Swan Song discussion

Hi, I read Swan Song and The Stand years ago and they are, without a doubt, my favourite books. I've read a lot since then; Earth Abides, Wool, Day by Day Armageddon (really didn't like this one), Lucifer's Hammer, Alas, Bablon and countless zombie fiction on kindle, but nothing seems close to the same scope (or epic-ness) of the great two.

The book that, I believe, has come closest to Swan Song and The Stand is the Redaction trilogy by Linda Andrews. I'm really hoping there's something I've missed that I can get lost in for days, something apocalyptic preferably or Fantasy (though I think I've read all 'the greats' in that genre too). Any suggestions?

I'm reading the Wastland Saga right now. I like it. Nothing like Swan Song but it might do in a pinch.

I've just finished reading The Passage by Justin Cronin. Its the same post apocalypse kinda theme to it. I personally couldnt put it down.

Also have you tried Margaret Atwood - Year of the Floor. Its part of a trilogy. I think Oryx and Crake is the first of it. I have only read Year of the Flood out of the trilogy and enjoyed it.

I love zombie/end of the world/post apocalypse books. But I agree it can be hard to find any that can be called epic.

I've read both The Passage and The Twelve by Justin Cronin and also the Margaret Atwood trilogy, all really good. Actually there is some pretty great reading out there.

Hrrrmmm. I just went into the listopia thingy on here and searched apocalpyse. I hell of a lot of options came back. Have you tried that?

Have you read any Iain Rob Wright books? If you havent, they're a decent read. Not up to Swan Song standard but they pass the time. Can I just add that even though they all seem like stand alone books, I recommend reading them in the order they came out. I didnt, and then I read his most recent one and it made reference to other books that I hadnt read, which spoiled them for me.

I've just gone through all my "read" books and I'm afraid thats all I can come up with. Sorry.

Hi, I've read the Passage and The Twelve and The Canticle for Leibowiz, enjoyed both of them but not as much as The Stand and Swan Song. I've got Margaret Atwood's trilogy and will see how I get on with that, thanks for the recommendation. I've also searched through the listopia apocalypse lists - not all of them yet but a good few, but they all mostly contain the same books.

I've read 'The Beasts and the Walking Dead' recently and it's very similar to both 'The Stand' and 'Swan Song'. I highly recommend it. The author isn't huge but writes people well and it was very realistic in its description of the zombie apocolypse. I have a review for it here: http://www.horrorsociety.com/2013/04/...

Try The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker.

I also rank The Stand and Swan Song as my two favorite books. It may not be 'epic' at roughly 400 pages but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Blood Crazy by Simon Clark.


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...

I just finished reading a free ebook (through iBooks) called 'Cure' by Belinda S. Frisch, it's the start of a series and I found it to be very good if anyone's interested in giving it a try.

I'm trying to read The Great and Secret Show, but I'm having trouble getting in to it, will persevere though.

I really enjoyed Kenneth Calhoun's book, Black Moon. A very good twist on a post apocalyptic book

Well it will be almost impossible to find something comparable to those two books. Probably the two best apocalyptic novels ever written.
I would recommend the "Autumn" series by David Moody. Most of his work is apocalyptic fiction and is great,at least in my opinion. The only thing is his novels are not epic in size,but he's a master at character development.

I have read both the Stand and Swan Song so many times I have lost count-both are excellent books

Dark Advent

It's out of print but looked for it used. It's a post superflu book like the stand, but much more grounded. Excellent book.

I haven't found anything like those two either, sadly! How interesting that these two books are the favorites of so many! I can't recommend anything because I myself am still waiting for it. But I wanted to comment on the fact that alot of people mentioned zombie holocausts and neither The Stand or Swan Song is about zombies. Don't get me wrong I love zombies, never miss Walking Dead! But if you find anything as good as the first two, post it here so that I get an email! Thanks!

It's not post-apocalyptic but Imajica has the same kind of Epic-Battle-God-vs-Devil kind of feel. The Dog Stars by Peter Heller is a fantastic near-future apocalypse story but not epic.

Nick Cole's Wasteland Saga is definitely worth a read if you like the post-apocalypse genre in general.

Yesterday's Gone by Sean Platt is interesting. Somewhat like the Left Behind apocalypse scenario, yet by the end of the first "season" (written as a serial, I've only read the one season so far) you don't know if it's God, the Government, Tommyknockers or Aliens.

