As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

sci fi – dystopian & post apocalyptic

Sci fi stories that posit a society or world destroyed by something terrible and/or under autocratic rule. Return to general Sci Fi

Note: these books are currently sorted by release date, with newest first.

Sort by:

<<First <Prev 1 2 3 4 ... 4 5 6 Next> Last>>

Word Count: 75000

Summary: Enjoy the next chapter in this dark, psychological, steam-powered future mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Patricia Loofbourrow. Recovering from the tremendous losses she's suffered in our last chapter, private eye and mafia wife Jacqueline Spadros gets a new case from an unlikely source: her mobster husband. But when a mutual friend goes missing, Jacqui and her husband must join forces on a case which quickly turns deadly.

The Four of Clubs - Patricia Loofbourrow - Red Dog Conspiracy
The Four of Clubs
Published:

Word Count: 38000

Summary: RISE (noun / verb) Eight definitions to inspire writers around the world, and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) An upward slope or movement 2) A beginning or origin 3) An increase in amount or number 4) An angry reaction 5) To take up arms 6) To return from death 7) To become heartened or elated 8) To exert oneself to meet a challenge Rise features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

Rise Anthology
Rise
Published:
Genres:

Word Count: Information not available

Summary: These interconnected sci-fi dystopian stories will transport you to a world teetering on the precipice of collapse. Join heroes who dare to challenge the shackles of oppression, embarking on dangerous journeys to seek freedom. As the shadow of destruction looms, some choose to fight, while others opt for escape. Yet, in the depths of tormented souls, hope emerges as a fragile yet resilient guiding light. Amidst the tapestry of deceit and cunning, clandestine agendas unfurl, weaving intricate webs of intrigue. The galaxy is engulfed in a war that threatens the fabric of existence. However, amidst the chaos, unexpected friendships and relationships are forged, transcending boundaries and divisions. Will righteousness prevail in the face of adversity? Can the seeds of change take root in the soil of uncertainty? Be enthralled by this omnibus edition, a gateway to the captivating Sehnsucht Series by Keyla Damaer.

Tales From The Sehnsucht Series Boxed Set - Keyla Damaer
Tales from the Sehnsucht Series Omnibus Edition
Published:

Word Count: 32000

Summary: After a job gone wrong, Special Agent Olgo is trapped within the bowels of Mars with no means of escape. The device that imprisons the trauma within them is about to fail, and the past terrors kept hidden by it must be contained for Olgo’s sanity and everyone's safety. From the darkness comes a tiny voice, and a tinier hope: "Hello?" *** The first book in the ‘Cold Rush' Verse follows Agent Olgo as their corporate masters give them what could be their big break: a mission to Mars. But trying to change the working conditions in the planet's underground cities proves more challenging than the agent could have imagined. When a wearable device Olgo uses to block emotions begins to fail, an unlikely friendship changes everything as Olgo struggles to prevent spilling more blood on the Red Planet.

Cold Rising - Rohan O'Duill - Cold Rush
Cold Rising
Published:

Word Count: 29600

Summary: When Peace-in-the-Sky awakens as a captive with a young girl by her side, she only understands one thing: she must escape the tribe who captured her. A brutal head injury makes the past a swirling fog, so she is reliant on the girl—her precocious daughter Anissa—to guide them. She must return Anissa to the Tribes-under-the-Dome to keep her safe from warring and vicious tribes inhabiting the wasted landscape. Every group they shelter with along the way sees something different when they look at Peace-in-the-Sky—a god, a savior, a valuable commodity, a volatile danger. She doesn't know herself, but soon realizes she can protect Anissa with the scorching power of the pillars-of-flame. Only her tender love for Anissa and her mission to return the girl home to the Tribes-under-the-Dome matter. As her body grows weaker, not even the inexorable unraveling mystery of who, or what, Peace-in-the-Sky really is can deflect her from the task. Find out what happens in Peace In The Sky by Caye Marsh!

Peace in the Sky - Caye Marsh
Peace in the Sky
Published:

Word Count: 34000

Summary: Dwyn is a young man in the small, isolated northern town of Manicouga, son of the Minstor, and betrothed to marry the beautiful Kessa in a few weeks. Mael is shepherding the remains of his own people from Land’s End, a village farther north, chased out by a terrible storm that destroyed the town. Both are trying to find their way in a post-apocalyptic world. When they meet, their love may change the course of history.

