Books like “The Road”

What to read after “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
Station Eleven
Emily St. John Mandel · 2014
Same genre: “Post-apocalyptic fiction” and “Literary fiction”
After a flu wipes out most of humanity, a travelling theatre troupe moves between the small settlements that remain, performing Shakespeare. The story follows survivors across decades and asks what of civilization is worth carrying forward.
2
Wool
Hugh Howey · 2011
Similar atmosphere: “Dystopia”
In a future where the air outside is deadly, people live in a buried silo and are told that anyone who asks to go outside will be sent there to die. When a sheriff starts asking questions about the world beyond the walls, the silo's careful order begins to crack.
3
The Windup Girl
Paolo Bacigalupi · 2009
Similar atmosphere: “Dystopia”
- Dystopia
- Survival
In a flooded, calorie-poor Bangkok kept alive by genetic engineering, an American trader hunts for lost seed banks while a manufactured woman bred as a servant tries to survive. Their paths cross with corporate enforcers and a city about to boil over.
4
Severance
Ling Ma · 2018
Same genre: “Post-apocalyptic fiction” and “Literary fiction”
A millennial office worker in New York keeps showing up to her publishing job as a fever turns people into repetitive, wandering shells. Her account of the collapse moves between satire of work and the quiet end of the world.
5
The Year of the Flood
Margaret Atwood · 2009
Similar atmosphere: “Dystopia”
A religious sect called God's Gardeners expects a coming catastrophe and tries to live apart from the corrupt world around it. Two women, Toby and Ren, tell how they reached the group and what happened to them after the disaster they predicted.
6
Parable of the Sower
Octavia E. Butler · 1993
Similar atmosphere: “Dystopia”
In a near-future California wrecked by drought and lawlessness, a teenage girl who feels the pain of others builds a new belief while her walled neighbourhood falls apart. She leads a small group north, looking for land and for something to hold on to.
7
Oryx and Crake
Margaret Atwood · 2003
Similar atmosphere: “Dystopia”
- Dystopia
- Post-Apocalyptic World
A man called Snowman may be the last human left, living in a tree above a ruined city and watching over a gentle new species. Through his memories the reader learns how his brilliant friend Crake and the woman they both loved brought the world to its end.
8
The 5th Wave
Rick Yancey · 2013
Same genre: “Post-apocalyptic fiction”
After a series of waves wipes out most of humanity, sixteen-year-old Cassie is alone and running from an enemy that could look like anyone. To find her little brother she will have to trust a stranger, even as she learns how the invasion really works.
9
The Darkest Minds
Alexandra Bracken · 2012
Similar atmosphere: “Dystopia”
- Dystopia
After a disease kills most American children, the survivors develop dangerous powers and are locked in government camps. Sixteen-year-old Ruby escapes and joins a group of runaways searching for a safe haven, while learning the cost of her own abilities.
10
The Day of the Triffids
John Wyndham · 1951
Same genre: “Post-apocalyptic fiction”
A meteor shower blinds most of humanity, leaving a few sighted survivors in a world where walking, venomous plants have escaped from farms. A young man and a small group try to reach safety and decide what kind of society can be rebuilt.
11
The Fifth Season
N. K. Jemisin · 2015
Similar atmosphere: “Dystopia”
In a land torn by earthquakes and ash, orogenes can still the earth but are enslaved for it. Three women, a mother, a daughter and a student, move through a broken world as a new catastrophe begins, and their stories converge on what caused it.
12
The Maze Runner
James Dashner · 2009
Similar atmosphere: “Dystopia”
Thomas wakes in a maze with no memory of who he is, surrounded by boys who arrived the same way. Each day the walls open and monstrous machines roam, and Thomas becomes sure he was part of the experiment that trapped them.