Apocalyptic Short Stories

The sequel to the best-selling Zombie, Ohio, this explosive supernatural thriller from Scott Kenemore tells the story of three Chicagoans who have been thrown together by a bizarre, interconnected series of events during the first 24 hours of a zombie outbreak in the Midwest's largest city. A partnership is crafted between a pastor from Chicago's rough South Side, an intrepid newspaper reporter, and a young female musician, all of whom are fighting for survival as they struggle to protect themselves and their communities in a city overrun with the walking dead.

For fans of the oral history genre phenomenon World War Z, a worldwide plague of insomnia creates a devastating new apocalypse. Sleep Over is collection of waking nightmares, a scrapbook of the haunting and poignant stories from those trapped in a world where the pillars of society are crumbling, and madness is slowly descending on a planet without rest.

A bounty hunting survivor. A Galactic dark elf. A woman who has given up her humanity to become something more. These stories and more are available in the first short story anthology for the System Apocalypse, covering year one on Earth. When the world ends, humanity steps up, finding new ways to survive in a world with classes, magic, and monsters. The anthology features exciting, new stories by five new writers and a new, never publicly released short story by Tao Wong.

Morning in Whitehorse, and everything is normal. All too normal. A girlfriend who loves him; an evening at the farmer’s market in Shipyard’s Park. Idyllic, relaxing, peaceful. What more could a man want? John Lee isn’t sure, but stray thoughts intrude, and memories of a different time, a different place, a different world keep intruding. Angst-ridden, exhausting memories of a world of pain and struggle. Nothing like the paradise he lives in. Now, if only John wasn’t so attracted to them.

The first three episodes of best-selling author Joe Nobody's highly regarded serial, Apocalypse Trails, begins the story of Commander Jack Cisco and his harrowing journey to reunite with his family.

A fresh post-apocalyptic anthology: the end of the world seen through the salvage and ruins, featuring Emily St. John Mandel, Carmen Maria Machado, and more.

To be born underground, in the dark, never to see the surface. That seemed to be Loreto’s fate. Born nearly half a century after the world had been destroyed by total, global, nuclear war one young man must find his destiny. He must learn what it means to be himself. Destined to become a Topsider, will he walk upon the surface? Will he be one of the brave few who work to usher humanity back to Earth’s population? Find out in Loreto: An Earth Has Fallen Short Story. See Loreto Rucker’s humble beginnings as he grows into the young man we will meet in Servidio’s Earth Has Fallen Post-...

A scientist suffering from PTSD is faced with the terrible knowledge of the impending destruction of our species. In his desperate attempts to prevent humanity's fate, he commits violent acts and is branded a terrorist. How far would you go to save the planet from annihilation? Where do humans come from and how did we get here? Scientists have theorized about the human race's origins for many years. But no one was prepared for what was found in orbit, seven ancient alien probes that have been monitoring the planet for billions of years. The data and video images recorded inside them show ...

Leo Daly is looking forward to a family vacation and a break from his hectic hospital schedule. His dreams of kicking back, fishing, and hanging out with the wife and kids turn into a fight for survival when an electromagnetic pulse takes out the power grid leaving them stranded in the woods. Leo must use all of his skills to create a community of survivors from his family, the locals, and ill-equipped vacationers.

Earth as a new Dungeon World means opportunities and dangers galore. One of the enduring aspects of the System is the Shop, an interdimensional series of stores that compete for the opportunity to service clients and make a profit doing so. New clients on a new Dungeon World mean rare and heretofore unseen items and massive profits. No surprise that the vultures have arrived, searching for easy marks.

Day-to-day life is hard for film students. Whether you're an editor, a scriptwriter, or a videographer, it's never easy. More so when an apocalypse has arrived, taking with it the industry you've dedicated your life to, and leaving you with skills ill-suited to a post-apocalyptic fantasy hellscape.

Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson, and Larry Niven have seen the future. Now you can, too. A constellation of the brightest lights in the science fiction and fantasy firmament have judged these authors to be the best, the brightest, the truest emerging stars in the field.

An errant encounter with a passing star has flung Earth away from its old Solar System into the dark and cold of deep space. With the entire atmosphere frozen as chemical snow dozens of feet deep, one last family struggles to survive. But what are they to think when they see figures moving in the city ruins? Are Earth's dead coming back to life?

Here are eight of World Fantasy Award winner S.P. Somtow’s most controversial stories, including three previously uncollected ones. Each deals with a “sacred cow” of the Judaeo-Christian tradition and subjects it to the pitiless scrutiny of historian, mythographer, and fantasist. Violent, sometimes kinky, these stories nevertheless reach surprising epiphanies about faith and redemption. A curiously sympathetic Antichrist hunts down the next messiah with the aid of a unicorn. St Paul ponders about whether, in order to make his miraculous new religion work, he needs to get rid of an ...

When Captain Jade Rhodes returns from a 50-year space mission, she expects a hero’s welcome. Instead, she finds a world she no longer recognizes—where history has been rewritten, space exploration outlawed, and humanity crushed under an iron-fisted regime. Branded a liar and traitor, Jade is thrust into the heart of a brutal rebellion led by Rax, a hardened freedom fighter with secrets of his own. Together, they must ignite hope in a society ruled by fear. But as the enemy closes in, Jade discovers that the resistance's survival depends on more than courage—it hinges on her lost ...

Cara Stone is a broken woman: penniless, homeless, and hopeless. When given the chance to appear on television, she jumps at the opportunity to win a minimum of $5,000 for her family.

In the Year 2889 by Jules Verne is a diary of the observations of Fritz Napoleon Smith, the editor of an influential futuristic newspaper. It is an action-packed tale of technological advances and science fiction scenarios. Some of the predictions were remarkably accurate.

A celestial entity sets out on an extraordinary quest to breathe life into a barren planet, weaving the foundations of existence itself. But as creation takes shape, unforeseen challenges arise, testing the limits of its power and purpose. "What a great fiction book about the cosmos! From the very first page, the story immerses you in the fascinating life of the cosmic builder, whose ability to create planetary life for the first time is nothing short of awe-inspiring. The vivid descriptions and imaginative storytelling by the author immediately draw you into this cosmic realm, making you ...

In a darkened corner of the world, America lies bleeding. The Big War has reduced the country’s once-great industrial cities and vast countryside to a war-blackened landscape. But out of these ruins emerges brilliant ace fighter pilot Hawk Hunter, a lone warrior battling to keep the spirit of his country alive... From his secret base in the coastal wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, Hunter hears rumors of a vast army equipped with Russian SAMs hidden deep in the Bad Lands.

They thought the superflu that was attacking the nation was bad until they realized the state-mandated vaccine was worse! Joshua Miller is not what you would call "a nice guy." Having served fifteen years of a life sentence for multiple homicides during a bank robbery "gone wrong", he finds his freedom following a state-mandated vaccine which is supposed to eradicate the new superflu is flawed and ends up turning people into blood-hungry beasts. During his escape from the prison, he promises a friend that he will find their daughter and keep her safe. Worrying about the creatures as well as...