Book picks similar to
Stage 3 by Ken Stark


zombies
horror
post-apocalyptic
fiction

The Becoming


Jessica Meigs - 2011
    In the heart of Atlanta, Georgia, the Michaluk Virus has escaped the CDC, and its effects are widespread and devastating. Most of the population of the southeastern United States have become homicidal cannibals. As society rapidly crumbles under the hordes of infected, three people-Ethan Bennett, a Memphis police officer; Cade Alton, his best friend and former IDF sharpshooter; and Brandt Evans, a lieutenant in the US Marines-band together against the oncoming crush of death and terror sweeping across the world. As Cade, Brandt, and Ethan hole up in a safe house in Tupelo, others begin to join them in their bid for survival. When the infected attack and they're forced to flee, one departs to Memphis in search of answers while the others escape south to Biloxi, where they encounter more danger than they bargained for. And in Memphis, the answers that one man finds are the last answers he wanted, answers that herald a horrific possibility that there may be more to this virus than first suspected.

Unbound


A.R. Shaw - 2018
    R. Shaw brings you Dawn of Deception.In a post-apocalyptic world, Sloane Delaney struggles to keep her daughters safe. With all her neighbors gone and her abusive second husband dead, Sloane and her daughters, Mae and Wren, maintain a dangerous charade to keep looters at bay from their neighborhood. When young Nicole shows up on their doorstep, nearly dead from dehydration and starvation as a result of her father's growing paranoia, she joins the determined group as they adjust to life without most of the luxuries they had previously taken for granted. Aided by a pack of abandoned dogs, the women are able to project an image of an occupied and active neighborhood until corrupt FEMA agents arrive on the scene, threatening their hard-won sense of security. Fleeing their now-unsafe home, Sloane and her girls head for the woods and an abandoned old house Sloane is sure will be a safe haven for at least a few days. She doesn't count on the handsome and helpful Dr. Kent having also taken refuge there. With her girls' lives on the line, can Sloane learn to trust again in this dangerous new world?

Planet Urth


Jennifer Martucci - 2013
    The planet has been battered by war, its inhabitants plagued by disease and death. Few humans survived and remained unaffected. Most changed dramatically and evolved into something else entirely. Irrevocable alterations caused by chemical warfare have created a new species. North America is in ruins and has been overtaken. Humanity has fallen at the hands of mutants known as Urthmen. Seventeen year-old Avery is alive and unchanged. But she has not been immune to the harshness of the new world. She has lived on the run for much of her life, in terror. After losing her father, Avery is the sole guardian of her eight-year-old sister, June. Avery is now charged with June’s safety as well as her own, a nearly impossible task.Forced to hide deep in the forest and away from the cities overrun by Urthmen, Avery and her sister are constantly hunted. Danger awaits them at every turn. They fear they are the only human beings left, that they are the last of their kind. But are they truly alone?Find out in this raw and rousing first installment of the Planet Urth series.

Mountain Man


Keith C. Blackmore - 2011
    Living on the outskirts of a city and scavenging for whatever supplies remain after civilization died two years ago, Gus knows that every time he goes down into undead suburbia could be his last.A novel of the zombie apocalypse. *First book of a completed 4-book series.* Contains graphic language and scenes of violence. Complete series order:Book 1: Mountain ManBook 2: SafariBook 3: HellifaxBook 4: Well FedAlso :The Hospital (a single short story, also part of the collection "CauldronGristle." This story happens six months before the events of "MountainMan." )

The Borrowed World


Franklin Horton - 2015
    Life as we know it in America grinds to a halt as the electrical grid collapses, communication networks are damaged, critical bridges and dams are destroyed, and major fuel refineries go up in massive fiery clouds. When the government responds by immediately halting fuel sales to the public, Jim Powell finds himself in a terrifying predicament – trapped five hundred miles from home with a group of coworkers. With thousands of trapped travelers and scarce law enforcement, the miles between Jim and his family become a brutal gauntlet where the rules of civilized society no longer apply. As Jim puts his years of preparation and planning to the test, he is forced to ask himself if he has what it takes to make it home. Does he have the strength -- the brutality -- required to meet this new world toe-to-toe?

