Deathlands

Series · 134

books · 1986-2022

By Alex Archer, James Axler, Nick Pollotta

Books in series

Pilgrimage to Hell

1986

On a crisp January day, a Presidential inauguration day, a one-megaton blast ripped through the Soviet embassy in Washington, D.C. Subsequent explosions around the globe changed the face and the shape of the earth forever. Out of the ruins emerged Deathlands, a world that conspired against survival. In the blasted heart of the new America, a group of men and women plan desperately to escape the eerie wastes and mutated life forms of their nuclear hell. Three warriors the tough, intelligent Ryan Cawdor, an enigmatic beauty called Krysty Wroth, and the armorer J. B. Dix set out on a harrowing journey to find a rumored enclave high in the mountains. Their aim: to unlock the secrets of prewar scientific experiments that could hold the answer to survival in the Deathlands of the future.

Red Holocaust

1986

Red Holocaust by James Axler released on Oct 24, 1997 is available now for purchase.

Neutron Solstice

1987

THE WAR FOR SURVIVAL CONTINUES... A generation after a global nuclear war, Louisiana is a fetid, sullen landscape of impenetrable swamps and grotesquely mutated wildlife. Above the gnarled bayous, radioactive red dust clouds race across the sky on nuclear winds; below, thick mud sucks at a man's boots. Now and then a biting acid rain falls, swept in on the boiling winds from the Gulf. In the reeking swampland that was the Mississippi basin, neutron bombs have left barren cityscapes the territories of small groups of bitterly opposed survivors. Ryan Cawdor and his companions Krysty Wroth and J.B. Dix come upon one such group who are striving to revive life on earth the way it was before the bombs fell. But they're up against a postholocaust feudal lord who's just as determined to wipe them out. In the Deathlands, the world blew out in 2001.

Crater Lake

1987

LEGACY OF AN AGE GONE MAD... Near what was once the Pacific northwest, Ryan Crawdor and his roving band of post-holocaust survivors discover a beautiful valley untouched by the nuclear blast that changed the Earth forever. Resisting the temptation to settle in that idyllic land, the group is captured and forced deep beneath an extinct group is captured and forced deep beneath an extinct volcano to an isolated community of in-bred scientists. These psychopathic descendants of a twentieth-century government research team are blindly laboring to find betters ways of genocide, unaware that the world they are striving to slaughter has already died. In a frantic race to stop this bizarre society from testing its horrific weapons. Ryan realizes that if he fails an already nuke-scorched Earth faces another Armageddon. In the Deathlands the past and the future are clashing with frightening force.

Homeward Bound

1987

SURVIVORS IN A WORLD GONE HIDEOUSLY WRONG... Ryan Cawdor's post-holocaust odyssey across America is about to come full circle - Ryan Cawdor is going home. Forced away from Front Royal years earlier by a power-mad brother who had already committed fratricide, Ryan had roamed a devastated America searching out the small pockets of life where civilization was being reborn. Emerging from a gateway in the ruins of New York City, Ryan decides to put his own house in order - it's time to avenge the deaths of his father and older brother. Accompanied by Krysty Wroth and J.B. Dix, Ryan Cawdor comes face-to-face with the harsh reality of post-nuclear America. In the Deathlands, honor and fair play are words of the past. Vengeance is a word to live by.

Pony Soldiers

1988

Ryan Cawdor and his band of post-holocaust survivors come face-to-face with a specter from the past: out of the swirling dust that was once New Mexico bursts a regiment of pony soldiers, led by a man with flowing yellow hair. Brandishing Colts and Winchesters, the horsemen grimly prepare to destroy the ragtag strangers, intruders who dare to pnetrate their ruthlessly defended stronghold. As the final showdows nears, Ryan makes a startling discovery: either he and his companions have chron-jumped back to the 1800s, or General George Custer has been catapulted into the twenty-second century...

Dectra Chain

1988

The world blew out in 2001. Vast areas of what was the United States lie beneath an umbrella of noxious dust and radioactive debris, a mantle of destruction drawn over a land of doom. Much of the East Coast has been obliterated; the Southwest is a land of fire; cities of smoldering ash have given birth to horrifically mutated life forms. Such is the Deathlands, legacy of global annihilation. But there were survivors, struggling to overcome a dark new age of plague, radiation sickness, barbarism and madness. Out of the ruins come Ryan Cawdor and his band of post-holocaust survivors, whose odyssey of discovery takes them in search of other pockets of civilization. Emerging from a gateway in Maine, Ryan confronts a ruthless and brutal sea captain, a woman prepared to go to any lengths to get what she wants...

Ice and Fire

1988

Snakefish, California, is rich in the currency of post-holocaust America—gasoline. Almost leveled by the Soviet missiles that annihilated most of the West Coast, Snakefish is in the midst of a reconstruction, financed by a commodity far more valuable than the usual Deathlands jack. But greed and man's lust for power threaten to shatter the hard-won peace and tranquility of this fledgling community as disparate factions fight for control of the substance that will give them wealth beyond their wildest dreams. Ryan Cawdor and his companions emerge from a gateway and step into the path of a smoldering war for power.

Red Equinox

1989

Three generations after nuclear blasts all but vaporized the Earth, a group of warrior survivalists led by a charismatic man named Ryan Cawdor roam the hostile environment called Deathlands. Their quest becomes a grim struggle for survival as they search for a better life beyond the nuke-ravaged cities. And it is one such harrowing journey that brings them to the heart of Moscow. Beneath a mantle of chemical clouds an strontium snow, the former jewel in Russia's crown is teeming with a bizarre mix of mutated beings and old enemies all intent on killing Ryan and his band of post-holocaust survivors. A new dark age has dawned with the hope of a promised land. But in the Deathlands, hope is not enough.

#10

Northstar Rising

1989

A generation after a global nuclear catastrophe, Minnesota is a steamy tropical environment of lush plants and horrifically mutated insects. Emerging torn and battered after a triple jump through the gateways, Ryan Cawdor and his band of post-holocaust survivors discover an abandoned cryonics complex a doomed fantasy begun a century before in a world far away from Deathlands. Dr. Mildred Wyeth is successfully revived from subzero suspended animation and joins the team of warrior survivalists. In the jungles of Minnesota, the group discovers yet another freakish legacy of a world cone hideously wrong: Vikings. In the Deathlands, the past and the future are clashing with frightening force. GraphicAudio...A Movie in Your Mind is a unique audio entertainment experience that features a full cast of actors, sound effects and cinematic music. Publisher's Weekly says "Graphic Audio delivers an action and sound effect loaded audiobook that lives up to its tagline, A movie in your mind." Audiofile Magazine says, GraphicAudio sets the gold standard for full-cast dramatizations, and new listeners will become instant fans.

