Book picks similar to
Equal by W.J. Costello


dystopia
science-fiction
dystopian
fiction

Children of the Folded Valley


Simon Dillon - 2014
     In this seemingly idyllic world, the charismatic Benjamin Smiley claimed to be protecting his followers from an impending nuclear apocalypse. But the valley concealed a terrifying secret. A secret that would change Smiley's followers forever.

The Calm Act Books 1-3


Ginger Booth - 2016
    But climate change accelerates out of control. As her old world disintegrates, Dee teams up to help build a new one."Climate change. Government surveillance. Societal breakdown. Sounds like a real downer, right? It's not, thanks to its determined, witty narrator. She's instantly relatable." - Amazon reviewBook 1: End GameAs the U.S. unravels, media and corporation offer a shining grail of salvation: to be one of the select few to secure safety in an ark. Dee Baker's Fortune 100 media job promises her an ark berth, and for backup she's dating fun and wealthy ark-itect Adam. But fellow gardener and neighbor Zack plans to make his stand outside the arks. Dee needs to choose whether to protect herself, or risk it all to help others. Trying to have it both ways could be the riskiest gambit of all.Book 2: Project ReunionWhen Ebola strikes, the Calm Act surrounds New York City with armed borders. That assumes the rest of the Northeast is OK with letting millions die, in order to save themselves. Dee Baker and partner set out to prove otherwise and mobilize the Northeast to save New York, though the doing may tear them apart.Book 3: Martial LawlessWhen a martial law leader is murdered in Pittsburgh, Dee Baker and partner are dispatched to investigate. Plagued by tornados, and isolated under the Calm Act, Pittsburgh has gone rogue, its religious factions out of control, and it's up to Dee and crew what to do about it. But the forces afoot are darker than they imagined. And Dee's about to fall into their trap.If you enjoy vivid characters, compelling world-building, and page-turning action, you'll love Ginger Booth's day-after-tomorrow Calm Act series.

WIPE - Part 1 (A Post-Apocalyptic Story)


Joseph A. Turkot - 2014
     Way out in the sea, impossible to reach. It rises gray and bare, up and up, and then out of sight. As if the sea gave birth to something meant to connect it to the sky. I’ve never seen the top. Maze says she’s not convinced it has one. And I’ve always taken its impossible presence for what the Fathers say it is: a relic from before the Wipe. The hubris of pre-Wipe man, and a reminder for us all as to why it is God’s Will that we never return to technology. But Maze suddenly has it in her head that the tower means something else, something different than the history the Fathers have given us. I think she’s a conspiracy theorist. Until she shows me the map. Just the word mirror scribbled in red ink, next to a marking, and she expects me to go into the Deadlands with her. As long as I’ve known of her recklessness, and as much of a bad influence as she is on me, I can’t say no. Because while she doesn’t know they exist, I can’t stop my feelings for her. And I start to realize, when we first pass over the rotting gates, into the ruin that was a city, that it will take something much more than either of us ever knew we had in order to survive the truth.

Judgment Day


James F. David - 2005
    . . especially when Ira Breitling is handed a divine gift---an interstellar engine that can lift humanity into the heavens. Crow---awash in riches, commanding nations, supremely powerful---swears eternal vengeance on Breitling and his Fellowship of the Faithful . . . and on all humankind.The reign of Lucifer---prophesized as a thousand years of darkness---is about to begin. With the world falling fast under Crow's violent sway, Breitling's Fellowship---having only one choice---seizes their divine gift, their faster-than-light flight, and flees the earth. Their journey takes them beyond the distant stars to a perfect planet uncorrupted by Crow and his Kingdom of Darkness.But even as Manuel Crow razes and racks the Earth, Revelations' scourge is not yet sated. Crows eyes the heavens, fixed on the Faithful.Ira Breitling and the Fellowship must defend not only themselves but the soul of all humanity: A Kingdom of Light against the Forces of Darkness. Will the Fellowship prevail . . . or fall under Revelations' reign?Let the battle begin.

