Book picks similar to
Collapse by Mark Lukens


zombies
horror
post-apocalyptic
fantasy

Zero Day


Bobby Adair - 2013
    Disturbing news footage is flooding the cable news channels. People are worried. People are frightened. But Zed Zane is oblivious. Zed needs to borrow rent money from his parents. He gets up Sunday morning, drinks enough tequila to stifle his pride and heads to his mom’s house for a lunch of begging, again.But something is wrong. There's blood in the foyer. His mother's corpse is on the living room floor. Zed's stepdad, Dan is wild with crazy-eyed violence and attacks Zed when he comes into the house. They struggle into the kitchen. Dan's yellow teeth tear at Zed's arm but Zed grabs a knife and stabs Dan, thirty-seven times, or so the police later say.With infection burning in his blood, Zed is arrested for murder but the world is falling apart and he soon finds himself back on the street, fighting for his life among the infected who would kill him and the normal people, who fear him.

Summer


V.L. Dreyer - 2013
    Within a year, it had decimated our world. Our species is on the verge of extinction. Only a few of us have survived; those of us lucky enough to be born with a natural immunity to the plague. We scavenge amongst the ruins of our old civilizations, picking out a living from the devastation.Ten years ago, I watched my family die one by one. Now, I am alone. The year is 2024; it has been a decade since the virus reduced humanity to a scattering of survivors strewn out across the world.The rules that governed our society are gone.Without laws to protect the innocent, I have seen the worst of humanity throughout the years. Now, I have found a new family who are determined to show me the best. But a fresh mutation of the virus has started turning the harmless, pathetic infected into monstrous predatory creatures bent on our destruction; even the wildlife is turning against us.We are forced to leave our home and flee for our lives. It is only through unity that we stand any chance of survival. Enemies wait around every turn. For the sake of our children and our children’s children, we must find some way to survive and flourish again. If we fail, then the human species will cease to exist.My name is Sandy McDermott, and I am a survivor. This is my story.

Phobia


Jack Hunt - 2016
    The only hope of survival is retreating to their cottage on one of the isolated islands in the St. Lawrence River. Easy for Frank, he's already there but when his daughter suffers a major setback, Frank is forced out of his comfort zone.As riots ensue and electrical fences are breached, the H9N3 Agora Virus is unleashed and becomes unstoppable. Transportation systems cease, grocery stores are looted, hospitals become infectious morgues, and chaos erupts.Now his greatest fear is about to become his reality. Frank must embark on a dangerous journey into the heart of an infected country, to rescue his daughter before society collapses.

Spore


Kenny Soward - 2020
    In the race to produce as much as we could... something went wrong.Tired of the usual post-apocalyptic tale? Welcome to your new addiction.SPORE is a new, thrilling post-apocalyptic survival saga from #1 best-selling authors Mike Kraus and Kenny Soward.A billion acres of food have been wiped off the map overnight.A mysterious illness, somehow connected to America's agriculture collapse, tears through the country - and the world - like a hot knife through butter, killing millions as it spreads.Pockets of survivors are forced to trek west, seeking shelter and food as they fight against the disease that lives in the air and soil around them.As death and destruction spread and the country collapses in upon itself, those left behind will be forced to work together to survive, lest they be consumed by the spores.

Rise of the Dead


Jeremy Dyson
    He lived in a world of formulas and equations. A statistician in a controlled society where everything had become predictably mundane. That world disappeared the day the dead got up and began attacking the living.Now, the end is here. Blake finds himself fighting for his life in a world that is rapidly spiraling out of control. He struggles to keep himself alive and must risk everything to find his family.Along the way, Blake finds himself thrust among other unlikely survivors. Together they must adapt to the realities of the undead world, or join the legion of zombies. The characters must overcome their conditioned human apathy and come together if they have any chance of survival. Rise of the Dead chronicles the first moments of the zombie apocalypse. While the story is a fast-paced thrill ride through an ever-growing zombie horde, the novel aims to draw upon familiar themes as those found in the Romero classic films.

Fight to Survive


Dave Bowman
    The surviving few are left to find their way among the ashes of civilization. Chaos reigns. What if your preparations weren't enough? Nick thought he was ready. He has a lodge in the mountains in New Mexico, packed full of supplies and ammo. He thought he could protect his family, but the virus took them anyway. Soon, he finds others that rely on him. With everything lost, can he find the strength in himself to go on? Could you face your greatest fears? Liz is trapped in Albuquerque. A dangerous battle rages around her, and she doesn't have long to live if she stays. The only way out is through the mountains, and there's only one man who can take her. But can she put her faith in a stranger's promise? Only a few survived the outbreak, but that was just the beginning. Now they'll have to fight harder than ever to stay alive. Fight to Survive is Book 1 in a post-apocalyptic thriller series about people pushing past their limits as they try to survive the end of the world.

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?

What's Left of My World


C.A. Rudolph - 2016
    Ever since she was little, she had been taught how to live and survive outdoors, and how to use firearms to protect herself and those around her. Some of the training had been a bit extreme. Or had it been? Many of her questions were answered the day the world as she knew it ended. Now, the skills she had been taught serve an essential purpose. They keep her and those she cares about alive. Even in the sparsely-populated mountains of West Virginia, where she and her family have been forced to relocate for their safety after the collapse, peril lurks around every corner. Normal life has taken on a whole new meaning for Lauren, her family, and the community they have become a part of. In this different world, the new status quo is self-preservation. There is no more middle ground. People either live, or they die. Lauren’s father didn’t make it home on the day the world changed forever, and she misses him more than anything. Now, in What’s Left of My World, she and her family must learn to endure life’s horrors—without him.

