Post-apocalyptic fiction has always been popular among readers and viewers. Whether it’s books like The Road, The Stand and Swan Song; or movies like Mad Max and 28 Days Later, we just can’t get enough.
But why? What makes post-apocalyptic fiction so popular with readers?
Humans have been fascinated by end-of-the-world scenarios for as long as they’ve understood what “the world” was. Some of our earliest civilizations, like the Maya, were obsessed with apocalyptic ideas.
Most rationale human beings hope to avoid doomsday entirely. But they still think about it from time to time. What would it look like? What would cause it? Would it be the end of everyone, or would survivors remain? And what would life be like for those “fortunate” survivors?
Those are hard questions to answer, and that’s partly what makes this particular genre so popular. It explores the unknown.
Why Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Appeals to Writers
From a writing standpoint, there’s a lot to like about the post-apocalyptic fiction genre. It’s open for innovation. It challenges the writer to create something new, to envision a world beyond our own.
Here are three more reasons why post-apocalyptic doomsday fiction is popular with writers.
1. It clears the stage for world building.
Don’t like the world we currently live in? Blow it up — figuratively or literally — and start over again. Do a reboot. Create Earth 2.0, a new world with a new set of rules.
There’s nothing more exciting for a speculative fiction writer than a blank slate. And that’s what the post-apocalyptic fiction genre gives us. It wipes the slate clean, so to speak. It gives the writer room to create and develop.
When writing post-apocalyptic fiction, you get to decide how the world ends (or nearly ends) and what comes out the other side.
In Swan Song, Robert McCammon’s epic post-apocalyptic masterpiece, he envisioned a kind of endless winter following a nuclear holocaust. Into this world, he injected all kinds of terrors, human and supernatural alike.
But there was hope, as well. Despite the bleak landscape and tone of the book, a current of hope and compassion runs throughout.
That’s the world McCammon chose to build. Other speculative fiction writers have taken it in different directions, as mentioned below.
2. High concept fiction keeps writers engaged.
You think it requires energy to stick with a novel when reading? Try writing one. A fiction writer might spend anywhere from six months to several years writing a novel. The temptation to quit and walk away hangs over the writer at all times.
So it helps — a lot — for the writer to have an interesting premise from day one. And what’s more interesting or intriguing than the end of the world as we know it?
Post-apocalyptic books and movies are usually “high concept” in nature. High-concept fiction is built around an interesting or exciting premise. It can generate interest with a one-sentence description or pitch. When done well, high-concept stories can be thrilling to read.
They can also be fun to write. This is another reason why post-apocalyptic fiction remains popular among writers, and probably always will. It’s never boring.
3. It offers a world of possibilities.
When writing contemporary fiction set in the “real world” — the world we currently live in — writers face certain constraints. You have to create your fictional world within known parameters. Your characters must live in the real world, the one we know.
But when you write post-apocalyptic fiction, those literary shackles fall away. Possibilities emerge. A lot of possibilities. You have countless options as to where you can take your story.
The apocalyptic event itself gives the writer a chance to innovate. We talked about Robert McCammon’s nuclear holocaust already. That type of event has been used in many books, including On the Beach and Alas, Babylon. (There’s a long list of nuclear holocaust fiction on Wikipedia, if you’re interested.)
But that’s only one style of post-apocalyptic fiction, one way to end and begin again. Options abound.
In his chilling but engrossing novel The Road, Cormac McCarthy envisioned a charred wasteland in the wake of a mysterious, global inferno. As it says on the back cover: “Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray.”
That’s something we haven’t seen before.
In The Passage, Justin Cronin envisioned a post-apocalyptic world plagued by powerful vampires. In this scenario, the vampires were the holocaust. They ended the world as we knew it, and created something entirely new its place. Speculative fiction at its best.
And then there’s the whole zombie apocalypse. That avenue has been explored more than any other. Even so, there’s still room for innovation and fresh ideas.
