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 post-apocalyptic 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. --back coverContains the following stories:Introduction by John Joseph AdamsThe End of the Whole Mess by Stephen KingSalvage by Orson Scott CardThe People of Sand and Slag by Paolo BacigalupiBread and Bombs by M. RickertHow We Got In Town and Out Again by Jonathan LethemDark, Dark Were the Tunnels by George R. R. MartinWaiting for the Zephyr by Tobias S. BuckellNever Despair by Jack McDevittWhen Sysadmins Ruled the Earth by Cory DoctorowThe Last of the O-Forms by James Van PeltStill Life With Apocalypse by Richard KadreyArtie’s Angels by Catherine WellsJudgment Passed by Jerry OltionMute by Gene WolfeInertia by Nancy KressAnd the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth BearSpeech Sounds by Octavia E. ButlerKillers by Carol EmshwillerGinny Sweethips’ Flying Circus by Neal Barrett, Jr.The End of the World as We Know It by Dale BaileyA Song Before Sunset by David GriggEpisode Seven... by John LanganAppendix: For Further Reading

    She has seen the savage side of human nature and finds they are not much different from the aliens who conquered Earth.The Trivators have taken control of Earth to prevent the humans from destroying it in their fear.A world of warriors, they are sent out by the Alliance of Star Systems to seek out new worlds. Their mission is first contact. They are to establish communications with the leaders of the new worlds they find and bring them into the Alliance.Any resistance is to be quickly subdued to prevent unnecessary death of the inhabitants of the new worlds they find. Their payment comes from the success of their mission.Hunter is what he is called. A hunter, one of the elite clans of the Trivators who seek out those who resist. His abilities to track, capture and eliminate those who try to harm any warrior is renowned.He finds the tables turned when he becomes the one captured by a group of ruthless humans. Hunter is shocked when a strange human female risks her life to help him escape only to disappear into the ruins of the city.He now has a new mission, finding the female who saved his life. He is determined to find her before she is damaged by others of her kind.What he finds is a reward beyond comprehension to a Trivator warrior, a family.Can he convince Jesse that he can give her and her younger sisters a better life on his world? Or will fear keep her from accepting what he has to offer?

    Gorgon. Regenerator. Cerberus. Zzzap. The Mighty Dragon. They were heroes, using their superhuman abilities to make Los Angeles a better place.Then the plague of living death spread around the globe. Now, a year later, the heroes struggle to overcome their differences and recover from their own scars as they protect the thousands of survivors huddled in their film-studio-turned-fortress, the Mount.But the hungry ex-humans are not the only threat the survivors face. Across the city, another group has grown and gained power.

    Owen Clifford and his lover, Alec Stroud, are investigating fraud at Monica’s place of work, a luxurious London hotel. From the moment they meet, the chemistry between the three of them is off the scale.But Monica has a secret, and it isn’t anything to do with fraud. Like her sisters, Monica is a psychic. In Monica’s case the gift is psychometry—when she touches objects or people she can experience their sexual history. Can she ever truly share that with a lover, let alone two bisexual lovers? Something about Owen and Alec captures her though, literally. Willingly bound and seduced by two masters, Monica opens up to them, physically, emotionally, and psychically.Owen and Alec have been looking for their third and they believe Monica might be the one to complete their lives. But Monica’s secret isn’t the only barrier these two have to break down in order to win their woman. Fraud, duplicity, and mysterious threats add to their complications. For Owen and Alec, the challenges are stacking up and the race is on.Reader Advisory: This book contains graphic sex scenes including bondage, domination, MFM, and MM scenes. This book has been previously published with a different cover.

