#Post-apocalyptic novels

[c2e1-book]

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[raemcdaniel-author]

My new book is out!

It's finally here! My newest book in a new genre!

I’m excited and proud to announce that Sol’s Ruin: Out from the Under Book 1 is now available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! Also available in paperback and hardcover (very soon!) Get your Kindle copy now for a reduced price until November 23rd! Here’s the link! I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for going on this journey with me! Rae

[joncronshawauthor]

Apocalyptic Fiction at its Finest: 10 Essential Post-Apocalyptic Novels

In a world where anything can happen, it’s important to have a good book to help you navigate through the chaos. These novels will take you on a journey through some of the most desolate and dangerous landscapes imaginable, and introduce you to some of the most resilient and resourceful characters you’ll ever meet. From gripping tales of survival and rebellion, to thought-provoking explorations…

[ilovemesomevincentprice]

Vincent Price - The Last Man On Earth (1964)

[distortedsense]

]art for my fantasy novel THE DAY MY DREAM DIED

[apocalypsebabycomic]

Max is an autistic teenager who has been surviving alone as a scavenger since the outbreak. He’s always been a bit of a loner and finds people difficult to understand, so he's avoided joining any groups or settlements, preferring to rely only on himself.

[iamnowhere-if]

I am Now Here // To Nowhere

I am Now Here // To Nowhere is an in-development Sugarcube Twine Interactive Fiction written for the Smoochie Jam 2024.

You are a cowboy in the post-apocalypse, tasked with the important job to deliver the mail across the ice-sheets and endless polar desert of a frozen earth. Following the shortwave radio signals of forgotten towns, and the occasional helpful traveler, you and your partner navigate this wasteland for a hope of humanity at dawn.

Features + Semi-Customizable Player Character; appearance, pronouns, gender, sexuality. Play as a middle-aged person navigating a world you no longer recognise. + A singular, established romantic relationship with your pardner. + A focus on building platonic and professional relationships with others; finding that balance between work and self in a world that no longer has the luxury to separate each. + Name your horse.

Characters

Intros

Davi | Your partner in life and in the wasteland amab . they/he 47 . 5'8" | 173cm

Cinta | A familiar scavenger afab . she/her 52 . 5'9" | 178cm

[littleststarfighter]

“Just go on dancing with me like this forever and I'll never tire. We'll scrape our shoes on the stars and hang upside down from the moon.” -The Long Walk, Peter McVries

Had to draw my favourite characters from one of my favourite books, The Long Walk by Stephen King. A really heartbreaking story.

prints + patreon

[emmettkane]

Hey. Guess What.

cover art by @jesterdraws99-blog

GHOST BRICKS HAS GONE PHYSICAL!

Retail options are a little limited, but you can put it on your shelf, or hold it in your hands, or throw it into the sun! Check out these sick nasty links!

---

Yeah, that's it. That's the whole thing. Go get it.

Volume 2 is coming whenever it's done <3

[solacestea]

[defire]

Introducing Ghost of Seattle

(This is my FIRST self-published book ok)

(As always this book is highly stylized per the main character, so this time it's terse, short, casual, and unemotional.)

Chapter 1

Content: Child abuse, forced to fight, death threats, parent abusing child

“We’ll bring back civilization, eventually.”

After  the bombing, Seattle had become a ripped, rubble-filled wasteland. That's what people said about it, anyway. To Chase, it was a jungle of rebar, cement blocks, and loot. It was getting close to dusk, and he skipped around patches of broken glass by hopping across the boulders that made piles leading up to the buildings they'd fallen from.

Chase was trying to get back before the pit fights. He lowered his head against the setting sun so the light wouldn’t hurt his sensitive eyes, allowing his white hair to drape over them. He set his jaw, jumping around  the familiar piece of rebar that stuck out here and tripped up the other people in his gang, the Guards.

In the pit fights, the Guards mostly just punched and beat on each other, till one gave up. Chase's dad, Merc, was the leader of the gang that held this chunk of buildings and land. They were the best-armed and toughest gang in Seattle. Chase was proud of Guard.

There were still ten more people waiting to fight for the extra rations that Merc put up for the winners. They trusted him to teach them to fight like a team, to arm and feed them, and so far they were right to.

Chase trotted into the main street of the compound in time.

He came up close with big eyes to look into the mud ring. Ron was getting the shit punched out of him again. Ouch. At least he was guarding his face this time.

