The First Days


Rhiannon Frater - 2008
    Before the sun has set, they have become more than just friends and allies—they are bonded as tightly as any two people who have been to war together. During their cross-Texas odyssey to find and rescue Jenni’s oldest son, Jenni discovers the joy of watching a zombie’s head explode when she shoots its brains out. Katie learns that she’s a terrific tactician—and a pretty good shot. A chance encounter puts them on the road to an isolated, fortified town, besieged by zombies, where fewer than one hundred people cling to the shreds of civilization. It looks like the end of the world. But Katie and Jenni and many others will do whatever they have to to stay alive. Run, fight, pick each other up when they stumble, fall in love…anything is possible at the end of the world.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War


Max Brooks - 2006
    Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, "By excluding the human factor, aren't we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn't the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as 'the living dead'?"Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.

Winter Plague (Complete Collection)


Quinn Blackbird - 2020
    Well, it should just be Cleo and me. And it was, until--I found them.A group of mercenaries in this plagued, wintery world. Once high-ranking soldiers, something has turned them dark in this new life we all lead. And my darkness calls to theirs...Leo saves my life, Castle keeps me safe, and I'm torn between the two. Only, it's more than returned feelings that have them watching over me, and I quickly learn that my place in this group is not optional. I can't leave any time I want.I've been taken captive.And I see no way out. Not without breaking my own heart in the progress.Winter Plague is the complete (books 1 - 4) collection of the Winter Plague series, second edition. Warnings for explicit scenes, love triangle, dark romance, and graphic violence.

Land of the Beautiful Dead


R. Lee Smith - 2015
    Now he rules in the walled city of Haven with his favored Children and his dead court, while all that is left of the living struggles to survive in the ruins of a world that used to be their own. But even as extinction looms, humanity will never surrender to their monstrous conqueror.For Lan, this brutal life has been the only one she’s ever known, but she still believes it can change. If the war can never truly end until the Eaters are ended, she will go to Haven, to Azrael himself, and demand he end them. To her surprise, she does not immediately die the hero’s death she expected. Instead, Azrael offers her a chance to convince him, and all she has to do is submit herself to the chill embrace of the lord of the Land of the Beautiful Dead.

The Loners


Lex Thomas - 2012
    When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning.A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under military quarantine. The teachers are gone. Violent gangs have formed based on high school social cliques. Without a gang, you’re as good as dead. And David has no gang. It’s just him and his little brother, Will, against the whole school.

Love & the Zombie Apocalypse


Chelsea Luna - 2013
    Little did Rachel know that life as she knew it was about to change forever.A suspected biological terror attack has spread over the northern half of the country causing the dead to reanimate and attack the living. The sudden attacks have catapulted Middle America into an all-out war zone. Zombies have swarmed the City of Flint and Rachel must battle through the infected streets to rescue Morgan.Along the way, Rachel meets Cage Vance – the local star quarterback dealing with his own personal demons. Rachel is immediately attracted to Cage, but who has time for love during the zombie apocalypse? Can Rachel and Cage’s small group of friends survive the journey to Ann Arbor and rescue Morgan? Or are they already too late?

Taking on the Dead


Annie Walls - 2012
    It's the only way to survive. The only way not to draw the living dead. Helping a small group of people, she learns the new world might not be what she assumes. Venturing out of her refuge and comfort zone, she meets Rudy, who helps her find a greater purpose. She realizes that the world has moved on without her. Only it's not what she expects. Her knowledge of the living dead grows and only makes her more curious as humanity continues to hang on by a thread. While on her search for answers she finds comfort in new friendships and love, but her past seems as if it will haunt her forever. Kansas takes it upon herself to help other survivors, which would be easy if the famished were the only obstacles.

The Hallowed Ones


Laura Bickle - 2012
    But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.

Flash Bang


Meghan March - 2014
    But vicious—and false—rumors are destroying her professional life. That all ceases to matter when a plane crashes in downtown Chicago and the entire city goes dark, and she realizes she’s just witnessed the kick-off to the apocalypse. Armed with a backpack of supplies, she leaves Chicago, intent on resetting her skewed priorities and seeking shelter at the family farm with her father and sister. She’s injured and running for her life when she stumbles directly in the crosshairs of two men who just might be her salvation . . . and her greatest temptation.

