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Adjustment Day, 2019 – Chuck Palahniuk
If you’ve never read anything from Chuck, this will quickly bring you up to speed as to his style of writing. It’s quite the dark comedy, and not necessarily for everyone. On the brink of WWIII, the world is fracturing before it can even begin. In Gaysia, straight people are pretending to be gay as to avoid any trouble. Senators are being killed based on the votes from an online list with their ears cut off and used as a currency of power. Along with many other narratives, this book is hilariously frightening, or, frighteningly hilarious.Want, 2017 – Cindy Pon
This is definitely scifi, potentially dystopian, and borderline apocalyptic at best. However, I was thinking this list needed something a bit more futuristic and action-packed; Want seemed to fit the bill. In a near-future Taipei, the pollution is so bad, the population must wear suits to survive. As you can predict, the poor can’t afford them and are dying in the streets while the wealthy are doing just fine and even purchasing more lives. The story follows Jason, and his friends, as they try to change the world.The Children of Men, 1992 – PD James
This was a backwards find for me. I saw the movie in 2006 when it was in theaters. Along with Kurt Vonnegut, PD James helped influence my personal love and interest in apocalyptic/dystopian themes. (The movie and novel are different…shocker.) Mass infertility is the ongoing problem. While you follow Theo on his journey, you learn about what happened in the mid 1990’s up to the novel’s current year of 2021. I always found it interesting the seemingly realistic approach the government was taking with certain measures and propaganda about men giving sperm samples on the regular for testing and women attending the OBGYN regularly, as well. Among other things, of course.Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, 1990 – Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
Okay – don’t hate me if this is overly suggested elsewhere. If you haven’t read this, it’s such an entertaining read. The apocalypse is in the hands of an eleven year old – the antichrist, unbeknownst to him – and his friends, along with an angel & demon duo who’ve had a friendship since The Beginning and enjoy the pleasures of Earth. The miniseries produced by Amazon is sensationally done and deserves a watch, too.