The best post-apocalyptic books from Next Chapter [March 2023]
Post-apocalyptic science fiction books are a fascinating genre that explores what happens to society after a catastrophic event. These books typically focus on the struggle for survival and the challenges faced by characters as they attempt to navigate a world that has been destroyed or drastically altered. Often, these books depict a bleak future where resources are scarce, and society has been reduced to a more primitive state.
One of the most well-known examples of post-apocalyptic science fiction is Cormac McCarthy's "The Road." This book tells the story of a father and son traveling through a desolate wasteland after an unnamed disaster has destroyed much of the world. It's a powerful and haunting story of survival in a world that has been stripped of all hope and humanity.
Another classic example of post-apocalyptic science fiction is George R. Stewart's "Earth Abides." This book tells the story of a man named Isherwood Williams, who survives a deadly virus that wipes out most of humanity. As he attempts to rebuild society, he faces numerous challenges, including finding other survivors and dealing with the emotional toll of the disaster. "Earth Abides" is a thought-provoking and introspective novel that explores the nature of humanity and our relationship with the environment.
We hope you enjoy the stories by our authors - and if you do, please don’t forget to leave the author a review! Don’t agree with our choices? Please leave a comment and let us know which post-apocalyptic novel is your favorite :)
Books featured on this page
Playing in The Rain (Escape Series Book 1) by Sandra J. Jackson
Desa Kincaid - Bounty Hunter (Desa Kincaid Book 1) by R.S. Penney
Sundown Apocalypse (Sundown Apocalypse Book 1) by Leo Nix
Moneyland (Lockdownland Book 1) by Michael Botur
The Ark by Christopher Coates
Book excerpt
Several months later, General Draper, General Fitch, Admiral Atkins and National Security Advisor Baker met at the Pentagon in Washington DC.
“Gentlemen,” Draper began. “Let's start with a quick overview of what's occurred to date and see what steps need to be taken. Up until this point, we've utilized every means at our disposal to keep the details of the comet's radioactivity a secret. The comet itself is becoming widely known about because of the spectacular light show it'll create when it passes close by. In fact, in the last week, I've seen or heard mention of it several times in the media.
“As you've all said on more than one occasion, we need to start bringing more people into the game. It seems impossible to avoid expanding the number of people with full knowledge of this event at this point.
“I've been dealing with the Air Force, and General Peebles is the only officer over there who knows exactly what's going to happen. He's working on a plan to use nuclear weapons to modify the course of the comet. If we could get the weapons out far enough into space, there might be a chance, but it's not probable. His people are working out new theories but the possibility of success is minimal.
“Teams are scouring the country looking for places to develop more shelters. As sites are located, we're determining the requirements. There's minimal concern regarding surface contamination, any radioactive debris will burn up in the atmosphere; the problem is that while the stuff is in orbit, it'll be hitting everything with its radiation. Consequently, there's no concern regarding clean up after the fact. NASA is still sticking to their current timeline, the comet is still on the same course and gaining speed at the anticipated rate. Remember, the closer it gets to the sun the faster it'll move.
“Our next issue is the selection process for residents of the shelters and the sleeper capsules. I'm willing to hear arguments on this matter, but I fully agree with the preliminary requirements proposed. The sleepers need to predominately be young single people who have the specific skill sets we need. I still believe a high percentage of military or prior military should be included in the group because they know how to follow orders and understand discipline. Any comments?”
“We probably want to maintain close to an even balance for male and female.” Secretary Baker suggested. The others all agreed.
“Sir, how are you planning to contact and recruit roughly a hundred thousand shelter inhabitants, and ten thousand sleepers, without the word getting out to the rest of the population? There will no doubt be people who turn down the prospect of being involved, and then they become a huge risk for revealing the situation to the greater population. It's a perspective problem which can't just be ignored,” Fitch questioned.
