Book picks similar to
Making Monsters by Joe Turk


science-fiction
dystopia
apocalyptic
fiction

WIPE - Part 1 (A Post-Apocalyptic Story)


Joseph A. Turkot - 2014
     Way out in the sea, impossible to reach. It rises gray and bare, up and up, and then out of sight. As if the sea gave birth to something meant to connect it to the sky. I’ve never seen the top. Maze says she’s not convinced it has one. And I’ve always taken its impossible presence for what the Fathers say it is: a relic from before the Wipe. The hubris of pre-Wipe man, and a reminder for us all as to why it is God’s Will that we never return to technology. But Maze suddenly has it in her head that the tower means something else, something different than the history the Fathers have given us. I think she’s a conspiracy theorist. Until she shows me the map. Just the word mirror scribbled in red ink, next to a marking, and she expects me to go into the Deadlands with her. As long as I’ve known of her recklessness, and as much of a bad influence as she is on me, I can’t say no. Because while she doesn’t know they exist, I can’t stop my feelings for her. And I start to realize, when we first pass over the rotting gates, into the ruin that was a city, that it will take something much more than either of us ever knew we had in order to survive the truth.

Repulse: Europe at War 2062-2064


Chris James - 2016
    The climactic engagement of this war, Operation Repulse, took place from August 2063 to February 2064, and was the most significant clash of arms on European soil in four hundred years.

The Last Girl


Joe Hart - 2016
    Medical science and governments around the world scramble in an effort to solve the problem, but twenty-five years later there is no cure, and an entire generation grows up with a population of fewer than a thousand women.Zoey and some of the surviving young women are housed in a scientific research compound dedicated to determining the cause. For two decades, she’s been isolated from her family, treated as a test subject, and locked away—told only that the virus has wiped out the rest of the world’s population.Captivity is the only life Zoey has ever known, and escaping her heavily armed captors is no easy task, but she’s determined to leave before she is subjected to the next round of tests…a program that no other woman has ever returned from. Even if she’s successful, Zoey has no idea what she’ll encounter in the strange new world beyond the facility’s walls. Winning her freedom will take brutality she never imagined she possessed, as well as all her strength and cunning—but Zoey is ready for war.

The Road to Hell


Peter Cawdron - 2011
    Democracy has been suspended while the reconstruction effort lifts the country out of the ruins of conflict. America's fate lies in the hands of a genetically-engineered soldier with the ability to move through time.The Road to Hell deals with a futuristic world and the advent of limited time travel. It explores social issues such as the nature of trust and the conflict between loyalty and honesty.

Collapse


Richard Stephenson - 2012
    With the American people deep in The Second Great Depression and two of the most powerful hurricanes on record to contend with, the United States is in no condition to deal with hidden terrorists on its soil, maniacal politicians, and the most formidable military threat the world has seen since the Third Reich. This is the story of three men from three very different walks of life: Howard Beck, the world's richest man, also diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome; Richard Dupree, ex-Navy SEAL turned escaped convict; and Maxwell Harris, a crippled, burned-out chief of police of a small Texas town. At first, they must overcome their own struggles and fight for their survival against impossible odds. In the end, the unlikely trio must band together to save their beloved country from COLLAPSE. Empires topple. Nations crumble. Civilization is fragile. In 2027, America will fall.

Hood


Evan Pickering - 2016
    No more student loans, house parties, video games. The world is now a place of pure survival. Lucky for him, he's pretty damn good with a gun in his hand. Learning to live with pulling the trigger is something else, though. Two years after the collapse of American civilization, hidden away in the mid-Atlantic countryside in the small town of Clearwater, a group of survivors led by a young marksman named Hood and an ex-cop by the name of Whiskey have found security in obscurity. Raging through the remnants of the northeast, two kings, the Kaiser and the Crusader, fight a war for control of the land. Hood, Whiskey and the Clearwater crew survive by stealing just enough from the Kaiser to keep the town going. But they cannot stay hidden away forever. . . For reasons he doesn't understand, Hood is pulled into a war he wants no part of. A war he cannot stop, a war that puts the lives of those he loves most on the line. Kind-hearted, Idealistic and a goofball at heart, Hood must embrace the stark reality of violence and ruthless survival that defines these new dark ages. If you loved The Last of Us, I Am Legend, or The Road, you won't want to miss HOOD!Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ASIN B01AMPP15G here.

