The best books about quests through a post-apocalyptic wasteland

The Road is the ultimate post-apocalyptic novel if you’re looking for grittiness, realism, and suspense. The entire novel follows a father searching for safety for his son; their entire life is a quest to survive. The Road is what I think every post-apocalyptic writer secretly wishes they could write—I know I do—and I like to think the quiet moments in my own book comes from this wish. The Road is raw, terrifying, and horrific but also filled with hope and the unyielding love a parent has for their child. It’s a masterpiece. The only thing it doesn’t have is humour, so as much as I am in awe of McCarthy’s prose, my own post-apocalyptic novel has a great deal more (dark) comedy and moments of levity. 

Another ultimate post-apocalyptic quest novel is The Stand, one of King’s most read (and longest) books, but I was more heavily influenced by (and love more) The Waste Lands (book 3 of The Dark Tower series). This is because the latter focuses less on the how of the collapse than the aftermath. King’s casual prose and quick, realistic dialogue have always been an inspiration in my writing. The found family connection between Roland, Eddie, Susanna, and Jake is at the heart of The Waste Lands. It is palpable and endearing, and something I strove to emulate with Delia, Gennero, Perth, and Mort in my own novel. There is an allusion to The Waste Lands in my book that big fans of The Dark Tower will catch.  

This novel takes place thirty years after a disease has reduced most of the human population to a primitive state. A thriller with exceptional action scenes and tension, the novel features two converging plotlines that are quests through South America and the southern United States when it is almost devoid of uninfected humans. As with a lot of post-apocalyptic novels the real villains of the story are other humans—their greed and need for control. While this book came out two years after mine, it resonated with me. The themes of trust run strong in both our novels, as well as lengthy stretches of landscape without any humans. 

I love this novel. I read it well after my own came out, but the strong, badass, stoic female main character reminded me a lot of Delia from What Branches Grow (despite Brittle being a robot). The often dark and gritty scenes interspersed with moments of emotion and laugh-out-loud absurd humour turned a story that could have been depressing into one that was a helluva lot of fun. The raiders in this novel also fit the trope in the same homage to Mad Max/Fallout that mine do in What Branches Grow, albeit in a way I didn’t expect. The novel is also a quest through the wasteland with a ragtag group that culminates in a final battle, which is a similar trajectory to my novel (and a plotfline in this genre I very much enjoy).

Love stories aren’t often a theme of post-apocalyptic literature. In my own book I wanted to highlight that you can find love in times of great hardship, as sometimes love is all we have to keep us going. Roanhorse’s urban fantasy is an exciting post-apocalyptic novel with a badass woman main character who is tough-as-nails but also conflicted. The love story subplot between her and another character was an element that stood out for its realism and depth. While her quest is more personal than a physical journey, the novel (and its sequel, Storm of Locusts) takes place in a fascinating world build: only Native American reserves have survived the cataclysm. My male main character is also of Indigenous descent, though without a real connection to his heritage. Roanhorse also has an engaging, easy-to-read style!