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I have been teaching Alas, Babylon! which falls into the literary category of Apocalyptic Lit.  My students (especially the boys) want more examples of this to read.  I need a list of great books which will intrigue them and keep them reading which fall into this category.  Please contribute!

I'm a fan of sci-fi and of this sub-genre in particular. Of course, they can read the biblical apocalypses, but they might not find them interesting. Here's a list of some books I've read and enjoyed:

1. Armaggedon's Children by Terry Brooks
2. Darwin's Radio and Darwin's Children by Greg Bear
3. The Taking by Dean Koontz
4. Domain and Resurrection by Steve Alten (Resurrection will make them think)
5. The Stand by Stephen King
6. Year Zero by Jeff Long (guys will like this)
7. The Descent by Jeff Long
8. Blood Music by Greg Bear (too plausible not to be scary)

That's 10 books. If I remember more, I'll list them. Gee, I must be a very cheery sort to hang around with!!

I like a lot of the titles listed above. A few to add to the list: 

1. "Ice" by Anna Cavan (it's about nuclear winter taking over the planet)

2. "Aftermath" by Levar Burton (A devastating earthquake and a civil war ensues between whites and blacks and American civilization crumbles)

3. "This is the way the world ends" James Morrow

4. "The Scarlet Plague" Jack London

5. "Cat's Cradle" Kurt Vonnegut

For an end-times theology point of view, you could check the Left Behind series by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye.  Definitely a Christian viewpoint, though not all Christians agree with the theology presented in these books.

In reply to #2 and #3:

Great choices!  I am excited about this list and will get it typed up and posted in my room.  Since I teach in the Bible belt, I don't think the Left Behind series will offend anyone, although Stephen King might.  :)  I love them both, but King sometimes goes overboard on the profanity for my taste.

Keep them coming, guys!  I could only think of movie titles!  Ugh!  What does THAT say about my ability to find time to read for pleasure during the school year?!?!? 

Another Christian/sci-fi take on the apocalypse is the Nephilim series by L. Marzulli. The premise is that demons are deceiving people into believing in aliens and that a superior alien race actually created humans by altering hominid DNA. Weird, but good if you're into sci-fi.

Koontz's book The Taking can't be called Christian, but it also has the demons-pretending-to-be-aliens theme. I read it in one sitting.

One of my favorite grad courses was "Feminist Science and Science Fiction.  I know you're asking for mostly boy's interest, but these are terrific.   Even though these are "female" centered novels, it would be a great opportunity to inspire discourse.  A couple of memorable titles (The last might be the most appealing to boys.) :

1)  Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper

http://www.enotes.com/gate-womens-country-salem/gate-womens-country

http://www.amazon.com/Gate-Womens-Country-Sheri-Tepper/dp/0553280643/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200453619&sr=1-1

2)  A Door into Ocean by Joan Slonczewski

http://www.enotes.com/door-into-ocean-salem/door-into-ocean

http://www.amazon.com/Door-Into-Ocean-Elysium-Cycle/dp/0312876521/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200453459&sr=8-1

3) The Handmaid's Tale 

http://www.enotes.com/handmaids-tale

4)  He, She, and It by Marge Piercy

http://www.amazon.com/He-She-MM-TR-Promotion/dp/0449000923/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200453655&sr=1-2

In reply to #1:

Amy, you've got to check this out!  Today's entire hour on NPR's program "To the Best of Our Knowledge" was devoted to the topc "Writers on the Apocolypse." 

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/pcttbook/arts.artsmain?action=viewArticle&sid=11&id=1213926&pid=1172

My favorite story was on a Hawthorne short I'd never heard of:  "The Earth's Holocaust."  (Anyone familiar w/ this one?) 

There were also fascinating and funny stories and some poigniant insights, for a varitey of ages.  I highly recommend checking it out! 

Very cool, Jamie!  Thanks so much for the post!  I will listen today and can still use that as we are discussing Chapter 13 of Alas, Babylon! today in class.  Thanks so much!  :)

Don't forget to cull through the non-fiction articles such as those on the Mayan calendar (which supposedly ends at the year 2012), and certain "Near Earth Objects" brushing by our little Blue Marble (a couple of Mondays ago, for instance).

I've always found non-fiction to be a great hook for lit units such as this.

Apart from that, my class read "If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth" by Arthur C Clarke. We set it up by exploring prior knowledge through Psalm 137 and the history of the Jewish people's exile into Egypt (the allusive Clarke used for his title). It was a good time!