Book picks similar to
Patient Zero by Terry Tyler


post-apocalyptic
apocalypse
short-stories
sci-fi

Dead Lines


Grace Hamilton - 2018
    When a catastrophic EMP strikes, and he’s the last person a kidnapped girl speaks to before the lines go dead, he knows he can’t let her down. Especially when the circumstances are so similar to his own daughter’s disappearance. With the world falling apart around him, he wants to do nothing more than retreat to his prepper cabin. But with a fresh lead on his daughter, and another innocent girl’s life on the line, the disgraced cop will do everything in his power to track them down. Finn Meyers has lost Ava, her best, and only, friend in the world, but she knows where the missing young woman might be—and perhaps Parker’s long lost daughter. Now, Parker must form an uneasy alliance and tackle his own internal demons as the two begin a perilous journey that will take them to the headquarters of a mysterious cult in Indiana. But what they find along the way will shatter all their preconceptions—and threaten the world as they know it. Can a has-been and a has-not save the innocent, and stop a disaster from happening? This book has scenes of graphic violence, not suited for all readers.

Vita Aeterna


Jay Allan Storey - 2018
    Appraisal is supposed to be a routine right of passage. But no scenario he's ever heard of has prepared Alex for his own experience - abducted, imprisoned, and subjected to brutal medical experiments in a high-tech lab.He escapes and goes on the run, a heartbeat ahead of a ruthless army led by the most powerful man in the world. When he finally pieces together the clues behind his kidnapping, they lead to a treacherous plot that only he can derail.But to succeed, he must penetrate the First Circle, the forbidden abode of the ruling class.

I Hope You Find Me


Trish Marie Dawson - 2012
    Left to fend for herself with only a dog as her companion, she sets out on a journey to find others, leaving notes everywhere she goes…hoping that one day someone will come looking for her. When Riley meets the handsome yet mysterious Connor on the streets of Downtown San Diego, they form a bond unlike either has experienced before. When the things that go bump in the night turn out to be more than nightmares, the trio sets off for the mountains in search of an isolated resort where they can hunker down, away from the ominous shadows of the dead city streets. The peace and tranquility of the woods isn’t enough to keep the darkness away for long though and soon Riley and Connor are forced to accept that the World and the few people left alive in it will never be the same. The shadows of their past may haunt them forever…threatening to destroy what little dreams they have left of a future unless they fight to stay in the light and never lose their hope. 1/9 Family and Friends: The dog and I have left to find my Mom. Most of you know where her place is, the corner of 9th and F. I’ll leave a note there before I move on. Everyone here is…gone. I can’t stay. I’m not sure when or if I will come back here but leave a message anyway. I hope you find me. – Riley

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.

The Last Rail-Rider


Jason Gurley - 2014
    The empty towns. The rusted-out cars. The corpses, everywhere.He doesn't know why he rides the rails. He just does. The trains never take him away from the ruin. The trains never take him anywhere.Until one day they carry him to a little town called Black Hole, Kentucky, and he meets a strange woman who knows him.Who knows everything.

Prophecy


Kyle West - 2015
    What was once known as the Wasteland is now controlled by the Annaran Covenant, a theocracy that rules with an iron fist.To the east of the Covenant lies the Red Wild, the abode of the human Elekai. Each side believes that their Goddess, Annara, has called for the other's extermination -- a prophecy that will be fulfilled during the end of days, known as the Second Darkness.Living in the Covenant's capital of Colonia, seventeen-year-old Shanti Roshar discovers she has the ability to speak to dragons -- and when she catches the eye of the Covenant's Hunters, her life will never be the same.Note: The Xenoworld Saga is a follow-up series to The Wasteland Chronicles. Start that series for free here: amzn.com/B00AJF2130

The Stranded


Hugh Howey - 2012
    I never marketed this novelette; I failed to mention it on my website. What happened next was remarkable: People started reading it, and reviewing it, and talking about it.There was never any intention to create a series. It wasn't until the demand for "more" became so great that I launched into the next four books, each one growing longer and longer, until I was wrapping up the story line with this novel, a full 60,000 word WOOL 5.I would like to humbly thank everyone who has come along on this journey with me; it has been the most rewarding experience of my young writing career. Your emails, your reviews, your comments on my website, every ounce of your enthusiasm . . . it has combined to grant me enough satisfaction and confidence to last the rest of my writing days.For those of you who suffered the wait, I hope you'll find it was worth it. This is WOOL 5. Brace yourselves. And enjoy.

