Book picks similar to
Tales of the Apocalypse Volume 1: A Duck & Cover Collection by Benjamin Wallace
humor
dystopia
audible
fiction
Vaccination
Phillip Tomasso III - 2011
Were lab workers diligent, or could the virus itself have been man-made? Chase McKinney works as a dispatcher at 9-1-1. Taking emergency calls, it becomes immediately obvious that the entire city is infected with the walking dead. His first goal is to reach and save his two children. Could the walls built by the U.S.A. to keep out illegal aliens, and the fact the Mexican government could not afford to vaccinate their citizens against the flu, make the southern border the only plausible destination for safety?
The Last One
Alexandra Oliva - 2016
She never imagined it would go this far. It begins with a reality TV show. Twelve contestants are sent into the woods to face challenges that will test the limits of their endurance. While they are out there, something terrible happens—but how widespread is the destruction, and has it occurred naturally or is it human-made? Cut off from society, the contestants know nothing of it. When one of them—a young woman the show’s producers call Zoo—stumbles across the devastation, she can imagine only that it is part of the game. Alone and disoriented, Zoo is heavy with doubt regarding the life—and husband—she left behind, but she refuses to quit. Staggering countless miles across unfamiliar territory, Zoo must summon all her survival skills—and learn new ones as she goes. But as her emotional and physical reserves dwindle, she grasps that the real world might have been altered in terrifying ways—and her ability to parse the charade will be either her triumph or her undoing. Sophisticated and provocative, The Last One is a novel that forces us to confront the role that media plays in our perception of what is real: how readily we cast our judgments, how easily we are manipulated.
Young Zaphod Plays It Safe
Douglas Adams - 1986
It doesn't appear as a standalone work, but is included with several collections. The story is a prequel to the events in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and has the young Zaphod Beeblebrox working as a salvage ship operator. He guides some bureaucrats to a crashed spaceship which may be leaking some hazardous materials. The bureaucrats are determined to "make it safe". The comic asides in the story include some of the time travel paradoxes which are a common running theme in Adams' SF work, and plenty of material about lobsters
Apocalypse Cow
Michael Logan - 2012
During her bumbling quest to unveil the truth, she crosses paths with Terry and Geldof, and together they set out to escape a quarantined Britain with the evidence and vital data that could unlock a cure for the virus.Standing in the way are rampaging hordes of animals, a ruthless security agent and an army ready to shoot anybody with a case of the sniffles on the off-chance the virus has mutated.Three losers. Overwhelming odds. A single outcome: the world is screwed.
Fear the Dead 1
Jack Lewis - 2015
If he can't, he'll never be able to shut out the memory of his wife getting torn to shreds by the infected. Fifteen years ago the world fell apart. By day the zombie infected swarm the streets, and at night the stalkers come out of their nests to kill. Mankind is on the brink of extinction. When a teenager called Justin tricks Kyle into taking him along, Kyle has to learn to trust others, and himself, again. He doesn't want to face his past, but there are some things that you can't turn away from. A gripping story of survival that zombie apocalypse fans will love.
Wanderers
Chuck Wendig - 2019
She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that only she knows. But Shana and her sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey. And like Shana, there are other "shepherds" who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road ahead.For as the sleepwalking phenomenon awakens terror and violence in America, the real danger may not be the epidemic but the fear of it. With society collapsing all around them--and an ultraviolent militia threatening to exterminate them--the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart--or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world.
The Dog Stars
Peter Heller - 2012
Now his wife is gone, his friends are dead, and he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, Jasper, and a mercurial, gun-toting misanthrope named Bangley. But when a random transmission beams through the radio of his 1956 Cessna, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life exists outside their tightly controlled perimeter. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return and follows its static-broken trail, only to find something that is both better and worse than anything he could ever hope for.