#11

Time Nomads

1990

OUT OF THE RUINS OF THE APOCALYPSE, A NEW CIVILIZATION BEGINS... In the blasted heart of the new America, Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior-survivalists search for hidden caches of food, weapons and technology—the legacy of a preholocaust society—stashed in lonely outposts known as redoubts. When Ryan ingests bacteria-infested food, he lies near death—his body paralyzed but his mind traveling rapidly back to his early days in the Deathlands...moving through the southwest on post-nuke vehicles called warwags...and his run-in with the Baron. Towse, near what was once Albuquerque, is a ville in a freakishly beautiful landscape populated by scabbies and armed Apaches. Baron Alias Carson and his bejeweled wife, Sharona, welcome Ryan, J.B. Dix and the Tracker to their treacherous world. In the Deathlands the past is a dream. The future is a nightmare.

#12

Latitude Zero

1991

Generations after a near nuclear annihilation, America is a radiation-ravaged wasteland swarming with a thousand horrifically mutated life forms. Ryan Cawdor and his band of post-holocaust survivors barely excape a self-destructing redoubt in the new southwest and embark on a journey overland to find the nearest gateway. But without an adequate supply of food and water, their quest is doomed. Ryan strikes a deal with the leader of a wagon train heading west: protection against all attackers in exchange for food and water. It is a deal that pits the one-eyed warrior against his oldest enemy a sadistic, ruthless man who would stop at nothing to get his hands on Ryan Cawdor. In the Deathlands, everyone and everything is fair game, but only the strongest survive

#13

Seedling

1991

America's post-holocaust nightmare continues as Ryan Cawdor returns to the monstrous urman slum that was once New York City...and discovers a piece of the future... As the raming band of survivors seek desperately to escape the eerie wastes and mutated life-forms of their nuclear hell, they emerge from a gateway back into the ruins of Manhattan the concrete battlefield where Ryan had avanged the death of his father and older brother. The city is a flooded hellzone ruled by street gangs adn hordes of reptilian mutants who inhabit the sewers. Under this urban ruin lives the self-styled King of the Underground, presiding over his subterranean fortress filled with prenuke memorabilia. And here, in this once great metropolis, lives a ten-year-old boy. He is Ryan Cawdor's son... The children shall inherit the Earth. GraphicAudio...A Movie in Your Mind is a unique audio entertainment experience that features a full cast of actors, sound effects and cinematic music. Publisher's Weekly says "Graphic Audio delivers an action and sound effect loaded audiobook that lives up to its tagline, A movie in your mind." Audiofile Magazine says, GraphicAudio sets the gold standard for full-cast dramatizations, and new listeners will become instant fans.

#14

Dark Carnival

1992

DEADLY THRILLS Out of the ashes of global destruction, Ryan Cawdor and his roving band of warrior survivalists continue their grim odyssey across a nuke-ravaged America, searching for a sanctuary and the promise of a better life. Emerging from a Gateway into Florida's sultry heat, they enter the domain of a wealthy baron - a technical genius whose seat of power is a rebuilt theme park where the rides are fast and thrill seekers are guaranteed the time of their lives... if they can get out alive. Influencing the baron is a ruthless and hypnotic cult leader and his demonic "family," whose murderous games trap Ryan into a midnight killing spree... with only one way out. In the Deathlands, the future is a dream. Reality is a nightmare.

#15

Chill Factor

1992

Chill Factor by James Axler released on Feb 22, 1999 is available now for purchase.

#16

Moon Fate

1992

HUNTED Generations have passed since a nuclear blast all but turned America to dust. Out of the ruins emerges a band of warrior-survivalist, led by a one-eyed man called Ryan Cawdor. In the quest to find a better life, they embark on a perilous odyssey across the ravaged wasteland known as Deathlands. An ambush by a roving group of mutant Stickies puts Ryan and Krysty Wroth in the clutches of a tyrant who plans a human sacrifice as a symbol of his power. The execution is set to take place at the new moon - one night away. Ryan devises an escape plan but is betrayed by another prisoner. As they break for freedom, the Stickie leader unleashes a team of hunter-trackers among the maze of narrow canyons of the Southwest. For Ryan and Krysty, there's nowhere left to run... In the Deathlands, the only thing that gets easier is dying.

#17

Fury's Pilgrims

1992

On the morning of January 20, 2001 the climax of the Cold War set the post-apocalyptic stage for the series. The end game began with a pre-emptive strike on Washington. Underground nuclear bombs were detonated from within the basement of the Soviet embassy, by an elite group of Spetsnaz operatives, destroying the central command structure and political system of the United States. For a indefinite period of time a nuclear exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union devastated both countries and subsequently the entire planet (but little details are known outside both countries). All manner of genetic contagions were released infecting the survivors of the firestorm with horrible illnesses. The remaining survivors lived harshly during a time of prolonged nuclear winter known as 'Sky Dark'. The geography, climate, and ecosystems of the world had changed dramatically. What was left of the United States came to be known as the Deathlands

#18

Shockscape

1993

HORROR AND HOPE IN THE 21ST CENTURY Emerging from a gateway into the snowy barrens of the Colorado Rockies, Ryan Cawdor and his warrior group are forced to strike a deal for survival. This part of white hell is controlled by Baron Nelson, a grief-ridden widower burning for vengeance against the hired killers who murdered his boy. Not far from Nelson's barony lies Yuma, a nasty hellhole every badman in the Rockies calls home. Ryan, Doc and J.B. Dix begin a perilous journey across desolate mountains to Yuma to capture and deliver the boy's killers back to the baron. The odds are not good: if the mutant grizzlies and roving marauders don't get them, the sadistic guntoughs in Yuma will. In the Deathlands, survival is a gamble. Death is the only sure bet.

#19

Deep Empire

1993

Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior-survivalists find a refuge from the horrors of the post-holocaust world at a marine research center created to study dolphins, until they discover that the dolphins are being trained as killers.

#20

Cold Asylum

1994

FUTURE SHOCK Generations after global annihilation, Kansas is a mutated landscape of dense, deciduous forest. Gone are the amber waves of grain, another hideous result of nuclear devastation that changed the face of the Earth forever. Now it's survival of the freakish. Following rumors that might lead them to the long-lost Trader, Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior survivalists find themselves the unwilling house guests of the wealthiest barons in all of Deathlands. At Baron Mandeville's opulent homestead, a glittering ornate fortress called Sun Crest, a secret and perverted game continues: gladiator contests among the guests. The winners get to play the ultimate life-and-death game—a hunt in which they are the quarry. Hope died in the Deathlands, but the will to live goes on.