Earth Abides is a post-plague epic, but it's not as good as The Stand and SS. And, there's no supernatural element.

Becca wrote: "Hi, I read Swan Song and The Stand years ago and they are, without a doubt, my favourite books. I've read a lot since then; Earth Abides, Wool, Day by Day Armageddon (really didn't like this one), ..."

Hi Becca,
I am so with you on Swan Song. I have read that book so many times. I also enjoyed The Stand, but read it after I saw the movie, which is never a good idea. The impact wasn't the same.
I, too, have never found another apocalyptic book to match them. I have come close, however, with Justin Cronin's The Passage. It was a really excellent read. After I was about halfway through, I found out he was making it a trilogy. The second one came out a while ago, The Twelve. I have not read this yet because I know I will have to first go back and re-read The Passage before I do to refresh my memory. So, to that end, I'm going to wait for the third one to come out so I can just read them all, one after the other, without a time interruption.
Let me know what you think. It was really up there with Swan Song and The Stand. Maybe not quite as great, but a close - very close - second.
In the meantime, have you ever read any other of McCammon's books besides Swan Song? He has some other really good works, not apocolpytic, but really good reads. I particularly loved Mystery Walk. And not much out there compares to the coming of age story Boy's Life. That is a sheer winner!
Let me know what you think.
nancy

I am with everyone else. I loved Swan Song and reread it at least once a year. I wrote my English comp paper on The Stand (good vs. evil). You might try Lucifer's Hammer. It is really good. Sorry I do not have anything else to offer but it is hard to compare those books with anything else. Did you read The Wolfs Hour by Robert McCammon? Another one I read every year. Fascinating and wonderful story.

This may be considered cheating...but I love Swan Song...the audio book. I've also listen to The Passage, and well...it didn't really do anything for me. Here are a few books I suggest...Just bare with me...

Armageddon's Children (Terry Brooks) - I know I know...he's created the world of Shannara, elves, etc. Yet my favorite of his books consist of a Pre-Apocalypse tale....where the main antagonist is Findo Gask, a servant of The Void. Who experiments on human children to create something inhuman. The world has been left in shambles...we're even the soil itself can kill you. Those who have survive, stay in compounds...where they believe it's safe. Yet other humans, who have slowly mutated...are not welcome there. There to do battle vs The Void it's demons are The Knights of the Word. Once many...And now down to less then a handful...they serve The Word. A true epic battle of Good Vs Evil.

Oh...And I also recommend Robert McCammon newest book - The Border. Sunfall by Tim Meyer...

And if you like stories involving Armageddon, and don't mind a bit of religion thrown at you. I suggest Pray by John Prescott.

Love Robert McCammon's books.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've just tried The Border and was really disappointed with that. true, I'm not usually an alien-book fan, but I was expecting more from that, I dunno, it just seemed really shallow, for want of a better word. I'm looking forward to giving Armageddon's Children a go next and will check out the others too. :)

If you would like a whole lot of Post Apocalyptic stories at a super low price, check out Amazons collections. It looks like they are all for Kindle but they also offer a free app with which you can read them. There is a set entitled This is the End, and is followed with two more sets, two and three. ALL are only 99 cents! Here is a link to the first one and if you scroll down on the page you will see many others offered, again for 99 cents for the entire set. All of them appear to have great ratings too so there should be something for everyone there, while we still await the arrival of a new Stand or Swan Song :)
http://smile.amazon.com/This-End-Post...

hi i feel the same. My favorite as well. But so is stephen kings IT and dreamcatcher. But try The Many by Joe Stone, Children of the dead and At the end of all Things, also Heaven and Hell by Kenneth Zeigler. I have the same hope of finding more books some of theses titles are by authors that only have one book, and I'm waiting.... good luck so many great titles on my kindle now.

Jon wrote: "It's not post-apocalyptic but Imajica has the same kind of Epic-Battle-God-vs-Devil kind of feel. The Dog Stars by Peter Heller is a fantastic near-future apocalypse story but not epic.

Nick Cole'..." loved yestersday gone

YES THE DOG STARS IS IN MY KINDLE ALONG WITH LUCIFERS HAMMERS AND CLASSICS. EARTH ABIDES ETC. I WISH I COULD COPY IT SO PEOPLE CAN FIND SOME OF THESE JEMS. LIKE The days and the months we were born. Sorry all caps. I saw it to late, did not feel like retyping.

Lucifer's Hammer is one of my top 5 favorite books of all time.