SALE
The Great North - J. Scott Coatsworth
The Great North SALE
Published:

Word Count: 119000

Summary: A single father fights to retain control as he shares his body and mind with an evolving AI. It’s been nine years since the government banned all technology. So, when Joel Lodowick, a young transgender father struggling to support his five-year-old daughter, has an old bionic upload itself into his head, he is faced with a decision: Go to the cops and risk prosecution? Or use the robot’s skills to turn his life around? Scared of losing his daughter, Joel chooses the latter. Heightened intelligence and physical enhancements quickly land him a better job and a brighter future. But things take a sinister turn when Joel realizes his uninvited companion has an agenda of its own, which may or may not include leaving him in control. Unable to approach the government who covered up the truth about AI sentience, Joel finds himself on the run. With his daughter’s life on the line and his own body turning against him, he must find a way to convince the bionic in his head to value his human life before he loses the chance forever. Find out what happens in My Heart is Human by Reese Hogan!

My Heart is Human - Reese Hogan
My Heart Is Human
Published:

Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Forty years after landing on Lida, the colony still isn't finished. Agetha has survived many more battles than she anticipated when she first landed on her new home planet. She's older and wiser, has gained family and lost loved ones. And yet her reward for four decades of service is to be pushed to the colony’s outer edges with the other aging Generationals. But that was only the beginning of her adventure. The biomass has spent years studying the intruders who landed on its surface, carving a new home from its very essence. Never satisfied in its attempt to communicate with this new and invasive species, finally it has found a way to express its intentions. The colonists may never be the same. Discover the fate of the colony in the second book of The Biomass Conflux trilogy!

To a Fungus Unknown - William C. Tracy
To a Fungus Unknown
Published:

Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Language is no longer learned, it is streamed to neural implants regulated by lang-laws. Those who cannot afford monthly Language Streaming services are feral, living at the fringes of society. Big tech corporations control language, the world’s most valuable commodity. But when a massive cyberattack causes a global language outage, catastrophe looms. Europol detective Emyr Morgan is assigned to the case. Suspect number one is Professor Ebba Black, the last native speaker of language in the automated world, and leader of the Babel cyberterrorist organization. But Emyr soon learns that in a world of corporate power, where they who control language control everything, all is not as it seems. After all, if the mysterious Ebba Black is to blame, why is the Russian Federation being framed for an outage it claims to have no responsibility for? And why is Ebba now targeted for assassination? As he and Ebba collide, each with their divergent agendas and value systems, Emyr faces an existential dilemma between loyalty and betrayal, when everything he once believed in is called into question. To prevent the imminent collapse of civilization, and a deadly war between the great federations, he must figure out friend from foe, as his life may very well depend on it. And with the odds stacked against him, he must find a way to stop the Babel Apocalypse.

The Babel Apocalypse - Vyvyan Evans
The Babel Apocalypse
Published:

Word Count: 12000

Summary: If The Little Mermaid were set in the twenty-second century... In the aftermath of climate change, humans have abandoned the flooded coasts. Underwater, people of another kind struggle to rehabilitate the polluted seas. After one rescues a human engineer, she realizes he might hold the key. If she can learn how to interact with the world like a human, if she can understand them, if she can become enough like them, maybe they will help. Maybe he will help. But to reach him, she may need to sacrifice who she is...

Voice of the Sea - Siri Paulson
Voice of the Sea
Published:

Word Count: 35000

Summary: Will the Manderians choose security over freedom? Keyla Damaer presents the second collection of short stories featuring characters from the Sehnsucht Series. The Manderian Directorate is born from the ashes of a past dripping blood. Existential dilemmas, double agents undercover, epic battles, old and new enemies promise a thrilling read. Thrust into it now!

The Manderian Directorate - Keyla Damaer - Tales From the Sehnsucht Series
Tale From The Sehnsucht Series Part Two - The Manderian Directorate
Published:

Word Count: 134000

Summary: The key to saving the future, lies in the past. On the eve of societal collapse under the weight of a declining worldwide birth rate, Michael Boyer has a dream that is not a dream. While asleep he sees through the eyes of an ancestor, experiencing their memories as if they were his own. But this ability belongs not only to him. People around the world begin having these strange dreams. They are known as Dreamers. As the population declines, follow the Boyer family line through the decades as civilization falls around them until far in the future, with extinction on the horizon, Michael's descendant must use his ability, which he calls the Gift, to search the past for a way to save what's left of humanity. The descendent, Cameron, must find allies, including his own ancestors, while confronting those who would use the crisis as a means to gain power.

