Why am I passionate about this?

S. L. Smith is an author, attorney, and Catholic theologian with deep roots in southern Louisiana. Despite being better known for his work in Catholic theology and history, Smith has also published extensively in the Southern Gothic genre. This crucible of tastes, religion, and location resulted in the Cajun Zombie Chronicles. Beneath the oaks and moss, lie shadows that bite.      


I wrote

The River Dead

By S. L. Smith,

Book cover of The River Dead

What is my book about?

Welcome to Cajun country, Louisiana. Home to gators and gumbo, mosquitos and Mardi Gras, zydeco and... zombies. This is…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

S. L. Smith Why did I love this book?

After reading World War Z for the 20th time, I had no choice but to start writing books about zombies. No choice! Max Brooks (the son of Mel Brooks, by the way) actually and inadvertently picked some of my family's land in Louisiana as a setting for one of the many zombie vignettes in World War Z. This is the one where a lady relief supplies pilot parachutes into the Louisiana swamps south of Interstate 10 between Lafayette and Baton Rouge.   

There is nobody that has delved so deep into the world of zombie apocalypse as Max Brooks. In all likelihood, Brooks is just an interdimensional traveler and journalist who actually experienced a zombie apocalypse and is just writing non-fiction.   

Talk about spanning continents and heroes! One of the heroes (Waynio) literally fights across an entire continent... And is voiced by Luke Skywalker, himself, in the audiobook version!

By Max Brooks,

Why should I read it?

24 authors picked World War Z as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It began with rumours from China about another pandemic. Then the cases started to multiply and what had looked like the stirrings of a criminal underclass, even the beginning of a revolution, soon revealed itself to be much, much worse.

Faced with a future of mindless man-eating horror, humanity was forced to accept the logic of world government and face events that tested our sanity and our sense of reality. Based on extensive interviews with survivors and key players in the ten-year fight against the horde, World War Z brings the finest traditions of journalism to bear on what is…


Book cover of Day by Day Armageddon

S. L. Smith Why did I love this book?

I listened to this whole series while climbing mind-numbing stacks of backlogged legal work as an Assistant Attorney General. My vision was clogged with the vivid scenes of Bourne's books, legal folders, paper clips, and coffee stains. It actually inspired the fourth book of my zombie series.   

Told in the diary format common to many books of the zombie epic subgenre, this journal depicts one man's struggle for survival. The unnamed narrator is a naval officer who was just returning home to Texas from visiting his parents in Arkansas when the zombie apocalypse hits. John, another survivor, and Annabell, John's miniature greyhound, work together with the narrator to survive, hoping to find some last working vestige of the US government. 

There are some cool elements to this zombie epic that I haven't found anywhere else. They shelter in a functional missile silo at one point. The clunk, clunk of the dead falling through the silo's inconspicuous hole in the ground was particularly memorable. There's zombie vs. houseboat. I've often wondered about this survival tactic. Plus, there are radiated zombies flowing out of Houston causing havoc.  

By J. L. Bourne,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Day by Day Armageddon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Synopsis coming soon.......


Book cover of Cell

S. L. Smith Why did I love this book?

Did you know Stephen King wrote a zombie book? The undisputed master of horror—even he—has waded into the zombie apocalypse. The heart of this book is a father journeying through the zombie landscape to find his son. As a father many times over now, this theme will never stop being poignant for me. 

King's The Stand is the grand-daddy of the epic apocalypse book. If you're a fan of The Stand, and of course you are, you will love this book. The Cell is basically The Stand plus zombies. 

But King doesn't just wade into the zombie apocalypse, he re-creates it. There are a number of zombie innovations in this book. First off, the method of transmission for the zombie "virus" is the cell phone. It's King's techno-pessimism or cyber-phobia that elevates this zombie book. King asks us a simple question. Just how far removed are we from these zombies, as we tap and scroll, tap and scroll, mindlessly staring into the glow of our smartphones? And then joining the raging hordes on social media? Gulp.         

King should be higher on this list, but alas, Cell is just one book. We need a series!

By Stephen King,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Cell as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Stephen King's bestselling apocalyptic thriller.

'Civilization slipped into its second dark age on an unsurprising track of blood but with a speed that could not have been foreseen by even the most pessimistic futurist. By Halloween, every major city from New York to Moscow stank to the empty heavens and the world as it had been was a memory.'

The event became known as The Pulse. The virus was carried by every cell phone operating within the entire world. Within hours, those receiving calls would be infected.

