Apocalyptic Horror

Collected here for the first time is every piece of short fiction from New York Times best seller Mira Grant's acclaimed Newsflesh series, with two new never-before published novellas and all eight short works available for the first time. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, a man-made virus taking over bodies and minds, filling them with one, unstoppable command...feed.

In the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us. Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense and communication.

Adrian's piecemeal life on campus since "That Day" has been a struggle. Retrieving supplies from local neighborhoods filled with the walking dead has been dangerous for him, but he's stayed alive by being a little smarter than the other survivors, and a lot faster than the roaming, hungry zombies that have overtaken his home town, and the world.

Zach Gunderson and his family have made a home at Mount Weather. Everything seems to be working, and the president's dream of reestablishing the US is progressing, but then, disaster strikes. After being vaccinated, two survivor groups in Ohio become infected, unleashing an apparent new strain of the zombie virus. Through Zach's investigation, he finds a traitor in their midst who is trying to sabotage the rebirth of America by any means necessary.

With the smoking ruins of Portland behind them, our survivors find that they have a new enemy to contend with...other survivors. With the dead hounding them at every step, and humanity struggling to hold onto its civility, the survivors face their greatest challenge yet. At the end of this battle, there will be No More Heroes.

It's been over two years since the zombie apocalypse changed the world. Zach Gunderson is still reeling after the brutal massacre of most of his loved ones and the abduction of his two children. There is only one person in his life now: Kelly, the sole survivor of the massacre. The two of them have carved out an existence for themselves, but in spite of Kelly's steadfast devotion, Zach finds himself questioning the purpose of trying to survive in a postapocalyptic world.

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of 30 million souls, to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet.

Jen Reed longs to reconnect with her estranged father. Given the opportunity to work together on an archeological dig, the young scientist excitedly packs her bags for the isolated Arctic tundra. But she starts to wonder if the village elder’s ominous warnings hold truth when a local turns up with yellow eyes and a strange bite mark. As the old man’s ancient tale rings in her head, Jen explores a historic burial site and is shocked to discover the dead have risen craving human flesh.

As our survivors near the coast, the road takes its toll. Falling apart physically and emotionally, they are drawn to the siren call of the beach. Seaside awaits them, a town demolished by a tsunami and crawling with the reanimated. With infants in tow, the survivors must band together to fight for a new home. All that stands between them and the future is an army of the dead. Will they succeed, or will they find themselves Choking on the Ashes?

When a brilliant scientist seeking to solve the problem of world hunger tries to create giant mushrooms through genetic manipulation, what could possibly go wrong? But those who die quickly are the lucky ones. Those who survive infection by the fungus will be transformed into something unthinkably monstrous...

The Rising is the story of Jim Thurmond, a determined father battling his way across a post-apocalyptic zombie landscape, to find his young son. Accompanied by Martin, a preacher still holding to his faith, and Frankie, a recovering heroin addict with an indomitable will to survive, Jim travels from state to state and town to town facing an endless onslaught of undead hordes and the evils perpetrated by his fellow man.

Digby Graves is done running. He wants to make good on his declaration of war, which means he’s going to need allies and a land to call his own. That’s where Las Vegas comes in: what better kingdom could a necromancer ask for than the city of Sin itself? With an opportunist turned kingpin, an army of fanatics, and a hive full of monsters standing in his way, the stakes have never been higher. It will take every spell and underhanded tactic in his arsenal to carve out a victory.

Tucked away in a high-tech Tactical Operations Center, inside an isolated safehouse in the Horn of Africa, sits Agency analyst Zack Altringham. He is Kenyan-born, Princeton-educated, badly burnt-out - and condemned by his language and cultural skills to a lifetime of fighting America's shadow counter-terror wars.

Mike and Beth didn't know each other existed before the night of the meteor shower. A melancholy film producer and a house sitter barely scraping by—chance made them neighbors, a bottle of champagne brought them together, and a shared need for human connection sparked something more. After a drunken and desperate one-night stand, the two strangers awake to discover a surprise astronomical event has left widespread destruction in its wake. But the cosmic lightshow was only part of something much bigger, and far more terrifying.

From New York Times best-selling author Mira Grant comes the second book in the terrifying Parasitology series. The SymboGen-designed tapeworms were created to relieve humanity of disease and sickness. But the implants in the majority of the world's population began attacking their hosts, turning them into a ravenous horde. Now those who do not appear to be afflicted are being gathered for quarantine as panic spreads, but Sal and her companions must discover how the tapeworms are taking over their hosts, what their eventual goal is, and how they can be stopped.

Getting to Etna Station is all that matters. With the world rapidly collapsing around them, Mike and company make a desperate trek to reach what they believe to be a safe haven. Can they outrun the demons that chase them? Will they succumb to Knox and his tyrannical army or Payne, a revenge-bent vampire? New friends will be made along the way while some old ones will fall. If they make it, will it be all they hoped or just another nightmare?

Five days ago, the epidemic of rage began. Four days ago, the rash of senseless murders swept the nation. Three days ago, the president addressed the country and begged for peace—even as the murders increased tenfold. Two days ago, the killers began to mobilize. One day ago, the power went out. And tonight, the killers are reading the names of those to be killed over the Emergency Broadcast System.

Emma Valdez’s life was forever changed when the zombies destroyed the world. She spent all her time and energy systematically killing all the zombies in her town while searching for her missing son. After a yearlong search, she finally put him to rest, and planned to take her own exit from the zombie-infested world. But a dream about a mysterious woman with raven black hair wearing a red sweater compelled her to seek out a community of survivors in Ashley Oaks, Texas. Little did she realize this was the start of a new season in her life.

It's been seven months since all the adults disappeared. Gone. It happens in one night. A girl who died now walks among the living; Zil and the Human Crew set fire to Perdido Beach, and amid the flames and smoke, Sam sees the figure of the boy he fears the most: Drake. But Drake is dead. Sam and Caine defeated him along with the Darkness - or so they thought.

Ever since her mother's death, Gabriella "Gutsy" Gomez has spent her days flying under the radar. But when her mother's undead body is returned to her doorstep from the grave and Gutsy witnesses a pack of ravagers digging up Los Muertos - her mother's name for the undead - she realizes that life finds you no matter how hard you try to hide from it. Meanwhile, Benny Imura and his gang set out on a journey to find a cure. As they venture into new and unexplored territory, they soon learn that the zombies they fought before were nothing compared to what they'll face in the wild.