History Literature / StationEleven

** The Georgia Flu that kills off 99.99% of humanity and destroys civilization as we know it sets the backdrop for a narrative on art and resilience of the human spirit via a traveling Shakespeare troupe, twenty years post-collapse.

** The Georgia Flu that kills off 99.99% of humanity and destroys civilization as we know it sets the stage for a narrative about art and resilience of the human spirit via a traveling Shakespeare troupe, twenty years post-collapse.

** At the center of the story is Arthur Leander, a Hollywood burnout who dies in the first scene but is survived by his ex-wife, son, best friend, and mentee, all of whom are left untouched by the virus.

* CosyCatastrophe: The Georgia Flu that kills off 99.99% of humanity and destroys civilization as we know it sets the stage for a narrative about art and resilience of the human spirit via a traveling Shakespeare troupe, twenty years post-collapse. At the center of the story is Arthur Leander, a Hollywood burn-out who [[spoiler: dies in the first scene]] but is survived by his [[spoiler: ex-wife, son, best friend, and mentee,]] all of whom are left untouched by the virus.

* CosyCatastrophe: The Georgia Flu that kills off 99.99% of humanity and destroys civilization as we know it sets the stage for a narrative about art and resilience of the human spirit via a traveling Shakespeare troupe, twenty years post-collapse. At the center of the story is Arthur Leander, a Hollywood burn-out who [[spoiler: dies in the first scene]] but is survived by his ex-wife, son, best friend, and mentee, all of whom are left untouched by the virus.

* BornAfterTheEnd: This book deals primarily in people who remember the old world, but there are still characters who don't remember, like Javeen's kids (who he names after his dead brother Frank). It's common for them to grill the survivors on the luxuries of modern life (such as airplanes and cell phones) in disbelief, assuming that they're joking or lying. Clark mentions having a special relationship with Emmanuelle, the first child born in the airport.

* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: A more bittersweet example than most (due to the possibility the baby is a ChildByRape); a pregnant young woman is seen lounging outside of a building where it's later mentioned that the Prophet and his wives stay.

* DefectorFromDecadence: August, Viola and Eleanor the Cellist were all members of cults or gangs at various times in the years after the fall before wising up and running off.

** Miranda predicts Kristen will grow up to be unadventurous and well-groomed during their brief meeting when she visits Arthur at the theater.

* TheRemnant: Done unusually; with many founders of the Traveling Symphony (including the tuba player -who is a bit nostalgic about the ceremony from those days- and the conductor) were survivors of an Air Force military orchestra who spent years lingering at the old military base, keeping an orchestra of sorts together before eventually joining up with the actors. Tyrone, the only TSA agent to remain at the airport, which he continues protecting long after the collapse, also counts to an extent.

* RagnarokProofing: Some things in the world have decayed as expected, while other things are not. Legible road signs are mentioned, despite being out in the sun for 20 years (Road signs generally last 15 years). Other things have retained their color despite being in the sun (orange cones and barriers near the airport). The glass at the airport seems to still be largely intact over 20 years.

* ActionGirl: Kirsten and the conductor.
* AdultFear: After members of the Symphony start disappearing, Lin tells her daughter Olivia to remain not just within her sight form now on, but within her reach.

* CultDefector: It's mentioned in passing that many of the younger members of The Traveling Symphony (including some major characters) were members of various doomsday cults in the years after ThePlague before breaking away from them and joining the acting troupe. In the main story, one of the Prophet's younger followers is clearly [[GuiltRiddenAccomplice upset]] by most of what they do, unsuccessfully asks to leave with the Symphony when they depart town and ultimately [[spoiler: kills the Prophet to project Kirsten and her friends]].

In 2021, the book was adapted to a 10-episode miniseries for Creator/HBOMax, starring Creator/MackenzieDavis as Kirsten.

-->''Of all of them at the bar that night, the bartender was the one who survived the longest. He died three days later on the road out of the city.''

* SoleSurvivingScientist: Dr. Eleven, in the StoryWithinAStory, who was behind the Homeworld Evacuation and survival station. In-universe, early on the Traveling Symphony finds a man trying to recreate the internet, who does have a bicycle-powered computer working. They wish him well but aren't optimistic towards his long-term success, although the ending might imply that he does have a chance as other towns are sent restoring technology.

* LivingIsMoreThanSurviving: The motto of the Traveling Symphony, "Survival in Insufficient," carries this message.

* GoodbyeCruelWorld: Subverted, when the cellist disappears, she leaves behind a note which initially seems to be a possible suicide or goodbye note, but is later revealed to be the opening monologue from a play she'd been trying to write.

* CultDefector It's mentioned in passing that many of the younger members of The Traveling Symphony (including some major characters) were members of various doomsday cults in the years after ThePlague before breaking away from them and joining the acting troupe. In the main story, one of the Prophet's younger followers is clearly [[GuiltRiddenAccomplice upset]] by most of what they do, unsuccessfully asks to leave with the Symphony when they depart town and ultimately [[spoiler: kills the Prophet to project Kirsten and her friends]].

* BastardBoyfriend: Miranda's first boyfriend Pablo ultimately proved to be ungrateful for her being the breadwinner of the two, condescending towards her work, unjustly suspicious that she was cheating on him, and just flat out mean to her a lot of the time.

* NothingIsScarier: The airplanes ''full'' of corpses, who were locked inside after some passengers showed symptoms on the flight. Although, as Clark notes, [[NightmareFuel that's no guarantee that everybody died of the Georgia Flu, which leaves the distinct possibility that some people were alive in there for days or even weeks.]]

* PlaneAwfulFlight: While none of the horrific flights are ever shown, the always-deadly Georgia Flu spreads extremely fast and it spreads especially quickly in confinement. As a result, it becomes completely commonplace once the flu originates for airplanes to ground and never open. Clark frequently hopes that everyone is dead.

* StuckAtTheAirportPlot: Taken UpToEleven. During the first outbreak of Georgia Flu, [[spoiler:Clark]] boards a plane that is redirected to the Severn City Airport due to the pandemic. The passengers are then stranded there for the next ''two decades''. Seeing as 99% of the population has died, and the world has become a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic wasteland]], it's not like they have anywhere else to go.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: One of the main impetuses of the plot. The vast majority of human civilisation dies...and, as a result, nobody can access medicine or other necessary implements. For example, a woman commits suicide because she doesn't have enough of her antidepressants.

* WholeEpisodeFlashback: Several chapters are composed entirely of flashbacks, jumping back and forth between the pre-pandemic lives of Miranda, Jeevan, and others, as well as the exploits of the Traveling Symphony before their arrival in St. Deborah at the Water.

* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: A more bittersweet example than most (due to the possiblity the baby is a ChildByRape); a pregnant young woman is seen lounging outside of a building where it's later mentioned that the Prophet and his wives stay.

** Several of Arthur and Kirsten's cast and cremates from the beginning of the story are said to have died from the flu, but others just vanish with their fates unrevealed.