Collapse Message Board
Talk Collapse
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1SimPenguin First Message
I don't know how specific your vision of "imminent collapse of civilization" is, so I'll just jump in and start talkin' - Let me know if I'm missing your point.
I'd generally recommend the later works of H.G. Wells and specifically recommend The Croquet Player. While Wells started out optimistic and full of Utopian visions, he lost heart in later years and his themes tended to be more about how everything was going to Hell in a handbasket and we were all doomed. Depressing reading at times.
The Croquet Player is the best of this group I've read so far. It actually deals more with what the stresses of our self-destructive civilization will do to the human psyche than the actual details of what civilization will be like. I found that to be a rather interesting angle.
On a different note, do Armageddon stories fit into the charter of this group? I don't read many, but I've always loved the Terminator novelization.
I'd generally recommend the later works of H.G. Wells and specifically recommend The Croquet Player. While Wells started out optimistic and full of Utopian visions, he lost heart in later years and his themes tended to be more about how everything was going to Hell in a handbasket and we were all doomed. Depressing reading at times.
The Croquet Player is the best of this group I've read so far. It actually deals more with what the stresses of our self-destructive civilization will do to the human psyche than the actual details of what civilization will be like. I found that to be a rather interesting angle.
On a different note, do Armageddon stories fit into the charter of this group? I don't read many, but I've always loved the Terminator novelization.
2americanbadger First Message
Don't know if collapse is imminent, but I can dream can't I?
3harambeegirl
I call this genre apocalyptic/dystopian literature. I think that I have at least 60 books tagged under this title. I liked Swan Song by Robert McCammon. I have also tried some of the "classic" literature like Alas, Babylon and On the Beach. What was most interesting about those was how quaint they were. I recently bought Erewhon and Canticle for Liebowitz. If anyone here has opinions on those, I'd enjoy your viewpoint.
4Ardvaark First Message
Imminent means in the next five to fifty years - i.e. within my lifetime.
The idea of "collapse" here has much less to do with some dystopian future and more more about the current ills associated with our culture - as described by people like Daniel Quinn, Derrick Jensen, or Thom Hartmann in books like Ishmael or The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight. Whether brought about by disease like the Bird Flu or an energy crisis like Peak Oil or a climate crisis like Global Warming, the end result is that the idea of constant growth on which our civilization is based is at best unsustainable, and at worst a horrific catastrophy for life on this planet.
The idea of "collapse" here has much less to do with some dystopian future and more more about the current ills associated with our culture - as described by people like Daniel Quinn, Derrick Jensen, or Thom Hartmann in books like Ishmael or The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight. Whether brought about by disease like the Bird Flu or an energy crisis like Peak Oil or a climate crisis like Global Warming, the end result is that the idea of constant growth on which our civilization is based is at best unsustainable, and at worst a horrific catastrophy for life on this planet.
5Fogies
harambeegirl: you may enjoy this one more than Canticle for Liebowitz:
Malevil
by Robert Merle
Warner Books, 1975. Mass market paperback
ISBN: 0446796859
originally in French; there was a hardback English translation but it's become hard to find
Malevil
by Robert Merle
Warner Books, 1975. Mass market paperback
ISBN: 0446796859
originally in French; there was a hardback English translation but it's become hard to find
6Cheshire-Cat
harambeegirl - Alas, Babylon is a very good one. It is a bit upbeat though, has a happy ending for what happened in the book. I did enjoy that it delt with the basic necessities that you need to live, they brought up things like how do you go to the bathroom and get rid of your garbage in a world were civilization has broken down.
I have never read On the Beach but I did see the movie (the old one not the rotten remake). The movie is sad and haunting and really gets you - I would like to hunt that one down.
Another book that I have read in that same thread of Nuclear destruction and the end is Level 7 by Mordecai Roshwald. It is dated but very moving.
Dealing with the idea of a virus getting us all, I really enjoyed Stephen King's The Stand. I know he gets really into the fantasy world in the second half of the book, but the first half paints a pretty good picture of a virus wiping out most of mankind.
I have never read On the Beach but I did see the movie (the old one not the rotten remake). The movie is sad and haunting and really gets you - I would like to hunt that one down.
Another book that I have read in that same thread of Nuclear destruction and the end is Level 7 by Mordecai Roshwald. It is dated but very moving.
Dealing with the idea of a virus getting us all, I really enjoyed Stephen King's The Stand. I know he gets really into the fantasy world in the second half of the book, but the first half paints a pretty good picture of a virus wiping out most of mankind.
7Topper
devilbuny, I agree about The Stand. I enjoyed the "collapse" part, but am finding the "restarting civilization" part almost unreadable...
8mirage1 First Message
If you enjoy this type of book, you should definitely read (if you haven't already!) Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. Very interesting take on how society as we know it could disappear (inspired by reality) and how one person deals with the aftermath.
