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Apocalyptic fiction

  • Author:
    Smith, Adrian J.
    Summary:

    After a lifetime of hunting down criminals, Ryan Conners just wants to live out his days in peace. But his old team comes with an urgent request for help. The young daughter of one of his closest friends has been kidnapped.

  • Author:
    Williams, David
    Summary:

    A riveting and unexpected novel that questions whether a peaceful and nonviolent community can survive when civilization falls apart. When a catastrophic solar storm brings about the collapse of modern civilization, an Amish community in Pennsylvania is caught up in the devastating aftermath. Once-bright skies are now dark. Planes have plummeted to the ground. The systems of modern life have crumbled. With their stocked larders and stores of supplies, the Amish are unaffected at first. But as the English (the Amish name for all non-Amish people) become more and more desperate, they begin to invade Amish farms, taking whatever they want and unleashing unthinkable violence on the peaceable community. Seen through the diary of an Amish farmer named Jacob as he tries to protect his family and his way of life, When the English Fall examines the idea of peace in the face of deadly chaos: Should members of a nonviolent society defy their beliefs and take up arms to defend themselves' And if they don't, can they survive' David Williams's debut novel is a thoroughly engrossing look into the closed world of the Amish, as well as a thought-provoking examination of "civilization" and what remains if the center cannot hold.

  • Author:
    Vanderstoop, Doreen
    Summary:

    Watershed is a contemporary dystopian novel set in a near-future southern Alberta, which has been ravaged by desert-like conditions, as opposed to the northern part of the province, which is warm as well as green and lush thanks to a water pipeline from the ocean. The province's former oil and gas pipelines are being converted to carry desalinated sea water, and the north and south are at odds because of it. The protagonist, Wilma, is desperately trying to hold onto her dying family farm, while her son, Daniel, takes a job for the enemy: the big water pipeline corporation.

  • Author:
    Summary:

    A new anthology of postapocalyptic literature from some of the most renowned authors in speculative fiction today. This eclectic mix of tales explores famine, death, war, pestilence, and harbingers of the biblical apocalypse.

  • Author:
    Adams, John Joseph
    Summary:

    Famine, Death, War, and Pestilence--the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the harbingers of Armageddon--these are our guides through the Wastelands. From the Book of Revelation to The Road Warrior, from A Canticle for Leibowitz to The Road, storytellers have long imagined the end of the world, weaving eschatological tales of catastrophe, chaos, and calamity. In doing so, these visionary authors have addressed one of the most challenging and enduring themes of imaginative fiction: the nature of life in the aftermath of total societal collapse. Gathering together the best postapocalyptic literature of the last two decades from many of today's most renowned authors of speculative fiction--including George R.R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card, Carol Emshwiller, Jonathan Lethem, Octavia E. Butler, and Stephen King--Wastelands explores the scientific, psychological, and philosophical questions of what it means to remain human in the wake of Armageddon. Whether the end of the world comes through nuclear war, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm, these are tales of survivors, in some cases struggling to rebuild the society that was, in others, merely surviving, scrounging for food in depopulated ruins and defending themselves against monsters, mutants, and marauders. Wastelands delves into this bleak landscape, uncovering the raw human emotion and heart-pounding thrills at the genre's core.

  • Author:
    Wendig, Chuck
    Summary:

    A decadent rock star. A deeply religious radio host. A disgraced scientist. And a teenage girl who may be the world's last hope. From the mind of Chuck Wendig comes an astonishing tapestry of humanity that Harlan Coben calls "a suspenseful, twisty, satisfying, surprising, thought-provoking epic." Shana wakes up one morning to discover her little sister in the grip of a strange malady. She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that only she knows. But Shana and her sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey. And like Shana, there are other "shepherds" who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road ahead. For on their journey, they will discover an America convulsed with terror and violence, where this apocalyptic epidemic proves less dangerous than the fear of it. As the rest of society collapses all around them-and an ultraviolent milita threatens to exterminate them-the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart-or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world. Advance praise for Wanderers "With Wanderers, Chuck Wendig levels up-and when you consider the high level he was already writing at, that's saying something."-John Scalzi, New York Times bestselling author of The Consuming Fire "A riveting examination of America-fiction that feels more real than reality itself."-Scott Sigler, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Generations Trilogy "Wanderers is Chuck Wendig at his best. The book is beautiful and harrowing-and timely as hell in its depiction of a very real world on the edge of the abyss. I loved it."-Richard Kadrey, New York Times bestselling author of The Grand Dark "Unexpected and enthralling...'pproach Wanderers like it's a primetime television series, along the lines of The Passage [or] Lost. Break it up into seventy-page segments that you can devour like candy for an hour each evening. Let it unfold across your summer...' Make Wanderers a summer reading priority; you won't regret it."-Book Riot

  • Author:
    Roanhorse, Rebecca
    Summary:

    While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinaetah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters. Maggie Hoskie is a Dinaetah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine. Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel the rez, unraveling clues from ancient legends, trading favors with tricksters, and battling dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology. As Maggie discovers the truth behind the killings, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive. Welcome to the Sixth World.

