Book picks similar to
Latitude 38 by Ron Hutchison


fiction
science-fiction
dystopia
e-books

Beast of the Field


Peter Jordan Drake - 2012
    In 1920's Kansas, the mangled body of champion buggy racer Tommy Donnan has been discovered beneath his carriage, dragged to his death by his own horse. His twelve-year-old sister, Millie, does not believe his death was an accident. She wants to know the truth behind the night Tommy died. But with her mother given over to grief, her father to fate, and her only surviving brother, Junior, a shell of himself since returning from The Great War, Millie will have to seek this truth alone. Enter Charlie Sterno: the grim, glum, hard-drinking Pinkerton detective with a nose for murder. He lets himself get too close to Millie, so close that the case becomes personal. It is then up to the young girl and the outsider to negotiate the murderous Klan underbelly of the small town America find justice. But Tommy's killer may be closer than Millie would have ever believed. And the solemn promise she made to her brother never to reveal his last secret to anyone means Sterno will have to get to the truth the hard way. Maybe the hardest way.

The Opening


Ron Savarese - 2011
    John is reeling from a string of bad investments and his wife’s battle with cancer. All he wants is a little peace. But the only place he’s been able to find it lately is at the bottom of a bourbon bottle.Joe’s wife persuades him to take their family back to his hometown to celebrate Christmas. After a night of hard drinking at a local pub with some old high school buddies, Joe stumbles out into a howling blizzard too inebriated to realize he shouldn’t attempt the walk to his cousin’s home.A child’s voice coming from inside the storm, and a fateful misstep, change everything in the world Joe thought he knew.Now he will discover the truth about life and death, and be confronted with the ultimate choice: save his own life, or give it up for someone he loves. (from the website for the book)

Man of Wax


Robert Swartwood - 2011
    He doesn't know how he got there, he doesn't know where his family is, and written in dried blood on the bathroom door are the words LET THE GAME BEGIN. Soon Ben is contacted by Simon. Simon knows all there is to know about Ben, more than he cares to remember himself. If Ben wants to save himself and his family, he will have to do everything Simon says.As the game begins -- with stakes much higher than either man can imagine -- no one knows where it will lead or how it will end.Only one thing is for certain: this time the game will change everything.MAN OF WAX is 80,000 words long and the first book in a thriller trilogy where every day men and women must fight a power that threatens to destroy the world. Recommended for fans of Harlan Coben, Michael Marshall, and Dean Koontz. Praise for MAN OF WAX: "MAN OF WAX grabs you by the throat in the first chapter and never lets go. A suspense-filled thrill ride with plenty of shocks along the way. Read it!" -- F. Paul Wilson, author of the Repairman Jack novels

Stray


Andrea K. Höst - 2011
    Surrounded by the wrong sort of trees, and animals never featured in any nature documentary, Cass is only sure of one thing: alone, she will be lucky to survive. The sprawl of abandoned blockish buildings Cass discovers offers her only more puzzles. Where are the people? What is the intoxicating mist which drifts off the buildings in the moonlight? And why does she feel like she's being watched? Increasingly unnerved, Cass is overjoyed at the arrival of the formidable Setari. Whisked to a world as technologically advanced as the first was primitive, where nanotech computers are grown inside people's skulls, and few have any interest in venturing outside the enormous whitestone cities, Cass finds herself processed as a 'stray', a refugee displaced by the gates torn between worlds. Struggling with an unfamiliar language and culture, she must adapt to virtual classrooms, friends who can teleport, and the ingrained attitude that strays are backward and slow. Can Cass ever find her way home? And after the people of her new world discover her unexpected value, will they be willing to let her leave?

