Apocalyptic Fantasy

It’s an ordinary Monday. Until everything changes forever. At 2:44 PM, a mysterious crack appears in the sky. Anyone unfortunate enough to look up is immediately struck blind. What’s worse, their mind is wiped clean, replaced with a vicious urge to kill anyone within reach.

It was a day like any other. Except it was our last.... It’s on this day that Pounce discovers that he is, in fact, disposable. Pounce, a styilsh "nannybot" fashioned in the shape of a plush anthropomorphic tiger, has just found a box in the attic. His box. The box he'd arrived in when he was purchased years earlier, and the box in which he'll be discarded when his human charge, eight-year-old Ezra Reinhart, no longer needs a nanny. As Pounce ponders his suddenly uncertain future, the pieces are falling into place for a robot revolution that will eradicate humankind.

Out they came, away from natural predators, nesting in damp corners and in the tops of trees, crossbreeding with common cousins and laying thousands upon thousands of eggs. 'Then...the eggs hatched and an army of hungry caterpillars spread their tiny toxic threads on every breath of wind.’ The threads spell doom for humanity - half of it, at least. All around the world, men are dying in their sleep or turning into rage-fuelled killers. The world, as we know it, ends. However, humanity adapts and society moves on.

Miah Gray is a 27-year-old former army soldier living in rural New Hampshire with his sister, mother, and her boyfriend. He is plagued by PTSD, finding solace, but not redemption, with the aid of prescribed cannabis. All he wants to do is get high, relax with a good sandwich, and watch a meteor shower with his neighborhood crush, Jen. When the sun's light is blotted out the following morning and the world is plunged into darkness, Miah finds himself locked down with his family, covering windows with trash bags, lighting candles, and following the arcane rules of an ancient prophecy.

Survival in Man’s Second Dark Age...Three hundred years after the fall of society, the last fragments of civilization are clinging to life, living in the ruins of the ancient cities in nearly-medieval conditions. Technology has been reduced to legend, monsters roam the forests, and fear reigns supreme. But that is just the beginning...The wind-borne spores are spreading, disfiguring men and twisting their minds, turning them into creatures that threaten to destroy the townships.

The world crashed to pieces on June 23rd and Adrian Ring wasn't anywhere near ready for it. He had no guns, no food, no friends around, a cat that wanted to slip out the back of the condo and a girlfriend trapped in the heart of the city. This is the story of how he survived. Real, flawed, and raw, Dark Recollections is Adrian's own story of how he survived after "That Day". Told through his eyes as he talks to his laptop, affectionately named "Mr. Journal".

The infection has begun, ravaging the American Southwest and leaving chaos in its wake. In this new world, there will be no last meal, no dying wish. The only reward left is to survive another day...The complete Contamination series - all in this one, special edition.

Kris Merrill's life changed irrevocably when, a year ago, she was targeted for termination by the Meridian corporation, one of the mega-conglomerates that controls the government in this dystopian future. She hid amongst the underground resistance - but now, right as her training with the anti-corporate movement is nearing its end, their compound is destroyed. Ready or not, Kris and the other trainees are recalled to the dangerous metropolis of San Angeles.

Ever since dragons invaded Earth, Bailey Monzac and other survivors have had to adjust to a new world order. But a new threat is emerging that could destroy everything they've been struggling to rebuild - for both man and beast. There's an artifact out there that can control dragons, and many would seek to possess it for dark purposes. It's going to be up to Bailey, her dragon shape-shifter ally Aidan, and their friends to embark on a long and arduous quest to recover the relic before it falls into the wrong hands.

Kris Ballard is a motorcycle courier. A nobody. Level Two trash in a multilevel city that stretches from San Francisco to the Mexican border - a land where corporations make all the rules. A runaway since the age of 14, Kris struggled to set up her life, barely scraping by, working hard to make it without anyone's help. But a late-day delivery changes everything when she walks in on the murder of one of her clients. Now she's stuck with a mysterious package that everyone wants.

Captain Jacob Thomas, USMC, is a divorced combat veteran just trying to get his life back on track. Returning to the marine corps after a failed attempt at reconciliation with his estranged wife, Jake volunteers for a DARPA experiment that catapults him into a future where humanity has been stripped of 200 years of technological advancements and more than half its population. With the help of a faceless benefactor named Alice, he escapes the confines of an abandoned lab facility.

In your hands is the handwritten journal depicting one man's struggle for survival. Trapped in the midst of global disaster, he must make decisions; choices that ultimately mean life, or the eternal curse to walk as one of them. Enter, if you will, into the world of the undead.

It's been two years since the zombie uprising devoured 99% of the world's population - and the vampires have come out of the shadows to claim the spoils. It's Emily Campbell's job to destroy vampire communes and rescue their human herds, but when a mission goes wrong, and she faces certain undeath, she would rather die than ever let them transform her. The problem is that when she makes a desperate suicide attempt, not only does the Grim Reaper fail to take her life - he also somehow loses all his powers in the process.

Oberon the Irish wolfhound and his Boston terrier buddy, Starbuck, not only witness humans waste perfectly good sausage, but also a sneaky murder committed right before their eyes in THE CHARTREUSE CHANTEUSE by Kevin Hearne. Justice demands that someone pay for both crimes, and together with their Druid, Atticus O'Sullivan, and D.I. Rose Badgely of the Launceston police, they'll show the dastardly villain they messed with the wrong good dogs.

Zombies are real. And we made them. Are you prepared for the zombie apocalypse? The Smith family is, with the help of a few marines. When an airborne "zombie" plague is released, bringing civilization to a grinding halt, the Smith family, Steven, Stacey, Sophia, and Faith, take to the Atlantic to avoid the chaos. The plan is to find a safe haven from the anarchy of infected humanity. What they discover, instead, is a sea composed of the tears of survivors and a passion for bringing hope.

When a new drilling method enables access to a deep source of renewable energy, all expectations are that Ultilitron will champion a new era in electricity production. When the lights go out and the killing starts, the country's emotions quickly turn from elation to fear.

Verdan Blacke is an Imperial Wizard, a researcher by preference but soldier by necessity. Surviving an intense battle, Verdan is cursed by a hex witch in her final moments. Without any good options, Verdan escapes the ever-increasing pain the curse inflicts by performing a self-made stasis ritual.

The Gateway Project was going to save our world by opening up a doorway to infinite versions of our planet. But the threshold has gone completely out of control, sending all those other Earths onto a collision course with ours. Now, our reality is cracking apart. Abby Corman did not open the Gateway, but she is the only one who knows how to close it. But an alien Hunter and her pack of deadly hellcats have stepped into our world, and they will stop at nothing to kill Abby.

Searching for an operational redoubt, Ryan and his companions go up against a ruthless band of coldhearts. The shock of seeing Ryan's long-lost son as the band's point man puts the group on a new mission — rescue Dean at all cost. But when Dean shoots and wounds his father in a firefight, the strange turn of events leads the travelers deeper into the shifting sands of their own destiny. And father and son, each committed to the laws of decency and fair play, will confront an uncertain legacy.

The 32nd edition of Writers of the Future may be the best new book yet! Brand-new adventure through space, time, and possibility. Along the way these new authors will introduce you to fascinating characters such as Nate, a very loyal companion - like most werewolves would be. Keanie has a parasite that lets her morph and so transform into anyone. Liz owns a dinosaur maker, but raw ingredients can be a problem. Anna slaves away in a factory but her magic leaves her unfulfilled. These authors take creative writing to a whole new level!