  • Author:
    Milan, Cameron
    Summary:

    ....Champion of Aros, God of Battle....Bearer of foreknowledge....A mythical third realm expert.... Jason had it all, and yet he still couldn't prevent his father's death. He didn't even have time to grieve as his mission took precedence over all else. Pressing onward was the only path. But did he possess enough strength to clear the tower, even with Roy and Olivia at his back? The answer was obvious: Only with humanity's best could he stand a fighting chance. Yet as his actions influenced the world, the more things changed. Worse, his secret identity, Index, was in the spotlight for releasing knowledge that couldn't possibly be known. If the major powers of the world found him, they'd no doubt use torture to obtain his secrets. A single mistake would cost everything. He already got a second chance. He won't get a third.

  • Author:
    Milan, Cameron
    Summary:

    One day, six towers appear on Earth. Each one stands hundreds of stories tall, and are invulnerable to all attacks. At the base of each tower is a portal, welcoming in all who dare enter it. All sorts of magical monsters can be found inside the towers. Even treasure, magic, and superhuman strength can be acquired. The problem is that the towers aren't a friendly place. Even worse, the towers sometimes release waves of monsters to attack Earth. In the year 2083, there are only a hundred survivors. In one last attempt, they challenge the final floor without regard for their lives. By some miracle, they manage to beat the floor at the cost of their lives, leaving only one survivor. As a reward for clearing the tower, he is granted one wish. He decides to go back in time to before the towers arrived. His goal is simple: prevent humanity from being wiped out.

  • Author:
    Lewis, Beth
    Summary:

    True Grit meets The Road in this postapocalyptic psychological thriller--narrated by a young girl who has just learned that her adopted father may be a serial killer, and that she may be his next victim. Everything Elka knows of the world she learned from the man she calls father, the solitary hunter who took her under his wing when she was just seven years old. He has taught her how to shoot, track, set snares, and start fires-all the skills she needs to survive in a frozen, lawless land where civilization has been destroyed and men are at the mercy of the elements and each other. But the man Elka thought she knew so well is harboring a terrible secret. He's a killer. A monster. And now that Elka knows the truth, she too is in danger. Armed with nothing but her knife and the survival skills he's taught her, Elka makes her escape and sets out on a journey to the frozen north in the hope of finding her long-lost parents. But judging by the trail of blood and bodies dogging her footsteps, daddy won't be letting his little girl go without a fight. If Elka's going to survive, she'll have to turn and confront not just him, but the truth about what he's turned her into. The Wolf Road is an intimate, cat-and-mouse tale of justice and revenge, played out against a vast, unforgiving landscape--told by an unforgettable, tough-as-nails young heroine whose struggle to escape the terrors of her past and rejoin humanity are at once horrifying and heartbreaking.

  • Author:
    Carey, M. R.
    Summary:

    Koli never planned to set foot outside his small village. He knew that beyond its walls lay a fearsome landscape filled with choker trees, vicious beasts, and Shunned men. But when he was exiled, he had no choice but to journey out into this strange world where every moment is a fight for survival. But if he can find lost London, there may still be a way for him to survive.

  • Author:
    Favro, Terri
    Summary:

    An odyssey wrapped in a love story, set in a near-future of artificial people The Sisters Sputnik are a time-traveling trio of storytellers-for-hire who are much in demand throughout the multiverse of 2,052 alternate worlds. Each world was created by the detonation of a nuclear bomb in Earth Standard Time, home of the Sisters' leader, aging comic book creator Debbie Reynolds Biondi, her 20-something apprentice Unicorn Girl, and their pop culture–loving AI, Cassandra. Tales of Earth Standard Time-That-Was, from World Wars to the space race to Hollywood celebrities, have turned the Sisters into storytelling rock stars. In a distant reality where books and music have disappeared, Debbie finds herself in bed with an old Earth Standard Time lover who begs her to tell him a story. Over one long, eventful night, she spins the epic of the Sisters' adventures in alternate realities, starting with the theft of a book of evil comic strips in a post-pandemic Toronto full of ghost kitchens and robot-worshipping lost children known as junksters, to a disco-era purgatory where synthetic people are sending humans into the past through a reverse-engineered Statue of Liberty, to a version of the 1950s where the Sisters meet a rising star named Frank Sinatra and his girlfriend, the once-and-future Queen of England.

