Dystopian Science Fiction

Edgar Hill is 35 and caught in his own headlock. Overweight slob, underperforming husband, and reluctant father - for Ed, the world may as well have already ended. So when it does end in a catastrophic asteroid strike and Edgar and his family find refuge in an Edinburgh army barracks, it comes as something of a relief. But nothing's ever that simple. Returning from a salvage run in the city, Edgar finds his family gone, taken to the south coast for evacuation by an international task force.

Living in New Zealand, Jack Gee thought he was safe. The isolated country had always provided a sense of security. When a virus begins to spread across the globe, he is on a hiking trip in the mountains, blissfully unaware. A message from his wife Dee alerts him to the viral threat that turns humans into apex predators with one purpose - to kill. The country collapses as Jack races to get home, and when he finally does make it out of the mountains he finds his peaceful life has been shattered. Banding with other survivors, they must quickly learn how to survive in this new world.

Eight years ago, the world as we know it ended. Now, the last US government stronghold has sent a military recon team from Camp David to the bombed-out city of Seattle, but the mission turns deadly when a horde of horrifying mutant creatures are released onto the streets. Oliver Marcus and Trisha Pike, the only survivors of their nine-man team, are rescued by a group of scavengers led by their superhuman leader, River Kingston. Driven by the need to find her lost husband, River is drawn in by Mycroft, the invisible puppet master behind New Texas.

Seventeen-year-old Truth Medici scavenges for scraps to eat; weathers his parents' abuse; and battles derelicts, killer pimps, and demons in the soul-crushing stretch of desperation he calls home. Even the cops steer clear of the toxic Harban slums. But just across the canal live the magical elite, with their wealth, flying carpets, gorgeous mages, and custom spell beasts, all thanks to the patronage of the almighty Starbrite Corporation. Getting there, and taking his three vulnerable siblings with him, is Truth's only dream.

Mycroft Canner is a convict. For his crimes he is required, as is the custom of the 25th century, to wander the world being as useful as he can to all he meets. Carlyle Foster is a sensayer - a spiritual counselor in a world that has outlawed the public practice of religion, but which also knows that the inner lives of humans cannot be wished away.

What would the world be like without America? The attack only takes a few minutes to sweep from coast to coast. When it ends, nearly everyone on mainland USA is gone. Every policeman. Every housewife. Every trucker. Everyone. A continent free for the taking.... Ted MacInnis is a backup pilot on Air Force Two, over the Atlantic, when it happens. A warrior by nature, he can do little but listen as the radio signals from his homeland fade away and die.

Recent EMP attacks have left the country in a state of chaos and upheaval. With two of his children on the East Coast, Ben Davis has left Colorado behind, embarking on a cross-country journey with his eldest son, Joel, one of Joel’s classmates, Allie, and the family dog, Gunner. Very few modern vehicles remain functional, but thanks to Joel’s 1972 Chevy Blazer, Ben and his crew are mobile and able to carry supplies. But that doesn’t mean they’re safe in this post-apocalyptic world. They soon discover that life as they know it is over. Danger fills every moment of their new reality.

Rick, an aging Vietnam veteran, alcoholic, and prepper, convinces Zach Gunderson that the apocalypse is on the horizon. The two of them take refuge at a remote farm. As the zombie plague rages, they face a terrifying fight for survival. They soon learn, however, that the walking dead are not the only monsters.

Noah, an orphan from Earth's last days who, as a child, was smuggled to safety across the stars, is now nearly a man and a leader to the young enclave of Earthborn who reside on Sora. When the tranquility of their settlement is shattered by a shocking assassination attempt, Noah turns to his combative younger brother, Erik, Lucas and Asha's only child by blood, for aid.

Everyone becomes prey when Earth is swallowed up and transmuted to a bestial landscape, the first stage of induction into Elysium's multiverse and a new galaxy in the making. In the blink of any eye, the bloodthirsty creatures of Riven Thane's worst nightmares are unleashed as he; his sister, Allie; and his friend Jose scramble amid the carnage to live another hour. But on this nothing of a planet, Riven is more special than he knows. He's among a select few with a singular bloodline, and the Elysium system has its eye on Riven in particular.

