Book picks similar to
Escape the Breakdown by Jack Hunt


horror
post-apocalyptic
apocalypse
fiction

American Exodus


J.K. Franks - 2017
    Steven Porter had a mostly charmed life, one that most people would envy, that is, until it all vanished. He was away from home on that day when the world changed forever. Millions of people are fleeing the cities trying to find safety. Many more are missing or dead. Steven finds himself as one of those lost souls wandering the highways. Each step forward is fraught with peril and the question that haunts him is what will he find if he even makes it back home.To survive the dangerous journey he must battle hunger, thirst and the relentless attacks by others as well as brutal response by our government that raises more questions than answers. What’s left of his world? Normal is a fading memory, survival is all that matters. His challenge is simple, adapt or die.

These Times of Abandon


Ryan Schow - 2020
    The lights are out, the grid is down, and electronics have failed, including Leighton’s new hearing aids. Unbeknownst to the town of Highland Heights, the weather warning system is down and tornados are forming. As Leighton heads for her boyfriend’s farm, an admirer of hers quietly takes chase. Nothing covers one’s tracks better than shadows and chaos, but some battles turn quickly, leaving one to wonder, who is the wolf, and who becomes the prey?As the tornado’s winds begin to whip, and Kentucky descends into lawlessness, the former Golden Gloves boxer, Hudson Croft, is forced to defend his home from violent opportunists. Hudson is ready for the anarchy, but he never anticipated the tornado heading his way, or the war Leighton McDaniel brought with it. Although Hudson is anxious to return to the fight, he remains haunted by his past boxing injuries, for one blow to the head, and it’s lights-out on his life. Amid such an unprecedented attack, a handful of citizens will fight to survive the many storms bearing down upon them. Those clinging to the old world will perish while those who abandon the former world will dig in and fight, proving the might and strength of America are not found solely in her military or her commerce, but in the heart of her people.Fire up your kindle, grab some caffeine, and prepare yourself for a roller-coaster ride through the apocalypse with Kentucky’s finest!

Zomblog


T.W. Brown - 2010
    ...Loving father... ...Dutiful worker... ...Aspiring rockstar. He had no idea if anyone would care, or take the time, to read his daily blog entries about his late night observations. But what started as an open monologue of his day-to-day life became a running journal of the firsthand account detailing the rising of the dead and the downfall and degradation of mankind...

Highway: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale of Survival


John Q. Prepper - 2016
    For young Lexi Broadmoor and her brother Travis, the detonation not only took their father away, but their future as well. Now stranded on a highway far from home without any survival skills or someone to protect them, staying alive will depend on their wits, a single bug-out bag, and a map to a stranger's house. With the grid down and a nation quickly descending into chaos, they'll need to hurry, because the lawless are taking over. But a larger threat looms. A mysterious foe has set in motion a countdown to Armageddon; unknown to Lexi and Travis, they're part of the plan.

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.

Zombie Lake


Javan Bonds - 2016
    Every night hordes of naked, blue, biting zombies flood the now dead Alabama lake town. While on board their replica pirate ship, the Viva Ancora, they fish and watch the monsters roam the night; seeking untainted flesh and leaving a disgusting mess in their wake…just like a horror show. Mo had sailed around the country, but now he finds himself 15 miles from his childhood home, a reluctant Hero. When a lone survivor stumbles upon Mo and Crow they gain a new member but also find much needed direction. The new comer, Smokes, will change Mo’s view of this zombie infested world forever. As reality mimics fiction an ever growing cast of crazy characters play out their role carving out an island sanctuary in a plague ridden world. The Expert, The Tech, The Oracle, The Sacrifice, The Old Friend plus many more ….. Welcome aboard, friend to this wild ride where the fish bite, the Zombies bite…sometimes life bites.

The Last Tribe


Brad Manuel - 2015
    Not only do you struggle to find food, water, and shelter, you deal with the sadness and loss of everyone you know, and everything you have. Fourteen year old Greg Dixon is living that nightmare. Attending boarding school outside of Boston, he is separated from his family when a pandemic strikes. His classmates and teachers are dead, rotting in a dormitory turned morgue steps from his room. The nights are getting colder, and his food has run out. The last message from his father is get away from the city, and meet at his grandparent’s town in remote New Hampshire. Knowing the impending New England winter could be the final nail in his coffin, he packs what little food he can find, and sets off on his one hundred mile walk north with the unwavering belief that his family is alive and will join him. As the fast moving and deadly disease strips away family and friends, Greg’s father, John, is trapped in South Carolina. Roadblocks, a panic stricken population, and winter make it impossible for him to get to his son. John and his three brothers appear to be immune, but they are scattered across a locked down United States, forced to wait for the end of humanity before travelling to the mountains of New Hampshire. Spring arrives, and the Dixons make their way north to find young Greg. They meet others along the way, and slowly form the last tribe of humanity from the few people still alive in the northeast.

