Book picks similar to
Downward Cycle by J.K. Franks


post-apocalyptic
survival
fiction
science-fiction

The Last


Michael John Grist - 2015
    1 man.When the zombie apocalypse hits America, not a soul is left alive.Except Amo. He's a comic book artist. He's a video game world builder. He's just a regular guy living in New York city, with only his wits, creativity and basic decency to guide him.He's alone against 7 billion zombies.Will he survive?'Robinson Crusoe' meets the zombie apocalypse like you've never seen it before, packed with adventure, gore and a mind-blowing twist.

Extinction Point


Paul Antony Jones - 2012
    All that changes the day the red rain falls from a cloudless sky. Just hours after the first reports from Europe, humanity is on the brink of extinction, wiped from the face of the earth in a few bloody moments, leaving Emily alone in an empty city. As she struggles to grasp the magnitude of her situation, Emily becomes the final witness to the end of our world… and the birth of a terrifying new one. The world she knew and loved is dead and gone. Now Emily must try to find a way out of New York as the truth behind the red rain is revealed: the earth no longer belongs to humanity.

10:59


N.R. Baker - 2020
    An over-populated world. An impossible decision. The clock is ticking to the end of the world; and we’re already at 10:59.The most important book you’ll read this year. An apocalyptic thriller with a difference, 10:59 by NR Baker will have you questioning everything – and everyone – you thought you knew.If you held the lives of those around you in your hands, who would you save? And could you live with sentencing others to certain death?When teenager Louis Crawford is asked to come up with an idea that will change the world, his answer is both shocking and simple. And it is a solution that will change everything, forever.Louis finds himself thrust into the middle of an organisation that has the power to save the world. But are its motives pure? And can he live with the price that humanity must pay?

The Last Ship


William Brinkley - 1988
    The world has been plunged into all-out nuclear war. Sailing near the Arctic Circle, the U.S.S. Nathan James is relatively unscathed, but the future is grim and Captain Thomas is facing mutiny from the tattered remnants of his crew. With civilization in ruins, he urges those that remain—one-hundred-and-fifty-two men and twenty-six women—to pull together in search of land. Once they reach safety, however, the men and women on board realize that they are earth's last remaining survivors—and they've all been exposed to radiation. When none of the women seems able to conceive, fear sets in. Will this be the end of humankind?

Roland: Reluctant Paladin


N.C. Reed - 2014
    He was just looking for a place to get out of the rain. His plan was to lay low and allow the world to reset itself after a world wide economic collapse. But, things do change. An orphan himself from an early age, the former soldier can't simply walk away and leave the children he finds. Especially once he realizes what a sorry lot of adults is nominally in charge of the group in the warehouse he's taken shelter in. But now, he's got his hands full, and then some. He has to find a home for those children, and a way to feed, clothe, and educate them. All while protecting them from people who would prey on them in one way or another, and while protecting his own back from an angry woman who apparently hates him just because. Her only redeeming feature as far as Roland is concerned? She wants to protect the children as much as he does. Leading a handful of teens and a busload of orphaned children, Roland sets out to find a safe haven for them. Along the way he'll make friends, enemies, and the odd mistake or two. Or more. Roland isn't exactly parenting material, either. With problems of his own to deal with, maybe taking on so much extra responsibility wasn't the smartest thing he's ever done. Then again, Roland has always been stubborn.

Collapse


Richard Stephenson - 2012
    With the American people deep in The Second Great Depression and two of the most powerful hurricanes on record to contend with, the United States is in no condition to deal with hidden terrorists on its soil, maniacal politicians, and the most formidable military threat the world has seen since the Third Reich. This is the story of three men from three very different walks of life: Howard Beck, the world's richest man, also diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome; Richard Dupree, ex-Navy SEAL turned escaped convict; and Maxwell Harris, a crippled, burned-out chief of police of a small Texas town. At first, they must overcome their own struggles and fight for their survival against impossible odds. In the end, the unlikely trio must band together to save their beloved country from COLLAPSE. Empires topple. Nations crumble. Civilization is fragile. In 2027, America will fall.