Nano Z Trilogy Box Set


Brad Knight - 2016
     Fired from his job of twenty-two years, Mack is contemplating his bleak prospects when things take a turn from bad to worse. While desperately trying to survive, he unwittingly helps Amber, a fourteen year old girl with a dark, troubled past. Brought together by overwhelming circumstances, Mack tries his best to protect her as they travel through lawless lands with roaming undead. But what they are forced to endure may be more than either of them can handle. Contains all three books in the series: Nano Z Nano Z: Salvation Nano Z: Oblivion

Zoo 2


James Patterson - 2016
    The planet is still under violent siege by ferocious animals. Humans are their desperate prey. Except some humans are evolving, mutating into a savage species that could save civilization-or end it.

Story Time


Linell Jeppsen - 2011
    In the not-too-distant future, a young woman bears witness to the end of her world.Earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions rock the planet, reducing cities to smoking rubble, burying entire islands and coastlines beneath cataclysmic waves.Religious fervor and human evil erupt and entwine, becoming a maelstrom of madness in the days after, bringing with it the horror of apocalyptic war.As a population in the depths of despair struggles to overcome insurmountable odds, can a single glimmer of hope flare into a beacon for the survivors?This is her tale…the world is ours…and now, it’s STORY TIME.

Caligatha


Matt Spire - 2015
    Jericho, a brilliant scientist riddled with guilt, attempts to recreate his deceased wife and child, only to wind up in a drug-fueled haze in Caligatha. When the two meet and form a rocky relationship, they start to suspect something is not quite right about their reality. Meanwhile, in another timeline, survivors of the worldwide plague attempt to understand how it all went wrong, and survive in a near-future wasteland of high technology and chaos. The evidence they find brings them all together in a shocking conclusion. A thrilling exploration of the dark fringes of a derailed-singularity world: nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence alter the rules of human existence. But human drives and motives remain unchanged at their best——and at their most terrifying.

A Hero: (CORPORATION WARS Book 1)


Stephen Arseneault - 2019
    Our military hasn't fought a war in centuries. Politics pervades our failing response. Some will lose everything. Others will surrender everything.Rayford Tyvos Jackson just wants to provide his family with a decent life. A tough economy forces difficult choices, placing his family on a remote colony. Then the Togmal attack. Probing at first, they are unwilling to talk or negotiate. All-out war will follow.Ray is not one to sit idle. He will do what it takes to see his family safe. Safe however, may not be an option. Hard times are coming with the invasion and Ray will want revenge.If you like the common man being forced into a hero's roll, you will love this book. Pick up a plasma rifle and join the fight with Ray. You won't be sorry. Get reading on this epic adventure today!

Wizard of the Wasteland


Jon Cronshaw - 2017
     Terrified of being alone with his demons, Abel joins the travelling showman, passing off pre-apocalypse technology as objects of magic and intrigue. When they stumble upon a group of children, enslaved by the brutal drug gang The Family, Abel must risk everything he has to save them. But having the wizard at his side might not be enough...

Anywhere But Here


Jason D. Morrow - 2014
    But what she finds is a place wrought with mystery, shady dealings, and more instability than she anticipates. The Starborn Ascension takes place 57 years before The Starborn Uprising, and can be read independently.

Touch (Book One): A Zombie Sci-Fi Thriller


Steven Jenkins - 2021