#21

Twilight Children

1994

AFTER THE DAY OF RECKONING Survival is an endless battle in the dark age of post-holocaust America, but even amid the ashes of the past, new pockets of civilization emerge, fledgling communities bound by savage rules. Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior-survivalists are transported from one Valley of the Shadow of Death to another, shaken by the mind-bending effects of the mat-trans, emerging at last into a promised land whose inhabitants are healthy and young. The ville is an oasis in a blighted land, but among the blond, blue-eyed near-children, Ryan and his wayfarers are pariahs destined to find out that the quest for Paradise exacts a steep price. In the Deathlands, the future looks terminally brief.

#22

Rider, Reaper

1994

VENGEANCE TRAIL The red-baked mountains of New Mexico offer a peaceful interlude for Ryan Cawdor, and a reunion with Jak Lauren. But in the violent post-holocaust world of Deathlands, survival is a blood-soaked game - and Ryan's idyll becomes a mission of revenge. The quarry is the General and his band of paramilitary killers. Roving and plundering the Southwest, the General travels with an unsurpassed armory, his troops unchallenged, his agenda unstoppable. Allied with local vengeance-hungry Indians, Ryan Cawdor and his warrior survivalists begin a cross-desert manhunt on horseback through the acrid canyon lands, when danger waits in the form of fifteen-foot rattlesnakes, acid-rain hurricanes - and a man who grimly prepares to destroy his pursuers. Hope died in the Deathlands, but the will to live goes on.

#23

Road Wars

1994

THE FUTURE UNCERTAIN Emerging out of the ashes of the nuclear apocalypse, no one has been more successful and determined than Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior survivalists. But if the wasteland's endless miles come between them, the odds for getting back together again—for their very survival—are not in their favor. DIVIDED WE FALL A cryptic message regarding the long-missing Trader sends Ryan and the Armorer on an odyssey to the Pacific Northwest, away from their base, away from their band of warrior survivalists, away from Krysty Wroth. While Ryan battles the blood-hungry predators of the road, back in New Mexico, Krysty Wroth and the others fight off attacks against their weakened group in an all-out struggle for survival. In the Deathlands, fate and chance are clashing with frightening force.

#24

Trader Redux

1994

WHITEWATER HELL Ruled by a perverse and malevolent Nature, roamed by lawless remnants of humanity, the Deathlands is what's left of the continental U.S. after a nuclear apocalypse unleashed hell on earth. Here, only a few can survive and still retain hope for the future, and of these, none are more determined than the exiled son of a coastal baron and his closely knit band of warrior survivalists. The years of struggle in the new reality made Ryan Cawdor a bold and undisputed leader, but now he may have to contend with his former mentor, the enigmatic Trader. Together with J. B. Dix and Abe, they make a perilous journey down the mighty Colorado, and in the Grand Canyon's mile-deep crags, a degenerate barony and mutie death traps test the limits of the group's survival skills. Weary and torn from their cross-country trek, they return to their stronghold in New Mexico to find it abandoned, with no sign of Krysty Wroth, Dean or the others.... Imagine your worst nightmare. It's called Deathlands.

#25

Genesis Echo

1995

Finding themselves reluctant guests at a reactivated Maine medical institute, Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior survivalists become the victims of unethical scientific research that threatens Krysty Wroth's special powers. Original.

#26

Shadowfall

1995

DAYS OF RECKONING The nuclear conflagration that had nearly consumed the world generations ago stripped away most of its bounty, throwing survivors back to more savage ways of existence. Amid the ruins, Ryan Cawdor leads the daring few who wage a grim battle in a quest for a better future. As elsewhere in the Deathlands, what remains of the Sunshine State ruled by tooth and claw and unbridled instinct. It's an alien, inhospitable terrain of sulphur pits and lethal geysers, inhabited by mutated life-forms. Here Ryan finds that survival demands hard and fast choices, and unexpected alliances. To hold his band of warrior survivalists together, he comes to an agonizing crossroads, torn by a debt to the past and loyalty to the present. Hope died in the Deathlands, but the will to live goes on.

#27

Ground Zero

1995

Leading his band of wayfarers to the war-torn site of the former Washington, D.C., Ryan Cawdor faces double jeopardy when he comes face-to-face with a barbaric baron and the terrifying forces of post-nuclear nature. Original.

#28

Emerald Fire

1995

The Amazon Basin remains a land of primoridal beauty and primitive people. Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior survivalists emerge from a gateway into an abandoned U.S. military complex, now a native shrine to the white gods of pre-blast days. Here the group is given royal treatment, only to discover that privilege has a blood price. Original.

#29

Bloodlines

1995

Book by Axler, James

#30

Crossways

1996

Emerging from a gateway with companions in tow, Ryan Cawdor is forced to make an unsettling decision in regard to the red-haired Krysty Wroth, who harbors a personal desire for revenge.

#31

Keepers of the Sun

1996

Jumping through a secret gateway from their pre-nuclear world, Ryan Cawdor and his survivalist group find themselves in a fallen nation that is shadowed by samurai rulers that threaten Cawdor's world. Original.

#32

Circle Thrice

1996

GRAY DAWN The dark frontier of the twenty-second century is lawless and oppressive, but humanity is slowly beginning to carve out new beginnings in the midst of this brutal, nuke-altered world. In pockets of civilization called villes, peace and hope start to flourish. But law and order invite what's evil and corrupt... DEADLY NIGHTSHADE Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior survivalists are guests of a powerful Tennessee baroness and her mysterious advisor at her ville on what was once the mighty Mississippi. Beautiful and alluring, the baroness is skilled in the dark arts, and she will do anything to secure her future. In the Deathlands, when hope is not enough, the laws of survival are called into play.

#33

Eclipse at Noon

1996

Eclipse At Noon by James Axler released on Jul 25, 1996 is available now for purchase.

#34

Stoneface

1996

PITY THE LIVING In 2001, the face of the earth changed forever in a nuclear firestorm. Generations after the apocalypse, Ryan Cawdor leads the courageous struggle for survival in a brutal world, striving to make a difference in the battle raging between good and evil. CAST A COLD SHADOW On a sacred aboriginal land, Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior survivalists discover Mount Rushmore still standing, a symbol of a long-gone power. Here a charismatic baron and his followers force Ryan to breach the icy fastness of the mountain stronghold, which harbors a cache of twentieth-century technology - and a chilling surprise from the past. In the Deathlands, the war is over... but the fight has just begun.

