The Scarlet Plague. Stories

In 2013, an unknown disease strikes the planet, killing people within just a few hours. A monstrous epidemic of an illness known as the "scarlet plague" engulfs the world, leading to the mass death of humanity. Only a handful survive on the ruins of civilization, and the lives of those remaining are irreversibly changed…

Jack London's book "The Scarlet Plague" tells of a post-apocalyptic society where entirely different rules and laws apply, where people are turned into barbarians and savages, and where the only goal is to survive at any cost.

As time passes, people no longer remember their former greatness, and only an old professor — who has miraculously lived to an advanced age — carefully preserves in his memory recollections of the height of human civilization and of the terrible events that led to its collapse. But for the most part, no one is interested in this anymore — only three curious boys decide to listen to the old man's story around an evening campfire.

The short story collection "The Strength of the Strong" is characteristic of the writer's entire body of work — these are stories about courageous people, difficult situations, struggle and wandering, and the hard choices that life places before a person.