Happy New Year to all! The watchers of the end of the world remind us that there 354 days left of humankind existence on Earth. The end may be near and we are all taking bets on whether it will be pestilence, famine, robots, war, ecological disaster, or even the Supernatural Return. Whatever your preferred End of the World scenario is, it’s time to gauge your preparedness level. Here are a few tales of survival to help inspire your own plan.
The Walking Dead comic. The comic that the award-winning AMC’s television series is based on is the most obvious choice of survival inspiration. This continuing graphic novel series is set in the world after the Zombie Outbreak. The series protagonist, Rick Grimes attempts to reunite with family and friends to piece together what happened. Not only do the survivors face the threat of being killed or infected by the zombies, they encounter the social repercussions of a world without a grid.
Therefore, Repent! By Jim Munroe. A post-rapture story written about a world where Christians have ascended to Heaven and life among the immoral continues. Magic becomes enabled with its own consequences. The protagonists in the world of sinners have their own issues that lie somewhere in between the weeping and gnashing of teeth. The adventure of its recurring characters continues in Sword of My Mouth.
World War Z - The popular book by Max Brooks is a historical account of the Zombie War written as a collection of experiences in the first person.
Deadlands - A Scott Johnson masterpiece that tells the story of survivors in the underground cities after war has torn apart the surface of the Earth.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The book series that will soon be a movie takes place in future North America, where war, famine, fire, and disease have destroyed the continent. The government as we know it has been replaced by Panem, a cruel and power-hungry governing body that pits 24 adolescents against each other in a fight to the death so that its district citizens never give rebellion a second thought.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. This novel depicts the struggle of a father and his young son as they attempt to survive on the wasteland that is left after the Earth is crippled by a catastrophic event.
Books of Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau tells of the problems that a civilization faces beneath the devastated world as it ages and resources grow scarce. The series follows the protagonists as they struggle to decode a message left by the Builders of the underground city that will lead their people to a safe place in the outside world.
Vampire Earth is a favored post-apocalyptic series that blends several of the major End Time scenarios. E.E. Knight’s series tells the story of life after the Kurians—an alien race—invaded and caused both natural and constructed disasters. The world is nearly unsustainable as it has been ripped apart by plague, fallout, flooding, and more. Ordinary citizens, called Territorials, barely scrape by as loyalists to the Kurians—Quislings—brutally keep everyone else in order.
Cloud Atlas This collection of short stories by David Mitchell makes use of a remarkable method of temporal distortion to tell six different stories about six characters that are related by either reading or watching the event that happened in the previous story. Much like the structure of the Bible—but not at all like the story—this series describes the downfall of humanity as a result of technology.
Dominion by Compasse puts music at the center of Divinity as music icon, Jimi T. soothes civilization into a strong religious following with his musical talent. His loyal followers start to question whether Jimi T is the Messiah they have been waiting for or if he serves a darker purpose. Laden with spiritual and political themes, this seven-part series is a page turner.
After you gain enough survival momentum, be sure to turn that motivation into application with these great books:
Be Ready When Shit Goes Down by former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Forrest Griffin is a must-read for survival. This guide will give you a checklist of survival items and the proper placement for them all.
Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks will help you draft a master plan and contingency plans for survival. Know what to pack, how to eat, understand your enemy, and think like a survivor!
Wishing you lots of Apocalypse Preparedness in the coming new year.
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