Thanks! I will check it out. Interesting that was co-written by James Kunetka, whose book on Los Alamos (City of Fire) is much better known than this book, apparently. It has an audiobook, as well.
Thanks! I will check it out. Interesting that was co-written by James Kunetka, whose book on Los Alamos (City of Fire) is much better known than this book, apparently. It has an audiobook, as well.
I'd like to second the recommendation! I was borderline-obsessed with Warday when I was in middle school (in the early 2000s), after discovering it among a bunch of my parents' old sci-fi paperbacks. It started a lifelong fascination with apocalyptic fiction.
There are two other undeservedly-obscure 1980s nuclear-war novels that I would enthusiastically recommend: Carolyn See's "Golden Days" and P.C. Jersild's "After the Flood". Granted, I must admit that neither of them is quite what you were requesting in this post--they're both closer to "The Road" than "World War Z". But they might fit with your general interest in fictional depictions of nuclear war.
"Golden Days" may be the single strangest book I have ever read--equal parts satirical comedy of manners about LA yuppies, apocalyptic drama, and surreal religious allegory. It features a uniquely...cheerful take on nuclear war. It's quite short--really a novella.
"After the Flood" is the complete opposite in tone--it's perhaps the bleakest apocalyptic novel I've yet read. It's Swedish--think Ingmar Bergman or Lars von Trier. It was inspired by the author's work as a physician on civil defense, where he was instructed to euthanize casualties of nuclear attack. But I find it endlessly re-readable despite its bleakness--it's a picaresque first-person narrative by a young man who has grown up in and only known this ruined world. It's also quite short.
I subscribed just so I could reply to this. "After the Flood" is not just my favourite post-apocalyptic novel, it's one of my favourite books of any genre. It's hard pin down why, but I love how the descriptions are so vibrant and detailed even though the world itself is so bleak and miserable. I haven't seen many books with as evocative storytelling. Admittedly the setting is not what you'd call a scientifically accurate post-nuke world, but the other merits more than make up for that.
I can add a strong recommendation behind this book. Great to see someone else has read it too, it's obscure even in Northern Europe and seems to be totally unknown elsewhere.
Also interesting to hear about the author's background. I have read some other books by Jersild and I always wondered what inspired him to write something so different from his other works.
Thanks! I will check it out. Interesting that was co-written by James Kunetka, whose book on Los Alamos (City of Fire) is much better known than this book, apparently. It has an audiobook, as well.
I'd like to second the recommendation! I was borderline-obsessed with Warday when I was in middle school (in the early 2000s), after discovering it among a bunch of my parents' old sci-fi paperbacks. It started a lifelong fascination with apocalyptic fiction.
There are two other undeservedly-obscure 1980s nuclear-war novels that I would enthusiastically recommend: Carolyn See's "Golden Days" and P.C. Jersild's "After the Flood". Granted, I must admit that neither of them is quite what you were requesting in this post--they're both closer to "The Road" than "World War Z". But they might fit with your general interest in fictional depictions of nuclear war.
"Golden Days" may be the single strangest book I have ever read--equal parts satirical comedy of manners about LA yuppies, apocalyptic drama, and surreal religious allegory. It features a uniquely...cheerful take on nuclear war. It's quite short--really a novella.
"After the Flood" is the complete opposite in tone--it's perhaps the bleakest apocalyptic novel I've yet read. It's Swedish--think Ingmar Bergman or Lars von Trier. It was inspired by the author's work as a physician on civil defense, where he was instructed to euthanize casualties of nuclear attack. But I find it endlessly re-readable despite its bleakness--it's a picaresque first-person narrative by a young man who has grown up in and only known this ruined world. It's also quite short.
Thanks! I appreciate all recommendations.
I subscribed just so I could reply to this. "After the Flood" is not just my favourite post-apocalyptic novel, it's one of my favourite books of any genre. It's hard pin down why, but I love how the descriptions are so vibrant and detailed even though the world itself is so bleak and miserable. I haven't seen many books with as evocative storytelling. Admittedly the setting is not what you'd call a scientifically accurate post-nuke world, but the other merits more than make up for that.
I can add a strong recommendation behind this book. Great to see someone else has read it too, it's obscure even in Northern Europe and seems to be totally unknown elsewhere.
Also interesting to hear about the author's background. I have read some other books by Jersild and I always wondered what inspired him to write something so different from his other works.