What are your thoughts on post apocalyptic stories?

Discuss the March 2017 Book of the Month, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.
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stormydesert
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Re: What are your thoughts on post apocalyptic stories?

Post by stormydesert »

I think post-apocalyptic stories are interesting. They give author a chance to show how they would build a society from the ground up, if important parts of society are missing.

You can have any plot, character, and theme you want in a post-apocalyptic setting. The challenge is to show how the setting affects all those things without overpowering them.

There could be fewer people or more; better technology or worse; familiar settings that have deteriorated but remain recognizable, or unfamiliar ones. The theme could be hopeful or dark. The characters could be any age, kids or teens or adults in or past their prime.

I think a lot of the stories are about the tension between freedom and control. Whatever destroyed society probably resulted in too much of one or the other, and that's a major challenge for the characters. If there's anarchy, how can they establish order? If they live lives that are highly constrained, how can they escape or rebel? Every author has a different focus and a different way of answering the question.
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Barbie_sidhu
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Post by Barbie_sidhu »

I have not read many post apocalyptic stories. But station Eleven made me fall in love with it. It is a five star and must read.
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Justine Ocsebio
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Post by Justine Ocsebio »

The genre has always fascinated me. It’s interesting to know what others’ think of what our future will look like. It would also be great if the main character in the story is complex and well-developed.
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Rayah Raouf
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Post by Rayah Raouf »

One of my favorite genres! Authors can become quite creative with stories. The possibilities are endless.
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Post by Krista Kirby-Dempsey »

Post-apocalyptic stories give me a LOT of anxiety, but this one not so much. It really felt detached from the general idea of a post-apocalyptic story. I think there's some truth in it for how things are going to turn out.
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Post by Maris Charles M »

I am not so much into post apocalyptic books. I just think going into how the world will end will just be more of fantasy. All the same I really don't want the world to end anytime soon.
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Post by BenjaminFrank »

Guppy wrote: 02 Mar 2017, 19:38 I am a big fan of the post apocalyptic/dystopian future genre. Societal collapse gives opportunity for non-alpha type heroes and their skills become valued. Its also nice to read about a world where there isn't the usual daily grind of work or school.

I think there will be partial collapses of civilisation, probably due to people not being able to share and play nice. A whole world collapse could be possible, but I'm not hoarding food and digging a bunker just yet.

What do you think Wasif?
Every post apocalyptic based book, i have ever read had to be the underdog standing out.
It always brings to play the Theory of Evolution in its realest self, it is either you eat others or you are eaten (not a fan of cannibalism).
People really discover their true self where fight or flight is the only thing at stake.
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Post by Samuel Okoye 2 »

I really loved to study post-apocalyptic prophesies, and stories, but I guess I don't care anymore. I believe the Bible's description of the end of the world.
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