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?

EMP Survival Box Set: Seven Cows, Ugly and Gaunt: A Post-Apocalyptic Saga of America's Worst Nightmare


Mark Goodwin - 2018
    An EMP Attack. The Ultimate Contest for Survival! Danny and Alisa's lives are turned upside down when Danny begins having prophetic dreams about the judgment coming upon America. Through one of Danny’s dreams, they learn about the imminent threat of an EMP attack which will wipe out America’s electric grid, sending the country into a technological dark age.Living in a nation where life-sustaining systems of support are completely dependent on electricity and computers, the odds for survival are dismal. Municipal water services, retail food distribution, police, fire, EMS and emergency services will come to a screeching halt. Hunger, despair, and panic will push desperate people to commit unthinkable acts against their fellow human beings.If they want to live through the most catastrophic period in American history, Danny and Alisa will have to race against time to get prepared, before the lights go out. Don’t miss this epic thrill ride. Get your copy and start this heart-stopping EMP saga today!This is the complete, four-book box set containing Book One: Behold Darkness and Sorrow, Book Two: Ichabod, Book Three: A Haunt for Jackals, and Book Four: Vengeance.As with all books by Mark Goodwin, this book contains no profanity and no embarrassing sex scenes. However, if you're offended by conservative principles and biblical references, this book might not be for you.

Unleashed


Dirk Patton - 2013
    Nuclear bombs destroy cities and the widespread release of nerve gas sends the majority of the surviving population into a murderous rage. Rescuing a woman who survived the attacks he must lead her to safety as Atlanta burns, raging infected roam unchecked and society disintegrates into savagery.

Nurse Alissa vs. the Zombies


Scott M. Baker - 2020
    When patients and staff in the ER begin to die, reanimate, and attack the living, Alissa must fight her way to safety to avoid becoming one of the ravenous hordes. To survive, Alissa must develop instincts and skills she did not realize she had and overcome fears no human were meant to face. Escaping the hospital will be tough enough, but can Alissa survive the nightmare gripping Boston and make it out of the city to safety?

What's Left of My World


C.A. Rudolph - 2016
    Ever since she was little, she had been taught how to live and survive outdoors, and how to use firearms to protect herself and those around her. Some of the training had been a bit extreme. Or had it been? Many of her questions were answered the day the world as she knew it ended. Now, the skills she had been taught serve an essential purpose. They keep her and those she cares about alive. Even in the sparsely-populated mountains of West Virginia, where she and her family have been forced to relocate for their safety after the collapse, peril lurks around every corner. Normal life has taken on a whole new meaning for Lauren, her family, and the community they have become a part of. In this different world, the new status quo is self-preservation. There is no more middle ground. People either live, or they die. Lauren’s father didn’t make it home on the day the world changed forever, and she misses him more than anything. Now, in What’s Left of My World, she and her family must learn to endure life’s horrors—without him.

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.

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.

After the Ending


Lindsey Sparks (Fairleigh) - 2013
     They may have survived the apocalypse, but the Virus changed them... Grad student Dani O'Connor won't let a cross-country move end her closest friendship. But when a mysterious virus consumes the world and Dani, herself, falls violently ill, she fears she'll never see her loved ones again. After her fever finally breaks, she barely recognizes the devastated world around her. Everyone is dead. Dani is all alone. Or so she thinks... As a bartender, Zoe is used to dealing with hotheads and dirtbags, but nothing could have prepared her for the twisted thoughts of her fellow survivors. Her family is gone, and anyone left alive in the world is either sick, crazy, or changed...like her. As her newfound super senses gain strength, Zoe must learn to control them before she loses herself to madness completely. Perilous terrain spans the distance between them, and deranged survivors lurk in dark corners everywhere. Can Dani and Zoe overcome deadly attacks and unseen dangers in order to find each other? Or will they lose their way--and their lives--along the journey? After The Ending is the first book in the evocative, superpowered post-apocalyptic adventure, The Ending Series. If you like unbreakable friendships, gritty dystopian settings, and a touch of romance, then you'll love Lindsey Pogue and Lindsey Fairleigh's heart-wrenching tale. Buy After The Ending to embark on a supernatural survival story today! THE ENDING SERIES After The Ending Into The Fire Out Of The Ashes Before The Dawn The Ending Beginnings: A Collection of Stories World Before: A Collection of Stories