Top Ten Post-Apocalyptic movies, books and TV shows by Joe Reyes

Hello my name is Joe Reyes and wrote a book called Aftermath. It’s a post-apocalyptic series so today I wanted to write about some of my favorite post-apocalyptic based stories.

1.      The Hunger Games

I’m not a big reader at all, so that just shows how much I enjoy The Hunger Games. The writing style really caught my interest. There weren’t many long descriptions or boring filler scenes. I use this style in my writing as well. I like to keep the story moving at a fast pace so the reader doesn’t get bored.

2.      Revolution

Even though it wasn’t a really popular TV show and fizzled about halfway through the first season, I used this show as research when I wrote my book, Aftermath. The rebuilding of America, the rising armies and factions…I was so attracted to it and used it as motivation for my work.

3.      Mad Max Fury Road

When I saw the first trailer I figured this movie was going to be terrible, but it was one of the best movies of the year. The storyline had a great mix of adventure and creativity. The innovation in the cars and weapons was visually awe-inspiring.

4.      Fallen Skies

I’ve always been a big fan of alien and war shows, so having them together is a perfect blend for me. The show doesn’t waste episodes and makes missions like finding a way across a bridge worthwhile. The survivors are organized and use guerilla warfare tactics to fight an overpowered alien army.

5.      The Last Ship

After a virus wipes out most of the earth’s population, a single US Navy vessel tries to find a cure. It will be interesting to see how the network plans on continuing the series. After a cure was discovered, the story became a battle for ideals in a new, rebuilding America. The struggle was in that the Navy wants the United States returned to order based on the remaining regime of the country, but new factions want their ways to be the new America.

6.      Waterworld

Some call it one of the worst movies ever made, but damn it I liked it! The setting was extremely unique. Seeing people adapt to an all water environment and build cities was a hell of a risk on the writer’s part. Because of it, the story could ONLY be really good or really bad. I just found the whole setup and the character’s struggle for survival interesting. 

7.      Dawn of the Dead

Surviving a zombie outbreak is mostly fortifying a location and making sure you have enough supplies. I’m not a fan of The Walking Dead. I felt like there was too much unneeded drama in that show and the zombies were a subplot. In Dawn of the Dead the zombies were so deadly that the characters didn’t have time for dumb crap. A horde of running zombies is a lot scarier than a horde of slow-moving, dimwitted zombies. If the zombies were fast, like in Dawn of the Dead, I believe The Walking Dead could have benefitted from the heightened sense of urgency.

8.      The Road

Liked the movie, but HATED the book! Ugh! I hated the dialogue in the novel. The way that conversations didn’t have “he said” made it so confusing. So if you forget who was talking first then you had to read the dialogue from the beginning of the conversation to know who was speaking later on. Anyway, it was a good story about surviving in a post-apocalyptic environment.

9.      9

Definitely not a kid’s movie. The story follows a group of puppets (if you can believe that) as they try to battle a robot who destroyed the world. There are no humans left and it is up to these characters to battle using tiny crafted weapons and their intelligence to win.

10.   Reign of Fire

It must be tough to be the leader of a community where there are dragons destroying the world around you. I would love to see a TV show based on this. The dragons would be take a backseat to the relationships between the surviving humans and their struggle to live and operate as a society. The movie did end on a high note, but there is still a large population of living dragons by the credits. Overall, it was a creative storyline with a lot of great action, but I did feel like it was left unfinished.

Aftermath

Book 1

Joe Reyes

Genre: Young Adult Post-Apocalyptic

Publisher: Wasteland Press

Date of Publication: April 29, 2016

ISBN: 1681111128

Number of pages: 284

Word Count: 79, 722

Book Description:

Aftermath is a growing series about war, love, brutality and most of all, survival. What was once the United States has become a savage post-apocalyptic environment where the worst of the worst prosper and the remaining good hide.

The series features a brutal setting, where seven characters in different parts of the United States must adapt to this new environment. The "fight or flight" mentality plays into the story, as the nation is divided into factions fighting for control of the country. The government is outnumbered, outgunned, and forced into hiding as well to recoup their forces. The novel follows a fast paced momentum from the first page to the last word. The plot pits these characters against the elements and each other, with plot-lines intertwining on opposite sides of the war effort. And one character's quest for revenge can jeopardize not only the war outcome, but the reshaping of the entire nation.

With an ever-changing storyline and evolving characters, the Aftermath series gets more intense with every chapter. But what these characters don't realize, the terrifying evil is making its way across the ocean.

Amazon    BN

Excerpt: Sara

“People and beans again?” a raggedy-looking man says as Sara passes him a plate. He glares down, disappointed, at the meal of perfectly cut human flesh and a side dish of green beans. Sara hands out more plates to the group of men huddled around a fire.

“When you guys kill something other than people, you’ll get something else to eat,” she says with a sarcastic smile, walking off.