Till Death Do Us Part: A Zombie Survival Reverse Harem


A.J. Lee - 2018
     It's been five years since the world's entire female population mysteriously changed into shambling, flesh-eating undead. For Esperanza Costales, that means coping with the loss of her mother, surviving in the Tennessee wilderness with her father and brother, and wondering whether or not she's the last living woman on Earth. Esperanza and her family have adapted and learned to count their blessings, but when a group of escaped convicts led by a crazed psychopath named Frankie stumble upon their camp and kidnap her and her father, her new life is thrown into chaos. By taking advantage of a late-night zombie attack, she barely escapes captivity and flees into the forest, alone. Injured, frightened, and separated from her family, Esperanza nearly loses hope until she encounters a group of four men. Jason, Derek, Roland, and Joseph have survived the world's end by putting aside old feelings and embracing their harsh new reality, but their routine is shattered when Esperanza enters their lives and brings into question everything they thought they knew about the Apocalypse. As Esperanza and the men learn more about one another and themselves, will they be able to form a bond strong enough to survive attacks by the undead and pursuit by Frankie's gang? Will Esperanza ever see her family again? And in a world full of zombies and psychos, will a woman and four men be able to find love through despair? ADVISORY: This book is a Reverse Harem romance book. This means the main heroine will end up with multiple male partners. It is NOT traditional romance. Please be advised. TRIGGER WARNING: -No- forced intercourse occurs in this book, but it does contain scenes of said nature which may be intense enough to cause a trigger response in sexual assault survivors.

Extinction Level Event: Book One


K.J. Jones - 2020
    Animals turn within ten days. For humans, twelve hours to twelve months. The government cannot let anyone out of the hot zone. The media cannot tell the public. Coastal Wilmington, North Carolina stands at the crosshairs. Authorities assert the crazies popping up all over town are on a new designer street drug. The drug-users look and act like frenzied infected zombies from movies. Over five days, a cast of Millennials and war vet GenXers experience their world of normalcy infiltrated. For former Ranger Staff Sergeant Peter Sullivan, it’s a good thing. War is what he does best. But for doctoral candidate Phebe Marcelino, it’s a descent into a hell of kill or be killed. Phebe and two other civilians must band together with a group of war vets led by Peter to battle their way out before death or contagion overtakes them. EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT, Book One, Contagion and Black Hawk Down meet 28 Weeks Later. Warning: This novel contains violence, horror imagery, and adult language.

No Safety in Numbers


Dayna Lorentz - 2012
    No one can leave. No one knows what is going on.At first, there's the novelty of being stuck in a mega mall with free food and a gift certificate. But with each passing day, it becomes harder to ignore the dwindling supplies, inadequate information, and mounting panic.Then people start getting sick.Told from the point of view of two guys and two girls, this is a harrowing look at what can happen under the most desperate of circumstances, when regular people are faced with impossible choices. Some rise to the occasion. Some don't.And for some - it's too late.

Oath Forger 1


Nia Mars - 2018
    So what? With society's collapse on Earth, I do what I have to for survival. Especially after I'm kidnapped by space pirates. I have no idea why the five most powerful rulers in the universe decide that I'm the Oath Forger, the one foretold to fuse their royal houses together and bring peace. But I'm going to play along. Because, hey, it's better than probes in uncomfortable places. Now let's just hope they don't find out I'm lying. Excerpt: My attention is glued to the man who sits straight ahead, on a platform of his own, above all others. He's larger than the largest man I had ever seen on Earth. His shoulders are twice as wide as mine. He is wearing a body-hugging suit, a dark blue space material that absorbs light. His muscle definition is... Clearly visible, even from as far away as where I'm standing. Hair the color of indigo spills down to the middle of his back, the kind of hair they used to call a lion's mane on Earth. Straight nose, a jaw that looks like it had been cut from granite. But it's the eyes that render me unable to breathe. His eye color matches his hair, and his gaze is locked on mine. And-here is the weird part-I can feel him in the room. I could almost swear I can hear his heartbeat. My awareness of him is...unearthly. Oh God, I'm cracking. The stress of the abduction has done me in. Next, I will be crying in a heap on the floor like Dee. Krek Koah stands, a fierce expression on his face. The buzz in the room immediately dies. Every single person falls silent. All attention is on him. Without moving his gaze from mine, he says, "I need this room cleared." Here is where I'm seriously glad for the translator in my neck-even with the killer headache I feel coming-because if I didn't understand what he said, I would think it was 'Off with their heads.' And I'm pretty sure I would pee my pants. People file for the exits, no questions, no protest. I'm ready to go. I'm backing away already. "Not you," Krek Koah pronounces, looking straight at me.

Aftertime


Sophie Littlefield - 2011
    Having no idea how many weeks have passed, she slowly realizes the horrifying truth: Ruthie has vanished.And with her, nearly all of civilization.Where once-lush hills carried cars and commerce, the roads today see only cannibalistic Beaters -- people turned hungry for human flesh by a government experiment gone wrong.In a broken, barren California, Cass will undergo a harrowing quest to get Ruthie back. Few people trust an outsider, let alone a woman who became a zombie and somehow turned back, but she finds help from an enigmatic outlaw, Smoke. Smoke is her savior, and her safety.For the Beaters are out there.And the humans grip at survival with their trigger fingers. Especially when they learn that she and Ruthie have become the most feared, and desired, of weapons in a brave new world….

Ashes


Ilsa J. Bick - 2011
    . .An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions.Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP.For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.Author Ilsa J. Bick crafts a terrifying and thrilling post-apocalyptic novel about a world that could become ours at any moment, where those left standing must learn what it means not just to survive, but to live amidst the devastation.