Apocalypse...

"Artoo says the chances of survival are seven hundred seventy-five... to one. Actually, Artoo has been known to make mistakes... from time to time." -C3P0

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine." Whether it's nuclear war, aliens, or plague, ending the world and then watching the aftermath is a preoccupation for some of the most pessimistic (and optimistic) Sci-Fi writers. If you like your earth baked, fried, or toasted, this is the place for you. Please watch your step and memorize your bunker number.

Nuclear War

• Octavia Butler
  • "Xenogenesis" (Humanity blows itself up, but luckily, an alien race is nearby to save us- sort of.)
• Robert Heinlein
  • Farnham's Freehold (When the U.S. is nuked, a man, with his family and friends, begins a quest for survival in a changed world)

Enemy Aliens

• Robert Heinlein
  • The Puppet Masters (Slug-like creatures come to take over the bodies of humans. More realistic than "Body-snatchers".)

Plague

• Octavia Butler
  • Clay's Ark (An alien virus finds its way home with survivors of a space mission, and those who don't die wish they could.)
• Robert Heinlein
  • Friday (Friday is the perfect courier, showing us final glimpses of Earth before the plague comes again and she must escape.)
• Sheri S. Tepper
  • Grass (Humanity is slowly dying from a strange plague, and only the planet Grass is unaffected.)

Other

• Octavia Butler
  • "Earthseed" (Human beings finally begin destroying the Earth and one another as anarchy takes over the streets of California.)
  • Mind of My Mind (A girl has the power to link all the world's telepaths, and enslave the rest of humanity.)
• Robert Heinlein
  • Job: A Comedy of Justice (The apocalypse arrives a la Christian and Pagan predictions. What's a preacher to do when the woman he loves worships Odin?)
• Ursula K. Le Guin
  • The Lathe of Heaven (One man's mind can re-shape the world, but perfection can be deadly.)

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Last Updated: November 7, 1999

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