Writer: Raghed Hamza
Editor: Abdallah Sobhi
We are currently going through a worldwide pandemic and situations keep on worsening globally. A good, sensible blogger with an ounce of tact in his head would talk to you about 5 things you can do to distract yourself from the pandemic that is going outside the self-isolation of your house. But I am not that person and I am not here to do that. Instead, here are 3 chaotic books and their cinematic adaptations with apocalyptic themes that will bring you ever closer to the “mood” of everything going on right now.
1. The Stand by Stephen King
The Stand by Stephen King, first published in 1978, is an iconic post-apocalyptic novel. It recounts story of how a weaponized strain of influenza killed 99.4% of the population; however, mysteriously, some people were immune to it and they undergo several “other-worldly” experiences, like shared dreams. As a result, these people band together to save the human species from extinction. The Stand was adapted to a TV miniseries in 1994, and it sure does live up to the expectation readers might expect form an adaptation.
2. World War Z by Max Brooks
Upon hearing World War Z , most of us will think of the 2013 movie starring Brad Pitt. However, most people have no idea that World War Z was actually based on a book by the same name, written by Max Brooks and first published in 2006. World War Z is a zombie, apocalyptic, horror novel and follows the narrations of a United Nations agent as he describes his path to survival in this horrid world. It also follows the accounts of several other people in different nations around the world. The movie has the same foundations as the book, but, due to the fact of the several mini-stories found in the book, the movie does fall short of the book and many things were left out; nonetheless, it is still an excellent movie to entertain yourself with.
3. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Much like World War Z, most people are familiar with the superb film adaptation of I Am Legend starring Will Smith and are unaware of the 1954 written by Richard Matheson. The book talks about Robert Neville, apparently the lone survivor of a pandemic that has killed everyone on Earth. In fact, this book is extremely instrumental to the modern storytelling of apocalypses due to diseases, as it shaped and popularized the genre. Both the book and the movie are excellent and will fill up your time.
