- Twenty-First Century Civilization Will Soon Collapse
- Just One In Ten Thousand Will Survive The Apocalypse
- You Have Been Chosen To Escape The Great Purging
- Welcome To The Future...
Publishers Weekly Top 10 Best of the Year
In her new collection, Story Prize finalist Maureen F. McHugh delves into the dark heart of contemporary life and life five minutes from now and how easy it is to mix up one with the other. Her stories are post-bird flu, in the middle of medical trials, wondering if our computers are smarter than us, wondering when our jobs are going to be outsourced overseas, wondering if we are who we say we are, and not sure what we'd do to survive the coming zombie plague.
Praise for Maureen F. McHugh:
"Gorgeously crafted stories."â€"Nancy Pearl, NPR
"Hauntingly beautiful."â€"Booklist
"Unpredictable and poetic ! work."â€"The Plain Dealer
Maureen F. McHugh has lived in New York; Shijiazhuang, China; Ohio; Austin, Texas; and now lives in Los Angeles, California. She is the author of a Story Prize finalist collection, Mothers & Other Monsters, and four novels, including Tiptree Award-winner China Mountain Zhang and New York Times editor's choice Nekropolis. McHugh has also worked on alternate reality games for Halo 2, The Watchmen, and Nine Inch Nails, among others.
This science fiction collection contains three stories: After Things Went Bad, Mr. Tinker, and At Home on Wintebury Circle.
From SIFT BOOK REVIEWS: "Even more than the distinctive voices, impeccable writing, and well-wrought characters, the dark captivating atmosphere will wrap around you and linger long after you have finished reading. These two are clearly talented writers with wicked imaginations. I believe each story has something important! to say about humanity and packs a punch the reader will feel ! for a wh ile." -- Sarah NicolasThis science fiction collection contains three stories: After Things Went Bad, Mr. Tinker, and At Home on Wintebury Circle.
From SIFT BOOK REVIEWS: "Even more than the distinctive voices, impeccable writing, and well-wrought characters, the dark captivating atmosphere will wrap around you and linger long after you have finished reading. These two are clearly talented writers with wicked imaginations. I believe each story has something important to say about humanity and packs a punch the reader will feel for a while." -- Sarah NicolasThe apocalypse was yesterday. These stories are today.
In her new collection, Story Prize finalist Maureen F. McHugh delves into the dark heart of contemporary life and life five minutes from now and how easy it is to mix up one with the other. Her stories are post-bird flu, in the middle of medical trials, wondering if our computers are smarter than us, wondering when our jobs are going to be outsourced ove! rseas, wondering if we are who we say we are, and not sure what we'd do to survive the coming zombie plague.
Table of Contents
The Naturalist
Special Economics
Useless Things
The Lost Boy: A Reporter at Large
The Kingdom of the Blind
Going to France
Honeymoon
The Effect of Centrifugal Forces
After the Apocalypse
Praise for Maureen F. McHugh:
"Gorgeously crafted stories."â€"Nancy Pearl, NPR
"Hauntingly beautiful."â€"Booklist
"Unpredictable and poetic work."â€"The Plain Dealer
“Poignant and sometimes heartwrenching.â€â€"Publishers Weekly
Maureen F. McHugh has lived in New York; Shijiazhuang, China; Ohio; Austin, Texas; and now lives in Los Angeles, California. She is the author of a Story Prize finalist collection, Mothers & Other Monsters, and four novels, including Tiptree Award-winner China! Mountain Zhang and New York Times editor's choice ! Nekro polis. McHugh has also worked on alternate reality games for Halo 2, The Watchmen, and Nine Inch Nails, among others.The apocalypse was yesterday. These stories are today.
In her new collection, Story Prize finalist Maureen F. McHugh delves into the dark heart of contemporary life and life five minutes from now and how easy it is to mix up one with the other. Her stories are post-bird flu, in the middle of medical trials, wondering if our computers are smarter than us, wondering when our jobs are going to be outsourced overseas, wondering if we are who we say we are, and not sure what we'd do to survive the coming zombie plague.
