20 Post-Apocalyptic Stories That Aren’t Totally Depressing

Cover of The Postman (Image via Bantam)

20. The Postman

Okay, first of all, you can simply avoid the 1997 film, The Postman. Roger Ebert called it “goofy… and pretentious.” If that didn’t convince you, remember that The Postman won five separate Razzie Awards, including two for Kevin Costner as worst actor and director.

Instead, set aside your recollection of this movie dud, and turn your attention towards the novel. I promise you’ll have a much better time.

The Postman, written by David Brin and published in 1985, is a far more enjoyable work. It won numerous science fiction prizes, including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Novel and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

In The Postman, Gordon Krantz, a post-apocalyptic drifter, takes a discarded post office uniform in order to keep warm. He eventually finds a postal van and some undelivered mail. Thinking that he might be able to barter the letters for food and shelter, he takes the bag of mail to a nearby town. The people there, desperate to believe that the United States is beginning to recover, take him for a real postal worker.

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Krantz continues to wander. He crosses paths with scientists at Oregon State University who pretend to be a sentient supercomputer in order to maintain peace in their community. Krantz teams up with the scientists and a Native American group to fight violent and “hyper survivalists” known as Holnists.

Ultimately, The Postman thrives on an abiding sense of hope. Despite the conflict provided by the Holnists, many other people are intent on coming together to rebuild civilization. With the looming defeat of the survivalists, the remaining communities may finally succeed.

Though these stories may deal with the end of the world, they all are a bit more cheerful than you might expect. Enjoy.