#35

Bitter Fruit

1997

AFTER SKYDARK In the nuclear-storm devastated Deathlands a warrior survivalist of the twenty-second century leads the relentless fight to reclaim a lost world. STONE GUARDIANS Barely escaping from a marauding gang, Ryan Cawdor and his band of post-holocaust survivors emerge from a gateway into an idyllic community ruled by Druidic law. But this new Eden may be a mirage, concealing a deadly threat. For the seed of dissent had been sown in the past, and is again ready to destroy. Nature rules in the Deathlands, but man still destroys.

#36

Skydark

1997

When an army of mutants, led by a charismatic and powerful lord, goes on a rampage through the wastelands, Ryan Cawdor and his warrior survivalists seek a way to unite the infighting baronies. Original.

#37

Demons of Eden

1997

LOST WORLD The legacy of the twentieth century was the world-wasting nuclear firestorm that destroyed a way of life forever. Civilization is in ruins, its pitiful remnants perverted by brute force, and mankind is less at home on the planet than ever before. Yet in the desolation that is the Deathlands, an intrepid group of wayfarers continues the determined fight for survival and a better future. THROUGH A MIRROR Leaving a western ville besieged by desert pirates in search of the legendary cities of the Spanish conquistadors, Ryan Cawdor and his warrior survivalists enter a hidden valley untouched by civilization. Here the descendants of the First People are at one with Nature, following their sacred and mystical traditions. But deep in the valley is an awesome force, a power that can freely heal... or wantonly destroy. In the Deathlands life is locked in mortal combat, and the only way out is the future.

#38

The Mars Arena

1997

CATALYST The nuclear firestorms had swept away the hatreds and the power struggles that had dominated the Earth for decades. But no hoped-for better reality was born in that blighted landscape. In a lawless and maddened world, blood and violence remained a means to survival - and power. SPORTING CHANCE In the harsh territory near what used to be the Western badlands, Ryan Cawdor and his crew join the search for the wreck of a crashed space station. But in the ruins of Las Vegas he falls prey to a maelstrom of violence. Hostage in a bitter war between regional barons, Ryan finds that even his best effort is an odds-even gamble, and that his son's life may depend on the whims of destiny. Deathlands is a conspiracy against survival...

#39

Watersleep

1997

THROUGH FIERY HELL In the altered reality of the Deathlands, America's coastal waters haven't escaped the ravages of the nukecaust, but the awesome power of the oceans still rules here. It's a power that will let Ryan Cawdor, first among postholocaust survivors, ride the crest of victory - or consign his woman to the raging depths. AND HIGH WATER Emerging from a gateway on the ruins of the Georgia coastline, Ryan Cawdor and his warrior survivalists embark on a voyage up the Atlantic coast. But treachery awaits as they're beset by pirates, then a violent storm that pulls Krysty Wroth and Jak Lauren beneath the waves. Now Ryan must contend with a self-proclaimed lord of the sea as he struggles to reclaim what's his from a watery grave. In the Deathlands, there's no waking from the nightmare...

#40

Nightmare Passage

1997

Ryan Cawdor and his companions find themselves near what used to be Los Angeles, in a village whose ruling baron is Hell Eyes, a powerful, attractive man with a telepathic influence over people and deadly plans for the future. Original.

#41

Freedom Lost

1998

Ryan Cawdor and his team are en route to his boyhood home in West Virginia when they are offered shelter—for a price—in the remains of the Freedom Mall, once the largest in the Carolinas, operated by Baron Freedom. The huge mall is a haven for its inhabitants, but Ryan is given an ultimatum—pay a hefty fine or help the Baron's group fight against the "stickies", a marauding army of mutants. Ryan is left no choice but to help, and finds himself pitted against the Baron and the stickies in a desperate struggle to save his friend and escape.

#42

Way of the Wolf

1998

INHERIT THE EARTH The bleak nightmare of the nuclear winter has abated, but the Earth is scarred, its ecosystems poisoned, many of its life forms mutated and struggling for existence. Here, in the torn remnants of American, Ryan Cawdor and his warrior survivalists stake their claim as the inheritors of Deathlands, their unforgiving world. WIND CHILL The mountains of the Arctic Circle are shaken with ceaseless tremors as the frozen earth Threatens to swallow itself. Trapped in the hostile landscape by a mat-trans jump, Ryan and companions find the ultimate challenge to their will to survive. The odds dwindle when they become the new bounty in a struggle for dominance between a group of Neanderthals and descendants of a military garrison stranded generations ago. Deathlands. A perilous journey through uncharted territory.

#43

Dark Emblem

1998

PREVIEW FROM HELL Transformed by the nuclear conflict of 2001, the earth had turned into a wasteland ruled by anarchy and barbarism. Heirs to this blighted world, Ryan Cawdor and his warrior wayfarers fight for survival... and a way to restore humanity's lost promise. REMAINS The preholocaust redoubts housing the dangerous and unpredictable mat-trans units are the legacy of the whitecoat scientists and their precocious knowledge. For the very few in the know, the network of redoubts serves as an escape route and transport through the bleak landscape. Emerging remarkably unscathed after a mat-trans jump, Ryan and his wayfarers are welcomed by Dr. Silas Jamaisvous in his fortress among the ruins of San Juan. This man of science may hold a vital key to the future, but is he an icon of hope or a dark emblem of the past? In the Deathlands, time can kill or save...

#44

Crucible of Time

1999

DARK WINDOW In the centuries after the nuclear devastation of America, life favors those who maintain their fighting edge in the lawless wastelands. In a nearly untouched remnant of California, a land of pines and roaring rivers, forgetfulness is tempting for a much-tried band of warrior survivalists. But Ryan Cawdor, son of an East Coast baron, knows that in the Deathlands even a tiny glimpse of heaven can be a portal to hell. NEMESIS An insular group of fanatics calling itself the Children of the Rock is leaving a trail of barbarism and a growing tide of hate in its wake. The leader of the cult is connected to Ryan's past - to Trader and the war wagon days. Littered with victors and losers, it's a past some can't walk away from... In this haven in a ravaged country, Ryan and his warrior wayfarers find that new laws of survival have emerged. In the Deathlands, the wrong move buys eternity.