It’s near-insane to talk back to these guys. They are psychotic killers, but she is protected. Marcus, their leader, has taken a liking to her. So it’s a choice of be killed, be raped and then killed, or be his willing sex slave.

Sometimes she doesn’t know if she made the right choice.

Before going back to the kitchen, she stops by every group to see if they all have something to eat. Dozens of groups gather around, having their breakfast. The field is littered with dirty men and women feasting on human remains.

Probably over a hundred in total, she guesses.

The Savages is what they are called. The group started after the bombs fell about five years ago. They were small at first, but they’ve since grown into a much larger army. This gives them better resources and a nice cut of whatever they take from towns.

All they do is kill and raid villages. They swoop in, kill, take everything, and leave. They take in recruits, sometimes, if they seem to fit the part. The survivors don’t last long. They are usually killed and displayed as a message to discourage others.

For years they tried the whole nomad lifestyle, but when the army got bigger, they realized they had to settle down.

It’s a lot easier than constantly uprooting the whole camp.

They have no reason to leave. There are always animals in the forest. A river provides fresh water and fish. Armies are too afraid to attack them. They can’t survive an all-out military assault, but the government has much more important enemies than them to worry about.

They all wear custom-made armors consisting of materials they find on the road. Sports gear is a big part of it: elbow pads, football pads, helmets—anything they can find. A lot of it is hand-sewn and made from animal skins.

The farm would also pose a problem for moving. Horses are bred and domesticated as transportation. Without cars and without gasoline to run them, they are a necessary component of life here.

Each Savage has the brand of an S on the back of his or her shoulder, indicating initiation into the group. It is given after their first kill. After a big massacre and initiation, they will celebrate with a great feast: their victims.

Sara never likes thinking about how many people one dead body feeds. The thought makes her sick. The taste has always bothered her. She may force herself to eat flesh when she absolutely must, but she is and always has been a vegetarian . Even when they spruce it up with spices and other ingredients, it is still a person, and no amount of sauce can change that.

Sara’s stomach starts to rumble. She hasn’t eaten much in days. Usually, she is able to sneak extra beans and vegetables because the others love flesh, but the shortage of them is now beginning to hit her.

Hopefully, Penny can get me something, she thinks, walking into the large kitchen tent. The sight doesn’t help her appetite. Penny is in the middle of carving someone up.

“Three years of culinary school and I’m making foot filet for a hundred ingrates,” Penny mocks as she hacks off a foot with a butcher’s knife.

Sara feels sick again. She covers her mouth to hold the vomit back. The smell of blood is too much.

“Aww, sweetie, not feeling good?” Penny says affectionately, walking up to her. She doesn’t get it, her shirt is covered in blood and it’s making Sara sicker, but she needs a hug.

“New necklace?” Sara asks, seeing a piece of the metal chain falling from Penny’s shirt.

“One of Eric’s men gave it to me.” A gold snowflake hangs from the end, surrounded by pretty little stones.

“Which guy?” Sara asks.

Penny’s face betrays her disgust. “The creepy looking one with the cuts.”

The kitchen tent is filled with people preparing food for the group. There’s a huge fire going, and the bodies are put on a metal gate over the fire to barbeque. The Savages know that uncooked flesh can kill them. They are as smart as they are ruthless. That’s why they’ve been around for all five years.

 “You hungry?” Penny asks.

Sara shakes her head. “He’ll probably make me eat with him later.”

Penny sighs but says nothing. They both know what Marcus is going to do to her. Sara will have to eat flesh again, among other things. Penny doesn’t like the idea of eating people either, but she is a chef and can trick herself into thinking she’s eating something else. With all the spices she’s schooled in, it’s almost easy.

Everyone who doesn’t like it has ways of coping, but most of the Savages love the taste and the trophy. Eating the very people they killed makes them feel tougher. Sara would be the first to admit the taste of it isn’t bad, but that freaks her out the worst.

“You smell nice today,” she says from Penny’s arms, covered by her blonde hair.

“I found some shampoo. I’ll give you some later tonight,” Penny says with a smile. “Now come on, you have to bring the men food. The meeting’s starting.” Penny releases her, only to hand Sara a tray of appetizing human parts and vegetables. “How do I look?” Sara inquires.

Penny adjusts a few out-of-place strands of hair on her head and smiles. “You look great.”

About the Author:

Joe Reyes has never been afraid to go for what he wants in life. His goal is to be a full time published author and is taking all the steps necessary to make that dream a reality. He hates when he hears about people who give up on their dreams.

His writing style is fast paced. When he wrote his novel Aftermath, he wanted it to feel like a television show. Joe doesn’t like boring descriptions. He finds filler scenes to be a book killer and makes sure that every chapter has an immediate purpose or a purpose later on.

Website: https://joereyesauthor.com/

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