Writers like uncharted territory. They like to go where people haven’t gone before, exploring new ideas and terrain. Post-apocalyptic fiction delivers these opportunities in spades.
Why It Remains Popular With Readers
That covers the writers who create post-apocalyptic stories and novels. But what about the readers? Why is the post-apocalyptic fiction genre still popular among readers worldwide?
In short: It’s for all of the above reasons, but from a different perspective.
- Escapism: Post-apocalyptic fiction allows readers to immerse themselves in a different world, taking a break from their everyday lives.
- Survival: This genre taps into the primal instincts of survival and self-preservation, something most of us can relate to.
- Human Nature: The extreme conditions found within post-apocalyptic settings often reveal the best and worst aspects of human behavior and decision-making.
- Hope and Resilience: Despite the bleak backdrop, these stories often highlight the strength of the human spirit and the potential for positive change.
- Action and Adventure: The dangerous and unpredictable settings offer thrilling action sequences and intense encounters with a wide variety of threats.
- Societal Critique: Post-apocalyptic stories can serve as a commentary on contemporary society, questioning our values, choices, and the consequences of our actions.
- World-building: Authors who write in this genre often create intricate and imaginative worlds, making readers curious about how such a world would function.
- Possibilities: The destruction of the old world often paves the way for new, unexplored opportunities and ideas.
- Community: Readers of post-apocalyptic fiction can draw inspiration from characters forming bonds and building communities in the face of adversity.
- Problem Solving: Survival in harsh conditions often requires innovative thinking, adding an intellectual appeal to the genre.
But we’re just scratching the surface here. Let’s take a deeper dive into the reasons why people read and enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction.
1. It lets us escape into a different world.
Reading fiction offers readers a way to escape the real world and explore something new and different. It allows us to “get away from it all,” even for a little while. When engrossed in a good story, we can put our own problems aside and live vicariously through the characters.
This is true for all genres of fiction. Post-apocalyptic fiction just takes it to another level.
Post-apocalyptic books provide a kind of gateway to alternative realities. They allow readers to immerse themselves in worlds drastically different from their own. These stories transport us to barren wastelands, depopulated cities, and uncharted territories. By doing so, they satisfy a certain craving for adventure and discovery.
Through post-apocalyptic stories and novels, we observe the resilience and ingenuity of characters as they attempt to regroup and rebuild. We see them devise ways to find food, shelter and safety in a world where such things are rare. It’s a world of perpetual problem-solving.
As readers, we might ask ourselves: What would I do in that situation? Would I be able to survive under those conditions, and if so, what would life be like?
Post-apocalyptic fiction offers an exciting level of immersion and emotional involvement. It pulls readers into the story and dares them to leave. This is one of the main reasons why people seek out these stories in the first place.
2. It reflects societal anxieties and fears.
Post-apocalyptic books also provide a mirror to our own society, reflecting our anxieties, fears, and concerns. Through a fictional lens, they explore contemporary issues and societal fears in a thought-provoking and sometimes cathartic way.
Post-apocalyptic fiction addresses a wide range of concerns and issues that affect us in our everyday lives, often taking them to the extreme. Climate change. Rapid technological advancement. Political instability. Post-apocalyptic stories show us how these issues can run off the rails, perhaps inspiring us to care more about them.
But they’re not all doom and gloom. Most post-apocalyptic stories show characters finding hope and resilience in trying times. This, in turn, might help to ease our own anxieties over life’s major challenges.
3. It explores human nature.
Post-apocalyptic fiction explores what it means to be human in a world without the luxuries of modern society. The characters in these stories face life-or-death situations, grapple with loss, and confront their own strengths and weaknesses — sometimes on a daily basis.
As readers of post-apocalyptic fiction, we can gain a deeper insight into the complexities of human nature and the extraordinary resilience that emerges in response to adversity.