#45

Starfall

1999

DIRE PORTENT The forbidding world of Deathlands is the legacy of a doomed age. How it came to be - and why - are questions lost in the wreckage of post-apocalyptic reality. Though survival in this strange and surreal new world conspires to crush the human spirit, hope is not dead for Ryan Cawdor's survivalist warriors. But staying alive requires a ready weapon and a willingness to kill. SHOCK WAVES OF DOOM Krysty Wroth's sentient power comes under psychic attack by a mortally wounded doomie desperate to find a new vessel for her mystical abilities, placing Ryan's group in a double jeopardy. As the group flees a firefight in Idaho, escaping upriver with the ragged survivors of a savaged ville, the voyage through the mutie-infested waters leads to a confrontation with a baron whose discovery of pre-dark space technology may lead them to the shocking truth of the legacy of Deathlands... In the Deathlands, hell is for the living.

#45.5

Encounter

1999

THE TRADER YEARS Stories of the Trader and his convoy of war wagons endure in the badlands of post-holocaust America. A dealer in Deathlands' most precious commodities - weapons and fuel - Trader takes note of a young Ryan Cawdor. Surrounded in myth and rumor, Trader sets into motion the beginnings of legend at a place called Virtue Lake... WINNER TAKE ALL At Spearpoint, the ultimate redoubt housing a valuable cache of predark technology, two opposing wills clash. Levi Shabazz intends to carve his own empire out of the vast wastelands, but the Trader intends to thwart him and end his bloody siege of power. It all comes to a head at Virtue Lake - a hard lesson for Trader and a grim rite of passage for Ryan Cawdor. Plus! For the first time ever - a feature on the birth of the Deathlands series!

#49

Shadow World

2000

EDGE OF OBLIVION The hellscape of postnuclear America has a bloodlust for the good, the innocent and the helpless. Survival in Deathlands demands a will to endure that is as raw and savage as this brutal frontier. For Deathlands is the future's last and only hope for both its inheritors and strange invaders to whom this perdition promises a paradise. CONQUEST AND COLONIZATION Ryan Cawdor is a true warrior of Deathlands, fighting for survival in a bizarre, freakish world. But now, beyond the unseen perils, a new threat emerges: invaders arrive from a parallel earth where the nukecaust never happened. Ryan is abducted through a time corridor to the twin earth, where he discovers a nightmare that makes Deathlands look tame by comparison - and a new plot for its grotesque destruction... In the Deathlands the future is uncertain, but it's all that remains.

#50

Pandora's Redoubt

2000

HELL'S BOUNTY In the post-holocaust wastelands of 22nd-centry America, precious little remains of life before the nuclear blowout. Legends circulate of Redoubts, secret pre-Dark military bases with caches of food, medicine and, most important, weapons. Yet only a few of the ragged elite possess the arcane knowledge that enables them to locate and access these valuable storehouses. ARMORED BEAST In a hidden redoubt in Ohio, Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior survivalists take possession of the ultimate Deathlands War Wag a crude but effective tank called Leviathan. But having this steel-plated behemoth is a double-edged sword when they fall into the trap of Lady Ward of Novaville, who wants Leviathan for her own means of destruction and domination. In the Deathlands, the future is just an idea.

#51

Rat King

2000

What was once the United States is now the rad-blasted world of Deathlands...a place that more than lives up to its name. Led by a one-eyed warrior called Ryan Cawdor, a straggling band of survivors roams the nuke-ravaged land, homing their survival skills in a wasteland where danger lurks over the next hill. Emerging into one of the predark installations known as redoubts, the group is taken prisoner in a fully functioning army base operating in a parody of life before the blowout. Its occupants are inbred soldiers, a legacy to the lost secrets of the Totality Concept. Led by the mad general of an obscene military project, the base has found its last hope in the ragtag bunch, a fate that may be even more horrifying than the hell they have survived. In the Deathlands nothing is certain...especially the future.

#52

Zero City

2000

A FUTURE CONDEMNED The nuclear Armageddon of 2001 put the world on an odyssey of savage rebirth. Now, little more than a hundred years after the blast, the quest for power is viciously embraced by America's new masters, barons commanding fortresses called villes, policed by stonehearts called sec men. One of them is a warrior survivalist named Ryan Cawdor, believed to possess pre-apocalyptic knowledge that holds hope for a beleaguered future. A PAST FORSAKEN Hungry and exhausted, Ryan and his band emerge from a redoubt into an untouched predark city, and uncover a cache of weapons and food. Among other interlopers, the city is guarded by huge winged creatures, protecting the grisly secrets of a nearby barony. Holed up inside an old government building, where Ryan's son, Dean, lies near death, Ryan and Krysty must raid where a local baron uses human flesh as fertilizer... In the Deathlands, evil is unstoppable.

#53

Savage Armada (The Skydark Chronicles, #1)

2001

ENDURING CHAOS A nuclear apocalypse almost destroyed Western civilization in 2001, leaving in its place the forbidding world of Deathland. Though the human spirit has not been broken, the new rules of survival are harsh and barbaric. As barons fight for power in a savage new America, power is claimed with the salvaged arsenals of a predark world: weapons, gasoline and those willing to kill. CHURNING MADNESS The Marshall Islands, once the testing grounds for twentieth-century weapons of mass destruction, remains perversely beautiful. But the infested waters become the battleground for looting pirates and sec men in still-functional navy PT boats, all driven by greed and madness to plunder the predark caches of science and technology hidden in the islands. Ryan Cawdor and his warrior band emerge in this perilous waterworld, caught in a grim fight to unlock the secrets of the past. In the Deathlands, the price for survival is high.

#56

Sunchild

2001

PERMANENT ENTROPY After an atomic blast hurled the world into an uncertain future, the past still reaches out in hope... and damnation. In a kill-or-die world, one steadfast group of survivors possesses superior fighting skills and sense of fair play that have made them living legends. In their struggle to seek a better way of life, they are unraveling the powerful secrets of the hell on earth called Deathlands. PORTAL TO HELL A pre-dark legacy of shattering promise lies beneath the ruins of nuke-ravaged Seattle. Ryan Cawdor and his warrior companions come face-to-face with the ancestors of a secret society whose members were convinced that paradise awaited at the center of the earth. This cult is inexorably tied to a conspiracy of twentieth-century scientists devoted to fulfilling a vision of genetic manipulation. In this labyrinthine ville, carved from the subterranean passages of a doomed past, some of the descendants of the Illuminated Ones are pursuing the dream of their legacy - while others are dedicated to its nightmare. Even in the Deathlands, twisted human beliefs endure...