Table of Contents
The Naturalist
Special Economics
Useless Things
The Lost Boy: A Reporter at Large
The Kingdom of the Blind
Going to France
Honeymoon
The Effect of Centrifugal Forces
After the Apocalypse
Praise for Maureen F. McHugh:
"Gorgeously crafted! stories."â€"Nancy Pearl, NPR
"Hauntingly beautiful."â€"Booklist
"Unpredictable and poetic work."â€"The Plain Dealer
“Poignant and sometimes heartwrenching.â€â€"Publishers Weekly
Maureen F. McHugh has lived in New York; Shijiazhuang, China; Ohio; Austin, Texas; and now lives in Los Angeles, California. She is the author of a Story Prize finalist collection, Mothers & Other Monsters, and four novels, including Tiptree Award-winner China Mountain Zhang and New York Times editor's choice Nekropolis. McHugh has also worked on alternate reality games for Halo 2, The Watchmen, and Nine Inch Nails, among others.The apocalypse doesn't need plagues or zombies or bombs. All it needs is us. Set in the very near future, WHAT CAME AFTER takes place in a too-credible third-world America that's been hijacked by corporations in the service of the wealthy. The Federal government has collapsed, health care is inac! cessible, and private armies keep order. The upper class is co! ncentrat ed in the cities, while the middle classâ€"decimated by disease and poisoned by genetically engineered foodsâ€"labors on in a handful of desolate Empowerment Zones. One man, Henry Weller, has had enough. With his five-year-old daughter going blind, he sets out across a ruined America to find her the health care she deserves. He'll have to face a strange and hostile worldâ€"from the financial districts of a walled New York to the armed camp of Washington, DCâ€"but if he's successful, his daughter might see again. And along the way, a revolution might get started. WHAT CAME AFTER is shaped by issues on everyone's mind right now: poverty, corporate power, access to heath care, the outsourcing of government, parents' obligations to their children. But at its core, it's a post-apocalyptic adventure in a desolate and treacherous world: THE WIZARD OF OZ meets HEART OF DARKNESS, at the end of the American dream.Harriette Madyson is the last woman alive. Twenty years ago ! her world came to an end when a zombie plague engulfed the population of Earth. At the tender age of seven she found herself in a nightmarish situation where the dead literally returned to life. Left with little to use and nowhere to hide Harri now finds herself stalked across the frozen desolate landscape of North America pursued by the former love of her life. All that she has to keep her going is the hope that she can make it home to die in peace.The Mission: North Korea is the second chapter in the Post Apocalyptic World that the Seeker Element has been thrust into. The Team has been tasked with a follow on mission to find the source of the deadly virus that caused the world to be decimated by the living dead.The Mission: North Korea is the second chapter in the Post Apocalyptic World that the Seeker Element has been thrust into. The Team has been tasked with a follow on mission to find the source of the deadly virus that caused the world to be decimated by the living d! ead."3 Years After" is a story about a Special Forces team put! togethe r to help our nation in a most fragile time. The post 9/11 world has forced the United States government to develop new ways to fight and counter terrorism. During the initial testing of the latest technological breakthrough, Time Travel, a catastrophic failure occurs. This strands the test team three years into the future. They are greeted by a new world which has been decimated by war and infested by zombies.
Will the team and humanity survive?
Do they figure out what happened in time?
This is the new version that has been edited."3 Years After" is a story about a Special Forces team put together to help our nation in a most fragile time. The post 9/11 world has forced the United States government to develop new ways to fight and counter terrorism. During the initial testing of the latest technological breakthrough, Time Travel, a catastrophic failure occurs. This strands the test team three years into the future. They are greeted by a new ! world which has been decimated by war and infested by zombies.
Will the team and humanity survive?
Do they figure out what happened in time?
This is the new version that has been edited.The world as we know it is no more. A giant meteor hit the US five years ago, turning a good portion of it into a desolate wasteland. Between the meteor, the nuclear winter that followed and the rioting, it wiped out almost 95% of the population. The government went into hiding and left the remaining population to fend for itself for over two years.
