Earlier apocalyptic fiction was more like the book that gave us the word: descriptions of the last days, when Christ returns, rather than . There are a lot of sinners writhing in agony.

I know there were a few before WWII. There was Mary Shelley's The Last Man, anyway. The earliest novel I can think of in that vein is Daniel Defoe's Journal of a Plague Year, but that was based on an actual apocalypse. Certainly during the plague years many writers thought the world was coming to an end. Also, didn't the robots kill all the people in Kark Capek's "R.U.R"?

I think it took WWII for people to believe that all of mankind could be wiped out.

The War of the Worlds and The Poison Belt are pretty apocalyptic-y.

based on an actual apocalypse

I mentioned to someone today that the Rocky Horror lyric "river of night's dreaming" is the title of a short story (that long pre-dates the musical), and he asked if there was a book named Morpheus Flow. I don't think there is, but that's a great title.

the Rocky Horror lyric "river of night's dreaming" is the title of a short story

Thank you, I had no idea!

Day of the Triffids = post-apocalyptic, yes? Though it was written after WWII, I think, so possibly not relevant.

Ooh, The War of the Worlds. I should have thought of that. It does have that last-minute bacterial reprieve.

Day of the Triffids goes with all those other early '50s "this is the way the world ends" books. J.G. Ballard practically made a career of destroying the world in different ways for a while.

Hmm there was a sort of post-apocalyptic sci-fi war novel that was published pre WWII, may pre WWI. It was sort of a WW-I that just goes on forever and spreads throughout the world. No nukes needed because no civilian territory left to grow food on, no place free of the horrors of war, disease spreading everywhere as it does in the case of war. Also the soldier all hate the civilians because it was the civilans that created the war. So it looks like the military on all sides will get together and create a giant military dictatorship based on hatred and contempt for civilians. Very chilling, prose kind of leaded, characters two dimensional, world building frighteningly convincing. Based on actual experience of Crimean war or WW I?

Wish I knew the title or author.

The DH and I used this as our dinner topic last night. He immediately mentioned War of the Worlds and Time Machine.

His contribution was that WWI was the genesis of some types of modern horror (see James Whale as an example) including the beginnings of an apocalyptic outlook. Usually people think of the gas attacks, and the fact that localities were assigned together so whole towns could be wiped out, but strategic bombing was developed in WWI. The ability to destroy a civilian center from high altitude, with no possibility of defense had a definite psychological impact (although not as big as the implementors hoped).

The ability to destroy a civilian center from high altitude, with no possibility of defense had a definite psychological impact (although not as big as the implementors hoped).

I had an art history class in college that spent a good long time on the impact of WWI on art - and the reprise of danger from the skies as a topic (Max Ernst & Picasso being her main displays)... both from gods & angels (anything winged, actually) as well as man-made sources. Her point almost to the word matches your DH's, Raq.

Since Spook Country is listed as "on hold" online at my library, and since I DO NOT have an email indicating that it's being held for me, I have to assume I'm somewhere down on the list. Pooh.

I think I'll just pick up Blood Music tonight and ask where I am on the wait list.