#57

Breakthrough

2002

MERCILESS INTERDICTION More than a century after a multi-warhead nuclear strike wiped out nearly all the earth's population, humanity's feral instinct to survive has spawned a savage new America. Here, the brutality of man and nature conspire against hope. Yet despite its chaos and bloody turmoil, Deathlands is a second chance for the human race... and for a group of warrior survivalists led by a man called Ryan Cawdor. MANIFEST DOOMSDAY Deathlands is a living hell, but there is someplace worse: a parallel Earth where the atomic mega-cull never happened. Now this Otherworld Earth is in its final death throes. Yet for an elite few, the reality portal offers a new frontier of raw energy, expendable slaves - a bastion of power of Dredda Otis Trask. Her invasion force of genetically engineered warrior women has turned ruins of Salt Lake City into the deadly mining grounds of a grotesque new order - one that lies in wait for Ryan and his companions. In the Deathlands, danger lurks beyond the imagination.

#58

Salvation Road

2002

Tortured into existence by a nuclear conflagration, the new frontier of a ravaged America is an ordeal only the most intrepid can endure. Pockets of civilization have emerged, some born of will and hope, while others are breeding grounds for tyranny and madness. Ryan Cawdor and his warrior companions have survived all this and worse. A roving band of survivalists driven to seek a better life, they are unwilling to pay the highest price demanded by the unforgiving crucible called Deathlands. Beneath the brutal sun of the nuke-ravaged Southwest, the Texas desert burns red hot and merciless, commanding agony and untold riches to those greedy and mad enough to mine the slick black crude that lies beneath the scorched earth. When a Gateway jump puts Ryan and the others deep in the hell of Texas, they face a nowin fry in the heat, or become a rogue baron's sec force for an oil refinery targeted by saboteurs. The catch the raiders and win their freedom. Or fail...and face death. In the Deathlands, the unimaginable is a way of life.

#59

Amazon Gate (Illuminated Ones, #1)

2002

AFTER OBLIVION At the heart of the strange new post-nuclear world known as Deathlands lie the mysteries of pre-dark society - secrets that may hold the key to a future of peace... or peril. Armed with rare knowledge of top secret twenty-first-century technology, Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior survivalists traverse the new America, seeking to claim something beyond the grim reality of Deathlands. SEEK OR DIE In the radiation-blasted heart of the northwest, Ryan and his companions form a tenuous alliance with a society of women warriors in what may be the stunning culmination of their quest. After years of searching, they have found the gateway to the pre-dark cabal of the Illuminated Ones - and perhaps their one chance to reclaim the future from the jaws of madness. But to seize tomorrow, they must confront its deadly guardians: what is left of the constitutional Government of the United States of America.

#60

Destiny's Truth

2002

TAINTED LEGACY America has been forever altered by the ravages of a nuclear attack that sent it spiraling toward a virulent new destiny - and by the vestiges of the pre-dark world itself, where humanity's internecine battle between good and evil rages on. Though many of twenty-first-century America's darkest legacies have been entombed beneath the ruins of a wounded planet, some remain dangerously alive... VICIOUS REPRISAL Emerging from a gateway in New England, Ryan Crawdor and his band of wayfaring survivalists ally themselves with a group of women warriors who join their quest to locate the Illuminated Ones, a mysterious pre-dark sect who may possess secret knowledge of Deathlands. Yet their pursuit becomes treacherous, for their quarry has unleashed a deadly plague in a twisted plot to cleanse the earth. As Ryan's group falls victim, time is running out - for the intrepid survivors... and for humanity itself. In the Deathlands, when tomorrow comes some will wish it hadn't.

#61

Skydark Spawn

2003

BLIND FORTITUDE Survival in America's nuke-blasted frontier is both a curse and a salvation for Ryan Cawdor and his warrior companions. Though the basic needs of existence must be fought for and won with blood—each day alive means another chance to seek refuge and a better way of life in a hostile and brutal world, where hope still fires the human heart. FOUL IMPETUS In the relatively untouched area of what was once Niagara Falls, Ryan and his fellow wayfarers find the pastoral farmland under the despotic control of a twisted baron and his slave-breeding farm. Ryan, Mildred and Krysty are captured by the baron's sec men and pawned into the cruel frenzy of their leader's grotesque desires. JB, Jak and Doc enlist the aid of outlanders to organize a counter strike—but rescue may come too late for them all. In the Deathlands, you are sentenced to your destiny from the moment of birth . . .

#62

Damnation Road Show

2003

When Ryan and his band of warriors stumble upon a macabre traveling road show that sells torture and carnage, they will stop at nothing to destroy this nomadic death merchant and his collection of circus freaks. Original.

#63

Devil Riders (Scorpion God, #1)

2003

LAW OF THE LAWLESS A century after the nuclear conflagrating almost destroyed the world, humanity endures in a lawless land. Those who inhabit Deathlands are either killers or those who would be killed. But an elite few defy the laws of this new nautical selection - playing both sides of the eternal game of life and death. Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior survivalists never leave a friend behind... or a coldheart alive. LEGEND REBORN Stranded in the salty desert wastes of West Texas, Ryan and his companions find pre-Dark wheels and set out on a treacherous journey across inhospitable terrain. Hopes for a hot meal and a clean bed in a isolated ville die fast when the companions run into a despotic baron manipulating the lifeblood of the desert: water. But it's his fortress stockpiled with enough armaments to wage war in the dunes that interests Ryan, especially when he learns the enemy may be none other than the greatest - and long dead - Deathlands legend: the Trader. In the Deathlands the future is here, but the past is never far behind.

#64

Bloodfire (Scorpion God, #2)

2003

NULCEAR LEGACY Life in twenty-second-century America is an odyssey of pain and death. Savagely transformed by atomic fallout, what remains of humanity endures an internecine war against those who thrive on chaos and bloodshed. A legend in a violent land, Ryan Cawdor lives and fights by his own rules as he and his companions traverse the grim world of Deathlands. For as long as the future remains out of reach, survival means living long enough to face a new day. CITY OF THE DEAD Hearing a rumor that the Trader, his old teacher and friend, is still alive, Ryan and his warrior group struggle across the treacherous Texas desert to find the truth. But an enemy with a score to settle is in hot pursuit - and so is the elusive Trader. The preDark city of Sonora - preserved for a century in the salt and sand of the nukescape - becomes the staging ground for a showdown between mortal enemies, where the scales of revenge and death will be balanced with brutal finality. In the Deathlands, the only law is lawlessness.