Almost three years after the “storm†the government came out of their bunkers, the leadership had changed drastically though. The men who had run the country before have since died and the man in charge had been the Secretary of housing and urban development in the previous administration. He was not suited, nor did he necessarily want the job of president but he was in the line of succession and thusly they looked ! to him for leadership. Leadership was in no way his strong sui! t.
Five years after the “storm†and the remaining populace have had to fight just to survive. Many have lost their lives in the subsequent days and those that remain, stand together and take care of each other. “Clans†have formed where there used to be towns and they are governed by a clan “head†or “chiefâ€. Duncan Mackenzie is one of these clan heads in a small town just outside what’s left of Boston, Massachusetts. He and his men find food, water and supplies to keep the rest of the 1000 plus members of his clan alive, anyway they can. This includes foraging, bartering with other clans or if they have to, stealing it from what remains of the old government.
Now the military has been ordered to get the clans back under control, and they’ve sent a new commander to get the job done. After his predecessor's failure to reign in the clans the new CO Colonel Jacobson decides to take more dramatic measures.
As if surviving in a world with little fres! h water or food wasn’t hard enough, the remaining populace has to now deal with a tyrannical government trying to regain its long lost control. This is the first in a series of stories following Duncan Mackenzie and his clan as they struggle to survive and fight to hold onto their freedom in a harsh new world.
The world as we know it is no more. A giant meteor hit the US five years ago, turning a good portion of it into a desolate wasteland. Between the meteor, the nuclear winter that followed and the rioting, it wiped out almost 95% of the population. The government went into hiding and left the remaining population to fend for itself for over two years.
Almost three years after the “storm†the government came out of their bunkers, the leadership had changed drastically though. The men who had run the country before have since died and the man in charge had been the Secretary of housing and urban development in the previous administration. He was not suited,! nor did he necessarily want the job of president but he was i! n the li ne of succession and thusly they looked to him for leadership. Leadership was in no way his strong suit.
Five years after the “storm†and the remaining populace have had to fight just to survive. Many have lost their lives in the subsequent days and those that remain, stand together and take care of each other. “Clans†have formed where there used to be towns and they are governed by a clan “head†or “chiefâ€. Duncan Mackenzie is one of these clan heads in a small town just outside what’s left of Boston, Massachusetts. He and his men find food, water and supplies to keep the rest of the 1000 plus members of his clan alive, anyway they can. This includes foraging, bartering with other clans or if they have to, stealing it from what remains of the old government.
Now the military has been ordered to get the clans back under control, and they’ve sent a new commander to get the job done. After his predecessor's failure to reign in the clans the new CO ! Colonel Jacobson decides to take more dramatic measures.
As if surviving in a world with little fresh water or food wasn’t hard enough, the remaining populace has to now deal with a tyrannical government trying to regain its long lost control. This is the first in a series of stories following Duncan Mackenzie and his clan as they struggle to survive and fight to hold onto their freedom in a harsh new world.
The apocalypse doesn't need plagues or zombies or bombs. All it needs is us.
Set in the very near future, WHAT CAME AFTER takes place in a too-credible third-world America that's been hijacked by corporations in the service of the wealthy. The Federal government has collapsed, health care is inaccessible, and private armies keep order. The upper class is concentrated in the cities, while the middle classâ€"decimated by disease and poisoned by genetically engineered foodsâ€"labors on in a handful of desolate Empowerment Zones.
One man, Henr! y Weller, has had enough. With his five-year-old daughter goin! g blind, he sets out across a ruined America to find her the health care she deserves. He'll have to face a strange and hostile worldâ€"from the financial districts of a walled New York to the armed camp of Washington, DCâ€"but if he's successful, his daughter might see again.
And along the way, a revolution might get started.
WHAT CAME AFTER is shaped by issues on everyone's mind right now: poverty, corporate power, access to heath care, the outsourcing of government, parents' obligations to their children.
