Dark Survival Fiction

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.

After surviving a life-threatening illness, Bailey Honeycutt is struggling to find his footing in his life and in his career. With a bold decision to step out of the spotlight, he crosses an ocean to return to school in search of something to fill the void. It turns out it might not be a what, so much as a who, that can pull him out of the darkness.

Nineteen-year-old Claudia Sheeplord is aboard an airplane flying to Denver when she discovers that all attempts to destroy the Death Asteroid before it hits Earth have failed. While still in the air, one of the asteroid masses hits Earth.

Ruti is Markless. In a society where worth is determined by the pattern on your palm and the magic it grants you, this also deems her worthless. But she’s a hardened survivor, a protector of the lowest class … and the most powerful witch in Somanchi. With a single song, she can ask the spirits to grant her unimaginable powers. Dekala’s Mark is strong, a Mark fit for the future queen of Somanchi, but it’s also unstable. She knows the only solution is to be bonded with another, but that would mean relinquishing control over her throne and kingdom.

After narrowly escaping certain death, James, Claire, and Beth have taken refuge in his luxurious mansion. Their goals are simple: fortify his mountainside home into a base of operations and, with some luck, survive. Fortunately for him, he has two beautiful women to help.

Head down, mouth shut - this is Askari’s new mantra. A pall still hangs over the Baratok community from the rarohan attack only a few months before, and all Askari wants is to stay out of trouble and help her grieving community heal. Until a stranger rides into camp. He offers her a chance to obtain something rare and valuable - monster blood with healing properties that could help prevent more of her people from dying. But when the mission goes wrong, she becomes the target of a relentless monster that won’t stop pursuing her until she and everyone around her are dead.

Following a massive EMP strike against the nation’s power grids, Frank Tilley faces the startling chaos of a powerless world. With his trusty dog in tow, he embarks on a dangerous journey to save his grandchildren from a perilous fate.

Following a devastating betrayal, Beth Bradley, a sixteen-year-old graffiti artist, is suspended from school. Running from a home that she shares with her father who has never recovered after Beth's mother's death, Beth stumbles into the hidden city and meets Filius Viae, London's asphalt-hued crown prince. And her timing couldn't have been more perfect.

They called it the killing day. Twelve people murdered, in the space of a few hours, their killers also all dead by their own hand...except one. And that one has no answers to offer the shattered town. Something is waking in the sleepy town of Oleander, Kansas - something dark and hungry that lives in the flat earth and the open sky, in the vengeful hearts of its upstanding citizens. As the town begins a descent into blood and madness, five survivors of the killing day are the only ones who can stop Oleander from destroying itself.

To escape Blake Sutton's army at the end of the enthralling The Well's End, Mia and her friends jump into the newly gurgling fountain of youth and swim to its very bottom. When they resurface, an astounding world awaits them - an entire underground civilization of humans, the Keepers of the Well. But instead of finding a safe haven, Mia and her gang are quickly embroiled in a dangerous, high-stakes battle royale.

Evie Childs hoped the all-expense-paid trip to Africa would give her a chance at adventure. Maybe it would even let her forget a past that haunts her and find safety from a husband who abuses her. But when a group of "freedom fighters" kidnaps her safari tour group, intent on holding them for ransom, the adventure turns to nightmare. Now, Evie and the rest of the survivors must travel across miles of the harshest, most dangerous environment on Earth. No food. No water. No communications. And they're being hunted.

Mean Girls meets Life of Pi in this darkly humorous, compulsively listenable teen novel that's perfect for fans of Libba Bray and Andrew Smith. A hilariously dark and twisted story that sparkles with a remarkably fresh voice, The Lifeboat Clique is Kathy Parks' irreverent yet insightful novel about how to survive in the most unthinkable circumstances.

Even though Tasceron and its Emperor have fallen, there is a rumor that the heiress to the throne still lives. If so, her life is in grave danger, especially from the Watch. Galen and Raffi must race to find and protect her.

Seventeen-year-old Chan's ancestors left a dying Earth hundreds of years ago, in search of a new home. Generations later they are still searching. Every day aboard the Australia is a kind of hell where no one is safe, no one can hide. Indeed, the only life Chan's ever known is one of endless violence. A life of survival. Fiercely independent and entirely self-sufficient, she has learned to keep her head down as much as possible, careful not to draw attention to herself amid the mayhem.

Allie Kim's deathly allergy to sunlight, XP, still confines her to the night. Now that she's lost her best friend Juliet to an apparent suicide, the night has never felt darker - even with Rob at her side. Allie knows why Juliet killed herself: To escape the clutches of Garrett Tabor, whom the trio saw committing an unspeakable crime. Garrett is untouchable; the Tabors founded the world-famous XP clinic that keeps Allie and Rob alive and their small Minnesota town on the map.

Jesse is having the worst year. First a race of homicidal (but very polite) aliens invaded Earth, killing pretty much everyone and enslaving the few people left behind, including Jesse; his best friend, Michael; his sort-of girlfriend, Lauren; and the girl of his dreams, Catlin. Then he and the other survivors discovered that they had some sort of latent telepathic abilities that made them dangerous to the aliens, so their only hope for survival was to run away. But not everyone made it out alive.

The future world has been divided into sectors - each the same as the other. Surrounded by thick steel fences, there is no way in and no way out. Yet a cyborg army penetrates each sector, picking off its citizens one by one, until no one is left. Behind the sectors’ thick walls, the citizens wait to die. Few will be chosen to survive what’s coming; the rest will be left behind to suffer. A new world has been created, and its rulers are incredibly selective on who will become a citizen. They want only those with important roles in society to help create a more perfect future.

Arcadia was supposed to be Earth 2.0 - a haven for humanity while they fought desperately to save their dying homeworld. But nothing has turned out like Cassiopeia Foster had thought. Another race, the Alku, already occupies the planet in a parallel dimension called Paxon. They are willing to help Earth, but a powerful contingent plans to strip-mine the strangely powerful Starfire from the planet, which will collapse the Paxon side and kill all the Alku. A war has begun, and Cassi is caught in the middle.

Galveston, Texas, may be the booming city of the brand-new twentieth century, filled with opportunities for all, but to Seth it is the end of a dream. He longs to be a carpenter like his father, yet Papa has moved the family to Galveston so that Seth can become a doctor. Still, the last few weeks of summer might not be so bad. Things seem to be looking up - until a storm warning is raised one sweltering afternoon.

Drake didn't expect to end up in hell - let alone as a slave fighting battles to amuse the rulers of the realm. Then the fateful day arrives when he discovers that his true love, Stella, is also there, wandering alone amid grave danger. He must escape his prison and find her, no matter what evils await him in the wilds of hell. But when he does find her, Drake realizes Stella is no longer the girl he once knew. Hell has hardened her, and she’s on the verge of losing her last shred of humanity. Can he save her from the monster she’s becoming before it's too late?