#65

Hellbenders

2004

POINT OF NO RETURN Out of the ashes of the conflagration that savaged mankind two centuries ago, Deathlands was born - a tortured testament to a world long gone. Yet, in this kill-or-be-killed world where justice is the way of the past and blood is law, hope is the last refuge of the doomed. For Ryan Cawdor, driven by a warrior's instinct to survive it's a world that exacts a devil's bargain: the struggle for daily existence in return for a chance to forge a better life. VANGUARD Emerging from a gateway into a redoubt filled with preDark technology, Ryan and his band hope to unlock some of the secrets of postnuclear America. But the fortified redoubt is under the control of a half-mad former sec man hell-bent on vengeance, who orders Ryan and the others to jump-start his private war against two local barons. Under the harsh and pitiless glare of the rad-blasted desert sun, the companions fight to see another day, whatever it brings... In the Deathlands, the condemned shall inherit the earth...

#66

Separation

2004

CHAINS OF DESTINY Hard strength and resilience are needed to survive each new day in the treacherous world of postnuclear America. For Ryan Cawdor and his companions, honor, integrity and a willingness to kill are necessary as well, as they struggle to balance a survivalist spirit with a warrior's resolve to press on, living by their own rules in a tortured land, pursuing a dream that leads them into the unknown... SPLIT DECISIONS Ryan and his group make their way to a remote island in hopes of finding brief sanctuary. Instead, they are captured by an isolated tribe of descendants of African slaves from pre-Civil War days. When the tribesmen declare Mildred Wyeth "free" from her white masters, it is a twist of fate that ultimately leads the battle-hardened medic to question where her true loyalties lie. Will she side with Ryan, J.B. Dix and those with whom she has forged a bond of trust and friendship... or with the people of her own blood? But the loss of Mildred is not the only threat the group faces - in a treacherous world where the ties that bind can cut both ways. In the Deathlands, the future is not what it used to be...

#67

Death Hunt

2004

LIMITED TENURE The treacherous new world of post-nuclear America guarantees no inalienable rights - no promises of freedom, liberty or justice for all. Instead, chaos and bloodlust thrive - but so do the innate strengths of the human spirit, and the virtues of honor and courage. Ryan Cawdor has endured the worst that Deathlands has to offer and continues to push on, leading his companions through a land of madness and treachery, seizing each new day with a deep, primal hope that refuses to die... SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST Ryan's razor-sharp edge has been dulled by the loss of his son, Dean - but grief is an emotion he cannot indulge if the band is to escape the chains of sadistic Baron Ethan. His thriving ville offers a special commodity: blood sport. Now with the group's armorer, JB Dix, imprisoned and near death, Ryan and the others are forced to join Ethan's hunt- as the hunted. But the perverse and powerful baron has changed the rules. Skilled in mind control, he ensures the warriors will not be tracked by high-paying thrill-seekers. Instead, they will hunt each other - to the death. In the Deathlands, the odds of survival just got worse...

#68

Shaking Earth

2004

MADNESS OF THE GODS After a nuclear blast all but vaporized the Western Hemisphere in the late twenty-first century. America became known as Deathlands, a hellhole that has proved itself a formidable foe in the fight for survival - a place where the will to see another day comes down to raw courage and a good aim. Ryan Cawdor and his warrior group roam the vast and violent landscape, fighting to live and living to fight for a better life, knowing that death may not be the only way out, but it's the quickest. DESTROY THE DESTROYERS In a land steeped in ancient legend, power and destruction, the crumbling ruins of what was once Mexico City is now under siege by a bloodthirsty tribe of aboriginal muties. Emerging from a gateway into the partially submerged ruins of this once great city, Ryan and his group ally themselves with a fair and just baron caught in a treacherous power struggle with a dangerous rival. An internecine war foreshadows ultimate destruction of the valley at a time when unity of command and purpose offers the only hope against a terrible fate... In the Deathlands everyone has a future. Some will wish they didn't.

#69

Black Harvest

2005

GRIM AWAKENING Shockwaves of atomic destruction turned 22nd-century America into a hellzone, but in the ruins the human spirit remains unconquerable. Daily survival depends on raw courage and a deadly aim, and with his warrior band Ryan Cawdor roams the forbidding new frontier known as Deathlands, determined to unlock its secrets... RELENTLESS GRIP Emerging from a gateway in the midwest, Ryan senses trouble within the well-fortified ville of a local baron, whose understanding of pre-Dark medicine may be their one chance to save a wounded Jak. But while his whitecoats can make the drugs that heal, the baron knows the real power and money is in the hardcore Deathlands jolt. And where drugs and riches go, death shadows every step, no matter which side of a firefight you stand on... In the Deathlands, tomorrow is never just another day.

#70

Vengeance Trail

2005

DAWN AFTER DARK As megalomaniac barons and savage anarchy complete to lay claim to post-nuclear America, perseverance and a will to live are what keep Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior survivalists roving through the worst and best of a new world. Armed with secrets of pre-Dark tech, they possess what few in Deathlands can imagine: hope for a better tomorrow. END OF THE LINE Ryan Cawdor is gunned down and left for dead by the new provisional U.S. Army, commanded by a brilliant general with a propensity for casual mass murder and a vision to rebuild America. Waging war from his pre-Dark, fusion-powered armored locomotive, he's poised to unlock the secrets of the Gateways - as the rest of Ryan's group stand powerless. All except one. Hope may be lost for Krysty Wroth. But revenge is enough. In the Deathlands, vengeance is the only justice.

#71

Ritual Chill (Altered States, #1)

2005

BLOOD SUNSET Time, and the fallout of a nuclear holocaust, have ravaged 21st century America, but one fundamental impulse of human nature the will to survive. And only the strongest do survive. Men like Ryan Cawdor, whose inner strength and stubborn resolve continue to defy the worst that Deathlands offers. With grim determination, he and his warrior group continue to face the stark and brutal choices of this new world that are often not choices at all, but imperatives. Act first, ask questions later. STRANGE QUARRY A cold sense of déjà vu becomes reality as the group emerges from a gateway they'd survived before a - grim graveyard of lost friends and nightmares. The consuming need to escape the dangerous melancholy of the place forces Ryan and company onto the frozen tundra, where an even greater menace awaits. The forbidding land harbors a dying tribe - cursed members of the ancient Inuit, who seize the arrival of Ryan and his band as their last hope to appease angry gods... by offering them up as human sacrifice. In the Deathlands, the price for survival is the constant fear of death.

#73

Labyrinth

2006

No Time to Lose It took only minutes for human history to derail in a mushroom cloud—now more than a century later, whatever destiny lies ahead for humanity is bound by the rules that have governed survival since the dawn of time: part luck, part skill and part hard experience. For Ryan Cawdor and his band, survival in Deathlands means keeping hold of what you have—or losing it along with your life. Born to Die In the ancient canyons of New Mexico, the citizens of Little Pueblo prepare to sacrifice Ryan and his companions to demons locked inside a twentieth-century dam project. But in a world where nuke-spawned predators feed upon weak and srong alike, Ryan knows avenging eternal spirits aren't a part of the game. Especially when these freaks spit yellow acid—and their creators are the whitecoat masterminds of genetic recombination, destroyed by theri mutant offspring born of sin and science gone horribly wrong...

