The Dog Stars

Tender; gentle; smart — not your run-of-the-mill postapocalyptic novel. Damn, I enjoyed this! It hooked me from the beginning and kept me rapt the whole way through despite the choppy writing, too-perfect characters, one-dimensional villains, and an Infinite Improbability drive turned on Eleven; and I can't even tell you why. It's just a great story with noble characters, tough situations, and vivid imagery.

(Oh and FWIW there's no comparison to Cormac McCarthy, whose writing I can't abide).