Suddenly a familiar hand gripped him by the shoulder. Chase flinched.

"Chase." His father always growled his name. "You like it?"

Chase looked up at his dad. He didn't look mad, so Chase answered.

"They must be so tough."

"They're soldiers." Merc answered as Ron shouted surrender. "Soldiers get knives, rations, and respect."

"I'm going to be a soldier too." Chase added, repeating what his dad always told him.

"Yes," Merc said, gripping both Chase's shoulders tightly. "Starting today."

Chase's stomach dropped as his dad shoved him into the muddy ring. He slipped and fell forward onto his stomach, whacking his elbow.

"Ouch." He grunted, getting up hastily.

He looked up to see Braiden stepping over the grass-line. Braiden was a clumsy twenty-year-old with a slim build but huge fists. Chase liked him usually.

"Chase!" Braiden said, raising both fists in the air with a huge grin. "Finally!"

"Dad?" Chase backed away. No one had taught him how to fight, so the only thing he could do was duck under his arms, maybe even dodge. He knew that much from being around his dad.

Chase glanced back, to see a dark look on his dad's face, mixed with disgust. He shouldn't have fallen down. Chase swallowed and turned back to face Braiden.

Braiden came up and threw a big, predictable punch. Chase brought his elbows up to guard his face. Braiden's fist crashed into his forearm dully, knocking him sideways.

Chase was 9 years old and only 70 pounds; easy to throw around. Chase staggered sideways, caught his balance, and glanced back at his dad, then at Braiden.

He was surprised to see that Braiden had hesitated too.

I'm allowed to dodge, Chase reminded himself. I'm allowed to dodge!

This time when Braiden threw a punch, faster, Chase dodged. Two more haymakers, Chase dodged around them. Braiden, frustrated, punched twice fast, and the second one hit Chase square on the forearms and knocked him back onto his butt. That hurt his tailbone, and he rolled away instinctively, getting up to his hands and feet without balancing, staggering back.

Getting knocked down scared him. That was always when the bad part happened.

Someone caught him by the arm.

"No running away!" Dad yelled at him. He better not embarrass Dad.

"I'm not." Chase found his voice was just a whisper.

Braiden could see that he was scared and took a breath before striding toward him.

"You better defend yourself, Chase!" He said.

He was allowed to defend himself. He bared his teeth, dodged under the punch and grabbed Braiden's thigh. Then he bit him in the side of his torso.

"Aghh!" Braiden shouted, slapping Chase over and over in the head. Chase decided this was working, so he kept biting.

He felt Braiden shift and Chase felt a hard fist come down on the right side of his back. It was hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Braiden took the opportunity to shove Chase off of him and throw him to the ground.

Stomach acid came up into Chase's mouth with the grunt he let out when his back smacked into the scraped ground.

"Middle finger if you surrender, Chase!" Braiden shouted at him.

Chase gave him the finger, panting from the ground.

"I win!" Braiden shouted.

He reached out to give Chase a hand up. Chase was already getting to his feet, and noticed too late, but the gesture was unexpectedly kind. 

As he left the mud pit, he realized he was smiling. 

His father slapped him on the shoulder.

"You're a man now." He said. "I expect you in the morning roll call."

Chase hesitated.

"Does this--does this--"

"What? Spit it out." Merc snapped.

Chase felt his lips go cold.

"Does this mean I'm allowed to defend myself now?"

Merc snorted. 

"You're always--" He stopped short and turned to face Chase head-on. "The hell do you mean, kid?"

Chase cringed.

"In... in... out there... in fights?" He stammered.

Merc bent down in the middle of the group that was watching the next fight, maintaining eye contact with Chase. 

Chase stood frozen, staring into his dad's eyes in terror.

"You ever--" Merc glared as he spoke. "Ever try to turn on me... see how that goes. I'll kill you."

He straightened up, looking down on the tiny 9-year-old.

"What are you waiting for!" Merc shouted.

Chase flinched.

"Go! Do your chores!"

Chase nodded, then saluted--

"Yes sir!" And fled.

Please let me know if you want to be tagged for upcoming parts :)

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[theactioneer]

Lost Traveler by Steve Wilson (Ballantine, 1987)

[raemcdaniel-author]

My new book is out!

It's finally here! My newest book in a new genre!

