Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction
Encyclopedia
Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1895–1984 was written by Paul Brians and published in 1987. This comprehensive study covers Nuclear holocaust
fiction published in English-language works between 1895 and 1984. Brians notes that 1895 marked the first appearance of an atomic weapon in fiction; Robert Cromie
's Crack of Doom
. The latter date marks the conclusion of this study's time span.
Brians' work examines only fiction actually depicting nuclear war and its aftermath. He does not include works of "future holocaust
" where the triggering incident is not fully explained in the work. The included bibliography covers over 800 items, including novel
s, stories, and films from the post-holocaust genre. The included titles are arranged by author & include a brief synopsis of each work. The author has provided an online version of the published work, complete with updated sources.
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
fiction published in English-language works between 1895 and 1984. Brians notes that 1895 marked the first appearance of an atomic weapon in fiction; Robert Cromie
Robert Cromie
Robert Cromie was a Belfast journalist and novelist. He was the third son of Dr. Cromie of Clough and was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution...
's Crack of Doom
Crack of Doom
The Crack of Doom is an old term used for the Christian Day of Judgement, referring in particular to the blast of trumpets signalling the end of the world in Chapter 8 of the Book of the Apocalypse...
. The latter date marks the conclusion of this study's time span.
Brians' work examines only fiction actually depicting nuclear war and its aftermath. He does not include works of "future holocaust
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
" where the triggering incident is not fully explained in the work. The included bibliography covers over 800 items, including novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s, stories, and films from the post-holocaust genre. The included titles are arranged by author & include a brief synopsis of each work. The author has provided an online version of the published work, complete with updated sources.