Hello All,
I've mostly read non-fiction disaster/survival/preparedness literature. It's usually about techniques and potential scenarios, often accompanied by historical example. What are some good fictional disaster stories out there? Some that I have read and enjoyed are:
The Stand by Stephen King
After the Plague by T.C. Boyle
Incendiary by Chris Cleave (I found this one disturbing)
Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard (sort of a disaster story)
And I’ve heard that The Road by Cormac McCarthy is good, but I haven’t read it.

What are your favorites?

How about this?

http://afterworld.superchannel.ca/

Al

I should also mention The Cobra Event by Richard Preston

Frugal's Forum has quite a few short stories you might enjoy. Just look under Patriot Fiction.

The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler

When All Hell Breaks Loose by Cody Lundin

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Out Of The Ashes by William H. Johnstone

"The Road" is nothing short of brilliant, Mike. Totally deserving of its Pulitzer, and Cormac McCarthy is a genius. Expect the film adaptation, starring Viggo Mortensen, sometime in Nov. 2009.

Other post apocalyptic and post-disaster books I'm a proud owner of are:

"Alas, Babylon", by Pat Frank (survivors after a nuclear war between the US/USSR)

"I Am Legend", Richard Matheson; No doubt you've seen at least one of the movie adaptations, but the novel goes into great detail how the hero has equipped himself and set up his home to stay alive, and also recounts how he starts to lose it from isolation and alcohol abuse.

"Blood's A Rover", "A Boy and His Dog", and "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison; Basically look for a big collection of Ellison's short stories to find these, these short stories should all be packed in there with many others. "I Must Scream" deals with the last four human beings alive on earth, held hostage against their will by a sentient and vengeful supercomputer.

"Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse" - ed. by John Joseph Adams - This is a collection of short stories in the post-apocalyptic genre, all of which are very well-written. One is tongue-in-cheek and light-hearted, with the last line reading, "Will the last person on the planet please turn out the lights?"

These aren't fitting into the categories you want but I also recommend "No Surrender: My Thirty Year War", by Hiroo Onoda and "An Island to Oneself" by Tom Neale.

Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling
Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Alas Babylon by Pat frank

Lucifer’s Hammer was written in 1977 and Alas Babylon was written in 1956 (I think) both are well written and some of my favorite books but they were written by men who grew up in a different era and there writing reflect attitudes and ethics that are sorely lacking in today’s society and as a result they are IMHO overly optimistic about what would happen. Dies the Fire is the first book on a series but well worth the time.

Not quite a "disaster" story, but "World Made By Hand" by James Howard Kunstler portrays life in a small town in upstate New York after a combination of the collapse of the oil economy and some unnamed nuclear attacks on major cities. Not the best-written book I've read, but enjoyable nonetheless.

I hear it's less bleak than "The Road," but not dissimilar in the setup of the story.

I read this in the mid-80s and had mushroom cloud nightmares.

"Warday: And the Journey Onward" (Hardcover)
by Whitley Strieber (Author), James Kunetka

http://www.amazon.com/Warday-Journey-Onw...3805&sr=1-2

"The Stand" by Stephen King is my all-time fave of this genre. I thought the mini-series was well done, too. Sci-Fi Channel plays it occasionally. After the Lincoln Tunnel scene I was delighted to wake up the next morning in a noisy city crowded with living people.

"Alas Babylon" is still chilling.

I'm not a fan of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" but it did win a Pulitzer and made Oprah's Book Club. That book convinced me that there are disasters you don't want to survive.

There are several genre fan lists on amazon.com Here's one you may want to look at. It reminded me of "On the Beach" which was made into a legendary film starring Gregory Peck:

http://www.amazon.com/Post-Apolcalyptic-...VX1WM6XE6CT4036

I actually enjoyed "The Zombie Survival Guide".

It's written as a training manual, not a novel. Tongue in cheek of course, but the text is dead serious the way it's written. Which is what makes it fun to read. More than once I found myself saying "I need to add one of those to my survival kit". And then I'd realize, "Oh yeah, I guess I don't really need a weapon tailored for dispatching zombies."

I did a rather lengthy review of Parable of The Talents in the Long term prep forum. Its not a bad book, but a rather depressing one.