What's the Difference Between Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic Literature?

My favorite sci-fi sub-genre is post-apocalyptic science fiction, with dystopian literature coming in a respectable but distant second.

Why?

Because I'm fascinated by the behavior of people when the thin veneer of civilization is stripped away, and all hope is lost. What remains is a true glimpse of humanity at its worst and best, and the question "what makes us human" leaps to the forefront of existence.

For the past several years, dystopian literature has been hot, especially with young adults. Many readers remain confused about the subtle difference between dystopian literature and post-apocalyptic literature. Allow me to explain my interpretation of the difference.

A dystopia is a society where societal perfection or societal transcendence is obtained at the expense of something else. That "something else" could be a devalued class of people, the loss of a fundamental freedom, or the surrender of some aspect of human nature. Literary dystopias often arise through a slow process of societal change, or more abruptly as the result of some cataclysm. In either case, the dystopia represents society in a stable state, albeit a state most of us find appalling in some manner.

Post-apocalyptic literature, on the other hand, focuses on the instability during and/or following a cataclysmic event that shatters society both in form and headcount. During the story, whatever society exists is typically small, isolated, and highly threatened. Often there is little or no hope for any meaningful future. Although it is true that post-apocalyptic events can lead to the formation of dystopian societies, it is the immediately endangered nature of the society that interests me as a reader.

For example, I picked up Hunger Games in an airport years ago before it became a global phenomenon, because it is exactly the type of story that grabs my attention. Hunger Games is a dystopian story because it describes a stable but imperfect society that has sacrificed morality and most of the population for the comfort of a few. However, as a lover of post-apocalyptic stories, I wanted to know "how." How did this society emerge? What happened to create such a place? The story offers few clues, other than hints of a war.

I preferred the very poetic Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. The survivors of a zombie-plague apocalypse huddle together in a small community surrounded by a chain-link fence, unaware of other survivors. Pretty hopeless, right? Despite that hopelessness, a small band of teenagers venture into the unknown with a vague hope that there must be something better "out there."

So ... it may come as no surprise that I wrote a pair of post-apocalyptic novels. Write what you like; write what you know - right? My other stories are not of that sub-genre, but I suspect that I will revisit it later. My current PA novels are found at the link below.

The Shore of Monsters (1 and 2)

I'll leave you with this. The best example, in my opinion, of an utterly hopeless situation where survivors soldier on is the short story "A Pail of Air" by Fritz Leiber. It's available free on-line by the original publisher, Baen books. If your tastes mirror mine, then do yourself a favor and read it at the link below.

A Pail of Air by Fritz Leiber 

(Note - there is a short Preface, but the story starts at the line "Pa had sent me out to get an extra pail of air." Good opening line!)

The Best Post-Apocalyptic Short Story - Ever!

A Pail of Air by Fritz Lieber. With a claim like that, it better be good. It is. Written in 1951, the story starts with a startling premise: Earth has been ripped away from the sun by a 'dark star', the atmosphere lies in frozen layers on the ground, and everyone is dead. Well, not quite everyone. The tale is narrated by a boy who survives with his small family in a hand-built dwelling, valiantly staving off human extinction. The story owes its title to one of the boy's daily chores: donning a suit, going outside, and retrieving a pail of frozen air. The fire inside warms the air, it turns to gas, and thus sustains the family.

Why is this the best short story ever? Because, there is no hope, but the characters hope anyway, and fight on. It is this quirk of the human spirit that makes every post-apocalyptic story so compelling, and inspires me. It was stories like this one that drew me to the genre, and keeps me coming back.

You can read the story for free at the following link posted by the original publisher.

A Pail of Air by Fritz Leiber

There is a short introduction, so just skip to the first line "Pa had sent me out to get an extra pail of air." Yep - still gives me chills.

What to Read After the End of the World

Hey, campers! We all survived the End-of-the-World, AKA The Mayan Apocalypse. That's good news, unless you gave all your stuff away or ran up your credit card debt.

Back to literature. You might have noticed that there are two types of apocalyptic novels: Apocalyptic, and Post-Apocalyptic. The first deals mostly with "How the world ends". The second deals mostly with "What people do to survive and rebuild after the world ends". Some are hybrids, dealing with both the end and the aftermath. Different readers may prefer one type over the other. In that vein, I've listed below my favorites by type.

You'll notice very few straight up end-of-the-world novels. Readers want hope, generally. But sometimes we love to wallow in the misery of a hopeless story. I recently watched the movie "Melancholia". Without spoiling it, the movie was utterly hopeless to the bitter end, so much so that it literally depressed me for a couple of days afterward. However, my main criteria for any "great" story is that it touches me deeply. In that sense, Melancholia was a great story.

End of the World:
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
- I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
- On the Beach by Nevil Shute

After the End of the World:
- Shore of Monsters by David Nix (that's me)
- Blood Red by Moira Young
- City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
- Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
- Eternity Road by Jack McDevitt
- A Gift Upon the Shore by M. K. Wren
- The Postman by David Brin
- Through Darkest America by Neal Barrett Jr.
- Z for Zechariah by Robert C. O'Brien
- Daybreak 2250 A.D. (Star Man's Son) by Andre Norton

End of the World and What Comes After:
- The Passage by Justin Cronin (reading this right now, in fact)
- Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
- A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller (although this is harder to place; more like what comes after, and then the end of the world again)
- The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
- The Death of Grass (No Blade of Grass) by John Christopher
- Earth Abides by George Stewart
- The Tripods by John Christopher
- Vault of Ages by Poul Anderson