6. Level 7
Published: 1959
Author: Mordecai Roshwald
Awards: N/A
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This intelligently constructed novel gives no clue as to which nationality its characters actually are, cleverly using terms and rhetoric that could easily be applied to either the USSR or the USA. It tells the story of a soldier permanently assigned to that nation’s nuclear arsenal, and what happens when the order to fire comes.
5. Alas, Babylon
Published: 1959
Author: Pat Frank
Awards: N/A
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Being one of the first post-apocalyptic novels of the nuclear age, which would turn out to be a defining period for the sub-genre, Pat Frank’s novel explores the effects of a nuclear war on a small town in Florida. Allegedly, it served as a major inspiration and influence on the recent post-apocalyptic television series Jericho.