In a world without functional government, post-apocalyptic stories also explore the murky gray areas where “right” and “wrong” become blurred. They challenge readers to consider their own values and principles in morally ambiguous situations.
How would I act in this situation? What choices would I make?
Post-apocalyptic fiction also taps into humanity’s primal instincts for survival and adaptation. This genre probes our innate fascination with survival stories, delivering a rush as we witness characters triumph over seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It’s one more reason why people like to read post-apocalyptic fiction.
Novelist and short story writer Dale Bailey believes humans can relate to post-apocalyptic fiction because we understand tragedy on a personal level.
In a 2018 article on Wired.com, Bailey stated:
“For somebody, their world is ending as we speak, right now. Somewhere some tragedy is enveloping someone, and their world is going to be completely remade.”
4. It focuses on hope, resilience, and rebuilding.
One of my favorite post-apocalyptic novels is Swan Song by Robert McCammon. This book won a Bram Stoker Award in 1987, in a tie with Stephen King’s Misery. Like many novels in this genre, Swan Song follows a small cast of characters trying to survive in a bleak world marked by devastation and destruction.
But it’s also a story about hope and resilience. Read it and you’ll see!
Post-apocalyptic fiction often portrays a bleak and desolate world. But it can also deliver themes of hope, resilience, and the potential for rebuilding. It highlights the strength of human connections and the possibilities for growth, even in the harshest of circumstances.
This genre also highlights the importance of community and interpersonal relationships. Characters rely on each other for survival, forming bonds that often transcend societal divides. Post-apocalyptic fiction shows the strength that can be derived from human connection.
Lastly, we have the idea of personal growth and transformation. In fiction, the main characters typically change in some way, throughout the course of the story. This change might be subtle, like seeing the world in a new way, or a complete transformation like switching from being a “bad guy” to a good one. Character change adds depth to stories and makes them more interesting.
The post-apocalyptic fiction genre essentially forces characters to change, by thrusting them into a completely new kind of existence. Characters evolve as they navigate the challenges of a shattered world, discovering new strengths and motivations. In the best-case scenario, this can encourage readers to reflect on their own capacity for growth and resilience.
What Do You Think?
I’ve covered a lot of the reasons why people like to read post-apocalyptic fiction. Even so, this list probably only scratches the surface. We all have our own reasons for pursuing different fictional genres … and I’d love to hear yours.
Do you like to read post-apocalyptic stories and novels? Do you enjoy movies like 28 Days Later and The Road, or TV shows like The Last of Us? Why? What draws you to this genre?
Drop a comment in the box below to share your thoughts!
Zem XXI
I think Post Apocalyptic fiction (PA for short) is also very relatable to the mainstream in a way that hard science fiction and space opera isn’t. The protagonists of PA fiction are usually not scientists or highly trained, highly educated space officers. They are ordinary people thrust into situations for which they are not initially prepared. The protagonists also tend to be young and that makes it more credible for them to make mistakes and learn from them while we are learning with them, especially on how to survive and how to work with others.
In fact, in the PA setting, being a traditionally educated person will not be that useful in many situations, unless they are willing to adapt. An Ivy League graduate will be on the same level as someone with only a high school education. An MIT graduate might know how to build a rocket under the structured environment of a Tesla or NASA. But will he know how to do it without the funding or logistics of a big organization? And rocket scientists are not known for people skills or many skills outside of their expertise. Sheldon Cooper would be even more lost than he is in normal civilization. Besides, shouldn’t a scientist in a post apocalyptic environment be more concerned with other things?
PA fiction is almost like a descendent of the American Western genre. Both have a theme of survival in what is essentially a new frontier for many of the characters. The Western, however, is restriced to a certain very brief period in American history (1860s to 1880s) and of course, is beholden to the attitudes of that period in terms of political and social issues. As a result, the traditional Western was cisgender heteronormative White male dominated. PA fiction, however is free to ignore our hangups on race, color, sexual orientation, and gender roles and have characters be whatever you want them to be.