The Best of Survival Fiction

Hey, even survivalists have to unwind every once in a while. Take a look at some of these fictional stories of survival, hand-picked by us for your entertainment pleasure from movies, TV and books. What’s your favorite fictional survivalist story?

Want more? Read the Complete List of Post-Apocalyptic Books

#1: The Road (2006)

The Road was first published in 2006 by author Cormac McCarthy, also known for writing the books behind No Country for Old Men, Child of God and All the Pretty Horses. The Road was released to great critical acclaim, winning several book awards including the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for literature. It follows the story of a father and son making their way to safety in a post-apocalyptic nightmare world.  The story was adapted to film in 2009, starring Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee, and without revealing too much we’ll say that you’ll be in for a great ride..

#2: The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1719)

The original Robinson Crusoe comes from the novel “The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe, published way back in the 1700’s. You can find the full text of the novel (thanks to expired copyright and literary classics) available for download at Project Gutenberg by clicking here. The book tells the tale of Crusoe, a man who spends a record-breaking twenty seven years stranded on an island. Oh, and the original was published under the pseudonym of Robinson Crusoe, making people believe he was entirely real, at least for a little while.

It’s been adapted to film numerous times, including Robinson Crusoe (1997), starring Pierce Brosnan in the title role, and The Wild Life (2016), an animated spin on the tale.

#3: Survivor Type (Stephen King)

Stephen King seems to love exploring survival and post-apocalyptic scenarios in his work: There’s The Stand (1978), which was turned into a pretty cool 1994 TV miniseries, The Mist (1980), which was turned into a 2007 horror flick, Cell (2006), which became a 2016 movie by the same name and Under the Dome (2009), which was also not surprisingly turned into a TV series which ran from 2013 to 2015. But a lot of people forget about a little story called Survivor Type, which was first published in a 1982 book called Terrors – though later released with Stephen King’s short story collection Skeleton Crew in 1985. The short story follows the diary of Richard Pine, a man who gets stranded on an island while trying to traffic a shipment of heroin on a cruise ship.

It’s a thrill ride like only King can write it, and the story was even adapted to short films: In 2011, 2012 and 2013.

#4: The Hunger Games (2008)

The first book in the Hunger Games series first appeared by author Suzanne Collins in 2008.  Subsequent sequels included Catching Fire in 2009 and Mockingjay in 2010. The series follows young characters Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark as they make their way through a terrifying survival game-show setup straight from your worst dystopian nightmares. The trilogy also gave rise to a series of movies of the same name. It’s got all the elements of a highly successful series that makes you fall in love with the characters immediately, and if you were a fan of movies like The Running Man then you’ll surely enjoy this too.

#5: I Am Legend (1954)

I Am Legend was originally published in 1954 by Richard Matheson, and stands as one of modern fiction’s true classics: This is one of many cases on the list where you might want to read the book before you take the leap and see the movie. The story follows Dr Robert Neville and his canine companion after the breakout of a disastrous virus that “turned” most of humanity (yes, this is one of the original post-apocalyptic zombie stories).

It was adapted into a movie starring Will Smith in 2007, though some parts are radically different from the book version. For comic book nuts, there was also a graphic novel adaptation of the story.

#6: Earth’s Children (1980)

Want to learn more about historically accurate (yet surprisingly fictionalized) survivalism? Then you should jump straight into the work of Jean M. Auel, starting with the Earth’s Children series – with six books in all. Earth’s Children is set in pre-historic times, and the finer points of Auel’s work are notorious for being exceptionally finely researched. Start off with the first book in the series, The Clan of the Cave Bear (1980) and work your way through until The Land of Painted Caves (2011). It’s worth it.

#7: The Martian (2011)

Give survivalism a completely different (and terrifying) modern spin: Put a man in space, where nobody can hear him scream. That’s the premise of the debut novel by author Andy Weir, which was first self-published in 2011 (before later being snapped up by a larger publishing house). The story follows botanist Mark Watney’s attempt to create a self-sustaining colony on Mars – something which already a possibility in reality.

It was turned into a movie starring Matt Damon in 2015.

#8: Cast Away (2000)

Cast Away was released in 2000 starring Tom Hanks, and is a film classic. One can almost go as far as to call it a modernized version of Robinson Crusoe. The movie follows Chuck Noland, a Fed-Ex employee, who finds himself stranded on an island after his plane takes a nosedive. Yes, this is a bit of a tear-jerker, but that also isn’t always a bad thing, is it? One of the most famous elements of Cast Away was Wilson (If you haven’t seen the movie, that’s a beach ball who, well, becomes Chuck’s eventual friend in an attempt to make island life less lonely).

In 2015, Tom Hanks was reunited with the original Wilson during a NY Rangers game.

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