After the Cure


Deirdre Gould - 2013
    The Infected were driven mad by the disease, becoming violent and cannibalistic, killing even those closest to them without hesitation. Six years ago, the tiny surviving community of Immune humans found a cure, and the Infected began to wake up and realize what they'd done. And what had been done to them. Over time, society began to rebuild itself. Now it is ready to judge those responsible for the Plague. Nella Rider, the court psychologist and Frank Courtlen a defense attorney are trying to establish the truth. But more depends on it than they know. They race to find the answers they need before the fragile remains of humanity vanish for good. The After the Cure Series: Book 1: After the Cure Book 2: The Cured Book 3: Krisis Book 4: Poveglia releases July 21, 2015 Book 5: The 40th Day coming Fall 2015

Until the End


Tracey Ward - 2013
    The Fever spreads and kills quickly, but the dead aren't staying dead.When her neighbor, Jordan, saves her from one of the infected, Alissa joins him in his plan to escape the city, the disease and the threat of a quarantine that will lock the living in with the undead.What she doesn't tell him is that she has an illness of her own, one that plays tricks with her mind and makes her a dangerous companion. But Jordan has a secret as well, one that compels him to keep Alissa, a veritable stranger, safe at all costs.As they fight for their lives and race for their freedom, they'll discover that what they truly need in order to survive is to stay together until the end.*The Quarantined Series is followed by the Survival Series, a spinoff trilogy of books chronicling life 10 years after the outbreak with a few familiar faces...

Alice in Deadland


Mainak Dhar - 2011
    #1 Science Fiction and Horror bestseller. More than 50,000 copies sold in less than three months.NOW AVAILABLE- THROUGH THE KILLING GLASS: ALICE IN DEADLAND BOOK II. Civilization as we know it ended more than fifteen years ago, leaving as it's legacy barren wastelands called the Deadland and a new terror for the humans who survived- hordes of undead Biters. Fifteen year-old Alice has spent her entire life in the Deadland, her education consisting of how best to use guns and knives in the ongoing war for survival against the Biters. One day, Alice spots a Biter disappearing into a hole in the ground and follows it, in search of fabled underground Biter bases. What Alice discovers there propels her into an action-packed adventure that changes her life and that of all humans in the Deadland forever. An adventure where she learns the terrible conspiracy behind the ruin of humanity, the truth behind the origin of the Biters, and the prophecy the mysterious Biter Queen believes Alice is destined to fulfill. A prophecy based on the charred remains of the last book in the Deadland- a book called Alice in Wonderland.

Qualify


Vera Nazarian - 2014
    You die, or you Qualify. The year is 2047. An extinction-level asteroid is hurtling toward Earth, and the descendents of ancient Atlantis have returned from the stars in their silver ships to offer humanity help.But there’s a catch.They can only take a tiny percent of the Earth’s population back to the colony planet Atlantis. And in order to be chosen, you must be a teen, you must be bright, talented, and athletic, and you must Qualify.Sixteen-year-old Gwenevere Lark is determined not only to Qualify but to rescue her entire family.Because there’s a loophole.If you are good enough to Qualify, you are eligible to compete in the brutal games of the Atlantis Grail, which grants all winners the laurels, high tech luxuries, and full privileges of Atlantis Citizenship. And if you are in the Top Ten, then all your wildest wishes are granted… Such as curing your mother’s cancer.There is only one problem.Gwen Lark is known as a klutz and a nerd. While she’s a hotshot in classics, history, science, and languages, the closest she’s come to sports is a backyard pool and a skateboard.This time she is in over her head, and in for a fight of her life, against impossible odds and world-class competition—including Logan Sangre, the most amazing guy in her class, the one she’s been crushing on, and who doesn’t seem to know she exists.Because every other teen on Earth has the same idea. You Qualify or you die. * * *EXCERPT!Now you can read Chapter One in its entirety (click here)!* * *

Year 50


Geoff Bluske - 2011
    Wildlife grows without restraint, erasing the metal and concrete structures left behind. Even where industrialization was most prominent, trees and grassland are aggressively reclaiming their land; Earth is pulling away the scab of human civilization. A young woman named Calypso leads a team of Scavengers beyond the walls of Brighton, the last major human colony. Her goal is to find medical supplies, necessary to preserve humanity’s future. It is an adventure few have the training, ability, or psychological threshold to carry out. Year 50 explores what humans are made of and what they can accomplish when pushed to the limit. Love, romance, and altruism thrive in this time of brutal survival. "On the fringe of extinction, it will take bravery to persevere.

