Dystopian Short Stories

In a near-future world dominated by The Directorate, a sinister regime, Alex and Mia find love amidst oppression. Alex, born with "Inferior Genes", possesses a secret that could change everything. Together, they join the underground resistance and uncover the regime's dark secrets. Their daring mission to expose The Directorate's tyranny takes them to the heart of its power. Betrayals and sacrifices test their love, but they emerge victorious, ushering in a new era where individuality and freedom reign.

Abby never expected life to be easy. The daughter of a father she's never met and a mother who works three jobs just to get by, she walks herself to her middle school in Chicago, fixes her own dinners, and keeps herself company. Despite all the disadvantages stacked against her, however, Abby manages to keep a smile on and even dedicates her time to helping others who have even less than her. But one July day, something happens in the city that causes a mass panic while she's out grocery shopping, and Abby's life is forever changed.

Immerse yourself in a chilling futuristic world where AI and automation are weapons of societal control. A searing anthology of three gripping tales, nothing is as it seems. In the title story "Date Night," a seemingly innocent virtual dating experience takes a dark turn.Marie and Rodger thought they had embraced the future when they welcomed AI assistance into their lives. But what begins as efficiency spirals into an inescapable web of technological seduction. "Cancelled" explores a world where controversial actors and public figures are replaced by perfect AI replicas. But at what cost? ...

Killer bots anyone? What about an eco-Armageddon? And what really happened at Roswell anyway? From ancient mysteries on Earth to far-future conflicts on other worlds, this collection of sixteen sci-fi short stories from the author of The Anti Life Series and the Final Update trilogy promises to take you on an adventure. Whether it’s human-sized parasites, clone lovers, or intergalactic war—there’s something in this novel-length story collage for every science fiction enthusiast.

In the distant future the United States has been split into two regions separated by a barren wasteland; this is the country of Dystopia. Here the individual is discouraged, freedom is an illusion, food is rationed, and everything you do is tracked by a chip implanted in your arm. This is Dana Ginary's world.

I’ve been an exile my entire life, stuck on a forgotten planet with alien overseers that enslave human men and keep human women as little more than prized pets. I hide in the wilderness alone, away from the oppressive alien civilization. The alien overseers send human men to hunt feral women like me all the time. When three human hunters finally manage to trap me, there’s only one thing I have to offer them to barter for my freedom: me. It’s the one thing they’re forbidden from ever having—a human woman. Their Human Captive is a reverse-harem sci-fi romance SHORT-STORY with ...

This post-apocalyptic dystopian short story follows Elizabeth, a mechanical and chemical engineer who used to work for a rapid prototyping firm. She uses the skills from her former life to provide for her and the woman she took under her protection, Melissa. The two seem to thrive in adverse conditions to bring semi-modern conditions to their hidden camp. But even after the world ends, you sometimes need something pretty.

Two wives share a house divided. A writer creates a sexy new partner. A backseat driver's trapped. A devilish elevator runs out of floors. And clothes control the man. Short, sharp jabs into your mind. Philosophical sci-fi quick reads.

Some religions state that the very universe was created by words. The nation of America was founded using words. Words established the rights and freedoms this nation enjoys. The first of those rights is freedom of speech, which implies so much more than the right to use words. This anthology contains four stories from four authors. Each story pays tribute to either the ideals held by America’s First Amendment or to the concept that the words people use hold power. These authors took the concept of words and placed it in futuristic, apocalyptic, and fantasy settings.

Endland holds a broken mirror to England. In its garish but strangely familiar world of empty tower blocks, 24-hour cyber cafes, and bomb sites, a motley collection of misfits, wanderers and charmed drunks do their best to survive. Nothing is stable in Endland, and what's more, the gods have started drinking at lunchtime, which can lead only to trouble.

Many people died when the end times came. Those who survived did so by building bubbles - protective domes that protected them from the radioactive ash beyond. Keeping one running takes a village. It's for this reason that everyone has their role to play. Except the Elders. Their only job is to remind the ones born after the End that life is about more than mere survival.

In a world with an uncertain future, do you imagine for the best or for the worst case scenario? Twelve writers tackle extreme solarpunk utopias and apocalyptic or political dystopias—and the gray areas in between—in Biketopia, the fourth volume of the Bikes in Space series of feminist science fiction stories about bicycling. Some find love and fierce resistance in the end times; others imagine an ecological future of saving technology, with solarpunk ecotopian visions, at times paired with crushing social control.

Spanning multiple locations and times, and rendered in fine detail and vivid color, this transportive, expansive collection shows what it means to live as human inhabitants on our one miraculous planet. Lyrical, at times hilarious, and always heartfelt, each of these ten stories is a reflection of individual choice in the face of man-made apocalypse: in a near-future Seoul, where air pollution has become so fatal that the city has been encased in a translucent biodome, a civil engineer charged with its upkeep contemplates an arranged marriage.

Welcome to the world of Science Fiction Short Stories Vol. 05, a collection of gripping tales that will take you on a journey through the unknown. The Shadowplay Collective has masterfully crafted a set of stories that will transport you to different worlds, each with their own unique challenges and dangers. If you're a fan of science fiction, this book is a must-read. UNHAPPY SMILE. HUNTED ON MARS. THE COARSE PATH. THE JUDGEMENT. KINETIC MOVEMENT. PARKING FOR PROFIT. EAT. SLEEP. BREED.In this collection, you'll find stories set in various timeframes and locations, from the depths of space ...

This collection of nine stories from the Grand Master of Science Fiction charts the course of humanity from the near future onward through millennia. In Galaxies Like Grains of Sand, Brian W. Aldiss tells the tale of mankind's future over the course of forty million years. Each of these nine connected short stories highlights a different millennia in which man has adapted to new environments and hardships.

The wagon ground to a halt, and there was no time to feel anything, much less fear, as Jeremiah unbuckled and piled out with the others. And yet, as he paused momentarily to take in the building, a strange thing happened. He thought he heard a voice - a woman’s voice, a witch’s voice. And it said to him, as faintly as the cymbals at the start of the music, "Why have you come for us, witch doctor?"

GOLD MEDAL WINNER-READERS’ FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL AWARDS SILVER MEDAL WINNER-INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARDS A Tea Party activist discovers that he is growing another head. A playboy befriends a woman who is only six inches tall. A rape victim confronts her assailant in a maximum security prison. James Hanna is a prolific writer whose stories have appeared in over thirty literary journals. Drawing from his experiences as an adventurer in Australia, a counselor in an Indiana prison, and a San Francisco probation officer, James offers a variety of themes in these nineteen aberrant tales. His ...

How many ways can you spell peril? This collection of ten dark science fiction short stories explores a dystopian future in which humans may find more questions than answers. Some of the answers might be better off unlearned.

The ant scurries on the counter, alone, and the only remnant of its poisoned colony. Empathizing with the ant, Natalie ponders putting it out of its misery. As a scientist, she knows her flowcharts point to humankind's destruction: much like the ants, we polluted our colony too. Heading up one of a handful of secret labs, Natalie's mission to save humanity seems more like a cliché sci-fi movie than reality. Or maybe the world-weary views she possesses stem from her own bitter past.

In The Memory Librarian, music, fashion, film and activist icon Janelle Monáe returns to the Afrofuturistic world of her critically acclaimed album, Dirty Computer, to explore how different threads of liberation—queerness, race, gender plurality, love—become tangled in a totalitarian landscape...and to discover costs of unravelling them.