Book picks similar to
Instant Darkness by Mark J. Russell


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Wormwood


Micah Ackerman - 2014
    Regularly suffering from panic attacks triggered by news reports of world catastrophes, he can barely handle his everyday life even when rationally, the events should not affect him. Nate becomes a prepper to help him cope with the anxiety, stocking a makeshift shelter. So when nuclear disaster actually strikes home, Nate must employ truly heroic courage or fold to his fears. But in the aftermath of the bombs, it quickly becomes apparent that surviving the attack is just the beginning—there is far worse yet to come. Wormwood is a taut, post-apocalyptic thriller told from the perspective of three main characters: flawed hero Nate; Jeanette, his intelligent love interest; and Simon, the unstable leader of their survivor community.

Families First: A Post-Apocalyptic Next World Series


Lance K. Ewing - 2019
    As the country descends into chaos and anarchy, one man makes an epic decision in order to save his loved ones and find a place of safety. From their home in McKinney, Texas, Lance prepares to lead his wife and three young sons, along with an assorted group of friends and neighbors, on a long and treacherous journey across the country, towards the only point on the map he can think of that will provide them with the security they need. Their journey promises to be long and arduous, and Lance will discover more about life than he ever thought possible as they find that desperate circumstances most often bring out the best, and sometimes the worst, in human nature. But the sprawling Saddle Ranch is in the Colorado Rocky Mountains and between them lies over 800 miles of harsh terrain, now filled with equally desperate, and oftentimes wretched, hostiles. Can Lance navigate a safe passage to the promise of a better life for them all? Or has he taken on much more than he bargained for?

Disruptive Shock


Connor McCoy - 2019
    What begins as another opportunity to build lifelong memories quickly fades to black by the time the sun sets. The world and humanity at large take an inexplicable turn, leaving the struggling single father to resort to desperate measures to get his family to safety. As they traverse the increasingly dangerous landscape, they find themselves face-to-face with the worst this broken society has to offer. Will Ian achieve his goal and get his family to his parents’ home before danger finds them?

Hope (Going Home)


A. American - 2016
    Michael Hopf bring you: HOPE: A GOING HOME NOVELNeal managed to survive the initial weeks after an EMP decimated the grid and all critical infrastructures. Using his cunning, skills and mindset, he navigated the harsh new landscape. Life became harder when the weeks turned to months but still he survived. As he settled into his new normal complacency set in with it. At first everything was fine but then the deadly realities came to his doorstep. When tragedy struck all he wanted to do was give up, but a promise he had made kept him going, barely. He was a man without a home, a purpose and more importantly hope. That changed one day along a desolate highway in the desert. There he’d discover a new reason for living.

Day of Reckoning: (A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller)


G. Michael Hopf - 2017
    Michael Hopf, the acclaimed apocalyptic and bestselling author of THE NEW WORLD series, comes an exciting and dark apocalyptic novel. The day started like any other, but it ended with the human race fighting for its very existence. It was a day of sorrow... a day of sacrifice... a day of death... a day of reckoning.

E.M.P.: The End Of The Grid As We Know It (All At Once Book 1)


Cal Wilson - 2016
    Not only has the electrical grid come crashing down, but all other critical infrastructures of the country have ceased to exist, leaving the country a vast wasteland, where only the ruthless and resourceful survive. Jim Burkett is stuck on a business trip when it all happens, and he must battle prison breaks, food riots, criminal gangs, looters, cannibals, terrorist sleeper cells, nuclear fallout, and otherwise total anarchy in his quest to get home to his family. Will he make it?

Before the Power was Gone


P.A. Glaspy - 2017
     “My name is Anne Mathews. I'm a prepper. But I haven't always been. This is how it started.”

Arrival: War for Earth Book One (A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller)


J. Thorn - 2017
    Brace for the Arrival. Paramedic Maya Talbot knows her unhinged, ex-husband is gunning for custody of their children. When she drops off Aiden and Laura at Grandma's for a weekend visit, Maya assumes they'll be safe. However, nothing could have prepared her for the chaos created when a strange obelisk rises from the ground and generates an impenetrable dome over the city. Riots, looting, and violence run rampant. The situation in Nashville deteriorates—and then they arrive, thrusting Maya into a desperate race to escape the dome and save her children from the dangers on the ground—and from above. When darkness falls, the intergalactic visitors manifest our worst fears and threaten the future of humankind. Arrival is the new post-apocalyptic thriller from bestselling authors, J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon, the first book in the War for Earth trilogy.

After the EMP: The Darkness Trilogy


Harley Tate - 2017
    She plans to graduate and put those skills to work only a few hours from home in the Central Valley. The sun has always been her friend, until now. When catastrophe strikes, how prepared will you be? Tracy starts her morning like any other, kissing her husband Walter goodbye before heading off to work at the local public library. She never expects it to end fleeing for her life in a Suburban full of food and water. Tackling life’s daily struggles is one thing, preparing to survive when it all crashes down is another. The end of the world brings out the best and worst in all of us. With no communication and no word from the government, the Sloanes find themselves grappling with the end of the modern world all on their own. Will Madison and her friends have what it takes to make it back to Sacramento and her family? Can Tracy fend off looters and thieves and help her friends and neighbors survive? The EMP is only the beginning. The Darkness Trilogy (Books 1-3 in After the EMP) follows the Sloane family as they attempt to survive after a geomagnetic storm destroys the nation’s power grid.

