The Rook (The Checquy Files #1) by Daniel O'Malley ★★★★☆

“You think I'm in a daze because you're handsome, I'm in a daze because I could crush you."

- Myfanwy Thomas

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins ★★★★★

I promise you that if you stick with this book it will make sense. That said, this is a gory, violent, funny, urban fantasy that does not welcome you with logic.  

American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett ★★★★☆

Are you tired of aliens that look like Bob-your-neighbor with pointy ears or some other negligible difference? 

Are you tired of predictable plots you see a mile away? 

Have no fear, this is not one of those! These are ALIENS. 

The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson ★★★★☆

“Easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism: the old saying had grown teeth and was taking on a literal, vicious accuracy.” 

What we are doing is not working. 

Professor (First Time #2) by Madison Faye ★★★★★

The hot college professor fantasy is a classic. Since they started giving lectures in amphitheaters there's been someone day dreaming about extra credit. This erotica is the hottest retelling of that fantasy.

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse

The End of the Whole Mess by Stephen King ★★★★★ 

"The world needs heroic measures, man. I don't know about long-term effects, and there's no time to study them, because there's no long-term prospect. Maybe we can cure the whole mess. Or maybe—" 

I read Nightmares & Dreamscapes when it first came out in the early 90s, and was ridiculously proud of myself (huge book); this was the story that stayed with me. It was my first apocalypse story, and it felt real because there were no zombies, no aliens, no Revelation. Just Yankees coming down to Texas and deciding they knew it all and had the right to “fix us.” 

Decades later it’s still chilling. Somehow more so hearing Waco mentioned again and again as a place of peace and madness - known today for the Branch Dividian Rape Factory.

The Hunger by Alma Katsu ★★☆☆☆

A motley collection of Christians-with-secrets sets out by wagon train to California. Along the way they fight, hate, rape, and kill until succumbing to nature and German sociopathy.

I was hoping for Lonesome Dove meets Ravenous and found boredom instead.

Ghost Story by Peter Straub ★★★★☆

The slow burn of darkness seeping inexorably into a small town. A classic that takes it’s time to haunt you.

“Wouldn't you like to live forever? Even if you must die first? It's a good Christian bargain, after all.” 

Patient Zero (Joe Ledger #1) by Jonathan Maberry ★★★★☆

Joe Ledger is the James Bond of zombie slayers. This book was well paced, action packed, and sometimes funny - in short, this was an entertaining action movie of a book!

New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson ★★★★★

“If our government tries to back the banks instead of us, then we elect a different government. We pretend that democracy is real, and that will make it real.” 

Substantially better upon reread! I loved it, I had fun, it did not even feel long!