    Working Chicago's O'Hare airport, he feels pretty confident when he spots his next mark. Security expert Rhone Quinn can't believe the wiry kid who grabs his cell phone almost gets away with it. Logic says turn the teen over to the cops, but Rhone is a man who trusts his instincts, and his gut tells him to offer the young man a job and a chance to begin a new life. Little does Rhone know that when he makes that choice it will forever change his life, too. Over the years that follow a mentor relationship turns into a unique, abiding friendship. It eventually leads to true equality between Rhone and Adam when Adam becomes a full partner in Quinn Security.Unbeknownst to Rhone, as time passes by, Adam is also falling deeply in love. With Rhone. Who isn't gay. And who doesn't know that Adam is. Then, one day, Rhone discovers the truth. Will Rhone's new awareness of Adam's feelings bind the men together even more intimately, or tear them apart for good? Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable - male/male sexual practices.

    He humiliated himself trying to pick up a cute guy, he hasn’t made any friends at school, and his stupidly hot jerk of a TA gave him a crappy grade on his paper. He’s going to drop Adam Hawkins’ film class and start fresh tomorrow after he’s had a good sulk.But Parker’s about to find out what a bad day really looks like—if he can survive the night.A virus is unleashed, transforming infected people into zombie-like killers. After these quick and deadly creepers swarm campus, Parker only escapes thanks to Adam swooping him onto the back of his trusty motorcycle. Now they're on the run—and stuck with each other.When they’re not bickering, they’re fighting off the infected in a bloody battle for survival. Their only hope is to head east to Parker's family, but orphaned Adam has a secret he’s not sure Parker will accept: he’s a werewolf. Can they trust each other enough to find some light in these dark days?

    Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.For Alex, being left alone for the weekend means having the freedom to play computer games and hang out with his friends without hassle from his mother. Then the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence. Alex begins a harrowing trek to search for his family and finds help in Darla, a travel partner he meets along the way. Together they must find the strength and skills to survive and outlast an epic disaster.

    It had the ability to grow new organs and limbs, to heal the world. Until it evolved out of control and spread like the common cold. The machine took over, the soul vanished, and the Bane were born. The Bane won't stop until every last person has been infected. With less than two percent of the human population left, mankind is on the brink of extinction.Eve knows the stories of the Evolution, the time before she wandered into the colony of Eden, unable to recall anything but her name. But she doesn't need memories to know this world is her reality. This is a world that is quickly losing its humanity, one Bane at a time.Fighting to keep one of the last remaining human colonies alive, Eve finds herself torn between her dedication to the colony, and the discovery of love. There is Avian and West – one a soldier, one a keeper of secrets. And in the end, Eve will make a choice that will change the future of mankind.The Bane is The Terminator meets The Walking Dead with a heart-twisting romance.Previously published as Eden, due to reader demand it has been revamped and rereleased as The Bane: book one in The Eden Trilogy.

    Risking everything, she acts on her instant telepathic and physical connection with Esca and encounters a level of psychic power she never knew existed.Esca can’t believe he’s finally met the female who will complete his sexual and telepathic triad. He promises himself that if they survive, he’ll take her back home, introduce her to his enigmatic First Male, Ash and pray that biology will do the rest.But nothing is ever that simple, and Soreya, Esca and Ash will have to find their own way through the ties of family and traditions to experience the full telepathic wonder of the power of three…Warning: This book contains m/m/f sexual situations.

    As a sexual companion that sustains Luo troops with human energy, she's eager for her first assignment. Fresh out of training, she's assigned to a hell of a team in a hellish situation and promptly falls for all four of them. Three of them accept her immediately, bound to her in the searing sexual circumstances of her arrival.But Shon is her hard case. He accepts her body and her energy just fine, but holds his heart back. The team leader doesn't trust his gift of berzerker rage, and his own team doesn't trust him either. She's happy to prove them wrong by taking all of him in his darkest moment...only to find the team doesn't see it as the confirmation she does. When her men disagree despite the proof she presents, Malla sees she's not really the equal partner she thought she was. If her team won't trust her judgment, then she can't trust them with her heart.When a lonely warrior who has never fully let himself go because of his "gift" of berzerker rage meets a woman who actually expects him to do so, he's shockingly tempted. In the fight of his life, Shon's team is saved because of Malla's open spirit and dazzling sexuality. But the thrill of success after the mission is ripped away when he discovers she has faced his berzerker state...alone.She trusted him to be more human than he is, and he tragically, horrifically proved her wrong. There's no way he deserves her heart, he no longer deserves her body, and he can't possibly continue with his team, facing their knowledge of what he's capable of. No one should ever face his Fury again. Broken, the team scatters, the defeat of their enemy small comfort to the shattering of their family. War takes its toll on all of them, until Shon finally sees the truth of what it means to have someone believe in him.Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, domination, dubious consent, exhibitionism, male/male sexual practices, masturbation, Ménage (m/m/m/f), spanking, violence, voyeurism.

