Post-Apocalyptic A to Z: Invasion from space

An enduring theme in science fiction is the alien invasion. This has been around since at least H.G. Wells and probably before, and continues to this day with Hollywood action movies that have the trappings of science fiction. (Hollywood actually produces few films that are purely scifi).

While I don't mind a good human-alien battle, I've always thought of this method of destroying civilization as a bit of a cop out, like zombies or asteroid strikes. If we're going to go down, it won't be because bug-eyed aliens are colonizing us. I prefer the apocalypse to be our fault, because it highlights some of the ways that we're bringing it about in real life. Nuclear war, environmental disaster, overpopulation, these are the forces I want to see in post-apocalyptic fiction.

Of course, this makes for grim reading. . .