Book picks similar to
Mass Extinction Event: The Complete First Series by Amy Cross
zombies
apocalyptic
apocalypse
post-apocalyptic
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.
Awakening
Jeff Olah - 2016
Ethan Runner was hungover, pissed off and once again late for work. He didn't care about anything or anyone, but that was about to change; it had to.Six days ago there were reports of a mysterious illness. People were actually attacking and devouring one another. The world was told not to worry, that there wasn't a reason to panic, that these were isolated events.This morning the human race found out that this was a lie.The infection took hold quickly and destroyed everything in its path. Millions perished every hour. Was this nature's way of thinning the herd, or was this something much more disturbing?The Last Outbreak follows Ethan Runner, a clinically depressed armored truck driver, as he and a small group of strangers fight through impossible situations to free themselves and one another from this hell.AWAKENING is the story of their survival.Hold on... this is only the beginning.
GAMELAND: Season One
Saul W. Tanpepper - 2012
Connected to their Infected Players via neural implants (government-mandated in the event of an outbreak), Operators pit the Undead against one another using remote gaming controllers in a high stakes game of money, violence, and power. For the poor, the televised action on state-controlled Media streams is horrifying yet powerfully addictive. Volunteering to become an Undead Player is strictly forbidden, but fame and money lure some to The Game.On a whim, a small group of computer hackers and gamers decides to sneak onto the island, hoping to catch a glimpse of the uncontrolled Infecteds, unimplanted victims of an outbreak that took place there over a decade earlier. But while breaking in turns out to be a lot easier than any of them could have ever imagined, getting back out is one a hell of a killer. As they soon discover, when you play, you play to win. Because, if you die, you become part of The Game. The series consists of eight episodes publishing monthly through December 2012. Also available in paperback.EPISODE 1: Deep Into the GameZpocalypto gamer Jessica Daniels and her gang of code jackers decide to break into Long Island's Gameland hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the Infected Undead, risking arrest and an extension to their Life Service Commitment (a civil or military obligation fulfilled after death). But getting past the EM field, the wall surrounding the island, the mined waters, requires the addition of a stranger to their fold. Tensions within the group rise. So do the risks. After a near-fatal accident during preparation nearly takes the life of one of their members, emotions run dangerously high. They press on and find an abandoned wasteland like nothing they ever expected. Excitement quickly turns to dread as the dangers become all too clear.Approximately 50,000 words (~185 pages)EPISODE 2: FailsafeJessie and Kelly clash after one of their group gets stranded among the Infected Undead, forcing Kelly to make a rash decision which will ultimately deliver them into the hands of those who would turn them all into mindless players in The Game.Approximately 50,000 words (~185 pages)EPISODE 3: Deadman's SwitchUnable to escape from Long Island because of the failsafe device implanted inside their brains, the group digs in until they can devise a way to neutralize it. Jessie is anointed as their leader despite Jake's claims that she is unfit. A final desperate attempt is made to leave, setting into motion a sequence of events that will result in one of them dead, another infected, and all of them running for their lives.Approximately 52,000 words (~192 pages)EPISODE 4: Sunder the Hollow OnesA mutiny in the group splits the members, leaving Jessie out in the cold. As she continues to struggle to fulfill her promise to bring everyone safely home, a chance encounter with one of Gameland's residents dredges up deeply buried memories, leaving her feeling haunted and doubtful about her future.Approximately 44,000 words (~160 pages)EPISODE 5: Prometheus WeptAfter one member of their group is infected, Jessie makes a decision to hand over another to a mysterious group of Undead sympathizers in exchange for a promised antidote. But will she be able to collect the medicine and return before it's too late? Will the medicine work? And will she be able to get them all back home again?Approximately 41,000 words (~150 pages)EPISODE 6: Kingdom of PlayersArmed with a potential antiserum to the reanimation virus, Jessica races back to Gameland to save her infected friend. Waylaid along the way, she must fight for her life to save another. Will she make it back in time? Or will her friend die and return as one of the Undead?Approximately 41,000 words (~150 pages)EPISODE 7: Tag, You're DeadTorn between rescuing Ashley from the homicidal Ben and staying with Jake, who's been infected, Jessie, Kelly and Reggie must carefully plan their next move. But Reggie falls ill and the Undead break into their stronghold. Soon they're fighting for their lives in a battle that will lead all of the group to their darkest hour.Approximately 47,000 words (~170 pages)EPISODE 8: Jacker's CodeThe shocking conclusion to the high-tech horror thriller, GAMELAND. Jessie and the remaining gamers and hackers struggle against all odds to escape Gameland and Long Island, even though some of them have been infected with the zombie virus. Determined to do whatever is necessary to get home, they will have to face some of the most difficult decisions of their lives. But even if they're successful, will they ever be able to go back to the lives they so recklessly left behind?The world is suddenly a very different place from the one they left behind, and not all monsters live behind walls.Approximately 54,000 words (~196 pages)
PODs
Michelle K. Pickett - 2013
Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul. After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters. Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.
Tankbread
Paul Mannering - 2011
Feeding the undead a steady diet of cloned people called Tankbread, the survivors live in a dangerous world on the brink of final extinction.One outlaw courier must go on a journey through the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Australia. Fighting his way into the very heart of the apocalypse in the desperate search for a way to save the last humans and destroy the undead threat.His only companion is a girl with an extraordinary secret. Her name is Else and she's Tankbread.
The Harvesting
Melanie Karsak - 2012
Raised by the town's medium, and dubbed the "weird" girl, the last thing she wants is to go home. When Layla gets a desperate phone call to return just as a mysterious outbreak sweeps the country, Layla's instincts urge her to go. Good thing, because the dead are rising. The town's residents, including the ex who jilted her, will need Layla's help if they hope to survive.