Nurse Alissa vs. the Zombies


Scott M. Baker - 2020
    When patients and staff in the ER begin to die, reanimate, and attack the living, Alissa must fight her way to safety to avoid becoming one of the ravenous hordes. To survive, Alissa must develop instincts and skills she did not realize she had and overcome fears no human were meant to face. Escaping the hospital will be tough enough, but can Alissa survive the nightmare gripping Boston and make it out of the city to safety?

The Final Outbreak


M.L. Banner - 2019
    Get your copy today—over 800 pages of action—this huge discount won't last long! Our End is Coming. It’s Closer Than You Think. And It’s Real. The final outbreak starts with animals and moves swiftly to humans, turning the infected violent. Cities fall as the outbreak spreads as far as the winds blow, leading to society’s end. A lucky few may survive, but for how long in a world ravaged by an always present disease? Or is all hope lost? This story is true, it just hasn’t happened… Yet. Buy The Final Outbreak now to find out how it will start and get prepared! - - - - Praise for The Final Outbreak - - - “packs a massive wallop from the first page of its prologue…” ~ Readers Favorite “This tense and vivid novel excels at creating an atmosphere of claustrophobic dread.” ~ BookLife “fast paced, well written and action packed... I loved the twist (at) the end.” ~ Brian's Book Blog Rated R for Violence and Language. Previously published as Madness (books 1 through 3), an Amazon #1 best-seller.

EMP Desolation


S.A. Ison - 2019
    His future is before him, but it is a new beginning he'd not counted on. An EMP changes the course of his life. Tomi leads his friend and other to a safe haven, but they must journey through a gauntlet of danger, betrayal and desolation. With a 90% die off rate, the once powerful United States becomes something medieval and lawless. Where desolation reigns.

The Pawn in the Portal


Nick Cole - 2016
    Ward, a tier-one operator turned mercenary, has just flung himself off the cargo deck of a doomed C-130. Now he’s out of the Drop Zone and evading the undead as a terrible new breed of hunter enters the Wyrd. But these new, faster predators might not be the only thing to fear in an apocalypse beset by zombies, nukes and killer A.I.’s. One of the last warriors of a collapsed government is planning on putting up some big numbers in this final, ultimate game of Survivor, until he finds a mysterious new companion... a stranger dressed in black.

The Hellbreakers


James N. Cook - 2018
     Alexander Muir, a once-renowned professional fighter, has spent the last six years surviving the only way he knows how: on his own. In a land where the golden rule is to make allies or die, he has stayed alive against all odds. But now, his self-imposed exile is over. In other parts of the world, those who survived the Outbreak have banded together to form militant groups with a single mission: to reclaim what is theirs. One intrepid band, the Third Colorado Volunteer Militia, has decided to challenge a place where even the bravest fear to tread—Phoenix, Arizona. And now, these two worlds—the barren isolation of a lone survivor and the emerging force of a fledgling government—are set to collide. Together, they will take on a challenge bigger than all of them. But in this fight, the dead are not the only danger… Also by James N. Cook: Surviving the Dead Series: No Easy Hope This Shattered Land Warrior Within Fire in Winter The Passenger The Darkest Place Savages The Killing Line Storm of Ghosts

Breakers


Edward W. Robertson - 2012
    In Los Angeles, Raymond and Mia James are about to lose their house. Within days, none of it will matter.When Vanessa dies of the flu, Walt is devastated. But she isn't the last. The virus quickly kills billions, reducing New York to an open grave and LA to a chaotic wilderness of violence and fires. As Raymond and Mia hole up in an abandoned mansion, where they learn to function without electricity, running water, or neighbors, Walt begins an existential walk to LA, where Vanessa had planned to move when she left him. He expects to die along the way.Months later, a massive vessel appears above Santa Monica Bay. Walt is attacked by a crablike monstrosity in a mountain stream. The virus that ended humanity wasn't created by humans. It was inflicted from outside. The colonists who sent it are ready to finish the job--and Earth's survivors may be too few and too weak to resist.