A young artist Clayton Riddell realises what is happening. He flees the devastation…


Book cover of Plague of the Dead

S. L. Smith Why did I love this book?

The Morningstar Strain takes us around the world and block-by-block across America. Let me say this. This is not high-concept literary artwork. Z. A. Recht is not William Faulkner or Flannery O'Connor. Recht knows what he does well, though, and he sticks to it. He puts you in the setting. Great detail work. Have you fantasized about scavenging in the zombie apocalypse? Recht puts you there. 

I still feel that urge from time to time to join Army General Francis Sherman and Dr. Anna Demilio in their continent-spanning quest for the zombie cure. They may be the same old characters saying the same old dialogue you find in every Jerry Bruckheimer film ... but. That serves as something as a bridge from the familiar to the apocalyptic.         

So, join General Sherman, Dr. Demilio, and the other survivors as they hitch a ride on the island-hopping USS Ramage to the Pacific Northwest and head inland. Search and clear the dead and the deadly from the Main Streets of America. 

By Z.A. Recht,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Plague of the Dead as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The “zombie apocalypse,” once on the fringes of horror, has become one of the most buzzworthy genres in popular culture. Now, in Plague of the Dead, Z.A. Recht delivers an intelligent, gripping thriller that will leave both new and die-hard zombie fans breathless.

The end begins with a viral outbreak unlike anything mankind has ever encountered before. The infected are subject to delirium, fever, a dramatic increase in violent behavior, and a one-hundred percent mortality rate. But it doesn’t end there. The victims return from death to walk the earth. When a massive military operation fails to contain the living…


Book cover of Zombie Fallout

S. L. Smith Why did I love this book?

You can’t compile a list like this without including Mark Tufo’s Zombie Fallout series. At least in sheer volume, this is as epic as it gets. Tufo has now published the 20th book of this series. 20 books! Tufo's series is built on a solid core of family survival. The books' dry humor and the wit of the main character, Mike Talbot—this is what really sells these books. This isn't pure zombie, mind you (or should I say "brainnssss you"). There is also an evil vampire queen and other monsters to spice things up. 

By Mark Tufo,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Zombie Fallout as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Zombie Fallout It was a flu season like no other. With fears of contracting the H1N1 virus running rampant throughout the country, people lined up in droves to try an attain one of the coveted vaccines. What was not known, was the effect this largely untested, rushed to market, inoculation was to have on the unsuspecting throngs. Within days, feverish folk throughout the country, convulsed, collapsed and died, only to be re-born. With a taste for brains, blood and bodies, these modern day zombies scoured the lands for their next meal. Overnight the country became a killing ground for the…


Explore my book 😀

The River Dead

By S. L. Smith,

Book cover of The River Dead

What is my book about?

Welcome to Cajun country, Louisiana. Home to gators and gumbo, mosquitos and Mardi Gras, zydeco and... zombies. This is zombie survival the Cajun way. Ancient gothic churches become citadels and swamp fortresses. The dead rise from the depths of the Mississippi River in The River Dead.

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Beacon of Truth

By Randy C. Dockens,

Book cover of Beacon of Truth

Randy C. Dockens Author Of T-H-B

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been fascinated by science fiction and by Biblical Scripture. That may seem dichotomous to some, but not to me. I have a passion for science and for Scripture because both bring understanding about our world from the microcosm to the macrocosm. My writings are a mixture of science and mystery with a science fiction feel and a Christian perspective. I like stories that show how truth arises even from the dark, confusing, and ambiguity of life to help one discover something about God they may not have considered before, and at the same time enjoy a fun, fast-paced, and exciting journey as they read.

Randy's book list on mystery with a science fiction feel

What is my book about?

Killion is born several generations after the establishment of the Cities of Light which now sprinkle each continent of the world, places where God’s spirit produces a tangible presence felt by all who enter. Yet he is raised outside these cities, under the direction of Adar, who teaches his followers that such cities are dangerous, run by cult leaders, kill any who disagree with their teachings, and should be avoided at all costs.

But circumstances cause Killion to enter a City of Light, and this begins his journey of discovery. What he experiences here doesn’t match what he thought he…

Beacon of Truth

By Randy C. Dockens,

What is this book about?

What if the knowledge of God's glory covered the earth like the waters cover the sea?

Killion is born several generations after the establishment of the Cities of Light which now sprinkle each continent of the world, places where God’s spirit produces a tangible presence felt by all who enter. Yet he is raised outside these cities, under the direction of Adar, who teaches his followers that such cities are dangerous, run by cult leaders, kill any who disagree with their teachings, and should be avoided at all costs.

But circumstances cause Killion to enter a City of Light, and…


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