Book picks similar to
Broken Lines by James Hunt


post-apocalyptic
emp
fiction
apocalypse

Dark Days of the After


Ryan Schow - 2019
    No one knows how this happened, or why America prostrated herself to the kind of foreign forces who would impose obedience through compliance.  Resistors call the occupation “creeping death.” Those countries grabbing at the reins of power see it for what it is—a full scale invasion.Security engineer, Logan Cahill, is part of the underground effort to reclaim America, but when he finds a cryptic message in the world's largest server room leading to a doomsday clock, everything changes. With the help of a local hacker, Logan traces the clock to its origins where he discovers a truth so horrific, so terrifying, the mere mention of it carries a death sentence. He now knows the enemies, the weapons and the time of America’s death, right down to the minute. If he wants to survive the apocalypse, he and the feisty Skylar Madigan have to bug out fast. This won’t be easy considering the surveillance grid in place, or the armed lock-down of all major cities.The final defensive frontier for dedicated patriots is life on the land held by their ancestors, those men and women dug into their off-grid homes and operating a black market economy.  But not everyone has what it takes to survive life outside the occupied cities, and precious few know how to defend themselves against the brutality of America’s captors.  All that is about to change…

Trackers


Nicholas Sansbury Smith - 2017
    Estes Park police chief Marcus Colton and tracker Sam "Raven" Spears have never liked one another, but when a young girl goes missing in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colton hires Spears to help find her. Their search ends after a night of devastating horror. When word reaches Estes that the nation has been hit by a coordinated electromagnetic pulse attack, Colton and Spears are forced to work together again. But they quickly realize they aren't just tracking a killer - they are tracking a madman. As the United States descends into chaos, the hunters become the hunted. Halfway across the country, Senator Charlize Montgomery awakes to find the nation's capital has gone dark. Forced to set off on foot, she treks across a city that has woken to a new world, and as the night progresses she learns the EMP attack was just the beginning.

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?

The Shock


Scott Nicholson - 2012
    While the remaining humans are struggling to adapt and survive, they notice that some among them have...changed.Rachel Wheeler finds herself alone in the city, where violent survivors known as "Zapheads" roam the streets, killing and destroying. Her only hope is to reach the mountains, where her grandfather, a legendary survivalist, established a compound in preparation for Doomsday.Other survivors are fleeing the city, but Zapheads aren't the only danger. Rogue bands of military soldiers want to impose their own order in the crumbling ruins of civilization. When Rachel discovers a 10-year-old boy, she vows to care for him even at the risk of her own life.And the Zapheads are evolving, developing communal skills even as they lay waste to the society they will eventually replace.

Primal Shift: Part 1


Griffin Hayes - 2013
    But a thousand motorists suddenly abandon their cars on the Golden Gate Bridge and leap to their deaths in a roiling bay. Jets packed with families rain down from the skies above Salt Lake City International Airport, dotting the landscape with orange fireballs. Worse yet, New York City police launch a murderous rampage against those they swore to protect and serve. Law and order across the globe collapses in less than five minutes, plunging humanity into chaos.Something is affecting our minds, our sanity. Could it be a terrorist attack? The ultimate virus? Or an experiment gone horribly wrong?A handful of survivors claws its way out of the ashes of the old world, strangely unaffected by The Shift. Among them, a frantic mother desperate to find her son. A sailor hunting a soulless killer. A former CEO willing to kill for power over this new, feral wasteland.Together, they'll battle both the hordes of bloodthirsty cannibals who used to be their own families and neighbors, and a dark figure who commands these legions with his every twisted whim.Someone somewhere must know what happened, where to find safety. And whether those eerie lights shimmering in the skies overhead are an omen of something far worse than even this bleak living hell.

Crash


Michael Robertson - 2013
    Gas, water, and electricity are all cut off. Food is running out. Even his wife and daughter have gone. Huddled in the smallest room of their lavish house with his petrified and dirty eight-year-old son, Chris has made the decision to stay put. A small army of psychotic scavengers is outside, hell-bent on making the once-privileged pay. Chris now knows that not leaving when he had the option was the worst decision of his life. Cowering in his home, he watches as his neighbours are dragged into the street and brutally executed. The scavengers have one more house to go, and then it will be his turn. He has to act fast, or he and his son will meet the same fate.Driven by the need to survive, Chris has decided to keep secrets from his son. Secrets that will make all of the events up until this point seem trivial. Secrets that, one way or another, will come out before the day is done.*** Warning - This is a horror book and contains scenes that may be upsetting for some readers. ***

