Books about the end of the civilized world are one of my favorite sub genres of science fiction to read. I’ve read about everything from nuclear war to alien invasion that causes it all. One of my favorite causes of the end to read about and a topic that is really hot right now is a pandemic. That generally means a plague or some kind of widespread sickness. Below are six of my favorites, all of which I highly recommend.

I want to be clear that I do not think this kind of scenario is about to happen in the real world. I’ve only created this list because the current crisis has got me thinking about some of these stories and I thought there might be others out there who have the kind of warped mind that I do and like reading these kinds of books.

I should point out that 3 of the books on my list include zombie-like creatures that result after people are infected by the pandemic. I in no way think a zombie apocalypse is possible, but it’s still fun reading. However, the zombie books start out the same as the non-zombie books, with some new and strange pandemic sweeping across the globe, too fast for mankind to react, and changing everything for the worse.

As one would expect with these kinds of stories, most are not family friendly. That’s why most of them are not featured in my blog. But, I have reviewed them all and will provide links to their full review on the Readers Favorite website so you can get a better idea of what you’re getting into before you read it.

I’m listing them in no particular order, except for the first one. The Line Between is my absolute favorite. Every book on my list is incredible in its own way, but you can’t beat Tosca Lee’s take on the end of the world.

 1.  THE LINE BETWEEN by Tosca Lee – Sickness causes people to go mad, doing crazy things, and then they die. These are not zombies. The real twist is that the heroin has been brain washed by a religious cult. She escapes the cult and enters a world gone mad. READ THE REVIEW

2.  AN ENGLISH APOCALYPSE by Paul J.C. Edge – Meteors land bringing sickness to the Earth and fast zombies. The catch is that one man has dreams of warning that the apocalypse is coming and he is given ample time to build a fortress to prepare. READ THE REVIEW

3. AS THE WORLD FALLS DOWN by Katy Nicholas – Sickness sweeps the land killing all but a few. Two survivors find each other and romance ensues. READ THE REVIEW

4.  OUTBREAK by Joshua C. Chadd – Sickness comes bringing slow zombies. Two survivalist brothers armed with every kind of weapon are ready for the attack. READ THE REVIEW

5.  CONTAGION by Marcy Dyer – Sickness turns people into slow zombies. Survivors try to get to a safe house across the country. This one downplays the violence and emphasizes the human struggle. READ THE REVIEW

6.  THE SMALLEST THING by Lisa Manterfield – A sickness infects a tiny village in England but nowhere else. The village is forcibly quarantined and we watch the townsfolk of the village struggle to cope as death takes it’s toll. I’m currently listening to this one as an audio book and I’m thoroughly enjoying it, so my review is not yet posted. However, I’ll say the book is very well written and of all the books on my list, it is the one that seems most realistic to events of today. It’s main character is an 18 year old girl who was just about to run away with her boyfriend before the pandemic struck. She is suddenly forced to stay in the small town that she desperately wants to leave, while her boyfriend is stuck outside. SEE IT ON AMAZON