Showing results by author "Eloise J Knapp" in All Categories

The best-selling Extinction Cycle series by Nicholas Sansbury Smith first introduced listeners to a world ravaged by an engineered virus that turned men into monsters. Humanity's only hope was not a cure, but another bioweapon. When deployed it killed 90 percent of the infected, but the remaining 10 percent transformed into even more terrifying creatures called Variants. Here's a collection of Extinction Cycle short stories that explore the human spirit and the fight for survival in the face of overwhelming odds from some of the leading voices in the post-apocalyptic genre.

Zabat's Comet promises a stunning astronomical display as it narrowly passes our planet. Then a solar flare nudges it hurtling toward Earth. Humanity crumbles during the countdown to doomsday. But Zabat is more than just a comet. The impact brings not swift extinction but a massive cloud of dust that appears to have a mind of its own. A sinister intelligence. A force that threatens to change what's left of humanity. Jack, Colleen, Lara, and Dan survived the violent chaos of the countdown. Now, they're about to find out that after doomsday, there are horrors even worse than death.

After the DZ was destroyed and the Dust mysteriously vanished, the world is eager to forget and rebuild, oblivious to the fact that they remain caught in the middle of an interstellar quest for revenge. Adrian, despite his wavering faith in the Dust Avatar, relentlessly pursues its series of strange and violent directives, all the while haunted by the sound of inhuman cries emanating from the Avatar’s domain.

When the end finally occurred, everything about it was cinematic. The dead came back and ate people, civilization collapsed, and no one could do a thing. But Cyrus V. Sinclair couldn’t care less; he’s a sociopath. Amidst the chaos, Cyrus sits back and contemplates the gore stained streets and screams of his fellow man with little more emotion than one of the walking corpses. With his cache of guns and MREs, he rather likes the idea of hunkering down in his Seattle apartment while the world ends outside.

When Zabat’s Comet threatened to destroy the planet, society ripped itself apart in violent, hedonistic glory. But instead of bringing extinction by fire, the comet unleashed a cloud of hazardous dust over the Pacific Northwest. Within it lurks a sinister alien being that both threatens annihilation and promises transcendence. While some unite to destroy the force field containing the dust, others put their lives on the line to keep it contained. Humanity faces a new set of challenges that put into question the very essence of what it means to be human.

An unidentified and aggressive illness begins spreading in North Dakota, and the nation panics. People are becoming sick, losing their minds, and murdering each other in disturbing ways. The government is struggling to come up with a solution, but as the epidemic mutates within the civilian population, its grip grows stronger. Dom is thousands of miles away near Seattle, witnessing his city collapse. The pandemic hasn't even reached them, but people are panicking and rioting as though it's already there. Holed up in his apartment with his best friend and girlfriend, Dom fears the worst.

The apocalypse just got worse. When remorse drives Cyrus to abandon his hidden compound he doesn't realize what new dangers lurk in the undead world. He knows he must wade through the vilest remains of humanity and hordes of zombies to settle scores and find the one person who might understand him. But this time, it won't be so easy. Zombies and unpleasant survivors aren't the only thing Cyrus has to worry about. Not anymore.