Tales from the Desolate Highway

This little epilogue comes as a sudden shock (I know!) and ties everything up. In the episode, I'll be telling you some of my thoughts for Season 2 (and the larger direction the podcast will be taking) as well as what I've been up to for the past couple of weeks.

Warrior plants unleashing hell! That's what we have with this book, the only novel from Philip George Chadwick, a pupil of the great HG Wells (who openly admired this book). For the longest time, it was rumored to not even exist (a first for this podcast). Well lucky for us it does, and you'll get to hear all about the carnage these plant soldiers unleash upon Britain. I also make mention of the innumerable query letters I've been sending out as well as my latest fitness progress.

Considered a British sci-fi classic, although not really British and not really sci-fi, this apocalyptic tale of a married couple living off the grid while society collapses around them has much more in common with books like Hatchet. Written with a surprisingly strong contemporary voice, it aptly captures the sense of community found in later post-apocalyptic works. I also talk about the numerous query letters I've sent out thanks to the abundant free time I now have. Oh, have I also told you that I love playing drums?!

Short and sweet this week but still packing the usual punch. I not only talk about a poem where technology goes haywire and wreaks havoc upon humanity, but I also read it out loud in my gravelly voice. I also talk about what I'm currently reading, why it's helpful, as well as recent video game distractions in my life.

A race of immortals wants to conquer what remains of humanity after a plague kills most of us off. This story involves a guy getting executed, then waking up 1000 years later! (Not a very effective execution if you ask me). It also mentions an atom bomb before the atom bomb was invented. We got mind-birds, pain-guns, and species getting killed off with this one folks! As usual, I start the episode off by talking a little bit about myself (This time around it's a query letter I sent out and some of the new listeners I have). As an addendum, I mention a woman in a forest and don't really go anywhere from there. Let's just assume it's Princess Margaret (a.k.a. The Black Flame)

Hailing all the way from South Dakota, fellow post-apocalyptic author Robyn VanDerSys stops by for a chat. She is the author of 75 miles, 100 miles, and Black Hills Fall. Pay attention to that last one because I play a bad-ass marine in it! We talk about what inspires us, what we both like about this genre, what makes good post-apocalyptic, as well as our experiences with traditional and self-publishing. Spoiler! I happened to have picked someone who grew up right across the border from where I live.

Try saying that 5 times fast. I talk about a story with an adult and 10 surviving children after the rest of humanity is wiped out by a super-weapon during another World War. It has its Lord of the Flies vibe, but at the end of the world. I also mention my exciting next steps at getting my novel out the door as well as rant on about why epic stories appeal to me and have a broader appeal to the public at large.

My first time talking about a book by the man, the legend himself, HG Wells. See what the future could have withheld as we chronicle an (at least now) alternative history of the world from 1933 to 2106. Influential in its own right, this story would have an impact on later sci-fi writers such as Asimov and Heinlein. Oh, and I also finished my book. Come and hear why it felt like a night of hard drinking.

After much swearing, despair, and crying I buttoned up the first critical scenes of my novel. Oh and also, the book is about cats, time-traveling cat-people from 3,000,000 years in the future. Stick around until the end for a bonus - an excerpt from the final draft of The Sapien Empire (my debut novel).

Giant fucking ship-sized tanks! Now that I have your attention, come for an apocalyptic battle written during a time where people thought a 2nd world war would obliterate us all, or at least send us down the path to annihilation. I also talk about the road to completing my book (I'm on the 5th and final draft) and my increasing proficiency at playing drums.

This book was well ahead of its time with machines becoming smarter then eventually gaining dominance over man. Another apocalyptic more than post-apocalyptic, it nonetheless still talks about a future where humanity is no more. I also talk about my recent social media growth and the progress I'm making in the final stretches of my debut novel.

I start off with a brief dive into why I love listening to heavy metal while constructing with lego, then I get into the books. That's right, it's a two-for-one deal this week. An influential and impacting book from the silver age of sci-fi (there it is, proof that post-apocalyptic can also be sci-fi) that depicts a massive flood that turns society upside down. Want another reason to listen? Just like Mad-Max: Fury Road, these books depict women who don't need a man to come and save them!

Tried a saltier voice with this one. Also, the first story I've actually read and maybe, just maybe, I'm making history by being the first person to make a summary of it. It's got everything - dangerous AI, a scientist out of control, and giant robots fighting each other. I also start off with a personal excerpt of why I write and what inspires me.

