Best of
Near-Future

2014

Olympus


Ivan Kal - 2014
    Earth is recovering from a devastating nuclear war. An age of technological advancement. A find at the bottom of the Ocean. A man driven by a dream. The time for humanity to reach to the stars is now. A find provides Tomas Klein with the tools to speed up his timetable and execute his plans. He will reach for the stars, the only question is will humanity follow? Adrian Farkas an orphan boy, is given opportunity to change his bleak future. To go to space, and shape the future of all mankind. Will he rise up to the challenge? Olympus is 73,000 word novel and the first book in the "Rise of the Empire" series, it sets the stage and introduces the characters for the books to come, and is a origin story for the main characters. The series will follow humanity as it takes its first steps into the Solar system and beyond, eventually becoming a true galaxy spanning empire. Rise of the Empire Book 1 - OlympusRise of the Empire Book 2 - Sanctuary Rise of the Empire Book 3 - Out of the Ashes Rise of the Empire Book 4 - Warpath

A New World: Untold Stories


John O'Brien - 2014
    Then night fell and the world ended. For many, it was a long, slow, lingering death. For others, it came quickly, full of terror and agony. Few survived. The ones that did watched the setting sun with a rising panic. Out of the ashes of humankind’s demise rose the night runners. They were death loping down darkened streets, their shrieks echoing off empty buildings. Untold Stories is a series of short stories depicting the experiences of some who faced the fall of civilization as we know it. A scream in the night… And terror poured forth…

No Master Plan Here


Joel Burdick - 2014
    He thinks he can make the world a better place by being in charge. When the United States government tries to pass a law that requires superhumans to submit to registration and testing, Anansi kills the man in charge of the bill in an attempt to push it off track, earning himself a dead or alive place on America's Most Wanted list. So it comes as a surprise when he is snatched up three years later to save America by the very government he stood against.

Star's Reach: A Novel Of The Deindustrial Future


John Michael Greer - 2014
    Now, in the ruins of a deserted city, a young man mining metal risks his life to win a priceless clue. That discovery will send him and an unlikely band of seekers on a quest for a place out of legend where human beings might once have communicated with distant worlds - a place called Star's Reach.

My House in Damascus: An Inside View of the Syrian Revolution


Diana Darke - 2014
    For those watching the headlines and wondering what led the nation to this point, and what might come next, this book is a perfect place to start developing a deeper understanding. Based on decades of living and working in Syria, My House in Damascus offers an inside view of Syria’s cultural and complex religious and ethnic communities. Diana Darke, a fluent Arabic speaker who moved to Damascus in 2004 after decades of regular visits, details the ways that the Assad regime, and its relationship to the people, differs from the regimes in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya—and why it was thus always less likely to collapse quickly, even in the face of widespread unrest and violence. Through the author’s firsthand experiences of buying and restoring a house in the old city of Damascus, which she later offered as a sanctuary to friends, Darke presents a clear picture of the realities of life on the ground and what hope there is for Syria’s future.

Facing Armageddon


Darrell Maloney - 2014
    They thought they'd covered all the bases, and had planned for everything. It never occurred to them that the single thing they had no control over was the timing. Sarah was on an airplane with her young daughters when solar storms bombarded the earth with electromagnetic pulses. Everything powered by electricity or batteries was instantly shorted out and would never work again. Dave was suddenly alone. He was also unsure whether his family was dead or alive. He assumed that the airplane stopped working and plunged from the sky. But it was scheduled to land in Kansas City at almost the exact time everything stopped working. Had they landed in time? Was it possible they survived? This is the story of a man facing Armageddon alone. It chronicles the things he does to survive in a newly vicious world. It also includes Dave's desperate and poignant diary entries to his wife. Just in case she did survive, and somehow makes it back to him to find he didn't make it himself. From the author of last year's best sellers "Final Dawn" and "Countdown to Armageddon" comes a new tale of one man's journey through hell... alone.

Savior


A. King Bradley - 2014
    As the ungovernable changes within unleash a burning hatred for all who once wronged him, Adam is faced with choosing between using his gifts to save the world from impending doom or to take vengeance against his enemies. For a time, Monica, the love of Adam’s life, is able to keep the newfound darkness in his heart at bay, but tragedy strikes when Adam’s older brother, PJ, is murdered after insidious forces give rise to a formidable domestic terror cell known as The Strangers. As he pursues his brother’s killers, Adam and his friends, Howie and Ace, find themselves thrust into an unthinkable conflict that could ultimately lead to the destruction of the world. As Adam storms farther away from Monica and deeper down the dark path of revenge, the edges of his own darkness begin to fade once again.