Wool omnibus by Hugh Howey
Aftertime series by Sophie Littlefield
Last Survivors series by Susan Pfeffer
Clockwork Century series by Cherie Priest

I agree with Sean; Dark Advent is the closest one of those suggested, as far as I've seen.

Sean wrote: "Dark Advent

It's out of print but looked for it used. It's a post superflu book like the stand, but much more grounded. Excellent book."

Sean wrote: "Dark Advent

It's out of print but looked for it used. It's a post superflu book like the stand, but much more grounded. Excellent book."

I've just found this on the Kindle store, I'm looking forward to diving in!

Kelly wrote: "Wool omnibus by Hugh Howey
Aftertime series by Sophie Littlefield
Last Survivors series by Susan Pfeffer
Clockwork Century series by Cherie Priest"
Hi read wool and the other 2 shift and dust, love those as well . Will look up aftertime. Thanks

Nettie wrote: "Hrrrmmm. I just went into the listopia thingy on here and searched apocalpyse. I hell of a lot of options came back. Have you tried that?

Have you read any Iain Rob Wright books? If you havent, t..."

Yes love ian rob wright. And t. W brown. Thanks reading nezerea andrews series now.

I agree with the person who suggested blood crazy by Simon Clark. I enjoyed it.

Ill Wind by Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason

I literally searched the same thing in Google and that's how I found this thread. I can't believe there are so many other people that also love Swan Song... And that there are so many other people always on the never-ending hunt for another book that evokes the same emotions as it. I haven't actually ever managed to get into The Stand, but I think I'll give it another try since it seems to go hand in hand with Swan Song.

I'll also try some of the others mentioned. I noticed that One Second After by William R Forstchen was listed ABOVE both Swan Song and The Stand on one of the nuclear holocaust lists on here, so I grabbed that earlier and am going to take a crack at it tonight.

One second after has the post-apocalyptic story, but not the "horror" aspect that the others also have. So, it depends what you are reading for.

Justin Cronin's series beginning with The passage might also satisfy.

I've almost finished One Second After. I think it's wonderfully written and I love how hard the writer worked to keep it realistic... But you are completely right, there just isn't enough grit for me.

Sure. I'll give The Passage a go.

I'm half way through Year One by Nora Roberts and it's very similar to The Stand.

Read Year One by Nora Roberts; also thought it was similar to The Stand (at least in premise), but was disappointed in it. I, too, have found nothing that lives up to The Stand and Swan Song, but was really hopeful when starting Year One, as I love Nora Roberts' books also. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't what I hoped - the end felt rushed and abrupt. I believe that it is the beginning of a series, so I will try the next one when it comes out, but so far it is only good, not great (gave it 3 stars, whereas the other two got 5 stars each).

Try "The Library on Mount Char"

I love that this feed exists - it is like reading pages from my life. Swan Song and The Stand - reread them every year or so. Found The Passage series - which was the closest thing I had found to the same genre/quality. The Silo series wasn't great, but at least I made it through all three. I am going to go with Lucifer's Hammer next, as so many have put it in their "Top" lists.

I reread Swan Song because i had forgotten I'd read it years ago. It is on my KEEP shelf. Reminded me of The Stand. So good. Remembered reading after a few pages.

See if your local Library can get Dark advent for you. Mine will lend it!

Josh wrote: "I love that this feed exists - it is like reading pages from my life. Swan Song and The Stand - reread them every year or so. Found The Passage series - which was the closest thing I had found to t..."

I've read wool trilogies and loved it. Joe stones THE Many, is also close to the stand. still looking.

going to look I to redaction

yes live Ian rob nooks. also a boom called black rain
was awesome.

I’m just 200 pages into swan song which I stumbled across and loving it, I read the Stand many years ago I can still remember where I was as I finished the book.More recently the passage trilogy I thoroughly enjoyed . I’m surprised no one has mentioned The postman a pretty rubbish film but I remember the book being very good but it must be 25 years ago that I read it.

I really enjoyed Defender and the sequel Hunted bij GX Todd. Can't wait for the sequels (it will be a four part series).
Deyon Meyer's Fever was great too. They really have the same vibe as the Stand

The most beautifully written post apocalyptic books are The Road and Children of Men. They are my faves in the genre but Swan Song came along and I didn't think I'd like its good vs. evil vibe but the characters are so vivid .

I just read both Stranded and The Hunger and both reminded me of swan song in different ways.