When it comes to post-apocalyptic fiction, weve seen it all, havent we?
Even so, every scenario postulating our impending doom has been mapped out…right?
Earths rotation gradually slowing to molasses pace?
Karen Thompson WalkersThe Age of Miracles.
Mankind succumbing to illness?
If unspecified devastation is more your cup of tea, theres Cormac McCarthysThe Road.
Some of the greatest novels ever written have dealt with apocalyptic, or post-apocalyptic, themes: H.G.
That is, until McCarthy won the Pulitzer Prize in 2006 forThe Road.
More importantly, she proved that post-apocalyptic fiction hasnt gone stale.
Mandel published three earlier crime novels with Colorado small press Unbridled Books, achieving criticalbut not much monetarysuccess.
I was afraid the market might be saturated.
[Our] visions of the future, dark or light, feel so unoriginal, so limited.
Its time to cast a wider net.
But there has always been a misguided critical stiffness when it comes to genre fiction.
Tom Perrotta, critically acclaimed author ofElectionandLittle Children, took on the Rapture with 2011sThe Leftovers.
The literary-commercial crossover hit is rare, but not unheard of.
Those same critics are now lauding MandelsStation Eleven.
No more trains running under the surface of cities on the dazzling power of the electric third rail.
No more cities […] No more countries, all borders unmanned […] No more Internet.
Jeevan Chaudhary, a paparazzo-turned-EMT, rushes on stage and tries, in vain, to revive him.
Kirsten Raymonde, a child actress, watches on as her idol dies.
However, Mandel barely talks about the actual event.
In fact, Mandels apocalypse is nearly omitted, simply a before and after shot.
And truthfully, its this that makesStation Elevenone of the best cases for literary genre fiction Ive encountered.