     When Tate Gillespie is marked for death for a crime he didn’t commit, his life crumbles. In a world where ‘justice’ is meted out by a relentless military force, he’s going to need more than a mythical guardian angel. His life down to seconds, he’s saved by the mysterious X, a knife-wielding man he's never even met before. But who is X? Is he the man who threatens and kills without a second thought? Or the strangely gentle man who only seems to act that way around Tate? X is a shadow. A wraith. A man who flits through the city virtually unseen. He’s got no time for people when knives are far more reliable. X does have one weakness though—the man he's been keeping safe for years who doesn't even know it. He'd burn the whole world to keep him alive. But what he won't do is stake his claim. Tate’s not his and he needs to remember that, no matter how close they might become. With the military in hot pursuit, they’re going to need to rely on X’s skills to keep them both alive. Tate’s feelings are growing with every hour they spend together, but X is a tough nut to crack. Can two people from very different backgrounds really find common ground? Or will one of the many perils they face throughout their long journey drive them apart?It’s all about survival. Not love. Isn’t it?Exposed is a 132k action/adventure story featuring two men who couldn’t be more opposite.

    Fighting for his life amongst the dead, he keeps moving until the day he's surrounded and facing his bloody end-and shockingly, another zombie saves him. But not just any zombie... it's Dave, the first man Jay ever loved, and there's something special about him even now, in the midst of the horror around them.

    Now she must obey the one man she can't stand-and can't stop thinking about. With the enemy Imperialists gaining ground, a covert team is assembled by Ash Walker. Ten years before, Sera had lovingly submitted to Ash's dominance in the bedroom. But when he was forced into a political marriage, she refused to play mistress. His marriage now over, Ash wants Sera on his team-and back in his bed. The third team member, Brandt Pela, has an elegance to match Ash's savage sexuality. And when their undercover plan requires Sera to pose as Brandt's lover, it ignites a passion among the three of them more dangerous than their mission.

    Several days later, after a surgically neat kidnapping, she awoke to find that her world has been turned upside down. Told that she was mated to both men and altered to carry their children she finds herself thrown into a world and culture she knows nothing about, one where science, myth, and religion seem to blend seamlessly.As she tries to accept her new life with Kyrin and Daeshen, her new husbands, a hidden danger stalks the human women. For not all of the Ta’e’sha are happy to accept these women, and one expresses his contempt with rape.Note: The Ta'e'sha Chronicles: Daughters of Terra contains subject matter that may be objectionable to some readers: menage, homoerotic sexual situations, BDSM, sex while in shapeshifted form, violence.

    The most "developed" nations of the world have fallen to the shambling zombie masses. Only a few pockets of humanity survive — in places rife with high-powered weaponry, such as Somalia. In New York City, the dead walk the streets, driven by an insatiable hunger for all things living. One amongst them is different; though he shares their appetites he has retained his human intelligence. Alone among the mindless zombies, Gary Fleck is an eyewitness to the end of the world — and perhaps the evil genius behind it all. From the other side of the planet, a small but heavily-armed group of schoolgirls-turned-soldiers has come in search of desperately needed medicine. Dekalb, a former United Nations weapons inspector, leads them as their local guide. Ayaan, a crack shot at the age of sixteen, will stop at nothing to complete her mission. They think they are prepared for anything. On Monster Island they will find that there is something worse even than being undead, as Gary learns the true price of survival.