History ScavengerWorld / Literature

* The world of ''Literature/CthulhuArmageddon'' is one, explicitly compared to Franchise/MadMax and VideoGame/{{Fallout}} in the opening. The human race scrapes out a bare-bones existence living in those few structures not destroyed by the Great Old Ones' rising. Its notably also turned into a NewOldWest WeirdWest.

* Somewhat averted by S.M. Stirling's ''Literature/Emberverse'' series. The laws of physics have been altered [[spoiler: by [[ThePowersThatBe the Universal Mind]] having an argument with itself]] so that electrical circuits, internal combustion engines, gunpowder, and nuclear decay no longer function as expected, leading to the collapse of civilization. But still the wreckage of technological society is useful: the survivors scavenge the wreckage for useable parts and metal alloys difficult or impossible to manufacture under the new conditions. The results are swords made from automobile leaf springs, catapults powered by heavy duty springs salvaged from truck chassis, windmills and water wheels using gears salvaged from automotive transmissions, etc.

* Somewhat averted by S.M. Stirling's Emberverse series. The laws of physics have been altered [[spoiler: by [[ThePowersThatBe the Universal Mind]] having an argument with itself]] so that electrical circuits, internal combustion engines, gunpowder, and nuclear decay no longer function as expected, leading to the collapse of civilization. But still the wreckage of technological society is useful: the survivors scavenge the wreckage for useable parts and metal alloys difficult or impossible to manufacture under the new conditions. The results are swords made from automobile leaf springs, catapults powered by heavy duty springs salvaged from truck chassis, windmills and water wheels using gears salvaged from automotive transmissions, etc.

* In ''[[Literature/DreamPark The California Voodoo Game]]'', the Game-scenario occupants of [=MIMIC=] use materials scrounged from the damaged {{Arcology}} for clothing, tools, weapons and artwork. One of the first enemies "killed" in the Game carries a club made from a table leg with an old can strapped to the end, and a chunk of concrete stuffed inside for weight.

* ''Literature/{{Bearheart}}'': The character struggle to find gas.

* The world of ''Literature/CthulhuArmageddon'' is one, explictly compared to Franchise/MadMax and VideoGame/{{Fallout}} in the opening. The human race scrapes out a bare-bones existence living in those few structures not destroyed by the Great Old Ones' rising. Its notably also turned into a NewOldWest WeirdWest.

* Zilpha Keatley Snyder never gets explicit about this, but she does go into considerable detail in the ''Literature/GreenSkyTrilogy'' about how their great public buildings, palaces and temples were all built by teams joining their telekinetic powers together to lift heavy stuff. That "uniforce" ability has been lost for many generations. Here it goes into FridgeBrilliance. These buildings involve some pretty complex engineering and are all made out of wood and vine in what is pretty much a [[SingleBiomePlanet rainforest planet]]. Stuff deteriorates very fast in these environments. Who's going to do the maintenance? [[spoiler: Fortunately, TheMagicComesBack (or starts to) and by the end of the third book we're pretty sure they're going to be okay.]]

* Zilpha Keatley Snyder never gets explicit about this, but she does go into considerable detail in the ''Literature/GreenSkyTrilogy'' about how their great public buildings, palaces and temples were all built by teams joining their telekinetic powers together to lift heavy stuff. That "uniforce" ability has been lost for many generations. These buildings involve some pretty complex engineering and are all made out of wood and vine in what is pretty much a [[SingleBiomePlanet rainforest planet]]. Stuff deteriorates very fast in these environments. Who's going to do the maintenance? [[spoiler: Fortunately, TheMagicComesBack (or starts to) and by the end of the third book we're pretty sure they're going to be okay.]]

* In ''LifeAsWeKnewIt'', by Susan Beth Pfeffer, the United States is on its way to becoming like this after an asteroid hits the moon and causes climate change around the world.
* CormacMcCarthy's ''Literature/TheRoad'' is exactly this. The story follows a man and his son walking south through the ash-covered ruins of America after an unspecified cataclysm, scavenging whatever food they can find and avoiding bandits who steal and murder to survive. Many people have even resorted to cannibalism.

* The Kinetic Novel ''{{Planetarian}}'' also takes place AfterTheEnd and involves Junkers, with one critical difference: instead of restoring technology, the Junkers pilfer it (as well as other valuables) from the ruins for fun and profit. Well, as fun as dodging autonomous killer robots can be, anyway.

