This weekend I managed to watch not only one, but two new movies, which in a house with two young kids, is quite a feat.
First there was Wall-E. And then there was City of Ember. And really, going in, I had no idea Wall-E was a post-apocalyptic movie. Maybe I didn’t pay enough attention to the trailer. Maybe it just never occurred to me Pixar would do SUCH a movie for kids. Animated no less. Not to say I didn’t enjoy it. It was great, and the kids thought so too.
City of Ember I’d read, so really nothing about it was a surprise, and though I enjoyed the movie, I loved the book.
Anyway the themed weekend got me thinking about what I love in post-apocalytic books which is this:
I love the new civilization’s desire to piece out the old world. Finding clues as to what went wrong. Even being able to steal from the destroyed civilization’s vast wealth of knowledge. Anyone else feel this way?
Did anyone else ready the Shannara books by Terry Brooks ad nausaeum? These books were totally fantasy – maybe a snippet of talk on the old world thrown in – until The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara series. Remember these books? They go to the other country and find the technology of the old race, but find they couldn’t use it at all? And all of a sudden a normal sword and magic fantasy series became a post-apocalyptic series.
And speaking of which, did anyone read the Terry Brooks books which closed the gap between our current world and the world of The Sword of Shannara? Running with the Demon, was the first. These I may need to add to my reading list for the year.
I have to include this picture. It reminds me a bit of Wall-E, and I wonder what a survival civilization would think upon finding it?
That is one heck of a lot of sugar.
So what’s your favorite post-apocalytic book for kids and why?
Parker Peevyhouse
lindajoysingleton
Joni Sensel
Chris Eboch
Nick
Greg R. Fishbone
I love how in Mortal Engines people have found Disney character toys that make them think Americans used to worship animal-headed deities.
Um… it would be crass to nominate mine, wouldn’t it?
Oh, wait. I think I have to say M.T. Anderson’s FEED regardless! Wowza. For the writing, the language, the vision, the first line, the Feed’s voice, and the ending.
Funny, Parker! I haven’t read Mortal Engines yet. Should I add it to my list?
Joni, I totally loved the first line of Feed. It was brilliant!
Joni, I’m laughing as I knew your name was familiar and that’s because I have a Humming of Numbers here in my stack to read. Ok, moving it up higher on my TBR stack!
Mortal Engines is worth reading.
Feed is my favorite too.
Joni, you can nominate your book if I can nominate mine. Last Midnight is post-apoc but it’s not out yet.
I’ve read the Word and the Void series, and they are awesome. I haven’t read the ones that connect that series with Shannara though. I was waiting for him to finish them. I learned that during the Jerle Shannara books, when he kept ending the books with a cliffhanger . (Dang his compulsive readability.)
Is the Giver considered post-apocalyptic?
I think of The Giver as post-apocalyptic for the purpose of this converstaion. There are such huge society changes. And I totally agree. I was glued to the Jerle Shannara books. I’ll add the Word and the Void series to my list! Thanks!
The Giver is what I’d call an engineered dystopia, like Piers Anthony’s Battle Circle trilogy. Modern society has been purposely redesigned into a more primitive version by choice or frozen at a preferred technology level, like how the Amish choose to live today. And I’d say that Feed is a society on its way toward collapse, or maybe in the process of collapsing, but not yet post-apocalyptic.
My favorite post-apocalyptic story is still the Thundarr the Barbarian cartoon series. Was that based on a book?
Come to think of it, the ship in Wall-E was an engineered dystopia as well.
True, the ship was engineered dystopic, but not the earth. And I agree on Feed. It’s on it’s way, but hasn’t gotten there yet.
I loved Thundarr, but my favorite post-apocalytic cartoon was Thundercats!! Especially when they went to the pyramids where the bad guy (Mumroth or something like that) hung out. I thought that was WAY cool. See, it’s the links to the previous civilization. Aren’t they making a Thundercats movie?
I’d vote for City of Ember, too…although the new Forest of Hands and Teeth looks good.
PJ, don’t read Humming thinking it’s post-apoc — it’s way pre-apoc! (Depending on your definition of the apocalypse, anyway.) It’s the next one, The Farwalker’s Quest, that’s post.
Parker, the title’s intriguing! What month is the release?
Joni: don’t know yet.
Beth: I love City of Ember, and the cover for Forest is awesome.
I’m looking forward to The Forest of Hands and Teeth also, if for nothing else but an AWESOME title.
And I didn’t think so, Joni, but seeing as I have it here and have heard great things about it, I’ll look forward to it!
Re: “I love the new civilization’s desire to piece out the old world. Finding clues as to what went wrong. Even being able to steal from the destroyed civilization’s vast wealth of knowledge. Anyone else feel this way?”. Yes!! That is something I love about this genre (and just the whole starting over thing, too). I can’t name a favorite, and have enjoyed many of the books already listed here. Another one that I liked a lot was Exodus, by Julie Bertagna. And, going way back, John Christopher’s Sword of the Spirits trilogy has the aspect mentioned above – you start out thinking it’s a regular medieval sort of story, and then the clues to our past society start appearing. I love that.
Ooh, good suggestions, Jen. I haven’t read either of those, but maybe it’s time. Just talking about it makes ideas start spinning!
Thanks for visiting!
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is great. I don’t know if it’s post apocalyptic is the traditional sense, but it is certainly post-current state of the world.
Susan: I loved The Hunger Games.
Jen: Looks like you and I live in the same town. *waves* I’ll have to check out the trilogy you mentioned because the title is way cool.
Loved The Hunger Games, Susan! And post-current-state of the world is way cool!
Thanks for visiting!
Small world, Parker! Hello. That trilogy is out of print, but you can probably find it at your local library – I think I got it from the Santa Clara Library.
And I LOVE the Hunger Games. Can’t wait for the next book.
Santa Clara county ALWAYS has every book I’m looking for.
I’m a huge fan of post-apoc and dystopias so I’m thrilled that Jen Robinson’s link led me here.
I’m thrilled it did, too, Lenore! We’re so happy you’re here!
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