Acid rainstorms have transformed New York City into a toxic wasteland, cutting its remaining citizens off from one another. In one apartment building, an unlikely family of humans and ghosts survives. Mira reels from a devastating breakup with her partner, Mal, whose whereabouts are unknown, while her mother is plagued by furious dreams and her grandfather, Grandpa Why, stakes his claims as a rambunctious ghost. Across the hall, the cockroach Shin, also a ghost. As the world around them worsens, each character must learn to redefine what it means to live, die, and love at the end of the world.
It’s the year 2024, and if you’ve been paying any amount of attention to the world around you, you might have wondered to yourself, “Are we barreling directly toward a too-soon apocalypse?” I can’t give you an answer to that question, but I can recommend some books set around and shortly after various apocalypses. These novels and novellas imagine very different end-of-the-world scenarios and aftermaths, but all of them involve some seed of our current reality leading to their imagined events. Reading these recent post-apocalyptic fiction books will make you look at our past, present, and future in a new light.
Post-apocalyptic fiction takes many forms. These books include elements of dystopia, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, literary fiction, and even comedy. (Because at the end of the world, what else can you do but laugh?) Whether it’s a close-to-home story set in the near future or a space opera set centuries from now, these stories envision a path for our world with varying levels of fear and hope. There’s a lot we can learn from imagining where human behavior — the good, the bad, and everything in between — might lead. May these books inspire you to take care of your neighbors, your community, our planet, and our collective future with a little more intention.
Recent Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
Escape Velocity by Victor Manibo
Earth is on its way out, and earthlings are jockeying for a spot on a new settlement on Mars. The best place to make their case? Aboard a luxury space resort called Altaire, orbiting Earth while the wealthy and well-connected rub elbows. But big secrets and ulterior motives run rampant on Altaire, both with the wealthy guests and the crew below deck. Victor Manibo fits many compelling stories and genres into this novel: sci-fi adventure, murder mystery, juicy drama, class commentary, and so much more. It’s an out-of-this-world story that feels all too possible as we watch billionaires launch themselves into space for fun in real life.
Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Ocean levels have risen across the globe, making much of the planet uninhabitable. Now that Nigeria is underwater, what was once a luxury high-rise building on an island off the coast of Lagos has become the only livable place in the region. A small group of lucky people were given the chance to live and work inside, where they’re strictly divided by class. The wealthy live near the top, while the lower classes are on the lower floors sealed against the rising water. But when something dangerous breaches the lower floors, everyone’s carefully preserved world is put at risk. Suyi Davies Okungbowa has crafted a remarkably high-stakes, gripping setting in this short novella that will hook you right from the start.
Your Shadow Half Remains by Sunny Moraine
In this dystopian horror novella, a virus has swept the globe that causes people to go into a murderous rage upon making eye contact with another human. Riley, determined to survive this violent post-apocalyptic world, hasn’t looked at another human face in what feels like an eternity — not even her own face in a mirror, just in case. But a seemingly trustworthy new neighbor makes Riley risk it all for a little human connection. Is the neighbor a danger to Riley’s carefully protected world, or is Riley the real threat? Your Shadow Half Remains is a creepy, mesmerizing story of isolation and madness at the end of the world.
Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell
The world is still grappling with the unexplained events of one year ago when all white people in America walked into their nearest bodies of water and drowned. Charles, a Howard University professor who was formerly wrongfully imprisoned, is surprised to receive a phone call from his estranged teenage daughter Sidney, who has been living alone in Wisconsin, dealing with the trauma of watching the deaths of her white mother and step-family. Sidney asks Charles to take her to Alabama, where she hopes to find some of her remaining family members. But their cross-country road trip unveils a world completely changed from the one they knew. It’s a razor-sharp, absorbing story about racism in America’s past, present, and future.
Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by MJ Wassmer
Dan and his girlfriend Mara are kicking back for a relaxing vacation at an island resort when, ugh, so annoying, the sun explodes. The resort descends into chaos, with guests turning against each other and the CEO of a yoga pyramid scheme trying to take charge. Dan has never been one to work harder than he has to, but when the opportunity to become the hero and help save his fellow guests arises, he realizes this nightmare vacation might be just what he needs to turn his life around. It’s a hilarious, fast-paced story that will absolutely ruin your next trip to an all-inclusive resort.
She Who Knows by Nnedi Okorafor
Nnedi Okorafor is a brilliant writer of Africanfuturist worlds that combine elements of dystopia, sci-fi, fantasy, and West African mythology. She Who Knows is the first in a new series set in the world of her award-winning novel Who Fears Death, a post-nuclear-holocaust Africa where technology is rare, making way for a culture of mysticism and spiritual destiny. Najeeba is a thirteen-year-old girl in a patriarchal village where only boys receive The Call to travel the salt roads, mine, and harvest the profitable mineral. When Najeeba becomes the first girl to receive the call, her people are shocked, and her presence on the salt road changes everything. Fans of Who Fears Death might recognize Najeeba as the mother of protagonist Onyesonwu.
The Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August
In this space opera novella, you won’t just see what happens after the apocalypse on Earth, you’ll see what happens to an entire universe gone extinct. Galactic archaeologists and siblings Scout and Kieran, plus their galaxy-traveling cat Pumpkin, are tasked with exploring dead planets and their lost civilizations to find out what ended them — and if it will eventually come for them too. Riley August brilliantly balances high-stakes adventure and humor, grief and healing, and uncertainty and hope in this short but delightfully sweet book.
Private Rites by Julia Armfield (December 3, Flatiron Books)
Do your future self a favor and preorder this apocalyptic literary horror novel from the author of Our Wives Under the Sea. In a futuristic retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear, three sisters grapple with the mundane horrors of life during an apocalypse. Years of unending rain have reshaped the continents, toppled governments, and brought back a desperate kind of ancient religion. Sisters Agnes, Irene, and Isla have grown apart under the stress of the changing planet, but the death of their architect father forces them to reunite to sort through the famous glass house he built, full of secrets and memories they’d rather forget. Julia Armfield writes haunting queer characters with a creeping sense of dread that you feel in your bones.
I hope this list of recent post-apocalyptic fiction helped you find some new books to add to your TBR! You might also enjoy:
8 of the Worst Science Fiction Worlds to Live In
9 Twisted Science Fiction Novels About Time Travel
8 Enthralling Dark Fantasy and Horror Short Story Collections