The Primary Branch - Chase Hildebrand
The Primary Branch
Published:

Word Count: 125000

Summary: Is Leif really lucky?  Stranded in orbit, viewing a destroyed civilization on Earth through the screens of a starship almost out of fuel and food, he doesn’t feel that way. It wasn’t supposed to be like that. As the starship Dauntless returns from a successful mission to the planet called Heaven, Earth holds no attractions for Exoplanetary Scout Leif Grettison.  He wants only to complete the mission and leave for another star, along with ace pilot Yang Yong.  In fact, he would be happy spending the rest of his life flying the starways with her. But they and the rest of the ship’s skeleton crew awaken from hibernation to find Earth’s solar system dark and silent—no signals, no responses to their transmissions. When they make orbit, the magnitude of the disaster becomes clear: An apocalyptic war has killed billions and destroyed every last source of power and tech that 22nd-Century humans relied on to survive. Getting down to Earth is only the beginning of Leif’s problems.  Those few who survived the apocalypse are still divided, fighting over what’s left. The disastrous re-entry to Earth leaves him with no resources or allies. He lands in the middle of a makeshift family that needs him more than he’s comfortable with and hears stories—even nursery rhymes—that speak of a lucky starman.  For once, he’s the only person with tech—but if he’s caught using it, they might kill him. Can a man back from the stars end the warfare on Earth, or will he make it worse?  Can he save a family that might become his?  Is he everyone’s lucky starman?

The Lucky Starman - Colin Alexander - Leif the Lucky
The Lucky Starman
Published:

Word Count: Information not available

Summary: It’s the end of the Age of Kali and our world is dying, its boundaries shrunken to encompass a single city. In the Earth's final days, lonely young Jay Grant finds his first love in the arms of his neighbor Michèle. Together with six other survivors, they break through the eggshell-thin walls of the world to find a mythical land where the ultimate power of creation resides. Washed ashore from an ocean of milk, they confront personages seemingly out of legend: Ananta Sesha, the lord of the Nagas; Varuna, whose eyes are the stars; Indra, king of the devas; and the tormented being who calls himself the Preserver. Jay and Michèle want nothing more than a life together, but the gods themselves stand in their way. Separated by divine malice and tormented by falsified memories, Jay and Michèle struggle to reunite, transforming themselves into beings beyond the merely human to confront the demiurge responsible for Earth's destruction.

The World's Shattered Shell - Laurence Raphael Brothers
The World’s Shattered Shell
Published:

Word Count: 80000

Summary: The pandemic came and the world changed. Lives have changed; work has changed. The boundaries between reality and fantasy have become as blurred as those between life and work. Corporate Catharsis: The Work From Home Edition explores the impact of the COVID pandemic on everyone's personal and professional lives through speculative fiction. Featuring stories by Alicia Adams, Antaeus, Pauline Barmby, Steven D. Brewer, Dominick Cancilla, Adrienne Canino, Graham J. Darling, Derek Des Anges, Manny Frishberg, Alex Grehy, Jon Hansen, Alexa Kellow, Jack Nash, Helen Obermeier, Frank Sawielijew, William Shaw, Steve Soult, N.L. Sweeney, Kimberley Wall, and Richard Zaric.

Corporate Catharsis anthology
Corporate Catharsis
Published:

Word Count: 67000

Summary: Androids & Aliens is Scott's third short story collection - eight sci fi and sci-fantasy shorts that run the gamut from cyborgs to (comedic) alien invasions: Rise: The rise in sea levels caused by climate change swallowed Venice beneath the lagoon half a century ago. But what if we could bring it back? Ping: I was a real estate agent by day, and a museum curator in the evening at a sci-fi museum. What I saw one night changed everything. What the Rain Brings: Miriam struggles to make a living in post-climate-change Vancouver. But her friend Catalina has it even worse in the Arizona desert. So Miri hatches a plan. High Seven: Zan dreams of making full reals - immersive live virtual reality skins - but his low score may doom him to a life of cheap coding. Full Real: Dek's given up his life of spying for the city. But one more case awaits him. Will he regret it more if he takes it, or turns it down? Shit City: The Bay Area is being walloped by a hurricane, and seventeen-year-old Jason Vasquez has been relocated to a refugee city in the Nevada Desert. Will it be temporary shelter, or change his life? Firedrake: Kerry has always wondered about his deadly powers. But a mysterious bunch of violet roses starts him on the path to discovery - even if he's not sure he's going to like what he finds. The Last Human Heart: I'm one of the Remainers, the few cyborg humans still living on this busted planet. But if my still-human heart finally gives out, I may not live to find out the truth about who I am. This is the first time all of these stories have all been collected in one place, and the first publication of the Pacific Climate Tryptich - What the Rain Brings, High Seven, and Full Real - in any form.