Essential Beginnings


Kennedy Layne - 2015
    He also had every intention of extinguishing the fires that arose between him and a certain local woman he couldn’t get out of his mind until the unthinkable happened. Nothing is as it seems… Henley Varano loved the simple anonymous life that her remote hometown provided. She’d had the wealthy existence of a fashion model and the fame that came with it only to find it lonelier than she could have ever imagined. Unfortunately, men only saw the fictitious person she appeared to be in the magazines and not the real woman she was—even the one man she’s wanted for years. Surviving is just the beginning… An apocalyptic event changes the course of their lives when the massive Yellowstone Caldera erupts. Panic ensues among the small town, causing Mav and Henley to witness the best and worst of humanity. They must work as a team to create a new existence before the fallout of harsh and fiery elements overtakes their safe haven. Along the way, they might just find that they need each other more than ever.

314


A.R. Wise - 2012
    She has a good life as a music teacher now, and might rekindle her relationship with her one true love. However, the number 314 haunts her, and threatens to bring her back to the day that her brother disappeared. When a reporter shows up, just days before March 14th, Alma realizes that her past is coming back to haunt her. What happened on March 14th, at 3:14, 16 years ago? No one but The Skeleton Man can remember.

Releasing Rage


Cynthia Sax - 2015
    Half Machine. All Hers. Rage, the Humanoid Alliance’s most primitive cyborg, has two goals — kill all of the humans on his battle station and escape to the Homeland. The warrior has seen the darkness in others and in himself. He believes that’s all he’s been programmed to experience. Until he meets Joan. Joan, the battle station’s first female engineer, has one goal — survive long enough to help the big sexy cyborg plotting to kill her. Rage might not trust her but he wants her. She sees the passion in his eyes, the caring in his battle-worn hands, the gruff emotion in his voice. When Joan survives the unthinkable, Rage’s priorities are tested. Is there enough room in this cyborg’s heart for both love and revenge?

The Plantation


Stella Fitzsimons - 2012
    and a spark.A century has passed since they arrived. Human history has been erased. Children are enslaved on Alien plantations. Some have heard whispers of the existence of a rebel band of humans who roam free in the forests. Most slaves dare not speak of the rebels for fear the mutant guards will grab and make an example of them.Seventeen-year-old Freya is pulled away in the night not by the mutants, but by her old friend Finn, to join the Saviors, the mythic band of rebel teens. Her bliss fades when she discovers she is the only Savior without a special ability. She is the odd one out, slowly pushing Finn away, defying Damian, the leader of the Saviors, and antagonizing the fierce and beautiful Daphne. In her despair Freya reaches deep within to discover a dark destiny, a truth so heavy it threatens to destroy her.

Memory's Child


Lynnette Spratley - 2012
    A descendant of genetically enhanced humans known as Preservationists, Shelana roams a landscape devoid of civilization in a world that long ago managed to advance itself right back to the Stone Age. Presers have only one lifetask: to pass on to their children the knowledge stored in their enhanced memories so that eventually, when mankind is ready to use it wisely, civilization may be restored. The tragedy that leaves Shelana on her own too soon also sets her on a second path that threatens to end her life before her lifetask is complete. To make matters worse, she faces a constant battle against the powerful, bloodthirsty Myths. Their leader, Vernon, wants to eradicate Preservationists so he alone can control the redevelopment of civilization. Vernon has made one mistake that may ruin his plans, a mistake the Myth leader doesn't even remember. But Shelana does.Winner of the Authorlink 2001 International New Author Awards Competition, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror category.A sample of the sequel to Memory's Child, Phoenix Rising: The Battle Begins, is INCLUDED in Memory's Child if you buy the Kindle edition after June 4, 2013. If you have an earlier edition, you can get The Battle Begins for your Kindle on Amazon or borrow it if you're a PRIME member.

Plague Year


Jeff Carlson - 2007
    Instead, it evolved into the Machine Plague, killing nearly five billion people and changing life on Earth forever.The nanotech has one weakness: it self-destructs at altitudes above ten thousand feet. Those few who've managed to escape the plague struggle to stay alive on the highest mountains, but time is running out—there is famine and war, and the environment is crashing worldwide. Humanity's last hope lies with a top nanotech researcher aboard the International Space Station—and with a small group of survivors in California who risk a daring journey below the death line...