After the Ending


Lindsey Sparks (Fairleigh) - 2013
     They may have survived the apocalypse, but the Virus changed them... Grad student Dani O'Connor won't let a cross-country move end her closest friendship. But when a mysterious virus consumes the world and Dani, herself, falls violently ill, she fears she'll never see her loved ones again. After her fever finally breaks, she barely recognizes the devastated world around her. Everyone is dead. Dani is all alone. Or so she thinks... As a bartender, Zoe is used to dealing with hotheads and dirtbags, but nothing could have prepared her for the twisted thoughts of her fellow survivors. Her family is gone, and anyone left alive in the world is either sick, crazy, or changed...like her. As her newfound super senses gain strength, Zoe must learn to control them before she loses herself to madness completely. Perilous terrain spans the distance between them, and deranged survivors lurk in dark corners everywhere. Can Dani and Zoe overcome deadly attacks and unseen dangers in order to find each other? Or will they lose their way--and their lives--along the journey? After The Ending is the first book in the evocative, superpowered post-apocalyptic adventure, The Ending Series. If you like unbreakable friendships, gritty dystopian settings, and a touch of romance, then you'll love Lindsey Pogue and Lindsey Fairleigh's heart-wrenching tale. Buy After The Ending to embark on a supernatural survival story today! THE ENDING SERIES After The Ending Into The Fire Out Of The Ashes Before The Dawn The Ending Beginnings: A Collection of Stories World Before: A Collection of Stories

The Tide Series Box Set (The Tide #1-4)


Anthony J. Melchiorri - 2018
    A devastating bioweapon will change the face and fate of humanity as we know it. Captain Dominic Holland leads a crew of skilled covert operatives and scientific personnel aboard a clandestine ship dedicated to fighting chemical and biological warfare. Their missions have taken them across the world to combat sinister plots and dangerous adversaries. But their next assignment is more dangerous than any they faced before. Far off the eastern coast of the United States, intelligence officers discover a covert laboratory on an abandoned oil rig with unspeakable horrors. Twisted creatures wash ashore across the country. Hospitals are overrun by patients suffering from an incurable disease with terrifying symptoms. Dom and his team may be the only ones equipped to find out why. They embark on a globe-trotting race to unravel the apocalyptic mystery behind the bioweapon destroying civilization. But will their efforts be enough to turn the tide—or is humanity’s fate already sealed?

Capital Falling


Lance Winkless - 2019
    While a viral epidemic hammers London, Andy finds himself trapped in the epicenter, forced to protect his family. Together with his young daughter, he leads a small group of survivors toward latent refuge, all the while searching for his missing son and infantryman; this is the ultimate game of survival. With those infected displaying brutal, inhuman behavior and caught up in a climate of martial law, no one can be trusted. Old connections may help to unravel this mystery virus, but the resultant hellscape means Andy and his group meet danger at every turn. Stakes are high, and failing means a fate worse than death... ------------------------ The perfect tale for troubled times, Capital Falling delivers dark thrills and surprising sentiment—twisted, cerebral fun. You’ll race to the end like your life depends on it...

Patient Zero


L.T. Ryan - 2013
    An experiment has gone horribly wrong and threatens to wipe all traces of humanity from Earth. 3rd Ranger Battalion, Bravo Company is sent in to assist, clean up the mess before it gets out of control.They've vanished.Sean Ryder is an Air Force Pararescueman. Attached to SEAL Team 8, he believes he is on a routine rescue and recovery mission. Less than half an hour after landing in Nigeria, he knows that is not the case. And the further his mission leads him, the harder it becomes to get out alive.Patient Zero is the first book in the zombie apocalypse / post-apocalyptic series Affliction Z.