Think: Fallout 3 (or 1-2, Vegas)
Open earth, desolate nothingness that’s all encompassing. Possibly mutations or other people/things to blow holes into. And then at the end, you might wonder why you fight at all? Or maybe not.
I’m not set on a specific genre. For example, I like Blood Meridian, it fits this well. But I know of sci-fi novels that can do the job too.
by Beggironni
7 Comments
*The dark tower* series by Stephen King is absolutely what you need.
How about ‘On The Beach’ by Nevil Shute?
An encompassing air of impending doom and there’s a submarine that goes to areas of the world that have already been irradiated and everything is eerily silent and dead.
Silo series by Hugh Howey always felt very Fallout adjacent to me but more vault dwellers than wastelands. I’ll second the Dark Tower recommendation as well, tbf though I’m always recommending TDT to people.
The earth abides might be a good match!
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
h{{Vellum, Duncan}}
I loved Swan Song by McCammon. Dark and apocalyptic but has some good characters.
I also recommend Dark Tower. A touch of hell, a drop of strange, beyond the reach of human range.