Apocalyptic Fantasy

The best-selling Extinction Cycle series by Nicholas Sansbury Smith first introduced listeners to a world ravaged by an engineered virus that turned men into monsters. Humanity's only hope was not a cure, but another bioweapon. When deployed it killed 90 percent of the infected, but the remaining 10 percent transformed into even more terrifying creatures called Variants. Here's a collection of Extinction Cycle short stories that explore the human spirit and the fight for survival in the face of overwhelming odds from some of the leading voices in the post-apocalyptic genre.

When Jonah inherits leadership of the Elk Clan from his father, many in the old man's inner circle question his son's ability to lead the tribe to their winter shelter at the ruins of Eliz. A dark stranger, a journey over hundreds of miles of dangerous highway, and clashes with feral gangs will push Jonah to the edge.

Laurel was working in the ER, stabilizing a patient, when the unthinkable happened. An EMP hit. The power went out. And it never came back. In the devastating aftermath, she must turn South Minneha Hospital into a place of refuge, a beacon of hope for her fellow survivors. But a beacon attracts predators, too… Predators like Arlo Staaf, the brutal leader of a ruthless gang. Desperate to save his dying son, Arlo takes over the hospital and gives Laurel an impossible ultimatum: save his terminally ill boy, or watch everyone she cares for die.

Dive into the mysteries of Area X, a remote and lush terrain that has inexplicably sequestered itself from civilization. Twelve expeditions have gone in, and not a single member of any of them has remained unchanged by the experience - for better or worse.

As the United States unravels, the town of Fall Creek, Michigan struggles to survive. Hannah and Liam have endured the brutal winter and ruthless adversaries, but the threat has never been greater. Enemies from within have wrested control of the town — including what little remains of the food. Isolated, overpowered, and on the verge of starvation, the townspeople are faced with a desperate choice.

Sam was surfing with his cat when the world ended. Suddenly enlisted into a battle to fend off annihilation, Sam seizes the strength of the void to survive. In the aftermath, Sam is thrown into a new world shattered into floating islands with survivors from Earth. Training and fighting with his giant sword and apocalyptic mana alongside his magical healer cat, Sam's unusually quick to adapt to this deadly realm of monsters and magic. With endless threats to face and countless powers to attain, Sam's journey of ascension climbing has only just begun.

They survived the storm. They survived The Colony. But not everyone made it home. Not everyone made it back to the safety and security of the cabin. Nila now faces yet more difficult choices. Protect her daughter and friends at all costs, or once again trust those who claim they can save the world. With a possible cure on the horizon, what lengths will people go to in order to save the remainder of the human population?

The reanimating virus left billions dead. The UK and Ireland remained safe. Until now. Deano and BD, a father and son a universe apart. Nothing in common. Not wanting anything in common. But today all that will change. Bedlam has been unleashed. The streets are swarming with infected and survival is all that matters. To make it, they’re going to have to trust each other, depend on each other, fight for each other like they never have before. The city is bleeding. Nowhere is safe. Will they find refuge before nightfall or is it already too late? One thing’s for sure.

While training for a manned mission to Mars, Dr. Sophie Winston and her team of scientists find themselves cut off from the rest of the world. Trapped inside a biosphere deep within the confines of Cheyenne Mountain, Sophie and crew discover they are the survivors of a brutal alien invasion. But as they struggle to stay alive, they realize their safe haven is far from safe and that they must team up with other survivors around the world to defeat the aliens before it’s too late for humanity and the Earth.

Fraa Erasmus is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the "Saecular" world by ancient stone, honored traditions, and complex rituals. Over the centuries, cities, and governments have risen and fallen beyond the concent's walls. Three times during history's darkest epochs, bloody violence born of superstition and ignorance has invaded and devastated the cloistered mathic community.

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.

Centuries ago, a cabal of powerful mages cast a disastrous spell that corrupted the source of magic, transforming much of the world's population into merciless monsters called Riven. Empires crumbled. Civilization collapsed. Yet an ember of hope remains. Duncan Keene is a Dread Knight, a dark warrior empowered by an unholy pact with a demon lord. He has sacrificed everything to save the world from the Riven—his family, his future, even his very soul. When he finds himself unexpectedly partnered with the last uncorrupted angel in the world, she makes it her mission to redeem him.

Across the Galactic Empire, from planet to planet, the lone Immortal fights. He has a plan, and he has all the time he needs. Gerswin, the Forever Hero, is determined to be the salvation of distant Earth and of humanity. Now, in the climax of L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s epic trilogy, the Forever Hero's plans come to fruition, as he destroys the decayed, bureaucratic Empire that feeds off humanity, living on as the most legendary of human heroes.

So it turns out overthrowing a 14,000-year-old cultivation empire is going to take longer than I expected, but I've made a great start. I've broken through to the Core Realm of my hidden Berserker art, established a new Terran Sect, and even discovered a tribe of lost Terrans out in the wild. There's a whole lot more at stake and even more people to save, but that's all the more reason to free the Earth from the empire's control. Not everyone is thrilled about my progression, however.

Something always goes sideways, but this is bigger than expected. Maybe it's not an entirely bad thing, though, as mana-infected animals spreading over the world would definitely make everyone more open to the idea of the apocalypse. The question is what was Silas supposed to do about it, though. He still couldn't tell anyone who wasn't inducted about the system. It was time to get creative. If that wasn't enough, though, he still had the wild hunt hanging over his head. Seven days to go, and then he'd be thrown into whatever twisted event the system had cooked up for him.

Welcome to the world of T. W. Brown's DEAD saga. This raw, violent, and brutal world isn't populated with military supermen and women, or preppers that have been waiting for the human extinction event to arrive. This is a world of normal people...some good, some bad...and some pure evil. This is a global look at the end of the world. Follow Steve and his group as you see the apocalypse unfold through a single person's eyes. With the Geeks, you meet four young men who thought a zombie apocalypse would be cool...and quickly discover that it really isn't.

In the middle of the coldest winter on record, a super EMP destroys the power grid. No electricity. No cars or phones. Worst of all, no heat. The country is plunged into instant chaos. But for 26-year-old Hannah Sheridan, it's the best day of her life. For the last five years, she's been held captive by a sadistic psychopath, until the EMP releases the lock of her prison. Hannah emerges from her underground cell into a hostile winter landscape with no way to call for help, no vehicle that will drive, armed with nothing but the clothes on her back and her own determination to survive.

Willie grew up outside of Damascus, Virginia, and life was never easy for her. She’s a hard-as-nails single mom who struggles to make ends meet with little support and few opportunities. She’s also the community “rescue mom”, taking in young people with no other place to go. All this while dodging an ex-boyfriend turned stalker who also happens to be a cop. Willie only made it to adulthood by being resilient. That toughness, combined with a series of odd jobs and side hustles, helps keep her unorthodox family afloat.

For Megan Wolford, life as she knew it came to an end after the world was decimated by an EMP. Now, she does her best to survive and protect her daughter, Caitlin. But when the young girl falls ill with a mysterious virus, Meghan must leave the safety of their home and embark on a dangerous journey to forage for medical supplies.

It's the mid-21st century. The oceans are rising, the world's population is growing, terrorist organizations are running rampant, and it has become readily apparent that humanity's destructive nature is at the heart of the matter. When all faith in humanity seems lost, a startling proposal is announced: Solomon Chavez, the mysterious son of the world's first trillionaire, announces that he, backed by a consortium of governments and wealthy donors, will build an interstellar starship.