Apocalypse Then: 6 Early Tales of Humanities End
E.M. Forster · Jack London · Arthur Conan Doyle · M.P. Shiel · H.P. Lovecraft · Mary Shelley
Jun 2026 · Adultbrain Publishing · Narrated by Graham Dunlop
headphones
Audiobook
26 hr 10 min
Unabridged
family_home
Eligible
info
Want a free 9 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline.
Add
About this audiobook
Long before nuclear war, climate catastrophe, and zombie outbreaks became staples of modern fiction, visionary writers were imagining the end of civilization in startlingly original ways. Apocalypse Then brings together six pioneering classics of apocalyptic and cosmic horror literature, exploring humanity’s fragility in the face of plague, technology, alien forces, and the indifferent universe itself.
In E.M. Forster’s prophetic The Machine Stops, humanity lives underground, utterly dependent on a vast technological system—until it begins to fail. Jack London’s The Scarlet Plague follows one of the last survivors of a devastating pandemic as he recounts the collapse of modern society. Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Poison Belt imagines Earth drifting through a deadly cosmic phenomenon that threatens all life.
M.P. Shiel’s haunting The Purple Cloud presents a lone survivor wandering a silent, empty world after a mysterious global extinction event. H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror unleashes ancient cosmic terrors whose arrival could spell humanity’s doom. Finally, Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking The Last Man—often considered the first modern post-apocalyptic novel—chronicles the slow extinction of the human race through a relentless plague.
Together, these remarkable works trace the origins of apocalypse fiction, revealing how earlier generations grappled with fears that remain strikingly relevant today. From scientific speculation and social collapse to cosmic dread and existential loneliness, Apocalypse Then offers a fascinating journey through some of the most influential visions of humanity’s end ever written.
Contains:
The Machine Stops — E.M. Forster
The Scarlet Plague — Jack London
The Poison Belt — Arthur Conan Doyle
The Purple Cloud — M.P. Shiel
The Dunwich Horror — H.P. Lovecraft
The Last Man — Mary Shelley
A collection of classic tales that helped define the end of the world.
In E.M. Forster’s prophetic The Machine Stops, humanity lives underground, utterly dependent on a vast technological system—until it begins to fail. Jack London’s The Scarlet Plague follows one of the last survivors of a devastating pandemic as he recounts the collapse of modern society. Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Poison Belt imagines Earth drifting through a deadly cosmic phenomenon that threatens all life.
M.P. Shiel’s haunting The Purple Cloud presents a lone survivor wandering a silent, empty world after a mysterious global extinction event. H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror unleashes ancient cosmic terrors whose arrival could spell humanity’s doom. Finally, Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking The Last Man—often considered the first modern post-apocalyptic novel—chronicles the slow extinction of the human race through a relentless plague.
Together, these remarkable works trace the origins of apocalypse fiction, revealing how earlier generations grappled with fears that remain strikingly relevant today. From scientific speculation and social collapse to cosmic dread and existential loneliness, Apocalypse Then offers a fascinating journey through some of the most influential visions of humanity’s end ever written.
Contains:
The Machine Stops — E.M. Forster
The Scarlet Plague — Jack London
The Poison Belt — Arthur Conan Doyle
The Purple Cloud — M.P. Shiel
The Dunwich Horror — H.P. Lovecraft
The Last Man — Mary Shelley
A collection of classic tales that helped define the end of the world.
Long before nuclear war, climate catastrophe, and zombie outbreaks became staples of modern fiction, visionary writers were imagining the end of civilization in startlingly original ways. Apocalypse Then brings together six pioneering classics of apocalyptic and cosmic horror literature, explorin...
Discover more
Rate this audiobook
Tell us what you think.
Listening information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