The Liar


Bobby Adair - 2018
    Was it a terrorist acting alone, or the beginning of something much more frightening? Tommy Joss is working long hours, making a life for his daughter and wife. He doesn't have time to worry about politics and the endless arguments pouring across his social media feed. He has debts to pay and a boss to keep happy. When he returns from a business trip to find his house dark and empty, he discovers blood on the floor and a cryptic message painted on the door. His wife and daughter are missing. Kidnapped, dead, or disappeared for their political views, he doesn't know which. But, his search to find them will turn deadly for their captors and will put Tommy in the middle of a war he never had any interest in fighting. The Liar's Apocalypse Trilogy Book 1 - The Liar Book 2 - The Fool (https://amzn.to/2TfcEMr) Book 3 - The Dead

Judgment Day


James F. David - 2005
    . . especially when Ira Breitling is handed a divine gift---an interstellar engine that can lift humanity into the heavens. Crow---awash in riches, commanding nations, supremely powerful---swears eternal vengeance on Breitling and his Fellowship of the Faithful . . . and on all humankind.The reign of Lucifer---prophesized as a thousand years of darkness---is about to begin. With the world falling fast under Crow's violent sway, Breitling's Fellowship---having only one choice---seizes their divine gift, their faster-than-light flight, and flees the earth. Their journey takes them beyond the distant stars to a perfect planet uncorrupted by Crow and his Kingdom of Darkness.But even as Manuel Crow razes and racks the Earth, Revelations' scourge is not yet sated. Crows eyes the heavens, fixed on the Faithful.Ira Breitling and the Fellowship must defend not only themselves but the soul of all humanity: A Kingdom of Light against the Forces of Darkness. Will the Fellowship prevail . . . or fall under Revelations' reign?Let the battle begin.

Post-Human Omnibus


David Simpson - 2014
    What will happen when humans can live forever? Or die with just a few keystrokes? How will our governments react as they lose control of their citizens' data? And how do you feel about uploading your mind into a computer so that you may live on after death?The Post-Human Omnibus is the perfect book for these times. It's an epic series of stories that explore all sides of humanity's future through science fiction, from both near-future dystopias to far-future utopias (and everything in between). Written by award winning author & TEDx speaker David Simpson, this collection explores many different genres from thrillers to romances to mysteries and much more.

Two Tribes


Chris Beckett - 2020
    Like most people she knows, Michelle voted leave. The two are drawn to each other despite their differences and begin a relationship.Writing in a bleaker, climate-ravaged future, from which the political concerns of the today seem very remote, Zoe turns this personal story into a reflection on the divisions we face, the ideologies we prioritize and questions: what next?

The Hauntings of Playing God


Chris Dietzel - 2014
    All that remains is an old woman and a gymnasium full of unresponsive bodies. Each day, another storm approaches, threatening to destroy the building they call home. Each night, a series of nightmares leaves the woman screaming for help. Alone and overwhelmed, will the final member of the human race be thought of as a caretaker or as a monster? THE HAUNTINGS OF PLAYING GOD is a story about the possibilities each life holds. It is also a lesson about the importance of believing in something greater than yourself.A Great De-evolution Story.

Survive (Live Free or Die #1)


Shawn Underhill - 2017
     Set against the backdrop of the isolated forests north of New Hampshire's White Mountains, while camping on family land, Tom and Lori Thornton (and their dog, Buck) find themselves in a sudden SHTF scenario. No cellular service. Dangerous roads. Limited supplies. And far more questions than answers. After the shocking murder of Tom's uncle by a band of looters, the couple's already faltering marriage reaches the breaking point amid the chaos. Trust and loyalties are challenged, old friendships are put to the test, and while immediate answers and solutions elude them, they must rely on raw instincts in order to survive.

Showdown


Dan Moren - 2019
    But Commonwealth operative Simon Kovalic knows nothing ever goes to plan. So, when a duplicitous bounty hunter lives up to his reputation, Kovalic’s ready—just maybe not ready enough.Now he and his team must get offworld, before their enemies catch up with them…

The Second Universe in Flames Trilogy - Books 4 to 6


Christian Kallias - 2017
    Powers Unlocked. An Alliance is Born.Ten thousand years ago, the Furies nearly exterminated all life in the universe before being defeated by a coalition of worlds led by the Olympians.Or so everyone thought.Now they're back, and a new reign of terror has begun.

Trust a Few


E.M. Swift-Hook - 2017
    But the past is hard to escape. The 'City has always been a dangerous place to live: now it's lethal. Not only are the crime lords exploiting its lawless streets, it is also the unwitting test bed for a sinister corporate technology. As Jaz tries to find an old friend who needs him, can a new ally help? Can he even be trusted? 'Trust A Few' is the first book in 'Haruspex', a tense new, sci-fi trilogy from Fortune's Fools.