Blind Faith (2007) novel

According to the Amazon description of Ben Elton's 2007 novel Blind Faith, he "imagines a post-apocalyptic society where religious intolerance combines with a confessional sex-obsessed, self-centric culture to create a world where nakedness is modesty, ignorance is wisdom and privacy is a dangerous perversion."

The Walking Dead (2010) TV series

America overrun by zombies?! A TV series!? Talk about an original doomsday scenario. But zombies are hot right now in 2010, so watch for this new TV show The Walking Dead set to premiere on ... Halloween (October 31) 2010 on AMC. The series is based on Robert Kirkman's comic book series of the same name.

February 24, 2015 Update: The show is still in production and is one of the most watched shows on TV. As I tell people, it's not about the zombies, as gruesome as they are and the endless re-deaths they go through at the hands of the survivors, rather the show is about a small band of survivors led by a sheriff named Rick Grimes. At the time of this writing his wife, who had survived, is long dead and he, along with his group whom he calls his family, and his young son are caring for their baby girl.

The Quiet Earth (1985) movie

The 1985 New Zealand movie The Quiet Earth is based on Craig Harrison's 1981 novel The Quiet Earth. As with the 2009-2010 TV adaptation of Robert Sawyer's 1999 novel Flash Forward, which begins with the premise of a science experiment gone wrong, in The Quiet Earth its experiment causes nearly everyone who had not been on the verge of death to disappear from the world. Three survivors, possibly the last humans in their part of New Zealand, including a Maori man, emerge and try to make sense of what has happened. In the end, one of the scientists involved in the experiment sacrifices himself to try and turn the world back to its previous state. Only the consequences for him are literally out of this world.

The Year of the Flood (2009) novel

The Year of the Flood in Margaret Atwood's 2009 sequel to her Oryx and Crake (2003) novel refers to a manmade pandemic that destroys most of our species.

Oryx and Crake (2003) novel

Margaret Atwood's 2003 novel Oryx and Crake was shortlisted for the Booker Prize that year. It's an end-of-the-world tale caused by a manmade pandemic and she continued the story from a different perspective in The Year of the Flood (2009).

The Passage (2010) novel

The Passage (2010), a lengthy, rambling novel by Justin Cronin, combines some familiar apocalyptic plot elements into an end of the world odyssey. We have a military-induced virus that turns people into vampire-like creatures, beginning with test subjects who are soldiers in an underground installation (shades of Resident Evil), we have errant nuclear bombs going off and we have a future earth, largely depopulated, but with enough survivors to carry on.

Left Behind (2000) movie

Left Behind: The Movie is a 2000 feature film based on the first of a series of novels of the same name by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Badly acted, badly plotted and with just enough visual elements to give it some substance, Left Behind will appeal to Christian Bible literalists who see the Apocalypse just around the corner and fervently hope that they will be among the chosen few who will not be left behind during the Rapture.



It's after the mysterious disappearance of people all over the world, including many on an airline flight and lots of children -- far more than the 4400 that have also been the subject of a TV series and novels -- that the movie turns preachy. By the end of the film one of the characters has a complete conversion experience having witnessed first-hand the work of the Anti-Christ in the form of the Secretary General of the United Nations. The idea that the United Nations and two individuals, who are murdered by the Secretary General in front of UN delegates and security officials, can somehow plot to take over the world and dictate seven years of peace through the food supply is one of the most unrealistic and far-fetched conspiracy theories I've ever encountered.

For those who can't get enough of the Christian Apocalypse, two other movies based on the novels, Left Behind: Tribulation Force and Left Behind: World at War, are also available singly or as a collection with the first movie.

Sins of the Assassin (2008) Novel

Sins of the Assassin (2008) by Robert Ferrigno is the second of a trilogy set in a post-nuclear apocalyptic United States. The first novel is Sins of the Assassin and the third novel is Heart of the Assassin. The novels bear some superficial resemblance to Jeff Carlson's Plague Year, Plague War and Plague Zone novels.

Plague War (2008) Novel

Plague War (2008) by Jeff Carlson is the sequel to Plague Year (2007) and was followed by Plague Zone (2009). As you might expect the titles, the cause of humanity's near extinction was a plague, this one caused by nanotechnology run amuck. Luckily the nanotech could not survive above 10,000 feet. Plague War is set in United States and features a joint Russian and Chinese invasion of the devastated country.

Judgment Day (2005) Novel

Judgment Day (2005) is a novel by James F. David, that, like the Left Behind series, takes the New Testament's Revelation to John (the last book of that part of the Bible) as a starting point for a fictional romp through apocalyptic times.

Before the Fall (2008) Movie

Before the Fall (2008) is a Spanish film that revolves around a meteorite strike that will wipe out all life on earth. A handyman and his family have more to contend with than just a world gone crazy over the public announcement that the end is nigh within 72 hours as a convicted serial killer who escapes during a prison riot stalks members of his family.