But at its core, it's a post-apocalyptic adventure in a desolate and treacherous world: THE WIZARD OF OZ meets HEART OF DARKNESS, at the end of the American dream.
---
From the critics:
"Sometimes I just keep hearing about a book on social media and I get so curious, I seek out the book myself. Case in point: Sam Winston’s extraordinary WHAT CAME AFTER, an e-book about the end of the world. I started reading aft! er dinner and didn’t stop until I finished. This is no ordinary book. Character-driven, haunting, and gorgeously written, I think it’s a classic."
â€" Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of PICTURES OF YOU.
---
For a limited time, WHAT CAME AFTER includes a sample of Lauren Baratz-Logsted’s THE BRO-MAGNET â€" about which Mandi Schreiner wrote in USA Today: “There are so many memorable moments in this book that I could spend page after page quoting them.â€The apocalypse doesn't need plagues or zombies or bombs. All it needs is us.
Set in the very near future, WHAT CAME AFTER takes place in a too-credible third-world America that's been hijacked by corporations in the service of the wealthy. The Federal government has collapsed, health care is inaccessible, and private armies keep order. The upper class is concentrated in the cities, while the middle classâ€"decimated by disease and poisoned by genetically engin! eered foodsâ€"labors on in a handful of desolate Empowerment Z! ones.
One man, Henry Weller, has had enough. With his five-year-old daughter going blind, he sets out across a ruined America to find her the health care she deserves. He'll have to face a strange and hostile worldâ€"from the financial districts of a walled New York to the armed camp of Washington, DCâ€"but if he's successful, his daughter might see again.
And along the way, a revolution might get started.
WHAT CAME AFTER is shaped by issues on everyone's mind right now: poverty, corporate power, access to heath care, the outsourcing of government, parents' obligations to their children.
But at its core, it's a post-apocalyptic adventure in a desolate and treacherous world: THE WIZARD OF OZ meets HEART OF DARKNESS, at the end of the American dream.
---
From the critics:
"Sometimes I just keep hearing about a book on social media and I get so curious, I seek out the book myself. Case in point: Sam Winston’s extraordinary WHAT CAME AF! TER, an e-book about the end of the world. I started reading after dinner and didn’t stop until I finished. This is no ordinary book. Character-driven, haunting, and gorgeously written, I think it’s a classic."
â€" Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of PICTURES OF YOU.
---
For a limited time, WHAT CAME AFTER includes a sample of Lauren Baratz-Logsted’s THE BRO-MAGNET â€" about which Mandi Schreiner wrote in USA Today: “There are so many memorable moments in this book that I could spend page after page quoting them.â€In volume one of his epic post-apocalyptic adventure saga, master storyteller John Phillip Backus brings this not-so-distant vision of the future to life with intriguing characters, gifted narrative, believable settings and mythic heroes and villains. Driven by a riveting storyline brilliantly illustrated by Asheville, NC artist, Chad Schoenauer, the author weaves his linguistic magic until the reader is utterly imm! ersed in this brave new world and dare not fail to turn the ne! xt page for fear of missing out. On his own in the Wyoming wilderness, fourteen years after the End War and its aftermath nearly wiped out the human race, self-exiled survivor, Hunter Macintosh, is suddenly faced with more than he bargained for-three sisters and a child crossing the uncharted wilds alone. Suspicious at first, Hunter soon discovers they've traveled more than three hundred miles to find him, at the request of their father, Adam Planchet-Hunter's former commander and comrade-in-arms-whose besieged Colorado community is at risk of being overrun by lawless hordes! Honor-bound by a pledge made many years earlier, Hunter agrees to return with Elise Planchet to help turn the tide before all is lost. Set against the majestic backdrop of the North American Rockies, Hunter - After The Fall is an engrossing tale of adventure, betrayal and hope, where the true character of an individual is thoroughly tested and the outcome uncertain at best. Join Hunter and Elise as they battle bands of outlaws, enraged grizzlies, numbing blizzards, armed militias and their own stubborn hearts in an epic tale of good-versus-evil in a potential future all too easy to conceive!