The Last Survivors: the Complete Series
Bobby Adair - 2019
Technology has been reduced to legend, monsters roam the forests, and fear reigns supreme. But that is just the beginning. The wind-borne spores are spreading, disfiguring men and twisting their minds, turning them into creatures that threaten to destroy the townships. Among the townsfolk, political and the religious, dissension is spreading. Through it all, a mother must protect her son.
The Complete 6-Book Last Survivors Series - All in this one edition
book 1 - The Last Survivors book 2 - The Last Escape book 3 - The Last Humanity book 4 - The Last Command book 5 - The Last Refuge book 6 - The Last Conquest
The Zombie Chronicles
Chrissy Peebles - 2012
When they get caught in a flood during a rainstorm, the group is forced to take refuge. They are thrust into a mystery they can't explain, and when things slowly begin to unravel, they learn they have to play by a new set of rules.IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a warning to those readers who are looking for a more violent read with gruesome descriptions of blood and gore. This is NOT that type of book. There is lots of zombie action, but this particular story is based more on the action, drama, and survival aspects.word count = 61,805
Nomad
Matthew Mather - 2015
Ben Rollins, head of Harvard's exoplanet research team, is told by NASA after being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night. His first instinct is to call his daughter, Jessica, who's vacationing in Italy with his wife. "Something's coming," he tells them. "A hundred times the mass of the sun. We can't see it, don't know what it is yet, but they're calling it Nomad--and in just months, the Earth may be destroyed."But what is it? And how did they miss detecting it until now? In a frantic race against time, Dr. Rollins must unravel Nomad's secrets. A mysterious clue surfaces in his old research papers from the end of the Cold War, more than thirty years earlier...The world erupts into chaos as the end approaches--and Ben discovers that his wife and daughter are trapped in Europe. The key to humanity's survival rests in the final answers Dr. Rollins pieces together, in the midst of his desperate scramble across continents to find his family before Nomad swallows the planet.MORE ABOUT NOMADA story of family and redemption set amid a brand new category of cataclysm--all the more plausible and terrifying as the science behind it is vetted by a team of world-class astrophysicists from CERN, SETI, the Keck Observatory and more. It even has its own simulation video, included at the end of the book.
Deadlocked
A.R. Wise - 2012
In his struggle, he will put into motion events that will eventually help to reveal the secret to how the plague began.Deadlocked 2: Laura struggles to protect her daughters with the help of a young boat captain. She will be forced to endure unthinkable ordeals in her journey to protect those who are most important to her.Deadlocked 3: Billy heads into the zombie infested city to search for his mother. Along the way, he encounters a member of the military and two new friends to help him learn the truth about what happened to the last living member of his family.Deadlocked 4: The characters of the series are faced with their greatest challenge yet as the most innocent among them are in mortal danger. The plague's origin is uncovered, and the people responsible reveal themselves in this final story of the Deadlocked series.
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.
Apocalypticon
Clayton Smith - 2014
Unfortunately, that "normal" includes collapsing skyscrapers, bands of bloodthirsty maniacs, and a dwindling cache of survival supplies. After watching his family, friends, and most of the non-sadistic elements of society crumble around him, Patrick decides it's time to cross one last item off his bucket list. He’s going to Disney World. This hilarious, heartfelt, gut-wrenching odyssey through post-apocalyptic America is a pilgrimage peppered with peril, as fellow survivors Patrick and Ben encounter a slew of odd characters, from zombie politicians and deranged survivalists to a milky-eyed oracle who doesn't have a lot of good news. Plus, it looks like Patrick may be hiding the real reason for their mission to the Magic Kingdom...
The Remaining
D.J. Molles - 2012
On the surface, a plague ravages the planet, infecting over 90% of the populace. The bacterium burrows through the brain, destroying all signs of humanity and leaving behind little more than base, prehistoric instincts. The infected turn into hyper-aggressive predators, with an insatiable desire to kill and feed. Some day soon, Captain Harden will have to open the hatch to his bunker, and step out into this new wasteland, to complete his very simple mission: Subvenire Refectus.To Rescue and Rebuild.
The End is Nigh
John Joseph AdamsNancy Kress - 2014
Death. War. Pestilence. These are the harbingers of the biblical apocalypse, of the End of the World. In science fiction, the end is triggered by less figurative means: nuclear holocaust, biological warfare/pandemic, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm.But before any catastrophe, there are people who see it coming. During, there are heroes who fight against it. And after, there are the survivors who persevere and try to rebuild. THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH will tell their stories.Edited by acclaimed anthologist John Joseph Adams and bestselling author Hugh Howey, THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH is a series of three anthologies of apocalyptic fiction. THE END IS NIGH focuses on life before the apocalypse. THE END IS NOW turns its attention to life during the apocalypse. And THE END HAS COME focuses on life after the apocalypse.THE END IS NIGH features all-new, never-before-published works by Hugh Howey, Paolo Bacigalupi, Jamie Ford, Seanan McGuire, Tananarive Due, Jonathan Maberry, Robin Wasserman, Nancy Kress, Charlie Jane Anders, Ken Liu, and many others.
I, Zombie
Hugh Howey - 2012
It will offend most anyone, so proceed with caution or not at all.And be forewarned: This is not a zombie book. This is a different sort of tale. It is a story about the unfortunate, about those who did not get away. It is a human story at its rotten heart. It is the reason we can't stop obsessing about these creatures, in whom we see all too much of ourselves.