Disaster World Fiction

Cory’s life was hard. A horrific childhood, bad marriage, and a stint in prison set him on the path. His time in organized crime was miserable, but he had no choice. He did pick up a few skills along the way, though, and just in time for the end-of-the-world.

Alex was in bad shape. Just this side of dead, lying in a dumpster, but he couldn’t give up. Crawling out of the garbage, the first thing he noticed, beyond the pain, was that Vee was gone. He had only one option - to keep going. Out to the street he walked. All around there was only the otherworldly destruction of burned-out cars, broken windows, and empty streets. Houston had fallen further into chaos, brimming with violence and a population at each other’s throats.

In the tenth book of the Capital Mysteries—an early chapter book mystery series featuring fun facts and famous sites from Washington, D.C.—KC and her best friend, Marshall, wake up to a trick not a treat the morning after the White House Halloween costume party. With the presidential election only a week away, someone has posted damaging photos of the president on the Internet, photos that were digitally doctored! Will they ruin President Thornton's chances for a second term? Or can KC and Marshall rescue the election?

Esta Primavera de 1940. Louise Belmont, de treinta años, corre desnuda y recubierta de sangre por el bulevar de Montparnasse. Para entender la macabra situación que acaba de vivir, esta joven maestra deberá sumergirse en la locura de un momento histórico sin parangón: mientras las tropas alemanas avanzan de forma implacable hacia París y el ejército francés está en plena desbandada, cientos de miles de personas aterrorizadas huyen en busca de un lugar más seguro.

Dans un futur proche, un nouvel âge glaciaire a commencé, précipitant l'humanité au bord de l'extinction. Mois après mois, le froid avance, les glaciers s'étendent et les populations fuient vers les dernières zones habitables. Les scientifiques envoient des sondes à travers le système solaire et, près de Mars, repèrent un mystérieux objet se déplaçant vers le soleil. Est-ce la cause du règne glaciaire sur terre, ou au contraire un espoir de survie?

Liverpool 1940. Alice King stands on the deck of SS Carlisle, waiting to escort a group of children to Canada as overseas evacuees. She is finally doing her bit for the war. In London, as the Blitz bombs rain down and the threat of German invasion looms, Lily Nicholls anxiously counts the days for news of her son and daughter’s safe arrival.

Genevieve, a single mother, flies from New York to Port-au-Prince with her teenage son, Miles. The trip is meant to be an education for fifteen-year-old Miles—a chance to learn about his family’s roots while coming to terms with his father’s departure—but it’s also an excuse for Genevieve to escape the city, where her life is dominated by her failed marriage and the daily pressures of raising Black children in America.

Life has hardened Stanley Wagner, and he has spent the past decade preparing himself against the uncertainties of life. After an EMP destroys the nation's power grid, every ounce of that strength will be tested.

Two boys venture from their village to hunt in a nearby forest, where they shoot down bats with glee and cook their prey over an open fire. Within a month, they are dead, bodies ravaged by an insidious disease that neither the local healer’s potions nor the medical team’s treatments could cure. Compounding the family’s grief, experts warn against touching the sick. But this caution comes too late: The virus spreads rapidly, and the boys’ father is barely able to send his eldest daughter away for a chance at survival.

This is the story of three terrible famines. The first is an Gorta Mór, the great hunger of Ireland, which began in 1846. The second is the deadly famine that struck Bengal in 1943. The third is the Ethiopian famine, which first sprung up in lethal form in the 1970s under Emperor Haile Selassie and then reappeared under the brutal dictator Mengistu in the 1980s.

We first meet Zwazo Delalun, or Zo, during his childhood, in the 1990s, in a fishing village on the western tip of Haiti. An orphan, he learns to swim and fish, then to harvest almonds and cut cane. He travels the island in his youth, finding work wherever he can. One morning, while hauling cement in the broiling sun, he meets Anaya, a nursing student who is sipping cherry juice under a tree. Their attraction is instantaneous, fierce; what grows between them feels like the destiny-changinglove Zo has yearned for.

Ava is a Grim Reaper...a special forces soldier patrolling an earthquake flattened London. John is a citizen who has lost his wife and child when the largest earthquake in the world flattened London. Ava battles a group of terrorists called "The Red Hand," when she and her team mates are ambushed. Ava escapes, but is badly wounded. John discovers her in a broken alley, where his grief is broken by the sudden attraction he has to this soldier, who if he is not careful, will kill him if he unmasks her. But he has to unmask her to save her. What happens next will change everything..for both of...

Was this how the apocalypse ended for Alex? He never should have been in this mess, but Trey crossed the wrong man. Now Mr. Jackson, the leader of the thugs sent to get blood from a stone, had plans to drag him into the forest and put a bullet in his head. They couldn’t be reasoned with, so when there’s nothing to lose, one might as well go for a long shot. He attacked and caught Mr. Jackson’s men by surprise. If he was going to die, it would be this way, and not on his knees. Exhausted, bloodied, and very much alive, he bolted. Into the dense forest with one goal on his mind.

Amber Fitch’s life is upended when a sudden power outage plunges her city into chaos, leaving her and her brother, Freddie, cut off from the world. As the darkness spreads, so does the panic, with neighbors turning against each other and the streets becoming a battlefield. Their home destroyed by fire, Amber and Freddie must navigate the lawless city, where every decision could mean life or death.

As a little girl and her dog embark on their daily walk through the city, they skip and spin to the familiar sounds of revving cars, clanking bikes, friendly barks, and whistling camote carts. But what they aren't expecting to hear is the terrifying sound of a rumbling earthquake...and then...silence. With captivating prose, this heartwarming story leaves listeners with the message that they can choose to be strong and brave even when they are scared, and can still find joy and hope in the midst of sadness.

Cory’s family was his first concern. He had to get home, but Indiana was more than 2,000 miles away, and he had only one question: What dangers lie ahead? The warmth of the sun faded. When the temperature dropped, panic set swept the world. Fears of doom terrified the masses. Gangs roamed the streets. The girl he had helped had proved to be a valuable travel companion. Cory has no idea what Anna isn’t telling him.

Rife with captivating details of survival in an icy wilderness, this reimagining of the famous 1910 expedition to the South Pole, told in Cherry's voice, is an unforgettable tale of courage and camaraderie.

A B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree Leviticus Radix is a gifted computational engineer whose perceptions are unique and powerful. He’s part of a team of graduate students who have developed a new technology that garners the unwanted attention of mysterious opposing factions. To make matters worse, Leviticus is manifesting abilities that haven’t been seen for over 1700 years. One ancient order wants to enslave him, the other says he’s the chosen one who will save the world from a prophesied flood. This is all news to him, but it’s starting to look like it’s not a coincidence. As Leviticus ...

Chaos threatens the world as the Breachers gain ascendancy. Extermination of the Servators is well under way and the remnant gathers at their final refuge, prepared to make a last stand. A small hope remains as Leviticus searches the journals of the Levigators. If he can reclaim the knowledge of his predecessors he might prevent disaster — his power means nothing if he can't find the answers he seeks. A storm is brewing and Leviticus must decide if he should take a desperate gamble.

In these 10 beautifully moving short stories, mostly written over the last year, Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle paints a collective portrait of our strange times. A man abroad wanders the stag-and-hen-strewn streets of Newcastle, as news of the virus at home asks him to question his next move. An exhausted nurse struggles to let go, having lost a much-loved patient in isolation. A middle-aged son, barred from his mother's funeral, wakes to an oncoming hangover of regret.