The World is Dead. The Hunt Has Begun. It started as a calculated attack—terrorist squads infected with a deadly virus unleashed on the U.S. and Europe. But no one predicted what came next. The virus mutated, spreading like wildfire, consuming entire nations. Millions died. The unlucky ones came back. Mindless. Rabid. Driven by a single, relentless instinct—to hunt and kill the few who remain. Hunter, a battle-hardened Iraq War veteran, was ready to leave violence behind. But when civilization collapses overnight, he finds himself back in the fight of his life. Teaming up with a band of...

★★★★★ "The most engaging post apocalyptic/dystopian thriller I've ever read!" ★★★★★ "Holy Cow!" No Power. No Telephone. No internet. No T.V. No Transport. Nothing. What will you do when the world as we know it stops? For Kate Wolfe, the answer is simple - whatever it takes to protect her family. For Bob Jackson and his militia, it's the day they've been planning for. The day they take control. When the two collide, as the city of Boise falls to ruin, nobody can predict how things will end. ★★★★★ "I put Murray in the same class as Brad Thor, James Rollins, David...

In the year 2107, the world has both made astounding leaps forward and reduced humanity to its most basic existence. While the megacorps and those who rule them enjoy lives of extraordinary comfort and ease, most people barely scrape by, doing whatever they can to keep going. Juliet Bianchi is one of the latter. She works cutting metal in a scrapyard and doesn't have much to show for it except for a small group of equally bereft, fiercely loyal friends. Still, she maintains a bright disposition, possessing more hope and optimism than anyone would expect her to—and she's going to need it.

In a scarred and brutal future, The United Commonwealth teeters on the brink of all-out civil war. The rebel resistance plots against a government that rules with cruelty and cunning. Gifted student and Testing survivor Cia Vale vows to fight. But she can't do it alone. This is the chance to lead that Cia has trained for - but who will follow? Plunging through layers of danger and deception, Cia must risk the lives of those she loves - and gamble on the loyalty of her lethal classmates.

Ben Davis was prepared for disaster. 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.

Colin Laney is here looking for work. He is an intuitive fisher for patterns of information. But Laney knows how to sift for the dangerous bits. Which makes him useful - to certain people. Chia McKenzie is here on a rescue mission. Her idol is the singer Rez, of the band Lo,Rez. When the Seattle chapter of the Lo,Rez fan club decided that he might be in trouble in Tokyo, they sent Chia to check it out. Rei Toei is the idoru - the beautiful, entirely virtual media star adored by all Japan. Rez has declared that he will marry her. This is the rumor that has brought Chia to Tokyo.

This exciting collection presents two previously unpublished stories by SF legend Octavia E. Butler. A Necessary Being precedes the events of Survivor, Butler's third (famously disowned) installment in her Patternist series, and includes characters from it, focusing exclusively on the Kohn, aliens who build their social hierarchies on the blueness of their fur. In Childfinder, a black woman with the gift of identifying children with latent psychic ability refuses to share her skill with an organization of white telepaths.

With a second chance ahead of them and the moonshiner’s compound in the rearview mirror, Ben and his crew can resume their cross-country trek to Colorado. Or can they? Three newly rescued acquaintances and another canine companion complicate their life on the road. And the addition of two more vehicles to their west bound convoy only adds to Ben’s responsibilities. Making matters worse, the open road quickly proves more hostile than they remember.

In a future plagued with natural disasters, criminals known as “scavs” raid damaged cities. Their most important rule: don’t help the survivors. Bear, a twenty-nine-year-old engineer, breaks that rule when he takes Salix, a Native American college student, back to his scav team’s flying ship for medical treatment. Captain Baxter allows her to board but will not let her leave. Salix hopes to escape, but Baxter’s growing obsession with her makes that impossible. As the situation grows tense, a tsunami in Portugal prompts a scav raid.

Fresh off the heels of a major firefight with the Patriot Hooligan gang, Ben and the others must turn their attention to the treacherous road ahead and the final task of reaching Colorado. In addition to the dangers they face in their everyday struggle to survive, there are tough decisions to be made. Ben is forced to choose between a guilty conscience and what’s best for his family when they find themselves at odds with a member of the group. Amid the chaos that their lives have become, one thing still remains the same. Life on the road is as brutal as it ever was.