The Turn


J. Walker - 2014
    Written specifically for the ever-growing female audience of the zombie apocalypse genre, the story is told through the eyes of Emily Hanson, wife, mother and survivor. Follow the incredible struggles of two families as they prepare for humanities possible extinction and society’s eventual collapse. Witness the devastating isolation of the outbreak’s early days and the unforeseen trials of living in the post-apocalyptic world. Regardless of how prepared they are, there is always another unexpected threat waiting to jeopardize their best laid plans.

The God Organ


Anthony J. Melchiorri - 2014
    Behind this movement is Chicago-based medical giant LyfeGen. The company dominates the biotech industry with their Sustain, an implantable artificial organ designed to grant its recipients near-immortality. But many of those recipients are suddenly dying. Biomedical scientist Preston Carter developed the Sustain to improve and save lives. Yet there are others that would see him fail. Extreme religious groups, radical movements, and competing corporations would prefer to see LyfeGen collapse rather than allow “the god organ” to fundamentally alter medicine and the human body. In a race against time, Carter must learn to trust resourceful journalist Audrey Cook. She may hold the key to discovering who is sabotaging the Sustain. And with the organ already implanted in his own body, Carter must uncover the truth before he’s killed by his invention.THE GOD ORGAN is a near-future medical thriller that takes the reader on a suspenseful ride filled with sinister conspiracies, intriguing biomedical science, and rampant corruption that will leave readers wondering just how dangerous becoming a god may really be.

Going Grey


Karen Traviss - 2014
    When he looks in the mirror, he’s never sure if he’ll see a stranger. After years of isolation, thinking he’s crazy, he discovers he’s the product of an illegal fringe experiment in biotechnology that enables him to alter his appearance at will. And the only people he can trust to help him find out who and what he is are two former soldiers trying to make their way in the high-stakes world of private security. He’s got a unique and disturbing skill: they can help him to harness it—and maybe even learn to accept it. Set ten years from today, these three unlikely allies search for identity and loyalty in an uncertain world.

Cattle


Joseph Duncan - 2014
    In this 10,000 word horror story, set in the same fictional universe as his zombie novel Mort, newlyweds Rachel and Charlie Carlson find themselves trapped in the basement of a rural farmhouse, surrounded by the walking dead. It's not much by way of honeymoons, her dying husband admits, but sometimes you have to take the good with the bad.And sometimes the bad, as Rachel is about to find out, is really... really... bad.

Space Rocks!


Tom O'Donnell - 2014
    Those accursed pink bars entranced me with their sugary magic! But I digress . . . Life on Gelo was fine until the fur-headed "humans” arrived. They invaded our peaceful asteroid with their loud drill machines and their endless greed, stealing our precious Iridium to take back to their weird looking blue-and-green planet. Then the mothership took off and four little fur-heads were marooned here. But thank Jalasu Jhuk that Hollins, Becky, Nicki, and Little Gus are actually pretty cool. They have awesome gadgets like hologram games and rocket bikes, and they can pilot starships! But there’s plenty the juvenile humans don’t know, like how to fight a ferocious thyss-cat or ride a giant usk-lizard. They’re decidedly terrible at dealing with my stink-gland.  Luckily the Earthlings have me, Chorkle, and all five of my eyes to look after them. If only I knew how to help them get back home . . .

Ultraviolet


Joseph Robert Lewis - 2014
    But this has left the city torn between the wealthy elite and the masses forced to work in massive scrap heaps and recycling plants. Luckily, Carmen was on her way to a better life with a rare college education and a plush office job ...until she got fired. Down but not out, Carmen invents something of her own: solid holograms. With a high-tech suit that can turn ordinary light into extraordinary machines and weapons, she takes to the streets as the vigilante called Ultraviolet, protecting her family and friends from spying drones and company thugs, and living on the run with the help of a handsome new friend. But when she sees how far the megacorps are willing to go to take away everyone's freedoms, Carmen leads a revolution that will change her world forever. www.josephrobertlewis.com