I recently finished Philip Wylie's 1962 novel TRIUMPH, a character-driven (I do not agree with the theory that all fiction is character-driven), pre/during/post-apocalyptic story with two threads: the 14 people in the one surviving bomb shelter in the Western Hemisphere, and a plausible WW3 scenario that is neatly and chillingly executed.
I like Wylie's prose, but I find some of his dialogue awkward - chunks obviously influenced by Heinlein's style of dialogue. Those moments don't mesh well with Wylie's other, more literary elements. I'm also uncomfortable with some of his characterizations, which are built on 1950s and emerging-1960s culture. Rather than being universal, he's usually politically correct, while in crisis, offers up "tough love" for his characters. So these "types" don't always ring true with human interaction. The book is definitely of its era. Frustratingly, the well-designed types often break out of their roles and present rich drama. Just not often enough for me.
The book is more relevant (a 1960s trope) than pleasing or displeasing our literary needs, though. Wylie understands our most elemental mechanisms - why we do what we do. The book's relentless, Hamlet-like ending rings very true. Humanity has a fascination with death, especially in great numbers. That's what drove Hitler, and what drives many would-be masters of the universe today. So maybe the title TRIUMPH is intended as irony, a truncated Triumph of the Will. Science fiction works best, I think, when it's cautionary.