I’m excited and proud to announce that Sol’s Ruin: Out from the Under Book 1 is now available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! Also available in paperback and hardcover (very soon!) Get your Kindle copy now for a reduced price until November 23rd! Here’s the link! I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for going on this journey with me! Rae

[norbezjones]

Bez Reviews Independent Books 5: The Last Bread Mage

Hey everyone!  I wanna do little reviews/writeups for the independently-published books I find on itch.io, and so, here I am.  I want to review one book every month or two (or quicker, if I’m lucky); it’ll get me reading more, and get authors who often go without feedback some thoughts on their work!  I think it’ll be cool for everyone!

If you want your book reviewed, the only requirement I have is that it’s hosted on itch.io.  Even if itch is just one of many places you can get the book, I want to review books that have a home there at least.  Feel free to get in touch with me with your books—I’m @NorbezJones on Twitter (I refuse to call it X), Bluesky, Pillowfort, Threads, Instagram, and Tumblr; I’m norbez2.0 on Discord.

Looking forward to seeing your books! <3

__________

After I reviewed M. Kirin’s Memory Leak, Kirin ( @maxkirin ) contacted me and asked if I wanted a review copy of another one of their books, The Last Bread Mage!  I said yes, and here we are!  So to make it plain as possible: I was giving a free copy of this book in order to review it.  However, that does not sway my opinion of the book either way, and my opinions are 100% my own.

So, what’s The Last Bread Mage about?  Well, in a fantasy world, the end times have arrived.  A red mage named Fel manages to survive the destruction of his magic school, and he finds a saint named Amara, who insists they must go to The Pinnacle, the center of the world.  Along their journey, they find a knight named Virgen and a thief named Dormi.  The four journey to the center of the world using the help of Fel’s magic, and when they get there, they make a surprising discovery.

There are almost 30 chapters, and between each chapter is a mini-chapter that describes something that ended off the previous chapter and/or will start off the next chapter.  This “something” can be an object, a person, a piece of worldbuilding, anything really.  These mini-chapters are a cool idea and add a lot to making the world feel real.

So, I won’t bury the lead: I liked this book a whole lot.  I really, really love it.  And not because I got it for free—like I said, that does not affect my opinion, and I honestly wish I could go back in time and spend money on this.  I’m going to make this review as in-depth as possible to make up for the fact that barely anybody has read this fucking amazing book.  I have criticisms, obviously, but overall, this book is a 10/10 from me.

It reminded me of the thick sci-fi & fantasy epics I read to pass time in the hospital (to be clear, that is a compliment), immersing myself in deep worlds with rich characters between the pages.  I wish I’d had The Last Bread Mage during my last trip to inpatient.  I’m glad I have it now, at least.

Also, it’s one of those books that the more you read it, the more the meaning of the cover becomes clear & changes.  The last time that happened was with Still Life With Woodpecker, and it was pretty cool to see it happening here.

You might be asking, “Why is it called The Last Bread Mage?”  This is because Fel is the last red mage, and “bread mage” is another name for “red mage” due to the fact that red mages make bread for hungry people.  They basically use their magic to bend the rules of the universe using the three basic components all things are made of: texture, fiber, & substance.  By mixing & matching these basic materials, they can turn one thing into an entirely different thing, like when Fel renders the bars of a cell into bread.  They use up energy when they do that though, so they can’t do it forever—after all, even magic-users are only human.

The magic system in this book is very interesting, and makes for some very unique ways for Fel to get him & his friends out of the perils they end up facing.  It also soon leads to theological implications, because red mages’ magic changes the logic of the universe set by God.  However, God can only “see” the basic components all things are made of, so since a transmuted item retains the same basic materials, in God’s eyes, nothing has changed.  These theological implications are explored in various ways and go in many directions I didn’t expect, like when Fel uses his powers to make him & his friends not exist in the eyes of God.

There are also times where Fel’s powers go awry, though, through no fault of his own.  Basically, the apocalypse occurring in the world is causing the world’s logic to fall apart, drowning continents and making fantastical creatures appear that previously only existed in fiction.  This means that the logic behind Fel’s powers sometimes fails him, such as when he tries to make a doorway for him & Amara to escape down the block from a threat, but when they go through that doorway, they’ve been transported halfway across the world.

By making the story about the logic of the universe and how it can be exploited or make what should go right go wrong, the book carries a consistent throughline throughout the whole thing, even & especially when Fel does his most shocking action near the end of the story.  It’s a very admirable feat.

Speaking of the ending, I do want to talk about that.  If you don’t want to be spoiled, skip to the “SPOILERS END HERE” line.