Judge Dredd: America


John Wagner - 2015
    But how do the citizens really feel about a system where they are powerless? America Jara and Bennett Beeny grow up as best friends, living a fairly trouble-free life in a dangerous city… bar the odd encounter with a Judge. Time draws them apart, and when they are brought back together, Beeny is a successful singer and America has become involved with a terrorist organisation – with the Judges in its sights! Written by John Wagner (A History of Violence) with art by Colin MacNeil (Judge Dredd: The Chief Judge’s Man) this dark and complex tale is a true 2000 AD classic!

Immortal: An alien invasion of Earth is imminent … or is it?


Nick M. Lloyd - 2019
    The senders, calling themselves the Ankor, claim a colossal gamma ray burst from a supernova will engulf the Earth in less than a year, sterilising all life. But they provide no proof … only demands that all countries must prepare to build an enormous shield in orbit around the Earth. Francis MacKenzie, industrialist and private owner of the UK’s only satellite launch facility, says there’s no alternative but to accept the Ankor position and mobilise immediately. Tim Boston is not convinced the Ankor can be trusted but as a divisional head in MacKenzie’s flagship bioengineering company, he won’t risk biting the hand that feeds him. Samantha Turner may do though, despite her ongoing commitment to Tim not to cause trouble. Scroll Up And Buy It Today

Wilson's War


T.S. Paul - 2016
     Athena Lee's Quirky AI. Wilson has his origin story revealed at long last. Discover why he wants a Cat. Ever wonder why Hannibal Lee is afraid of the Farm? Meet lots of new characters and visit a few of our friends. Follow Wilson's adventures as he has fun at the expense of others. Taking advantage of Humans is too easy. Plotting Galaxy Domination is more fun. Prepare to Get down and Get Funky as the Hits just keep on coming!

Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits: A Novel


Jason Pargin - 2021
    A Winner of the 2016 Alex AwardsNightmarish villains with superhuman enhancements. An all-seeing social network that tracks your every move. Mysterious, smooth-talking power players who lurk behind the scenes. A young woman from the trailer park. And her very smelly cat. Together, they will decide the future of mankind.Get ready for a world in which anyone can have the powers of a god or the fame of a pop star, in which human achievement soars to new heights while its depravity plunges to the blackest depths. A world in which at least one cat smells like a seafood shop's dumpster on a hot summer day. This is the world in which Zoey Ashe finds herself, navigating a futuristic city in which one can find elements of the fantastic, nightmarish and ridiculous on any street corner. Her only trusted advisor is the aforementioned cat, but even in the future, cats cannot give advice. At least not any that you'd want to follow.Will Zoey figure it all out in time? Or maybe the better question is, will you? After all, the future is coming sooner than you think.

Driver 8: A Post-Apocalyptic Novel


G. Michael Hopf - 2017
    Out of the ashes, small pockets of survivors banded together to forge new societies in the few areas not ravaged by the nuclear holocaust. One community has not only risen but thrived. Known as The Collective, they pride themselves on an orderly system of government with a functioning infrastructure. The citizenry owe their success to their founder The Number One, who presides over them with an iron fist. Life in The Collective centers on contribution and purpose. All are assigned responsibilities and if one cannot fulfill them, they are cast out. The most coveted but dangerous responsibility is that of a driver. Drivers ride the lonely and barren roads scavenging and exploring the outer reaches. Over the years only one has emerged as a legend and his name is Driver 8.

Her Royal Runner


Joey Anderle - 2016
    He is selected to act as her bodyguard during a political crisis in her land. Which isn't part of our Earth. Although tasked with keeping her out of trouble for forty-eight hours, Booker is finding Her Royal Princess Auralee to be a little more adventurous than he had expected. Join Runner Sterling Booker Wells as he attempts to keep the Elven Princess out of harm's way.