At the Helm, Volume 1
Rhett C. BrunoBob Mayer - 2017
Epic battles. Artificial Intelligence's longing for meaning. Life as we know it, ending... Sci-Fi Bridge is thrilled to present its first collection from bestselling authors and newly emerging writers. These stories span the near and far future. They transport you to worlds unknown. They examine today's fears amid tomorrow's technologies. From the far corners of the galaxy to the inner reaches of the human heart, the exciting stories in At the Helm will thrill, inspire, and make you wonder--do humans have what it takes to build a better future? Or are we doomed by our own failings?Foreword by Samuel Peralta. "Pressure" by Jeff Carlson. First published in Strange Horizons. "This Long Vigil" by Rhett Bruno. First published in Perihelion Science Fiction Magazine. "Gao Yao Engine" by Rachel Aukes. “Brood Company” by Steve Beaulieu & Aaron Hall."Life” by Daniel Arenson. “I, Caroline” by David Bruns. “Unconditional” by Chris Pourteau. “Lara QR” by Bob Mayer. “Carindi” by Jennifer Foehner Wells. “Into the Dark” by Robert Kroese. “Pete, Popeye and Olive” by Jamie McFarlane. “Codename Delphi” by Linda Nagata. First appeared in Lightspeed Magazine. “Patchworker” by M. Pax. “Dark Space: A Chance Encounter” by Jasper T. Scott.
Hunter
Devon C. Ford - 2021
A hangover, a day off before going back to work keeping the lower levels of Zion City safe from itself. But a crime so horrific, so brutal in its execution, turns those mundane expectations around.An investigation into the death of a senior leader in their underground utopia safe from the harsh radioactive wastelands beyond their walls forces Quinn beyond that safety and into the world outside.Following the trail of the killers between the pockets of surviving humanity, Quinn soon learns that not all is well beyond the walls, but the same could be said about Zion City.Experience the start of a harrowing post-apocalyptic series from the best-selling author of After It Happened.
Mutation Z: The Ebola Zombies
Marilyn Peake - 2014
Some mutations are worse than others.Ebola, one of the most feared of the hemorrhagic diseases, has begun spreading across the borders of West African countries. The CDC and the World Health Organization have admitted they are losing control over the disease. Some hint at a possible worldwide pandemic.At exactly this point in time, Emma Johnson graduates from nursing school. She takes a job in an Ebola treatment camp inside Liberia, West Africa. The camp is state-of-the-art. It's run by the CDC and the World Health Organization, and protected by the U.S. military.Emma uncovers a secret about this facility: medical experimentation is being conducted along with treatment. Whether or not Emma ever manages to escape the camp, she's determined to get the story out. She has intimate knowledge of a biological horror being secretly unleashed upon the world.Mutation Z: The Ebola Zombies is the first book in the Mutation Z series. NOVELETTE. GENRES: Zombie Fiction, Apocalyptic Science Fiction, Conspiracy Fiction, Horror.“It looked like exactly the kind of book that I'm interested in and I was right! I read it in a single sitting, as I couldn't possibly put it down, and it was the realism that hooked me from the start...I am VERY excited to hear that this novelette will be growing into a series! Especially because of the ending that leaves you with buggy eyes and an impressive jaw gape.” – Rebecca Engelmann, Sister Sinister Speaks Blog“The plot sucked me in, as it was well done and believable. This take on the pandemic angle was well done, and…interesting to see a zombie outbreak from start. I have to say this kept me on the edge of my seat, and made me want to wash my hands repeatedly.” – Shandy Jo at Mama Knows Books“Marilyn Peake is well known for pushing the envelope of sci-fi writing, and this offering is no different. Starkly relevant, this zombie short reads like a case file, a diary of a witness to this apocalypse, plausibly believable as far as zombie fiction goes, and as it is one of my favourite genres, I have read a lot!” – Rachel Dove, Kindle Book Reviewer“Wow. Powerful writing whisks you away, drops you into a dirty, steamy camp in West Africa, and bombards you with conspiracies, horror, and real life characters who could walk off the pages.” – Laura, FUONLYKNEW Blog“One of the best parts about Mutation Z was the virus itself. Not only is it scary because it deals with Ebola but also because it only works during the full moon. Any other time of day and those injected with the serum would seem just as normal as you or me making them perfect carriers or weapons to spread the virus far and wide.” – Kristin at Blood, Sweat and Books“This conspiracy, horror novella scared the bejesus out of me. It started out fast and never let up. Every time I turned around, something was there to creep me out. I mean, think about it, a highly infectious disease is lurking, just waiting for you to make a mistake. A conspiracy is operating behind closed doors and when Emma stumbles in there is no turning back. I love this series and would highly recommend it to all horror lovers.” – Sherry Fundin, Blogger and Reviewer
Forgive Us
E.T. Gunnarsson - 2020
Generation after generation, survivors fight on enduring the world caused by their ancestors.In 2153, fledgling nations clash over land and resources. London is a veteran of the wasteland, struggling to protect his adopted daughter Rose as the world decays around them. Little does he know that both he and Rose will soon find themselves drawn into a warJust how far is London willing to go to protect Rose from a world full of violence, hate, and apathy?Fans of The Gunslinger and Mad Max will love E.T. Gunnarsson’s multi-award-winning book Forgive Us, a story readers call “thrilling, brutal, awesome, and completely unique.”
