Apocalyptic Thriller

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.

Kit Easton had struggled her entire life. Things couldn't possibly have gotten any worse for her...until the day they did. Her mother was dying, her husband had long ago become the enemy, they were down to their last dime, and her daughter had distanced herself to avoid everyone and everything. When Kit's sister takes their mother to New York for what is supposed to be a revolutionary, life-saving cure, a disaster no one could have predicted strikes. But it isn't just Kit's family that is affected, it rocks the entire world.

The virus came, and the world fell into an abyss. Starvation camps, corporate farms, endless ghettos, and failed states darken a future where most of the population has been twisted by the disease. To protect itself, a corrupt system pays Christian Black and others like him to exterminate violent degenerates who would destroy what's left of the world. Unfortunately, a mistake has been made and Christian has put too many of the wrong ones to death. Laws have been broken. Punishment comes for Christian.

Ten days after a massive cyber attack tears a hole in the nation's infrastructure and brings the country to its knees, Sam, Anna, Mason, and Amanda are preparing for the worst as the town of Breckenridge, Colorado is about to break. Haunted by his past, and determined to keep his daughter safe, Sam is forced to make some tough decisions and risk it all. A cyber attack was the beginning; a second attack is coming.

Humanity is on the brink of annihilation. Only one man can turn the tide. For centuries, we explored the stars and settled new worlds. But a mysterious alien threat emerged, launching devastating attacks and seizing entire star systems. Every fifty years they come, silent and relentless, before disappearing again into the dark. And as they close in on humanity’s home worlds, one more defeat could mean total extinction.

Jane Finch wishes her problems ended with a bad commute and no coffee. But when she and her beloved Great Dane, Schrodinger, emerge from a locked room they discover a city changed for the undead. Zombies are everywhere. Some are endlessly cycling through their last actions, others have turned feral—and hungry. Jane and Schroddie's best chance for survival? Reaching her parents' bunker on the city's north shore. Not an easy commute on foot—when surrounded by zombies. Dodging stray bullets and feral zombies is one thing. But soon Jane realizes one of the zombies is following her.

Humanity needs help, and they need it fast. Following a particularly devastating loss, Liam learns that the All-Kind have found a suitable candidate species to become humanity’s allies: a species called the Sulti. This might seem like a stroke of luck, except the Sulti have fought the Deathbringers before, and there is no love lost between them. But they’re going to have to put all that behind them. Because the Sulti Empire, which spans thousands of populated worlds, is where the Ferox have chosen to mount a full-scale invasion.

When an EMP strikes, plunging the West Coast into chaos, Alan Hughes must lead a group of boys stranded far from their Alaskan home, while his wife, Zara, prepares their homestead for long-term survival. With communication down and society crumbling, they face impossible choices in this gripping post-EMP survival thriller. Perfect for fans of EMP survival fiction and dystopian novels, this story dives deep into the challenges of off-grid living, prepping for the end of the world, and the fight for survival against overwhelming odds.

As the magnetic field reverses, a well-intentioned president tries to avert the worst-case scenario - The Collapse of the power grid. But does his decision create mayhem nonetheless? In an attempt to avoid the collapse of society, does he cause it? Will the planet return to the dark ages? Will we destroy civilization ourselves before the Sun gets its chance? Follow the story of the Boone family, Indiana farmers and their children who battle Mother Nature, her animals, and their fellow man, in The Collapse.

It has been nearly two years since the day of the mass disappearances. In one cataclysmic instant, millions all over the globe simply vanished, leaving everything but flesh and bone behind. Nicolae begins as global war has erupted. The Red Horse of the Apocalypse is on the rampage, and the Tribulation Force sets a suicidal course that places them in direct opposition to the rise of Antichrist.

A month after a targeted attack caused a global cataclysm, destroying the power grid and tearing the country apart, Jackson and Zoe Reid reach home in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, only to find more violence. As home invasions increase, lawlessness abounds, and desperation divides, the communities of Sevier County come under siege by a ruthless group.

In The Days of Noah, Book 2: Persecution, a globalist conspiracy transpires by way of a false flag attack against America's energy infrastructure. Noah and Cassandra Parker witness a complete economic meltdown which is intentionally triggered by the event. The assault is blamed on patriots and Christians who are rounded up into detention centers across the country.

Darrell Donnelly and his daughter Laykin embark on their yearly hiking trip to a scenic and remote part of the Ocala National Forest. What started as a long weekend turned into a fight for survival as the hikers attempt to return home in the face of civil unrest and lawlessness, the aftermath of a coordinated attack on the power grid and most electronic devices.

With nearly everyone either dead or diseased, Kit and her daughter must do whatever they can to avoid the highly contagious virus. Desperate to find Polly, Kit and her daughter decide to strike out in search of answers. The pair doesn't make it far before their lives are threatened. Filled with fear, worry, and desperation, Kit will have to do whatever it takes to keep her daughter safe.

Timothy lived a life only a psychopathic sociopath could enjoy and understand. When he was bitten on the first day of the zombie-apocalypse he turned the tides on a single-minded virus he affectionately called Hugh. Together they terrorized a city before seemingly meeting their untimely demise. Nobody could have foreseen his resurrection. Tim's close call with death has done nothing to temper his missions in life, to live, to eat and to rule the world. Tim is back and he's an asshole.

Infection. Invasion. Chaos. A weaponized virus ravages the U.S. somehow leaving children and young adults unscathed. As hundreds of millions die, for those left, surviving the virus is only the beginning… Against the odds and despite the carnage of an unstoppable disease and a relentless enemy, Isaac Race has delivered his group to safety... or has he? Something is not quite right about the Drake Mountain facility and it has nothing to do with the black bags over their heads, or guns at their backs when they arrived.

After his last mission collapsed into utter failure, Conor Maguire and his daughter Barb returned to the US only to confirm their worst fears - Conor's friend and longtime handler, Ricardo, is presumed dead. Worse yet, Conor's new boss is none other than the man who ordered the hit, Billy Browning, and he's long held a grudge against Conor. Conor is given an ultimatum: work for Browning or lose his compound to a missile strike.

All Liam Avione ever wanted was to be a Deathbringer. Almost twenty years old now, he’s approaching the last six months of the decade-long training program, hopeful for his future as a protector of the Universe. One, slight problem: he’s got a genetic defect that he’s been keeping a secret. But as the training intensifies, so do his symptoms. Which are really hard to hide when they cause him to puke, pass out, and have a seizure in front of the training cadre.

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.

“A remarkable and gifted debut novel” (Colson Whitehead) about two outsiders—a lonely scientist in the Arctic and an astronaut trying to return to Earth—as they grapple with love, regret, and survival in a world transformed. THE INSPIRATION FOR THE NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM THE MIDNIGHT...