--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We all love after-the-bomb stories. If we…" description: "\"“We all love after-the-bomb stories. If we didn't, why would there be so many of them? There's something attractive about all those people being gone, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/john-varley-26359_fiction_we-all-love-after-the-bomb-stories-if-we_514330.jpg" --- # We all love after-the-bomb stories. If we didn't, why… ![“We all love after-the-bomb stories. If we didn't, why would there be so many of them? There's something attractive about all those people being gone, about wandering in a depopulated world, scrounging cans of Campbell's pork and beans, defending one's family from marauders. But some secret part of…” quote by John Varley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/john-varley-26359_fiction_we-all-love-after-the-bomb-stories-if-we_514330.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/john-varley-26359_fiction_we-all-love-after-the-bomb-stories-if-we_514330.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/john-varley-26359_fiction_we-all-love-after-the-bomb-stories-if-we_514330.jpg) > ““We all love after-the-bomb stories. If we didn't, why would there be so many of them? There's something attractive about all those people being gone, about wandering in a depopulated world, scrounging cans of Campbell's pork and beans, defending one's family from marauders. But some secret part of us thinks it would be good to survive. All those other folks will die. That's what after-the-bomb stories are all about.”” [John Varley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-varley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are drawn to post‑apocalyptic tales because they let us explore survival instincts and moral choices when society collapses. **In simple terms:** We enjoy stories of survival after disaster. Key Takeaway Consider how fear and hope shape our fascination with catastrophe. Themes survival human nature post‑apocalypse morality Mood curious reflective somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading sci‑fi - writing dystopias - discussing ethics - game design - film analysis Key Concepts existentialism psychology social collapse Questions to Reflect On - What does your reaction to such stories reveal about your values? - How would you act if faced with a similar scenario? A Different Perspective The appeal may also stem from escapism, not just moral reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Sci fi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sci-fi/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) ## Related quotes > [Given enough time, I guess anything can look good. All it has to do is survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/given-enough-time-i-guess-anything-can-look-good-all-it-has-to-do-is/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [If you have a particular faith or religion, that is good. 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I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/yeah-i-m-a-geek-i-read-sci-fi-and-i-watch-sci-fi-films-i-love-my/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) > [I don't like sci-fi/fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-feldman/i-don-t-like-sci-fi-fantasy/) [Ben Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-feldman/) > [I've always loved sci-fi and fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olly-alexander/i-ve-always-loved-sci-fi-and-fantasy/) [Olly Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olly-alexander/) > [“I’m not sure sex qualifies as R and R, but it’s a compromise I can live with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-morgen/i-m-not-sure-sex-qualifies-as-r-and-r-but-it-s-a-compromise-i-can/) Shelby Morgen ## More by John Varley > [“He was an extraordinarily ugly person, Lilo thought, with the ugliness that only caricature can achieve. 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Hang by the neck till you’re dead, dead, dead, and may God recycle your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-varley/gas-chamber-gallows-electric-chair-stake-firing-squad-hang-by-the/) [John Varley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-varley/) > [“All in all, it was the goldarndest, Barnum-and-Baileyest, rib-stickinest, rough-and-tumblest infernal foofaraw of a media circus anybody had seen since grandpaw chased the possum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-varley/all-in-all-it-was-the-goldarndest-barnum-and-baileyest-rib-stickinest/) [John Varley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-varley/) > [“no matter how tough you think you are, thought you were, you haven’t been around long enough to be tested in many, many ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-varley/no-matter-how-tough-you-think-you-are-thought-you-were-you-haven-t/) [John Varley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-varley/) > [“If it’s not worth making beautiful,” Valiha said, “it’s not worth making.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-varley/if-it-s-not-worth-making-beautiful-valiha-said-it-s-not-worth-making/) [John Varley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-varley/) > [“Cirocco liked space, reading, and sex, not necessarily in that order. 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I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) Coheed and Cambria > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. 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