Androids & Aliens - J. Scott Coatsworth
Androids & Aliens
Published:

Word Count: 109,000

Summary: Time is running out for planet Earth. An insidious Martian plague has been infecting the planet for over twenty years, and has resisted all human efforts to eradicate it. With all life on Earth facing extinction, the only solution left is to directly access a specific piece of Martian technology. But, according to diaries left behind by Ogilvy the astronomer, the Martians have hidden it at the lake on the moon. In 1945, three rockets converted from Martian cylinders take off on the vital lunar mission, and amongst the crew is Ogilvy's nephew, Jack Stent. Will the astronauts locate the Martian shadow-weapon, thought to hold the desperately needed cure for Marseria? Can it really be used to instigate another timeline on Earth so that mankind can survive? The stakes are high and so is the risk of contact and conflict with Martians. Nearly two hundred years later, at a scientific colony on Mars, a shocking discovery is made about Jack Stent, and Ogilvy's Martian diaries are once again pivotal to human survival and the continuation of life on Earth. Gateway To Mars is the third volume of The Martian Diaries series that continues the classic H.G. Wells Mars novel in a compelling, unmissable action adventure. If you're a fan of The War Of The Worlds you won't want to miss this story of survival, despair and hope, that brings the original tale full circle. Get your copy today! What readers have said: “A really well written, excellent continuation of the story and a truly brilliant tribute to HG Wells! I do recommend!” “An excellent third part to this incredible series!” “Boy this was a good book! I love the writing style... it's very true to the original story.”

Gateway to Mars - HE Wilburson - The Martian Diaries
The Martian Diaries: Vol.3 Gateway To Mars
Published:

Word Count: 150000

Summary: Can a retired assassin be the savior his people need? How does a former assassin save his fellow humans from extinction? By allying them with mrrogs of course! But that’s easier said than done as humans are understandably distrustful and suspicious of sescurei, the official species of the InterGalactic community. Leopold must convince them that Mastrodai’s offer of alliance isn’t a trick, which means diplomacy, patience, and tenacity. Times like this make him grateful that he has two strong mates to lean on. And when it comes to understanding his own people, he’d be wise to follow Alex’s lead. Alex has been too long away from her family and is thrilled to see them again. But with reunions come old pressures, old doubts, and old wounds. She must negotiate who she was with who she is, while helping her mates and her colony come together with the shared goal of freedom. Mastrodai, meanwhile, finds himself in the minority for the first time in his life, and the constant hostility has him doubting the wisdom of their choices. But he’s devoted to his human mates and determined to see things through no matter the discomfort… or danger. Not everyone wants what Leopold and his mates have to give, and he needs to break through the resistance humans have built up after generations of degradation, humiliation, and fear. He must win his people’s trust, solve the riddle of his parents’ rings, and navigate the new complexities of his love life. Being an assassin was so much easier. Reader Discretion advised: PTSD, abusive family, a cult, MMF romance, dystopian.

Resistance - M.D. Grimm - Saga of the Bold People
Resistance
Published:

Word Count: 33000

Summary: Clarity (noun) Four definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) Coherent and intelligible 2) Transparent or pure 3) Attaining certainty about something 4) Easy to see or hear Clarity features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

Clarity anthology
Clarity
Published:
Genres:

Word Count: 91000

Summary: She barely survived the last round. As the Red Dog Gang closes in on her Family, can she survive the next? After the devastating events of our last chapter, all private eye and mafia wife Jacqueline Spadros wants is to get her life back. Then a missing person she thought she'd never track down falls into her lap. Jacqui is thrown into a series of events which not only puts her and everyone around her into danger, but changes her life forever. Warning: on-screen murder, major consent issues, smoking, language, infidelity, betrayal, description of injury, gore, on-screen suicide, child injury This is chapter 9 of a 13-part serial novel. Please read these books in order: * The Jacq of Spades * The Queen of Diamonds * The Ace of Clubs * The King of Hearts * The Ten of Spades * The Five of Diamonds * The Two of Hearts * The Three of Spades * The Knave of Hearts <-- you are here Book 10 coming October 2023

The Knave of Hearts - Patricia Loofbourrow - Red Dog Conspiracy
The Knave of Hearts
Published:
<<First <Prev 1 2 3 4 ... 4 5 6 Next> Last>>