Grid Down Reality Bites


Bruce Buckshot Hemming - 2011
    This is now a collector's book. His new novel brings you a working man's guide to the end of the world. If you enjoyed One Second After and Lights Out then you will love this fast paced novel of 3 different groups surviving the confusion and terror of The End Of The World As We Know It.Two young men, Mark and Eric struggle desperately trying to make it to their retreat in Northern California. Their truck is dead from an EMP. They have to walk 200 miles. Will they make it passed the gangs and the utter confusion of a powerless society?George and his son Junior, are set up in a retreat in Northern Wisconsin. Everything is going along great until disaster strikes. One mistake leaves his 18 year old son to survive alone.When the power goes out from the EMP Preston tries to convince his girlfriend to leave the big city and head to the farmstead where his friends are. Will they escape the complete chaos of the city in time or wait until it's too late?From one harrowing adventure to the next this novel will keep you on the edge of your seat, cheering the characters on as they face the impossible odds against them.

Caldera


Heath Stallcup - 2014
    Little did anyone realize the threat was real and slowly working its way to the surface, but not in the form of magma. Lying deep within the bowels of the earth itself, an ancient virus waited. Recently credited with the extinction of Neanderthal man, the virus erupts into a crowded Yellowstone. The park is packed with sight seers and party goers during a benefit concert who are all now fodder for the ancient rage virus. Follow along as Park Rangers and local Sheriff’s find themselves overwhelmed with a park full of infected human cannibals.

The Journey Home


Jeff Motes - 2016
    It has been revised to reflect a 1st person point of view for each chapter's main character. Take note of which character leads the chapter title. This will help make the flow of thoughts smooth. This is not a book on religion or religious ideology, however, two of the main characters are Christian. They pray often and acknowledge God's influence upon the events taking place. If you find praying, acknowledging God, or seeing Jesus' name used in a positive context offensive, then I suggest you do not read this book. These are strong characters, who I think many can relate to. I hope you enjoy the book. The Day The day was like any other day—until it became “The Day.” At 4:05 p.m. the United States was attacked with an Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) weapon. A 20 mega-ton nuclear warhead was detonated high in the atmosphere above Kansas, blanketing most of the contiguous United States and parts of Canada and Mexico with an electro-magnetic pulse that damaged nearly all microprocessors and electronic controls beyond repair. Nearly every system that depends on computers and electronics has ceased to work. The electrical grid goes down. The water system goes down. The sewer system goes down. The phone system goes down. The cellular system goes down. Cars stop. Tractors stop. Radio and TV stations go dark. The internet is no more. No more ambulance services. No more emergency services. No more government services. No more 911. In the twinkle of an eye America is sent back deep into the 19th century. Jill Barnes, a single mom, finds herself stranded on the side of Interstate 459 near Birmingham, Alabama. Jack Chance, a bank vice-president, is stranded on Interstate 85 near Montgomery, Alabama. John Carter, a contractor, finds himself stranded near Leeds, Alabama. Each must travel home to Clarke County in rural southwest Alabama. Follow them as they each make their decisions and journey home while the fabric of American society is torn asunder and criminals run amok. The story is exciting and enlightening, compelling and fast moving, infuriating and redemptive, heart-rending and heart-warming. Keep some tissue close to hand, just in case...

After the Fall: Jason's Tale


David Nees - 2016
    With no food deliveries, no vehicles working, society begins to unravel.Starvation and death begin to reign and panic leads to violence. Marauding gangs roam the countryside, stealing, killing or worse and cities begin to wall themselves off from the danger outside.As society breaks down, Jason heads to the Appalachian Mountains to avoid the growing anarchy, hoping to wait out the chaos. The gangs threaten but loneliness becomes his biggest enemy as the solitude envelopes him.In a secluded mountain valley he finds a woman, Anne, and her two daughters struggling to survive. They are near starvation when Jason shows up.Violence soon follows him. Survival will mean fighting...and killing. The power hasn't returned, the country is still shattered and Jason and Anne must struggle for a new life in a dangerous world.If you like "One Second After" and other survival/post-apocalyptic stories, you will enjoy this personal story of trying to survive and thrive after an EMP attack.

Powerless World


Derek Shupert - 2020
    The anniversary of his daughter’s death sent him into the bottle. He loved his wife, but they grieved in different ways. Would the pain ever stop?Sarah missed Russell.She lay in bed unable to sleep. The heart ache had nearly broken her, too, but Sarah didn’t want their marriage to end. If she could just get him to stop drinking. Could they learn to live again?One day later……everything changed.Russell was on a plane heading west. The engines stopped, the plane was going down, and all he could think about was Sarah. He had to see her again.On the Boston subway, Sarah, was trapped.Fear and panic were all around her. Sarah sensed the danger. A man glared at her. With a deep breath, she wrapped her fingers around the Glock-43 in her purse. Sarah wasn’t afraid.Will Russell and Sarah live long enough to find their way back to each other?You’ll be on the edge of your seat with this post-apocalyptic thriller, because Russell and Sarah are easy to love.

The Last Survivors


T.W. Piperbrook - 2014
    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...