The Jakarta Pandemic


Steven Konkoly - 2010
    One family's struggle to survive as a deadly pandemic sweeps the nation. This book both entertains and prepares at the same time. Reading this book might save your life if the Ebola virus or Avian flu turns into a pandemic." Preparedness consultant-2014  The Jakarta Pandemic: The People's Republic of China announces strict travel restrictions...  Indonesia goes dark...  Cases of an uncategorized influenza virus appear in major cities around the globe...  Department of Health and Human Services officials claim that measures have been taken to safeguard the American public...  Most ignore the warnings...  Alex Fletcher, Iraq War veteran, has read the signs for years. A seasoned sales representative for Biosphere Pharmaceuticals, he understands the unique dangers of a pandemic flu and has taken the necessary steps to prepare. With his family and home mobilized to endure an extended period of seclusion, Alex thinks he's ready for the pandemic. He's not even close.  The lethal H16N1 virus rapidly spreads across the nation, stretching the fragile bonds of society to the breaking point. Schools close, grocery stores empty, fuel deliveries stop, hospitals start turning away the sick...riots engulf the cities.  As hostility and mistrust engulfs his idyllic Maine neighborhood, Alex quickly realizes that the H16N1 virus will be the least of his problems.  The Jakarta Pandemic  is a terrifying, cautionary tale that explores the depths of human desperation and its unremitting influence on our decisions. - The sequel, The Perseid Collapse, is now available -  "It delivers a vicious punch of violence and heroism for the reader to endure and admire. I could hardly put The Jakarta Pandemic down until I finished it." - Amazon Reviewer (2012) "The tension builds as difficult choices are made, when no good options seem to be available. I found certain segments to be uncomfortably realistic, at times creepy in the way you could feel things closing in around the family." - Amazon Reviewer (2013) "It makes you think just how prepared you really are for any kind of emergency. It makes you question your resolve in a potential crisis. How far are you willing to go to protect your loved ones? Every day that goes by, these characters have to question what is right and what is wrong. Take the trip thru this book. You won't be disappointed." - Amazon Reviewer (2013) "Pay attention as you may learn a few things in this book that could help you make the best of an emergency situation. For that matter some of the info in this book may very well save your life." - Amazon Reviewer (2013) "Anyone who has relished running to the hardware store before a big storm to stock up on essentials will be drawn to Steve Konkoly's intricately-researched and drawn breakdown of our supply systems, and transfixed by his description of what it takes to survive six months of enforced isolation behind the locked(booby-trapped, draped and shuttered) doors of one's own home.

The Decay


Roger Hayden - 2014
    It was a normal Friday afternoon shattered after an unexpected terrorist attack on the New York Stock Exchange. While the country focuses on the shocking aftermath of the Wall Street bombing, they lose communications—cell phones, Internet—and electricity, as a result of the nation’s downed power grids. Paul Hayden is a thirty-five year old man who just wants to pick up his step-daughter from school and go home while avoiding the busy afternoon traffic. While driving, he notices a mushroom cloud in the distance. The bright radiance of the sky sends the townspeople into a panic, and mass soon evacuation follows. Through this, Paul has one thing on his mind: protect his step-daughter, Julie, and get to his wife, Samantha, who is out of town on business. Through his journey, however, they will find that sometimes the stakes are just too high. Don’t miss the first installment of the exciting new dystopian science fiction thriller destined to bring you into a strange new world of apocalyptic visions.

The China Pandemic


A.R. Shaw - 2013
    Whether accidental or intentional, only two percent of the population has survived including preppers and carriers. In the Pacific Northwest, a dying mother recognizes that her young child is among the immune. What will she do to ensure his survival before her own death? Meanwhile, as natural predators come into the land of the living, Graham has buried his last remaining family member and promised to carry out his father’s wise advice to make it to the family cabin. He meets with triumph and tragedy, learning new rules along the way. Just when he thinks he’s finally got a handle on this new world, he’s taken by surprise, as he learns he’s not alone. Will he find the strength to escape these dangers and go on living? And more importantly, will he have the ability to protect those he's come to trust?