Dead South


Zach Bohannon - 2020
    Society is broken, and most who remain have banded together in small camps and communities.Jon South is not like most other survivors.After losing his wife and son nearly two years into the pandemic, Jon now wanders the country roads and woods of rural Tennessee, a vigilante taking his revenge out on the undead monsters that took his family from him. He lives in solitary, and with nothing more to live for, he plans to die alone, sooner rather than later.But after coming to the aid of a pair of strangers out in the woods being attacked by men, Jon learns that he might have been fighting the wrong monsters the entire time.

Coldbrook


Tim Lebbon - 2012
    Its scientists had achieved the impossible: a gateway to a new world. Theirs was to be the greatest discovery in the history of mankind, but they had no idea what they were about to unleash.With their breakthrough comes disease and now it is out and ravaging the human population. The only hope is a cure and the only cure is genetic resistance: an uninfected person amongst the billions dead.In the chaos of destruction there is only one person that can save the human race.But will they find her in time?

Protectors


Michael Robertson - 2018
    He needs more freedom than is given to the average citizen in Edin. He needs to win the next protectors' apprenticeship. Without it, he can't be with Matilda. And what is a life, no matter how safe, without love? Spike Johnson has enjoyed the freedom and safety of a youth living in Edin. The diseased hordes outside the city’s walls might as well be on the other side of the planet. He spends as much time as he can with his best friend, and the girl he loves, Matilda. But all of that’s about to change. Tomorrow, Spike turns eighteen. In two days' time, he has to go on national service and fight in the war against the diseased for six months. Only half the cadets come back alive. But he needs to do more than survive. Matilda is due to go on national service at the same time. Faced with the prospect of losing her life and her love, she also has to leave behind a little brother who needs her. A lot can go wrong in the six months she’ll be away for. For the average citizen, national service marks the end of freedom. For those who survive, their life becomes one confined to their home district. They work in their district, live in their district, and fall in love with someone from their district. Matilda is from a different district to Spike. Falling for someone from another district is the pursuit of protectors, politicians, and fools. Spike isn’t a fool and has no desire of becoming a politician. His only route to freedom is to win the next protectors’ apprenticeship. With just one cadet from every national service cycle being picked for the program, Spike is going to have to be better than all of those around him to stand a chance. Without it, he can't be with Matilda. Without Matilda, he has nothing. And with Matilda needing to get back to her brother as soon as she can, she can't increase their chances of success by fighting for the apprenticeship too. The battle for Spike's and Matilda's future happiness rests squarely on his shoulders. But before they get to that, they both need to make sure they survive ... Protectors is the first gripping book in the Beyond These Walls post-apocalyptic series. If you like breath-taking action with high-stakes, and characters who risk everything for freedom, then you’ll love Michael Robertson’s thrilling novel!!!

Unleashed


Dirk Patton - 2013
    Nuclear bombs destroy cities and the widespread release of nerve gas sends the majority of the surviving population into a murderous rage. Rescuing a woman who survived the attacks he must lead her to safety as Atlanta burns, raging infected roam unchecked and society disintegrates into savagery.

The Purge of Babylon


Sam Sisavath - 2013
    That was all it took. Creatures that once lived in the shadows, hidden from humankind, have risen, spreading like a plague across the globe over the course of a single night. Their numbers growing exponentially through infection, these seemingly unkillable creatures have swallowed up whole cities and collapsed unprepared governments. Survivors call it The Purge. Against all odds, a disparate group of survivors has emerged from that blood-soaked night that devastated the planet and reduced humanity to an endangered species. Among the survivors are two ex-Army Rangers, a businesswoman, and a third-year medical student. But surviving The Purge was one thing – staying alive is another matter entirely. Hope exists in the countryside, in the form of a self-sustaining underground facility designed to withstand any calamity. But in order to reach its safety, the survivors must travel hundreds of treacherous miles, with the night – and the creatures that dwell within it – always at their backs. The rules are simple: stay out of the dark, load up on silver bullets, and whatever you do, stay alive. The road to salvation has begun …

Escape the Virus


Ryan Westfield - 2019
    No one is safe.Albuquerque, NM is quickly overrun. People drop like flies. And with no one left to keep things running, they'll soon be plunged into darkness. City services grind to a halt. Those who manage to stay uncontaminated are left to compete for quickly-dwindling supplies.Matt's a normal office worker with an eye for being prepared. But now that a real catastrophe has hit, he quickly realizes that he's not prepared enough. Much of his gear is back at home, and he's trapped at the office. Will he be able to cross a city that's quickly descending into chaos?Matt's coworker, Jamie, finds herself flung into the violence and insanity. Her only way to survive? Pair up with someone who seems to have it figured out. For her, that's Matt. Her only problem? Their handful of dates a month ago didn't exactly end well.Escape the Virus is book 1 of Last Pandemic, a post-apocalyptic survival thriller series. It deals with real people fighting for their survival every inch of the way.

Rain


Shaun Harbinger - 2014
    Trapped in a dead end job and spending his weekends gaming, Alex is coasting through life at his own pace. But one fateful weekend, he agrees to go hiking with his pal Mike. Mike’s girlfriend, Elena, is bringing her friend Lucy along and that is good enough reason for Alex to endure gruelling hikes along a mountain range in Wales. The day the four friends hit the mountains, the outbreak begins. Day Z has arrived. Alex’s radio receives mysterious reports of savage attacks in London before switching to the Emergency Broadcast System. The dead are rising, and the living must fight for survival. Fighting hordes of zombies and avoiding army patrols, Alex and his friends must reach the coast, and the safety of the sea. But then their problems will just begin…