Do you miss The Last of Us as much as I miss The Last of Us? I miss the show, I miss writing overly detailed recap discussions with Nic, I miss being punched in the feelings week after week. And we have to wait SO LONG for the next season. So, to tide us over, I have some queer books to recommend to you that will scratch some of the same itches.
I admittedly haven’t read that many actual zombie apocalypse books, as it turns out, and I am ashamed and will be changing that as soon as possible. However, in my search for zombie books to see if there were any I HAD read, I did come across two that I have not that I immediately added to my “to read” pile: Zombie Apocalypse Running Club by Carrie Mac, which is about queer twins who are trained to outrun the undead by their gold medal-winning Special Olympics champion neighbor, and Hearts Still Beating by Brooke Archer which seems to be about high school sweethearts who have to find their way back to one another after one becomes a zombie.
But in the meantime, I’m here to recommend some queer books that I HAVE read and enjoyed that give me some The Last of Us vibes in various ways.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
The TLOU Vibe: Society rebuilding after an apocalyptic pandemic
Whether or not you have seen the TV show based on this book, you should read this book. It’s an incredible look at the downfall and rebuilding of society after a global pandemic. I did admittedly read this in 2017 so it might be TOO real now, but I just remember really loving the slice-of-post-apocalyptic-life style writing. Just like in The Last of Us, it was fascinating to see what different buildings had been repurposed as, or where people got stuck when the world fell apart, people trying to find their way back to their families, and the people who just leaned in and started a cult about it. Plus, it has that deeply human storytelling feel that The Last of Us provides.
If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St. Jude
The TLOU Vibe: Girlfriends at the end of the world
Instead of an infection threatening to end the world as we know it, this book has an incoming asteroid that shakes up one teen girl’s life. She has a lot of secrets, but they are starting to look less important as the number of days til impact dwindles. Can she find her way back to her family and the best friend she’s in love with before the end comes? If you loved that The Last of Us made you cry buckets of tears, this is the one for you.
Old Wounds by Logan-Ashley Kisner
The TLOU Vibe: Queers in danger in the woods
This one is less apocalypse-y, but it does involve two queers stranded in the woods whose lives are in danger. For one thing, there’s a monster in the woods. What’s worse, there are also misogynistic, transphobic men in the woods. Both main characters are trans, and it shifts between their two perspectives in really interesting ways, not unlike how TLOU will shift perspectives depending on the episode or season.
Monstrous by Jessica Lewis
The TLOU Vibe: One girl doing what it takes to survive
If Ellie is your favorite part of The Last of Us, this might be the book for you. The main character, Avie, is sarcastic and witty and smart…and so, so gay. She’s confident and assured, except when she’s talking to her crush, just like Ellie. And not unlike Ellie’s Season 2 journey, Avie’s story starts to explore what it means to be “monstrous” and how far is too far to go to seek revenge? Whose job is it to end the cycle of violence? If someone does something bad to you, is it okay to do something bad to them in return? Where is that line, and what would it take for you to cross it?
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
The TLOU Vibe: Overgrown apocalypse vibes
Okay this pick is admittedly more aesthetically similar to The Last of Us than anything. The book, though decidedly less explicitly queer than the film, has that post-apocalyptic, world-reclaimed-by-nature feeling to it. And the lurking sense of danger around every corner. That’s pretty much where the similarities end, but it’s a great, confusing, enrapturing read, and I do recommend it.
Night of the Living Queers: 13 Tales of Terror Delight by Various Authors, edited by Shelly Page
The TLOU Vibe: Queer horror, generally
If you just really want more queer horror stories, here are 13 of them for you! I picked up this anthology because it features one of my all-time favorite authors, Kalynn Bayron, and I’m glad I decided to read all of the short stories in here. Very human little creepy crawly tales that all take place on Halloween during a blue moon.
Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis
The TLOU Vibe: Unconventional zombie vibes
You know how The Last of Us only sort of has zombies, but no one is allowed to actually call them zombies, because technically they’re the “infected” and they have their own unique and specific lore? That’s kind of the deal in Dead Girls Walking. And the overall vibes are very spooky and woodsy and bloody. Plus, the main character feels like a bit of an outcast, and she has some hard life lessons to learn. Sound familiar?
All the Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley
The TLOU Vibe: Spooky girl with a secret
This one is probably the least similar on the list, with the exception of it also being YA horror, but it does touch on some similar things as The Last of Us. Mainly, a queer girl with a dark secret she has to keep, and also the heavy but deeply human themes of death and dying. (Don’t let the marketing for this book fool you though; it will try to tell you it’s like Bly Manor, but it is not! It just also is about sad lesbians in a gothic manor. It’s not the same! It’s good though! Just very different!)
Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun
The TLOU Vibe: Gay road trip!
If the last one is the least similar in plot, this one is the least similar in tone. But if you were watching this season of The Last of Us and thought to yourself, wow, Ellie and Dina’s road trip from Jackson to Seattle would be so much more fun if these gays didn’t have to dodge mortal danger at every turn…this book is for you! It’s much lighter and funnier in tone, and the main characters in question don’t get along quite as well as Ellie and Dina do, but there IS a big gay road trip, and the theme does still heavily lean into death and grief. This book just comes at it from a very different angle than the show.
All These Sunken Souls: A Black Horror Anthology by Various Authors, Edited by Circe Moskowitz
The TLOU Vibe: Zombies!
Okay don’t tell the creators of The Last of Us that I’m saying zombies in reference to their story AGAIN, but this short story collection has a REALLY great Day One zombie apocalypse story by the editor of this anthology, Circe Moskowitz. This is another anthology I found by way of Kalynn Bayron, and it has a lot of really great horror stories in it, but the zombie one in question really stuck with me in a way short stories don’t often do. It’s dark and fascinating and really leaves you thinking, not unlike this show that brought us here today.
That’s all I have for you for now! What books do YOU love that have The Last of Us vibes? As you can tell, I mostly live in the YA fantasy/sci-fi world when it comes to books, but I am open to any and all recommendations you can send my way; it’s going to be a LONG wait for Season 3!