Playing in The Rain (Escape Series Book 1) by Sandra J. Jackson
Book excerpt
Morning couldn’t come soon enough. J couldn’t come soon enough.
It was hard moving through the procedures like I was nothing - like I merely existed. I was more than an ID number; I had a real name. A name I remembered or at least thought I had. Only J could help, I hoped.
We sat at the table; my gaze darted from left to right as B2's fixed straight ahead. The clarity I’d seen in B2’s eyes had been fleeting. My restless feet wanted to tap on the hard, white floor, but I kept them still. My hands rested flat on the table in front of me. Once I caught the absent tapping of my finger but stopped it the second I noticed. I had no idea if I’d been doing it for long. My concentration was on keeping my feet still and watching for the red light.
A large exhale blew out between my lips when the light finally glowed red. The muscles in my upper body relaxed as the door opened. I focused on the entrance.
“Good morning.” His voice boomed.
I stiffened and held my breath. It was him, the man with the overpowering scent and the white hair. The man I knew but didn’t know at the same time – Cecil. J trudged in behind and pushed his cart through the door. He shot me a look. I understood and kept my gaze fixed straight ahead.
“Did you girls have a good sleep?” Cecil said.
I could see B2 nod her head, and so I did the same.
“Good, good,” he said with a lilting voice. His heavy hand rested on my shoulder; the paper robe offered little protection against his cold touch. My skin prickled and tingles coursed up from my feet and out through the top of my head. My heart thumped in my ears.
I focused my attention straight ahead as J stood in his usual spot at the table. I couldn't see what he was doing, but my ears tuned into every sound.
“Excuse me, sir,” J said in a tone I’d never heard before.
Desa Kincaid - Bounty Hunter (Desa Kincaid Book 1) by R.S. Penney
Book excerpt
Tommy's eyes flew open.
His mouth became a gaping hole as he yawned and sat up. “Where am I?” The sky was still a deep twilight blue and covered with clouds, and there were trees everywhere. Memories of everything came back to him.
For half a moment, he wondered why he wasn't in his bed, but then he remembered the events in the sheriff's office and their hasty escape from Sorla. The townsfolk were all roused by the commotion, but most were too confused, and McGregor had advised them all to avoid doing anything foolish. By the time they found Lenny and Sheriff Cromwell tending their wounds, Tommy had already saddled his father's horse and followed Desa Kincaid into the night. His heart ached when he realized that he would probably never see Sorla again.
“Wake up, lazy bones.”
He looked and saw Desa striding between two elms with a smile on her face. The woman nodded once. “It's breakfast time,” she said. “Come join me. Tell me a bit about yourself.”
Reluctantly, Tommy stood up. Though he was still fully clothed – pants, shirt and a duster – he felt strangely exposed. He set a wide-brimmed hat on his head and shuffled over to a spot where Desa had a pot of boiling water...on the ground...with no fire.
Desa seated herself on a log with her hands folded over her knees, staring wistfully at something in the far distance. “Come on then,” she said. “It won't stay hot forever, and you need something to take the chill away.”
Tommy squatted by the pot and lifted it to reveal a penny underneath. Was that the source of the heat? For the fourth time since departing the village last night, he began to wonder if trusting this woman was a good idea.
Desa handed him a pewter cup.
He filled it with mint tea that sent steam wafting up toward his face. Tommy shut his eyes and breathed it in. “Thank you.” He took a sip, surprised to find that it was really quite tasty. “How...”
“How what?”
Tommy felt his brow furrow, then shook his head. “How were you able to heat it without a fire?” It occurred to him that the question might offend Desa. “That is...if you want to tell me.”
Desa looked up, and her smile returned. “It's called Field Binding,” she explained. “A way of manipulating energy. I can teach you if you like.”
Sundown Apocalypse (Sundown Apocalypse Book 1) by Leo Nix
Book excerpt
They sat around the camp fire quietly drinking tea and rum. Sundown listened to the two older men talk. Pedro was wearing short pants and his tin legs stuck out like metal sticks in front of him. He caught Pinkie's questioning glance.
