prison after a 400% rise in crime by 1988. The same happens to Los Angeles in 2000 when a massive earthquake floods the San Fernando Valley, isolating L.A off the west coast.
Robert Jordan's ''The Wheel of Time
''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by the American author Robert Jordan, with American author Brandon Sanderson as co-writer of the final three installments. Originally planned as a trilogy, ''The Wheel of Time'' came to ...
'' is set in a fictional post-apocalyptic world, with a medieval society. In the world, a system of magic, known as the One Power, is divided into a male half (saidin) and a female half (saidar). 3,000 years before the series, the world was a high tech utopia. When humanity tried to find a magic that both men and women could use, they encountered the Dark One, a Satan-like being able to corrupt human nature and the natural world. A war between the "Light" and the "Shadow" (the Dark One and his followers) ends with the Dark One being imprisoned with saidin. He corrupts it from within his prison; however, driving male users of the Power insane. They use their power to destroy civilization and geography in what is known as the "Breaking of the World". The era before the Breaking is later remembered as the "Age of Legends", since much knowledge was lost, and many common feats of that time seemed miraculous to the characters of the series.
Games
* In the '' Gamma World'' (1978) tabletop roleplaying game, the reason for apocalypse varies depending on the edition, going from nuclear war to alien invasion to technology gone rampant to the merging of realities caused by the Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It was built by the CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008, in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists, ...
.
* In the '' Twilight: 2000'' (1984) tabletop roleplaying game, the setting is five years after World War III began, a conventional war followed by a limited nuclear exchange.
* In Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
's videogame '' I Am Alive'' (2012), America has gone through a massive cataclysm known as "the Event" that destroys most cities and areas. Due to the damage of the aftermath, many people are forced to go without resources, causing citizens to become agitated, violent, and bitter, turning them into savage hunters.
* In the '' Lisa: The Painful'' videogame (2014), the world has been turned into a desert wasteland by a mysterious event called the "White Flash".
* In the '' Nomad Gods'' (1977) boardgame, the board depicts an area called the Plaines of Prax, that have been blasted by titanic battles between two gods making it uninhabitable.
* In Guerrilla Games
Guerrilla B.V. (trade name: Guerrilla Games) is a Dutch First-party developer, first-party video game developer based in Amsterdam and part of PlayStation Studios. The company was founded as Lost Boys Games in January 2000 through the merger of ...
' '' Horizon Zero Dawn'' and ''Horizon Forbidden West
''Horizon Forbidden West'' is a 2022 action role-playing game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The sequel to '' Horizon Zero Dawn'' (2017), the game is set in a post-apocalyptic version of the Wester ...
'', the world ended due to an event called the "Faro Plague" but life lives on due to an AI called GAIA.
Music
Many musicians have post-apocalyptic themes and imagery in their lyrics. For example, Muse
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
's album '' The 2nd Law'' (2012) was inspired by post-apocalyptic life in ''World War Z
''World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'' is a 2006 zombie apocalyptic horror novel written by American author Max Brooks. The novel is broken into eight chapters: “Warnings”, “Blame”, “The Great Panic”, “Turning the Tid ...
'', and the event is referred to specifically in the song " Apocalypse Please" (2003).
Post-apocalyptic scenarios were a common theme in the music of Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1965. One of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the San Francisco Bay Area, ...
and Jefferson Starship
Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight RIAA certification, gold or Music rec ...
, most notably the song "Wooden Ships
"Wooden Ships" is a song written and composed by David Crosby, Paul Kantner, and Stephen Stills and recorded both by Crosby, Stills & Nash and by Kantner with Jefferson Airplane. It was written and composed in 1968 in Fort Lauderdale, Flori ...
" and the album '' Blows Against the Empire''.
The music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for the song "Mankind Man"(1995) by the Barstool Prophets featured a dystopian view of the future reminisent of Lord of the Flies
''Lord of the Flies'' is the 1954 debut novel of British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of prepubescent British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves that led to ...
and Mad Max
''Mad Max'' is an Australian media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It centres on a series of post-apocalyptic and dystopian action films. The franchise began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ...
. Likewise, the music video for The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band formed in Leeds in 1980. After achieving early underground fame, the band experienced a commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s, sustaining their success until the early 1990s, when they halted th ...
song " This Corrosion" takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting.
See also
*
* Apocalypticism
Apocalypticism is the religious belief that the Eschatology, end of the world is imminent, even within one's own lifetime. This belief is usually accompanied by the idea that civilization will soon come to a tumultuous end due to some sort of ...
* Biopunk
* Cyberpunk
* Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages
* Dictatorship
*
* Dystopia
* :End of the universe in fiction
* Global catastrophic risk
* List of apocalyptic films
* List of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
* List of nuclear holocaust fiction
* Nuclear weapons in popular culture
* Speculative evolution – Usually, if humans were to become extinct completely in a work of media, any hypothetical animal that could one day inhabit Earth in the distant future would be considered such.
*
* World War III in popular culture
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
* An overview of the subgenre at Internet Review of Science Fiction.
Quiet Earth
– A website dedicated to post apocalyptic media
A Sense of an Ending: Take Shelter's Inconclusive Apocalypse
– An article on contemporary apocalypse cinema at Alternate Takes
{{Authority control
Apocalyptic fiction
Post-apocalyptic fiction
Science fiction genres
Science fiction themes
Film genres
Television genres
Science fantasy
Speculative fiction
Horror genres