Survive (Live Free or Die #1)


Shawn Underhill - 2017
     Set against the backdrop of the isolated forests north of New Hampshire's White Mountains, while camping on family land, Tom and Lori Thornton (and their dog, Buck) find themselves in a sudden SHTF scenario. No cellular service. Dangerous roads. Limited supplies. And far more questions than answers. After the shocking murder of Tom's uncle by a band of looters, the couple's already faltering marriage reaches the breaking point amid the chaos. Trust and loyalties are challenged, old friendships are put to the test, and while immediate answers and solutions elude them, they must rely on raw instincts in order to survive.

News From the Squares


Robert Llewellyn - 2013
    He soon realises he has travelled sideways through time to another possible future, as unlike Gardenia as our own era.Arriving in a teeming megacity, Gavin discovers a highly technologically developed society in a vast urban landscape constructed around a seemingly endless series of squares dense with lush vegetation and trees.Much of what Gavin sees is recognisable. But there is one important difference. Here, women make up the majority of the global population and run the majority of institutions, including the vast and mysterious Institute of Mental Health where Gavin is required to live...

Cat's Game


Roman Prokofiev - 2019
    This discovery sets off a special event and starts a deadly intercontinental war, all arranged by long-gone developers. Now, Oleg, the man behind Cat, has to collect all the unique weapons left in the game by its creators before the tragic accident claimed their lives and to complete the new challenge that nobody on the new developer team has any idea about, all the while being accused of cheating and hunted by the most dangerous guild in the game world, led by a dark goddess and one of the top PvP players. Once, he was a professional player earning real money in another game. He fell from his pedestal into a debt pit: his account got blocked, his savings got burnt, his friends left him behind, and dangerous people appeared at his doorstep, wanting their money back. To get back on his feet, he decided to enter a new game and find a new source of income. *** Cat’s Game is a highly-rated LitRPG series by Roman Prokofiev. The protagonist is one of a kind: more of a trickster than a classic adventuring hero—even if he has to become the one to finish what the original developers of the game started. The setting is the future, around 2070. The Earth has changed: climate, coastlines, even countries. The Sphere is a game ruled by supercomputers…but not everything inside it is controlled by AI, and Cat, whose only interest is earning money to survive in real life, becomes embroiled in the long-gestating plan that will change the face of the entire in-game world.

The Reversion (Stonemont Book 1)


Steven C. Smith - 2017
    When the world did crash, his family’s home of Stonemont became not only a refuge, but a place where it might be possible to start over again, and reclaim the American ideal. Among the many novels in the SHTF/TEOTWAWKI genre, The Reversion stands apart – and, perhaps, alone. It does not follow the survival learning curve of the unprepared or minimally-prepared, as so many excellent books have already done so well. Rather, it is the story of a man who was prepared, and of how his preparation and foresight provided not only a safe haven for him and his family, but a re-start point for those who come together to survive the collapse of the world around them. As such, it is an unbelievably positive book about an unbelievably negative circumstance, and carries within it the lessons of preparedness and survival that every person should strive to learn. Tightly woven into the story are threads of history, morality, politics, economics, philosophy and comparative justice – the kind America was founded on, the kind they had devolved to under the weight of an increasingly liberal and socialist society, and the kind that might re-establish a society reflective of America’s original ideals. As these threads are woven into the fabric of the larger story of survival, the realization emerges that a great catastrophe enabled the return of what makes us, as human beings, truly happy and fulfilled, and that, perhaps, only a great catastrophe could. The Reversion, written by an expert in survival and preparedness with an interesting government and non-government background, is destined to be an instant classic in the preparedness/survival genre. More than a good story, it is a manual and a resource for all who are interested in these fields, and deserves to be kept on your desk or chair-side table where it can be read, re-read and referred to often.

The Caretaker


Jason Gurley - 2014
    She wakes to the sun breaking over Africa. She keeps watch over the experiments. She makes sure the station doesn't explode.And she's the only occupant of the space station when the world far below her comes apart in flame.