"Lost 'em in ‘79, Pinkie, me darling. You know I really loved those pegs of mine. The girls always said I had a good set of legs for dancing. I can't dance now." He threw back his cup of tea and rum then drank straight from the bottle.
"I am so sorry, Pedro, a man needs a good set of legs for girls and dancing and, umm, other things in between." Pinkie frowned at the double meaning, then smiled to show she wasn't making fun of him.
Pedro continued, "I knows me girlie, please don't be put off by my bad moods, they comes and goes." He blew smoke through his nostrils and lips becoming enveloped in tobacco smoke for a few seconds.
"I just missed out on going to Vietnam in ‘72 when we were pulled out by the government. I was a handy marksman, and after training like an idiot I qualified and was accepted into the commandos as a sniper. I just wanted to see some action. At that age I believed the world needed more heroes. Silly me wanted to save the world from baddies and just look at us now. Anyway, when we were told the show was over I was shattered. What a bloody waste of time, I thought."
Pinkie shook her head, she didn't understand why anyone would want to risk being killed in a foreign country, fighting someone else’s war.
"As a kid all I wanted was to join the army, that's all I ever wanted to do – be in the infantry where all the action was. My father served in Korea, me uncle in New Guinea and me grandfather served in France during the Great War. The army was in me blood." Pedro leaned forward, his blood shot eyes were on fire and his moustache bristled as he went on.
"So I transferred, so to speak, to ASIO and worked with the CIA. I ran covert operations in south east Asia with the yanks. We ran drugs, rescued prisoners, we did some kidnapping, assassinations, demolitions you name it we did it. I made a lot of money and spent the damn lot. I didn't expect to live, I didn't want to live. Then one day I was caught in bed with another spook's wife so he knee-capped me, took me legs off with his cut down SLR. A 7.62 mm bullet does a thoroughly nasty job when there's a body between it and a bed." He closed his eyes and shuddered. It appeared to Pinkie that he was reliving that very moment.
"They patched me up and sent me home. No fanfare, no army pension, nothing. I was off the books in both countries, no one wanted to admit they owned me. I drifted, penniless, and ended up in the desert intent on killing meself until Shamus and a few others took pity on me. Why I'm still alive I just don't know." He smiled, tipped his bottle at Shamus, Sundown and Pinkie then drank deeply.
Shamus broke the strained silence and brought them all back to earth. "Tomorrow we leave at first light. Our CB network has told us that the last of those planes we saw have been lost over Darwin. We now have no air force and we have no army. No one knows where the navy is but if them jokers could infiltrate the army and air force they certainly did the same with the navy."
Moneyland (Lockdownland Book 1) by Michael Botur
Book excerpt
“Guys, hey! Over here!”
I called the group. They gathered around, me at the centre. “What’s everyone doing? Who’s found something?”
Watson and Chan assembled under the jungle gym, Fatti and KT and Kane and Adam and Maeve and Eli and Omar and Esther, her arms and body and crotch soaked with mud. There was even mud in her hair. Anya marched up to me and folded her arms all staunch. Those arms won the girls’ shotput, discus and javelin at the last Sports Day. She beat the boys in those events, too, cause Kane got all up in her face and dared to her to go to toe and she whupped him.
“Anyone found anything cool yet?” I called down. The others had been turning over rubbish bins and checking under the slide and tipping the swings.
“Need resource,” Anya grunted. “We are finding food.”
Two muddy figures came near the jungle gym. The sorta-tubby one with masses of black curly hair on her shoulders had to be Fatima. “Nothing cool found. Lend me 20 bucks till payday, babe.”
There you go: five of the best post-apocalyptic books Next Chapter authors in 03/2023. If you enjoy one of the books on this page, please take a moment to leave a comment below, or a review in Goodreads or your favorite store. We’d love to hear from you :)
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