  • Author:
    Brunner, John
    Summary:

    A prophetic look at the potential consequences of the escalating destruction of the Earth.

  • Author:
    Silver Slayter, Rebecca
    Summary:

    A novel of haunting beauty and ominous suspense, The Second History is a post-apocalyptic love story about a young couple embarking on a journey to understand, for the first time, what they've been hiding from all their lives. Born in a barren, altered future world, Eban has lived in hiding all his life without ever understanding why. After his mother's death, he retreated into the northern Appalachians with Judy, the only other woman he has ever known. But as the years passed and Judy suffered multiple miscarriages, she began to wonder what happened to the cities their parents fled, where a strange sickness is said to have spread among those who stayed behind. To stop the headstrong woman he loves from leaving the safety of the hills to travel to the cities, Eban convinces Judy instead to set out on a journey to the fabled colony of the original mountain settlers, where he promises her they'll find the answers she seeks. Now expecting a child once again, Judy and Eban begin their climb deep into the mountains. Along the way, the people they encounter and the secrets they uncover will threaten their lives and the ties between them, further complicating what they know of the world beyond the mountains and of each other. Set in a far-flung time and place that begin to feel increasingly familiar, The Second History explores the devastating effects of environmental catastrophe on human relationships. It is a story about the limits of our ability to know each other or understand the past . . . and about the courage it takes to invent the world again for those we love.

  • Author:
    Brin, David
    Summary:

    One chill winter's day, a survivor in the aftermath of a devastating war borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker, and with it he rekindles the spirit of America through the power of a dream.

  • Author:
    Sparks, Edward
    Summary:

    Trapped in a London laboratory during a worker uprising in 1924, ex-artillery officer and physics instructor Jeremy Tuft awakens 150 years later - in a neo-medieval society whose inhabitants have forgotten how to build or operate machinery. Not only have his fellow Londoners forgotten most of what humankind used to know, before civilization collapsed, but they don't particularly care to re-learn any of it. Though he is at first disconcerted by the failure of his own era's smug doctrine of Progress, Tuft eventually decides that post-civilized life is simpler, more peaceful. That is, until northern English and Welsh tribes threaten London - at which point he sets about reinventing weapons of mass destruction.

  • Author:
    Hodgson, William Hope
    Summary:

    In the far future, an unnamed narrator, who along with what remains of the human race dwells uneasily in an underground fortress-city surrounded by brooding, chaotic, relentless Watching Things, Silent Ones, Hounds, Giants, 'Ab-humans,' Brutes, and enormous slugs and spiders, follows a telepathic distress signal into the unfathomable darkness. The Earth's surface is frozen, and what's worse - at some point in the distant past, overreaching scientists breached 'the Barrier of Life' that separates our dimension from one populated by 'monstrosities and Forces' who have sought humankind's destruction ever since. Armed only with a lightsaber-esque weapon called a Diskos, and fortified only by his sense of Honor, our hero braves every sort of terror en route to rescue a woman he loves but has never met.

  • Author:
    Robinson, Kim Stanley
    Summary:

    Established in 2025, the purpose of the new organization was simple: To advocate for the world's future generations and to protect all living creatures, present and future. It soon became known as the Ministry for the Future, and this is its story.

  • Author:
    LaHaye, Tim F., Jenkins, Jerry B.
    Summary:

    In the eighth book in the saga of those left behind, those who were left behind after the Rapture must now make a crucial decision. Each person must choose whether to receive the mark of the beast, or die. Never has faith in God been more important for the group of believers called the Tribulation Force.

  • Author:
    Shah, London
    Summary:

    At the end of the twenty-first century, the world has changed dramatically, but life continues one thousand feet below the ocean's surface. In Great Britain, sea creatures swim among the ruins of Big Ben and the Tower of London, and citizens waver between fear and hope: fear of what lurks in the abyss and hope that humanity will soon discover a way to reclaim the planet. Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Leyla McQueen has her own problems to deal with. Her father's been arrested, accused of taking advantage of victims of the Seasickness-a malaise that consumes people, often claiming their lives. But Leyla knows he's innocent, and all she's interested in is getting him back so that their lives can return to normal. When she's picked to race in the London Submersible Marathon, Leyla gets the chance to secure his freedom: the Prime Minister promises the champion whatever their heart desires. The race takes an unexpected turn, though, and presents her with an opportunity she never wanted: Leyla must venture outside of London for the first time in her life, to find and rescue her father herself. Now, she'll have to brave the waters and defy a corrupt government determined to keep its secrets, all the while dealing with a secretive, hotheaded companion she never asked for. As she discovers a world drowning in lies, how much longer can Leyla hold out hope for the truth? If she fails or falls prey to her own fears, she risks capture-or worse. And her father might be lost forever.

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