**SPOILERS START HERE**

When Fel and his friends reach The Pinnacle, they meet a few other folks there—and they meet God.  I wasn’t sure if God was going to end up being real or not, but there it is, fretting as the world comes to an end.  It’s revealed that God made the world in an effort to make order out of chaos, but chaos keeps seeping through, no matter what it does.  It has ended & restarted the world many, many, many times, always bringing back The Chosen Four (Amara & three others named Lumbre, Huesos, & Frio) and The Fated Four (Fel [true name: Felicidad], Virgen [true name: Virtud], Dormi [true name: Domino (a name Dormi finds “fucking stupid”) & Beatrix [true name: Hambre])

Beatrix is a very interesting character.  In this lifetime, she was the butcher in the prison Dormi was locked up in, ruthlessly killing many of Dormi’s friends.  But she regrets being that person, thought she had to make herself into what she now realizes is a monster.  Her & Dormi’s reflection is shown in this passage:

“Dormi and Beatrix‌—‌who had been incredibly lost until this point‌—‌found themselves looking at one another. They thought about the life they’d led and wondered how different things would’ve been had they switched places. It humbled Beatrix, for she had been taught to hate the people of Gritlan, and it scared Dormi, for they were terrified of the butcher they might’ve become.”

The eight of them are always created when a new cycle begins.  Amara remembers every single cycle, every single timeline that has ever existed.  So does God, of course.  And now, it’s time for the world to end for a new cycle to begin.

The Chosen Four all carry pieces of The Worldly Egg, from which a new cycle of the world will hatch.  They take out their pieces, the egg forms—but God doesn’t hatch it.  Instead, God admits to them that it is tired of change, of chaos.  It longs for predictability, and wants this all to end.  It wants this to be the last cycle to ever exist.

Of course, everyone else protests.  So, God asks them all to vote whether this should be the last cycle of the world.  God votes Yea, as it is tired of doing this over & over again.  Everyone else votes, until finally, Fel has to be the tiebreaker. 

But instead of voting, Fel takes the The Worldly Egg and rends it, crunching it down to its most basic materials and absorbing them into himself.  In doing so, Fel absorbs everything existing into himself—the world, his friends, even God—and becomes the new creator of the universe.  The Prince of Absolute Chaos.

He creates a new cycle, brings his friends back.  God is reborn as a child, and as a being who has never had a name, it asks Fel to have his—to be named Felicidad.  Fel says yes, as long as, “[Y]ou must promise me to honor the name by living a life full of joy, laughter, and smiles.  Do you promise?”

The previous God thinks about it—after all, life could be full of “joy, laughter, and smiles” or it can be full of “misery and misfortune”.  In the end, it promises Fel it will uphold the name, and the book ends on that final exchange.

I teared up quite a bit as I read through the ending, and even going back to find quotes for this review made me tear up again.  Saving your friends, saving the world, and even saving God—there’s something very beautiful in that, I think.

I also love how Kirin was able to bring aspects of his Mexican culture into the book, by making all of the true names that of “the first language” within the book’s universe (Spanish).  It’s a nice little touch and I think it’s neat.

**SPOILERS END HERE**

Now for my criticisms.  Like Adrian in Memory Leak, Fel is referred to as “the young man” quite a lot.  Sometimes this happens multiple times in the same paragraph.  This seems to be in an effort to avoid using pronouns instead, but sometimes, it’s better to just say “he”, as someone who also has this problem in eir writing (thanks, OCD [literally, not a figure of speech]!).

That’s basically my only nitpick.  I wish I had more to criticize honestly, but I really don’t.  Good problems to have.

In conclusion, I’ve never been angrier that a book isn’t popular than when I finished this one.  Where are the Tumblr shitposts and multiple pieces of fanart for this book?  I’m so mad lmao!  Also, I imagine I will have that feeling quite a bit as I continue this book review series.

I want to leave off with these words that Amara says to Fel, because I think they’re beautiful:

“‘The only thing worth a damn in this world is being the best versions of ourselves. What does that look like to you, sweet Fel? What does the best version of you look like? It may seem far away, unreachable at the best of times, but you should reach out for this impossible ideal. Be the truest version of yourself. That’s the only thing we can do. Everything else? My dear, everything else is a gamble.’”

So true, bestie.  Amen.

[status-quo-book]

Status Quo Survey

[distortedsense]

]art for my fantasy novel THE DAY MY DREAM DIED