Apocalyptic Fantasy

Across the Galactic Empire, from planet to planet, the lone Immortal fights. He has a plan, and he has all the time he needs. Gerswin, the Forever Hero, is determined to be the salvation of distant Earth and of humanity. Now, in the climax of L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s epic trilogy, the Forever Hero's plans come to fruition, as he destroys the decayed, bureaucratic Empire that feeds off humanity, living on as the most legendary of human heroes.

One catastrophic event. A desperate race for survival. When a massive solar storm wipes out power and communication across the globe, the world plunges into chaos. In the remote Oregon mountains, military veteran Rex Hays thought he was prepared to weather the collapse. But nothing could prepare him for what’s coming. While hunting, Rex saves a teenage girl, Zoe Mills, from a mountain lion attack. Injured and with no memory of why she was in the wilderness, Zoe becomes the center of a deadly mystery. Strangers from out of town are searching for her, and they’ll stop at nothing to find her.

Marcus Battle is tired of the world. And he's certain the world is tired of him. But when an old friend needs his help, he steps back into the violence and corruption he's fought for so long to avoid. A decade after he disappeared north of the wall that separated his Texas from the rest of what used to be his country, an oppressive government threatens the only people alive for whom he cares and who care about him.

The world outside has grown toxic, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. The remnants of humanity live underground in a single silo. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they want: They are allowed to go outside.

When the cultivators came to Earth, they destroyed our entire civilization in a matter of hours. Armies fell, cities burned, and that was before the moon turned red and filled our world with monsters. Now, over a decade later, what's left of humanity slaves under the heels of our Qi-infused masters. The luckiest of us might even become one of them, they say—if we serve the Dynasty well enough and harness the power of Qi. But I want none of that. I'm sick of serving, and I want nothing to do with their world. Instead, I want them to pay for what they did to mine.

Half of the earth's population has been wiped out. Impossible to predict or stop, the Gamma Ray Burst tore through the Earth like a bullet, its radiation wave killing hundreds of millions, and the after effects ensuring the deaths of billions more.

For many billions of years, humans - having conquered the curse of aging - spread throughout the entire Milky Way. They are able to live all their dreams, but to their great disappointment, no other intelligent species has ever been encountered. Now, humanity itself is on the brink of extinction because the universe is dying a protracted yet inevitable death.

Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans - though no one calls them that anymore. His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the "Transition". Now, eating human meat - "special meat" - is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.

I'd been told it was maybe 10,000 years since the cataclysm. I was a Delver, trained to explore the ruins of civilization buried over time. I'd studied and trained hard. I felt prepared for pretty much anything. Except for what I actually found. She said she was Shakini. She was very much mostly dead when I found her. I found out that Shakini was what she was, not who she was. The old legends said that she was a demon. A vampiric being. It was closer to the truth to say she was just a really pretty girl addicted to love. She did nearly kill me while I struggled to save her that first few ...

The long years of near-utopia have come to an abrupt end. Peace and order are now figments of the past. Corruption, deception, and insurgency humwithin the once steadfast leadership of the Hives, nations without fixed location.

Ambitious college student Daniel Walker has his world turned upside down when he begins having prophetic dreams about the judgment coming upon America. Through one of his dreams, Daniel learns of an imminent threat of an EMP attack that will wipe out America's electric grid and all computerized devices, sending the country into a technological dark age. Living in a nation where all life-sustaining systems of support are completely dependent on electricity and computers, the odds for survival are dismal.

Dr. Miles Cole is a professor of Archaeology at a prestigious university, and out of a small pool of archaeologists with expertise in the Caribbean islands. One evening, two guests arrive at his door. His star student, a transfer student finishing her last two semesters at his university, Alexandria Rizzo, and CIA representative Mr. Johnson, to inform Dr. Miles Cole that he’s been selected for work on a top-secret mission. The U.S. government has recently learned that the Cuban Missile Crisis was a cover-up. The Soviets knew they couldn’t get the equipment that they needed into and out ...

Tough-as-nails Dakota Sloane has spent her life running from the past. A man haunted by secrets, Logan Garcia has only one goal: to drink himself into oblivion. When a bomb detonates over Miami, utter anarchy erupts. Dakota knows of a safe house deep in the Everglades, but she needs Logan's help to survive the chaos. But the radiation isn't the only threat. At every turn, deadly foes are determined to stop them. As a diabolical conspiracy emerges, Logan and Dakota must prepare for the fight of their lives against an enemy more powerful than they could ever imagine.

When ninety-percent of the Universe's population suddenly turned into monsters, Leo has no time to grieve. He must push forward and find what is left of his family. If that means sacrificing what remains of his humanity and embracing his new reality where a mysterious System is his only true ally, then so be it. After all, in a world where almost everything wants to kill him, he has to decide if he can do what it takes. Adapt or Die. Kill or be killed.

For Fool and Jackal, the System Apocalypse was a chance to start again. A chance to rise, and be who they were meant to be. Now, they're trying to offer others the same opportunities as part of a secret organization helping humanity survive the System. Today's mission? Nothing big, just your typical save-the-princess quest. But when you're the Acolyte of a Trickster god, typical is the last thing you should expect. Just ask Fool's cat.

Facing down an unprecedented malevolent enemy, the government responds with a nuclear attack. America as it was is gone forever, and now every citizen - from the President of the United States to the homeless on the streets of New York City - will fight for survival. In a wasteland born of rage and fear, populated by monstrous creatures and marauding armies, earth's last survivors have been drawn into the final battle between good and evil, that will decide the fate of humanity.

A nuclear blast has transformed the world into a barren wasteland. Survival depends on your ability to kick ass and take names. Radiation transforms select humans into mutated creatures who are banished from society - Enders. The males are libido-less wild animals incapable of satisfying the females, who are hot, forward and badass. Cutter has kept to himself for 10 years, avoiding the conflict with a sharp tongue, stiff drink and his two best friends, his six-shooters, Alpha and Beta. But the perils of the wastelands won't leave him the hell alone.

Michael Talbot, his squad, and followers have suffered hardship and loss along the way, but finally, after years of searching, they have reached their Colorado homestead and settled in. But the world hasn't finished with them yet. A ferocious and determined enemy draws them back into the war for Humankind, and this time, the battle will be final.

Colonel Jake Thomas has a mess on his hands. The losses on Klinan have gutted an already short-staffed defense force, and his people are scrambling to prepare for a possible attack, directly on Earth. Combined with the seemingly erratic behavior of Sara, his number-one go-to girl, he is struggling to keep up. Now, with unexplained transmissions originating in Europe, and an Alien visitor with questionable motives, he is awash in new challenges on Earth and in space.

In her new collection, Story Prize finalist Maureen F. McHugh delves into the dark heart of contemporary life and life five minutes from now and how easy it is to mix up one with the other. Her stories are post-bird flu, in the middle of medical trials, wondering if our computers are smarter than us, wondering when our jobs are going to be outsourced overseas, wondering if we are who we say we are, and not sure what we'd do to survive the coming zombie plague.