I was a child of the Cold War. When the 20th Century ended, many of my peers and I thought we’d put the specter of annihilation behind us. As much as I’ve always been a fan of all things post-apocalyptic, I must acknowledge that we now face new threats that are just as much of our own making as the nuclear nightmare was. When I think about the future, I don’t see or foresee a dark and dismal end. I envision a bright future that will be a lot harder to achieve than we ever thought. I look forward to creating heroes and heroines who can make that future possible.
This steam-age portrayal of an alien invasion grabbed my attention when I was in grade school. The author’s description of burning cities and forests painted a picture of ecological horror in my imagination. The impact of that has stayed with me, so much so that I have included the ecological consequences of war in much of what I have written.
But planet Earth was not only being watched - soon it would be invaded by monstrous creatures from Mars who strode about the land in great mechanical tripods, bringing death and destruction with them. What can possibly stop an invading army equipped with heat-rays and poisonous black gas, intent on wiping out the human race? This is one man's story of that incredible invasion, from the time the first Martians land near his home town, to the destruction of London. Is this the end of human life on Earth?
As dark and depressing as this Cold War cautionary tale is, the author’s use of creeping ecological doom in the aftermath of a world-shattering war was profound to me. The story is told from several points of view by characters who have different motivations. I found their choices to be just as understandable as they were heartbreaking. This isn’t a “happily ever after” story. Even so, I found myself appreciating the whole story, from start to end.
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Through the imagination of some of the world's greatest authors, the English language comes to life in pages of our Readers. Students have the pleasure and satisfaction of reading these stories in English, and at the same time develop a broader vocabulary, greater comprehension and reading…
A traditional mystery with a touch of cozy, The Alchemy Fire Murder is for those who like feisty women sleuths, Oxford Colleges, alchemy, strong characters, and real concerns like trafficking, wildfires, racism, and climate change. This book especially works for those fascinated by myth and witches in history. Read for…
The concept of life and death after a world war is given a twist when cold and darkness are more lethal than nuclear, chemical, or biological residues. Many of the most prominent characters are civilian airline pilots and other aviation professionals. I’ve spent much of my life around military and civil aviation. I don’t encounter characters like these very frequently. I like the way the author drew upon the knowledge and skills of these people to save humanity’s future.
The six hundred passengers and crew members aboard a jumbo jetliner are left without a destination and a country when nuclear war breaks out and spreads devastation around the world.
A collapsed economy and an increasingly savage society were causing thousands to abandon America. Captain Jonah Scott was a pilot, hired to fly some lucky refugees to London. But once in the air, nuclear war broke out, and Scott became responsible for the entire human race!
As much as I enjoy the imagery and metaphors associated with large-scale devastation, I also like to imagine how we mere mortals could survive what we have caused. This author takes the time to depict a very humane post-apocalyptic struggle in ways that I still admire. Once you get past the pain and suffering, there’s a lot of hope and optimism on these pages.
Five years after a "limited" nuclear war, two survivors journey across America. They — and you — will discover what is left of our way of life: the depth of the devastation — and the hopes of a new society desperately struggling to be born.
From Edward Kennedy to Playboy magazine, readers have praised Warday as an absorbing, suspenseful novel — and an important book for every American to read.
"A first-rate novel, as real as snapshots of tomorrow. And as scary." — New York Daily News
"Haunting … horrifying … engrossing … an all too believable look at what…
Magnolia Merryweather, a horse breeder, is eager to celebrate Christmas for the first time after the Civil War ended even as she grows her business. She envisions a calm, prosperous life ahead after the terror of the past four years. Only, all of her plans are thrown into disarray when…
I like a good apocalypse just as much as the next reader. As much as I have liked the genre, I haven’t always been as cognizant of the human cost as I think I should be. This author will take you on a journey that is outwardly familiar. His examination and portrayal of what it means to be truly alone in a ravaged world were enough to tear my heart out when I first read it in college. Even when the living do have a good reason to envy the dead, they can still work through their pain to create a future for themselves. That’s a grain of truth I try to put into everything I do.
Hailed as "an extraordinary novel of men at war" (The Washington Post) this is the book that inspired the TNT television series starring Eric Dane, Rhona Mitra, Adam Baldwin and Michael Bay as Executive Producer.
The unimaginable has happened. The world has been plunged into all-out nuclear war. Sailing near the Arctic Circle, the U.S.S. Nathan James is relatively unscathed, but the future is grim and Captain Thomas is facing mutiny from the tattered remnants of his crew. With civilization in ruins, he urges those that remain-one-hundred-and-fifty-two men and twenty-six women-to pull together in search of land. Once they reach…
Alaskan fisheries suffer when a mining disaster pollutes Bristol Bay. Governments around the world struggle with drought and famine as climate change becomes real. Nations go to war over dwindling resources on land and at sea. In this era of rising international tensions that lead to regional wars, administrators and staff at the Kodiak starport face the challenge of keeping the promise of manned spaceflight intact for the next generation of explorers and entrepreneurs. Can the gateway to a better future be kept open, or will it close forever when satellites and space stations are destroyed?
One summer night in a small prairie city, 18-year-old Gabriel Reece accidentally outs himself to his redneck brother Colin, flees on his motorcycle, and gets struck by lightning on his way out of town.
He’s strangely fine, walking away from his melted pile of bike without a scratch. There’s no…
As a young doctor, Carl Holman has experienced the horrors of World War I and the death of his lover, a fellow officer. Back home after the War, he befriends a young jazz musician who he hopes will become a companion he can share his life with. But this is…