Aliens Wrecked Our Kegger (Shingles #4)
Drew Hayes - 2018
Unfortunately, that was before two dudes wielding high-tech gadgets made off with both his kegs and his brother. Now Clyde has to hunt down his sibling with only his most trusted lackey along to help. Will he manage to recover both his beer and Dougie? Will they survive the night as they unveil the mysterious secret of the kidnappers? Will the Earth be destroyed thanks to their bumbling incompetence? Probably that last one, but you’ll have to read it to find out.
The Sky Used to be Blue
Patrice Fitzgerald - 2013
She isn't sure of much else… only that the wallscreen shows an outside view that is barren and swirling with toxic clouds. Most of the others seem content—except for the ones who jump to their death from the hundred-level spiral staircase. And the ones that are pushed. After the doctor prescribes a special liquid and tells her to avoid tap water, Karma begins to remember a very different world. Despite the fog in her mind, she is convinced that something came before. Such memories are dangerous to talk about, or even to know. She must figure out who can be trusted. The doctor… her husband… or no one at all.
The Walk
Lee Goldberg - 2004
Marty Slack, a TV network executive, crawls out from under his Mercedes, parked outside what once was a downtown Los Angeles warehouse, the location for a new TV show. Downtown LA is in ruins. The sky is thick with black smoke. His cell phone is dead. The freeways are rubble. The airport is demolished. Buildings lay across streets like fallen trees. It will be days before help can arrive.Marty has been expecting this day all his life. He's prepared. In his car are a pair of sturdy walking shoes and a backpack of food, water, and supplies. He knows there is only one thing he can do ... that he must do: get home to his wife Beth, go back to their gated community on the far edge of the San Fernando Valley.All he has to do is walk. But he will quickly learn that it's not that easy. His dangerous, unpredictable journey home will take him through the different worlds of what was once Los Angeles. Wildfires rage out of control. Flood waters burst through collapsed dams. Natural gas explosions consume neighborhoods. Sinkholes swallow entire buildings. After-shocks rip apart the ground. Looters rampage through the streets.There's no power. No running water. No order.Marty Slack thinks he's prepared. He's wrong. Nothing can prepare him for this ordeal, a quest for his family and for his soul, a journey that will test the limits of his endurance and his humanity, a trek from the man he was to the man he can be ... if he can survive The Walk.
The Runner
W.J. Davies - 2013
As the Great Flood threatens to consume the silo, Ace and a team of divers are in a desperate battle to avert disaster. When a terrible accident destroys the person he cares about most, Ace has little left to live for. After nearly succumbing to the silo's flooded depths, he realizes that drastic measures must be taken in order to save their underground home. But those in charge deem his ideas too dangerous, his methods too forbidden, and he is shunned for his sin of toxic words. When an opportunity for redemption presents itself, Ace has only one question: Why should he fight to save these people, if they aren't willing to help themselves?