Going Home


A. American - 2012
    Then to begin the ruination of your much anticipated weekend the grating tone of the Emergency Alert System flashes over the radio, then promptly dies.This is the beginning of a 250 mile odyssey for Morgan Carter. Morgan works on the road and finds himself far from home when his car dies, as well as his Blackberry and every other piece of electronics he has. With no idea what has occurred he reluctantly finds himself on shanks’ mare carrying that ridiculous pack that everyone made fun of him for keeping in the car. Morgan has to find his way across the state of Florida, from Tallahassee to the heart of the state in Lake County.Along his way he has to seek out food, water and shelter where he can, not to mention keeping himself from being killed by any number of now scared and desperate people. During his travels he will try and help where he can, but that can turn out to be a costly mistake. We live in a wonderfully modern society where anything we want is a mouse click away. The lights come on with the flip of a switch and even a child can turn on the faucet at the sink and water always comes out. But what if it all went away?Could you face what Morgan faces, could you make the decisions he has to make? Life and sometimes death in the blink of an eye, could you do it?

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.

The End


G. Michael Hopf - 2013
    This youthful idealism vanished one fateful day in a war torn city in Iraq. Ten years later, he is still struggling with the ghosts of his past but must now face a new reality thrust on him and his family. North America, Europe and the Far East have all suffered a devastating Super-EMP attack that has caused catastrophic damage to the power grids and all electrical devices. With nothing working from cars to phones and with the total collapse of the economic infrastructure, Gordon must fight for the limited and fast dwindling resources. He knows survival requires action and cooperation with his neighbors; but as daily life continues to break down so does all sense of civility within his community. With each passing day Gordon makes choices that would seem extreme in today's world but necessary in this new world.

MUTINY: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller


Lee West - 2019
    On the last night of their cruise, while most of the passengers are sleep--the unthinkable occurs. A suspected electromagnetic pulse (EMP) damages most of the cruise ship's critical systems, forcing the crew to divert the remaining power to essential systems.While the massive ship struggles in rough seas, the seasick passengers grow increasingly uneasy about their situation. The flow of food and drinks has been significantly reduced, air-conditioning is non-existent and the ship's security team is visibly armed. What they don't know is that the ship has lost contact with the mainland, and their Captain is on the verge of making life-altering decision for all of them.Skeptical of the conditions onshore and unwilling to pull into the ship's homeport without the assistance of local pilot craft, the Captain elects to leave the area and seek safe harbor to the south. There's just one catch. The ship only carries enough food and fuel to last a few more days--and their destination remains uncertain. The geographical scope and magnitude of the damage caused by the mysterious event remains unknown to the crew.With Joe and Meg's prospect of returning home about to slip away, the Birch's face an agonizing choice. Stay with the ship and take a chance on the Captain--or steal a lifeboat and try to return home. Joined by likeminded passengers and a few salty crewmembers, they decide to make their own destiny--despite the unknown dangers.THE MUTINY chronicles this impossible, gut-wrenching journey to get home, where it quickly becomes obvious that THEIR STORY IS FAR FROM OVER!

Scorched: A Dry Earth Story


Theresa Shaver - 2017
    All choices lead to death when the sun has Scorched the world. Claudia has never seen rain or any water that hasn’t come from the old well behind her house. Now the well’s about played out and today they closed down the ration stations, for good. The gangs are circling to rob and loot the little they have. Her only choices are go north to the slave labour camps or stay and die by the gangs. Her grandmother wants them to run south and follow an old map that will lead them to a secret valley with all the water they will ever need. She swears it’s there but how can she drag her nine year old sister and an eighty-year old woman out into the desert wasteland that surrounds them based on an old map? Enjoy this clean, stand-alone adventure novel that moves at fast pace!

No Direction Home


Mike Sheridan - 2017
    An Irish couple on their dream vacation in Orlando. A bank robber in an Atlanta prison...what do they all have in common? They are survivors of vPx073, the most deadly virus ever to be unleashed on the planet. One that has brought civilization to a standstill. Haunted by the tragic death of his Gulf War veteran father, Cody Parsons is a struggling student at UTK when the pandemic hits Knoxville. Soon the sharpshooting skills his father taught him as a fourteen-year-old are put to good use --- especially when an ex-US army combat engineer takes him under his wing. As food and water runs out, and roving gangs take over the cities, the paths of some very determined survivors are destined to meet...with surprising consequences. With strong, original characters that jump off the page, this is a fast-paced story that fans of post-apocalyptic survival fiction will appreciate.