Well, actually a trilogy called the moon trilogy (The Moon Men being the 2nd book), we dive into a spiritual successor to John Carter and even a bit of Ayn Rand (but coming before her). I talk about how the world-building displayed here was pivotal for stories yet to come as well as the fact that it's a long way to the top if you wanna rock'n'roll (the arduous journey of marketing).

Come hear a pivotal story from the Radium Age of sci-fi (Yes! A real term I had never heard of until I researched this episode). Heavily based upon the first-hand experiences the author had as a nurse during World War I, she envisioned a world yet again plunged into, and ultimately destroyed by, another World War. Also, I got an electronic drum set!

A rough and dirty episode for a brand new year. It's a book about two continents, (if you think of the Americas as one continent and Africa and Eurasia as Afrasia) where one is well developed and civilized and the other is savage and ravaged. I also have a side discussion, with myself, about how Lord of the Rings, in a sense, can be considered post-apocalyptic.

It's a three-for-one special with this episode. Is it wrong for an author to put himself in the book? Well apparently not, as I've seen multiple times! I rant more about how my life for the past couple of weeks has been writing, Lego, and LOTRO. Oh, and the book, where two people awake from a sleep of 1500 years to find a ruined earth and a large gash in the crust. Where did that good chunk go? Why it's up in the sky as earth's 2nd moon. Last episode before the holidays. Merry Christmas everyone!

Our first gender-targeted plague story, but don't worry fellas, there is no actual gender-specific disease out there (at least that we know of). In this, episode, we find out how sisters would be doing it for themselves if men suddenly disappeared (effing men!). Oh, and I talk about my accomplishments at the gym!

I talk about my lack of a life (at least for now), as well as The Last Redoubt - a large, 7-mile high pyramidal structure that exists on an Earth shrouded in darkness after the Sun has gone out. It's got large Lovecraftian creatures, abnormal humans, and people with psychic powers. Sounds like a personal favourite of mine, even though I haven't read it (Again! I know).

More death by a plague. Coronavirus jokes aside, these types of post-apoc events will keep coming up, because there are only so many ways humanity can die. Oh, and I also start the episode off with the wonders of acupuncture and the question: "Is lego a distraction?"

Side tangents abound in my longest episode yet. It is apocalyptic, not post-apocalyptic, but influential on the genre nonetheless. I talk about hell coming to earth and the reign of the antichrist (queue heavy metal music). I also talk about my heavy metal song of the week idea, and how going to the gym can come with perils.

What's that breathing in the background? Is it zombies or just a podcast host not holding the mic properly? Either way, you'll be hearing about a book that influenced zombie movies if you give this episode a listen. I also talk about the incredibly slow progress I constantly make and maybe I don't give a Latin-American novel its due credit?

Now available on 8 platforms! I rant about the new equipment and editing tips I got, as well as how proud I am of cleaning something electrical. Oh, and yes, I talk about the book. While not quite a predecessor to 28 days later, it did nonetheless have some compelling parts that many of us can relate to today.

The Book of Machines. Now there's a name! I talk about a pivotal moment in literature that discussed the possible rise, and subsequent dangers, machine intelligence could impose upon us all. Oh, and I make mention of how when you've been writing post-apocalyptic as long as I have, you tend to develop a dark sense of humor.

A plague in the 21st century? That would never happen! Well, apparently Mary Shelley thought it would, and that it would wipe out humanity. I talk about one of her not-so-well received books as well as my take on traditional publishing. As mentioned, here is a link to the Apocalist Book Club podcast: https://apocalistbookclub.libsyn.com/

Airships, a King of Europe, and a multi-cultural Brazil (14 years before it gained its independence). This book has some wild adventures. This week we talk about an early 19th century French novel, considered to be a seminal example of the dying earth genre, with some subtle influences on Children of Men and Interstellar. I also talk about how LSD and mushrooms may or may not have had an effect on my writing.

No, the author didn't give the book this title, that's its western name. In this episode, not only do I tell you what the author called it, I make mention of some of the firsts this novel managed to accomplish. Along the way, I tell you a little bit about my hobbies and read an excerpt from my novel. Heavy Metal / Hard Rock Spotify playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3EGUIFi2xWWUlc2MnDQCPh?si=35f96d668aae4ed5

In this episode, I'll be giving you a brief rundown of what to expect from the podcast, as well as who I am and why I love doing what I do.

Get ready for my look into the history of post-apocalyptic literature.