* In RobertJordan's ''{{The Wheel of Time}}'', many ancient arts have been lost, including the art of creating magical items (''ter'angreal''). In an unusual move, we actually see characters rediscovering many of the lost arts over the course of the series.

* ''MortalEngines'' takes place [[AfterTheEnd After Several Ends]]; futuristic technology is scavenged from ancient ruins and traded.

* ''[[Literature/TheBooksOfEmber The People of Sparks]]'' takes place somewhere in the United States about 250 years after several successive wars and pandemics, where descendants of the survivors have reverted to old-style farming settlements, sending out 'roamers' to search pre-Disaster houses and such for supplies such as clothes.

* ''The People of Sparks'' by Jeanne Du Prau, the sequel to ''TheCityOfEmber'', takes place somewhere in the United States about 250 years after several successive wars and pandemics, where descendants of the survivors have reverted to old-style farming settlements, sending out 'roamers' to search pre-Disaster houses and such for supplies such as clothes.

** Curiously, we do meet a family of semi-literate farm-laborers somewhere in the Southern US who look like they're just going to carry on working the land as they have for generations (indeed, their situation may have improved insofar as they aren't working for someone else any more). They're only mentioned again at the end of the book...generations after their encounter with the protagonist, their descendants [[UnfortunateImplications still grow cotton for their departed masters]] despite not having the knowledge or technology to use cotton for themselves. There's also a Native American settlement in New Mexico and a cult in southern California that both appear pretty well-organized and self-sufficient.

* Zilpha Keatley Snyder never gets explicit about this, but she does go into considerable detail in the {{Green-Sky Trilogy}} about how their great public buildings, palaces and temples were all built by teams joining their telekinetic powers together to lift heavy stuff. That "uniforce" ability has been lost for many generations. These buildings involve some pretty complex engineering and are all made out of wood and vine in what is pretty much a [[SingleBiomePlanet rainforest planet]]. Stuff deteriorates very fast in these environments. Who's going to do the maintenance? [[spoiler: Fortunately, TheMagicComesBack (or starts to) and by the end of the third book we're pretty sure they're going to be okay.]]

* In ''Literature/TheSundered'' by Ruthanne Reid, there is a whole industry made out of scavenging thigns to sell. When the main characters find a cache of guns, they are overjoyed because nobody had even seen any in years.

* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', the kingdom of Gondor has ancient cities and monuments constructed by means lost to the current dwellers due to a civilization regression.

* ''CiaphasCain'': An apt example of the level of superstition around machinery can be found in the novels. At one point a techpriest worries about whether a device will work when she doesn't have any ''incense'' to light first, of course it does. Said techpriest is also something of a black sheep when we meet her because her rather pragmatic and creative approach is seen as a failure to understand the theology. Which of course had limited her advancement.

* Terry Brooks' ''{{Shannara}}'' as a whole, with the Druid order being the only people with any knowledge of technology left. Specifically, the most recent Genesis of Shannara trilogy, which aside from the usual scavenging for supplies includes sports stadiums as the last organized holdouts of civilization.

* In ''TheLordOfTheRings'', the kingdom of Gondor has ancient cities and monuments constructed by means lost to the current dwellers due to a civilization regression.

* The parts of Creator/StephenKing's ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' set in Mid-World have this flavor. It tends to become both more prominent and more dangerous as the series goes on: in the first couple of books Roland's six-guns are rare and precious artifacts, but by the fifth we've seen working robots, giant cyborg bears, weaponized ''HarryPotter'' props, and a supersonic maglev train with a yen for riddles, all of which are decaying and homicidal.

* CormacMcCarthy's ''TheRoad'' is exactly this. The story follows a man and his son walking south through the ash-covered ruins of America after an unspecified cataclysm, scavenging whatever food they can find and avoiding bandits who steal and murder to survive. Many people have even resorted to cannibalism.

* The multi-author ''DeathZone'' series (taking place in the same universe as ''{{STALKER}}'' but 50 years later) involves five anomalous zones which are formed after an unknown cataclysm wipes out 4 major cities (plus the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone) and covers the areas with gravity bubbles. The zones feature many anomalies and rogue nanotechnology, as well as survivors called stalkers scrounging for supplies and hunting for tech. Unlike a typical example of this trope, the outside world is mostly fine, and supplies are often smuggled into the zones. However, most of the novels barely feature anything beyond the zones, so the atmosphere of the stories often makes it seem as if there is nothing else.