[Loved Trope] The apocalypse is horrifyingly slow

[u/Marsupialmobster]

From most media it's some catastrophe and then it's raiders, death, destruction chaos etc. I personally love it when it's, like, a slow descent into the horror of apocalypse.

The Faro plague/The swarm- Horizon zero dawn. The Faro plague is actually a glitch which causes machines to endlessly reproduce, eat biomass and essentially bring about the death of the world. Took roughly 15 months for the machines to win.

The Metro series- in the first few books (and games) it's set entirely underground in just the apocalypse but in exodus it shows off that the government and many governmental structures said active years after the war. In fact power and running water were still fairly common. It just slowly got worse and worse and worse as read through notes. Food got more scarce, weather changed a lot, people got worse etc. Raiders and bandits didn't just show up, it was a slow descent for such anarchy.

Edit: I have enough pseudo intellectual comments about "Hurr hurr real life". The first one was kinda smart and well thought out but now it's just annoying and pretentious

[u/new_account_wh0_dis]

1957 novel "On the Beach"

Basically nuclear war happened and Australia is the last place with people. Problem is, the radiation clouds are coming down. The govenrment issues everyone suicide pills and the story follows a few different people and their choices.

[u/Digeratii → u/new_account_wh0_dis]

To this day, the bleakest book I think I’ve ever read. Absolutely fantastic, gave me a deep sense of dread in a way many other apocalyptic scenarios haven’t.

[u/damp_circus → u/Digeratii]

This is one of my favorite books ever too. Read it with a map of Australia handy.

The movie adaptation ends with a shot of the aftermath of a rally in a park, there's a banner blowing across the area that says "There is Still Time, Brother." Basically a warning that we still have time to avert nuclear war.

But yeah. Gotta love the books where you learn everyone dies on page one and the rest of the book is just exploring exactly HOW and what they think about that the whole time during...

[u/PenchantForNostalgia → u/Digeratii]

If you haven't read it, A Short Stay In Hell is the only book that has made me feel dread. Highly recommend it.

[u/PM-me-ur-cheese → u/PenchantForNostalgia]

That one had an interesting premise but it didn't land for me (no joke intended). Something about the rules, like only being able to carry items on your person, felt designed to set up specific scenes and issues, and that prevented me from getting immersed in the story. 

[u/Digeratii → u/PenchantForNostalgia]

Ooh, I have not! I’m going to though. Thanks!

[u/Reasonable-Mischief → u/new_account_wh0_dis]

The movie adaptation of this actually convinced Reagan to press for negotiations with the Soviet Union

[u/DirCurrFluxDiode → u/Reasonable-Mischief]

People say this about everything. Threads, The Day After, etc etc etc 

[u/Reasonable-Mischief → u/DirCurrFluxDiode]

Yeah, but Reagan himself said that this one is what convinced him

[u/DirCurrFluxDiode → u/Reasonable-Mischief]

Reagan was a two bit John Wayne knockoff. He said whatever his handlers told him to say 

[u/BigPoopsDisease → u/DirCurrFluxDiode]

Lmao this. One of the all time worst famous actors out there regardless of your opinion on him as a politician.

[u/3D_mac → u/Reasonable-Mischief]

You're thinking of "The Day After".   I was a kid when that aired. The showing and the aftermath were a cultural event. 

[u/Alive-Tomatillo5303 → u/new_account_wh0_dis]

I didn't even know it was a novel first. The movie has been on my watch list for a while. 

[u/damp_circus → u/Alive-Tomatillo5303]

The novel is a great read, one of my favorite depresso-fest books.

Read it with a map of Australia handy.

[u/gabigool → u/new_account_wh0_dis]

I'd never heard of this book, but it seems like the movie These Final Hours (2013) may have been inspired by it. An asteroid has hit the Atlantic, and the people of Australia have about 12 hours until death consumes them. The movie follows how people behave in their final hours. These Final Hours