The Last Girl


Joe Hart - 2016
    Medical science and governments around the world scramble in an effort to solve the problem, but twenty-five years later there is no cure, and an entire generation grows up with a population of fewer than a thousand women.Zoey and some of the surviving young women are housed in a scientific research compound dedicated to determining the cause. For two decades, she’s been isolated from her family, treated as a test subject, and locked away—told only that the virus has wiped out the rest of the world’s population.Captivity is the only life Zoey has ever known, and escaping her heavily armed captors is no easy task, but she’s determined to leave before she is subjected to the next round of tests…a program that no other woman has ever returned from. Even if she’s successful, Zoey has no idea what she’ll encounter in the strange new world beyond the facility’s walls. Winning her freedom will take brutality she never imagined she possessed, as well as all her strength and cunning—but Zoey is ready for war.

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

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...

Run


Rich Restucci - 2015
     Slow and plodding, they are Legion. The undead hunt the living. Stop and they will catch you. Hide and they will find you. If you have a heartbeat you do the only thing you can: You run. Survivors escape to an island stronghold: A cop and his daughter, a computer nerd, a garbage man with a piece of rebar, and an escapee from a mental hospital with a life-saving secret. After reaching Alcatraz, the ever expanding group of survivors realize that the infected are not the only threat. Caught between the viciousness of the undead, and the heartlessness of the living, what choice is there? Run.

ARISEN : Odyssey


Michael Stephen Fuchs - 2018
    One ex-cop civilian survivalist, who lived through two years of post-Apocalyptic Hell, unlike 7 billion of her fellow humans. And an entire continent heaving with 400 million dead guys. To save the lives of his children, and rejoin Alpha team and the fight to save humanity, Homer will have to journey across a thousand miles of undead North America with Sarah Cameron, battling heavily armed bands of marauders who shoot first and ask questions never, and ultimately face down the remains of the world's last surviving SEAL team – now led by a malevolent and piratical monster. Welcome to the Zulu Alpha Desolation. Resolve. Rebirth. ODYSSEY ARISEN Hope Never Dies.

Deadlocked


A.R. Wise - 2011
    His wife and daughters were at home, stranded on the roof as zombies waited below. He would have to fight through hordes of undead, merciless other survivors, and a series of death defying stunts to get home. However, even if he makes it there, how can he be sure they're safe?Deadlocked puts you into David's head as he struggles to get home. Then a final confrontation occurs that will guarantee his family's survival, but at what cost?

The Death: Quarantine


John W. Vance - 2014
    Devin Chase, a writer by trade and urban dweller sits in his apartment in New York unaware that his fiance is the first victim of a worldwide pandemic called, The Death. Upon learning of his fiance's condition he sets out to find her. Unprepared and unsuccessful he barely survives the initial days and takes refuge in a secluded barn. After six months he emerges from his self imposed quarantine to find that over 90% of the world's population is dead. With no knowledge or skills he must learn and adapt as he goes. As he travels, he discovers others like him who are immune but he must also confront that the world he knew is gone. It has been replaced with a savage and brutal one where the only rule is 'kill or be killed'. A thousand miles away, Lori Roberts, a mother of two, wife and successful business woman must tackle the harsh realities The Death has imposed. Within weeks of the outbreak, her family is quarantined at a FEMA camp. At first they believe the camp is their sanctuary, but soon discover something entirely different and sinister is happening to the survivors. Two people, two survivors but one ultimate outcome. They survived The Death but will they survive what the world has become.

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...

Breakdown


Bruno Miller - 2018
    He just didn’t know it would come so soon. He and his teenage son, Joel, are miles deep in the backcountry of the San Juan Mountains when high-altitude nuclear electromagnetic detonations light up the pre-dawn sky. Ben, Joel, and their dog, Gunner, must make their way home – or to whatever’s left of it – on foot. Without the ability to communicate with his ex-wife in Maryland, Ben has no idea if Joel’s brother and sister are okay. The two decide they have no options but to head East. Before their journey begins, they venture into town to check Ben’s outdoor store for supplies and discover one of Joel’s classmates, Allie, alone and in desperate need of help. When Ben realizes Allie’s flight attendant mother is most likely dead and her father lives in Pittsburgh, he knows he has to take her with them. Ben must use the skills he learned as an Army Ranger many years ago to survive the post-apocalyptic world they now live in. Can he keep himself and two teenagers safe as they navigate the dark and dangerous road ahead?