#74

Strontium Swamp

2006

Strontium Swamp by James Axler released on Jun 13, 2006 is available now for purchase.

#75

Shatter Zone (The Coldfire Project, #1)

2006

Shatter Zone by James Axler released on Sep 12, 2006 is available now for purchase.

#76

Perdition Valley (The Coldfire Project, #2)

2006

SHATTERED CONTINENT Journeying across the devastated frontier of the postnuclear America, Ryan Cawdor and his companions have unlocked clandestine knowledge of the preDark tech, secrets that give them an edge for staying alive, an edge augmented by an ability to fight... and win. Each day brings a new chance to find someplace to call home - somewhere apart from the grim realities of a civilization struggling to be reborn. COLDFIRE Hunted across the southwestern desert, Ryan doesn't know who wants him dead badly enough to slaughter innocents as a way of luring him into the open. But the advanced tech his pursuers are using is unknown in Deathlands, created by the most brilliant minds of twentieth-century America. Now evil is alive and stalking the warrior group. His name is Delphi, and he's prepared to reclaim the one man who understands with brutal certainty how time can be controlled, manipulated, remapped. In the Deathlands, the past may be lost but its secrets are deadlier than ever...

#77

Cannibal Moon

2007

POUND OF FLESH In the hostile new world of postnuclear America, there are many ways to die, but few are clean or quick. Long ago Ryan Cawdor and his band threw in their lot together—to do or die trying. It was a pact sealed in blood, one of sel? essness and sacriif ce that put a premium on the value of loyalty, friendship and honor—and the blind faith that survival is a better option than certain death. FEEDING FRENZY Compassion is a luxury in a brutal land where life is cheap, but Dr. Mildred Wyeth holds fast to her physician's oath to show mercy. Now she's stricken by a plague that brings on a deep craving for human ? esh. Unwilling to lose one of their own to this pervasive pestilence without a if ght, the companions follow the trail to Cajun country, where the mysterious queen of the Cannies is rumored to possess the only antidote to the grim fate that awaits Mildred—and perhaps her warrior friends.

#78

Sky Raider

2007

Raw courage and knowledge of the arcane secrets of preDarktechnology have enabled Ryan Cawdor and his warrior companions tolive and roam a land tortured—but not destroyed—by apocalyptic madness. In a world where the price of living is paid in flesh and blood, nothing is ever free, not even death. In Deathlands, power brings more power to those able to commandit by means fair or foul. Yet few among the most tyrannical baronscan rival the ruthlessness of Sandra Tregart, whose despotic visionsare being realized by resurrected air power. With herrestored biplane, she delivers death from the skies to all who defy her supremacy—a virulent ambition that challenges Ryan Cawdor and his band in unfathomable new ways.

#79

Remember Tomorrow

2007

SAVAGE NEW WORLD After twenty-first-century America exploded in the chaos of a nuclear nightmare, a raw new landscape emerged, a world where death and dreams clash. Still, the best of the human spirit endures: the hope, the will to survive. But so does the worst: the greed, tyranny, the easy death. In his enduring odyssey across the hostile world called Deathlands, Ryan Cawdor is a warrior no enemy wants to cross. THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY… An earthquake in the Arkansas dust bowls leaves the companions for dead, until they are all reunited except for armorer J. B. Dix. Alive, though with no memory of the past, he is in the uncertain employ of the ironfisted ruler of a vital outpost along the routes that traverse the wastelands. Duma is the biggest, most dangerous ville in all of Deathlands, where jolt, jack, booze and sex are worth more than human life. Stalking Duma and preparing to attack this orgy of firepower is a crazed band of inbred worshippers of Nagasaki...and their unwilling new sec force led by Ryan Cawdor.

#80

Sunspot

2007

BELLY OF THE BEAST In the wake of a nuclear Armageddon, the hellscape of Deathlands conspires to torment strong and weak alike, festering most deeply in those who still possess the deepest core of human decency. Now the past lies in the ashes, while the mysteries of the future unfold in the hands of those willing to live each new day in search of hope for tomorrow. VIRULENT COMPROMISE The endless struggle for power among the barons is a way of life in Deathlands, but Ryan Cawdor and his warrior survivalists take no sides—unless forced to. But as the land around the Rio Grande reaches the breaking point in a bitter war, the companions are harnessed into battle, moving toward a grim confrontation with an old enemy whose secret stockpile of twenty-fi rst-century nerve gas is poised to unleash infi nite madness once more upon a ravaged earth.

#81

Desert Kings

2008

Desert Kings by James Axler released on Mar 11, 2008 is available now for purchase.

#82

Apocalypse Unborn

2008

Apocalypse Unborn by James Axler released on Jun 10, 2008 is available now for purchase.

#83

Thunder Road

2008

A century after the nukecaust, humanity adheres to the most basic laws of live or die. While many plunder and savage for profit and pleasure, others follow a higher bid for promise and hope. Still, the concepts of law and order remain buried in the past. Thunder Rider is a self-styled superhero, prowling the Deathlands and serving up mass murder in a haze of napalm and nerve gas. Seeing his destruction firsthand, Ryan Cawdor accepts a bounty from a ravaged ville to find and eliminate this crazed vigilante. But this twisted coldheart has designs on a new sidekick, Krysty Wroth, and her abduction harnesses the cold, unforgiving fury of Ryan and his warrior companions. At his secret fortress, Thunder Rider waits—armed with enough ordnance to give his madness free rein…. In the Deathlands, justice is in the eyes of those who seek it….

#84

Plague Lords (Empire of Xibalba, #1)

2008

After a century of chaos following the nukes, Deathlands is forming pockets of civilization, aided by predark stockpiles of weapons, fuel and pieces of 21st-century knowledge. But these troves are hard to come by, and survival remains a blood quest. For Ryan Cawdor and his warrior survivalists, luck is sparse, chances slimmer, yet hope drives them onward. The sulphur-teeming Gulf of Mexico is the poisoned end of the earth, but loaded cargo ships ruined by skydark lure doomie and cutthroat alike. Here, Ryan and the others glean rumors of whole cities deep in South America that survived the blast intact. But as the companions contemplate a course of action that may divide them, a new horror approaches unseen on the horizon. The Lords of Death are Mexican pirates raiding stockpiles with a grim vengeance. When civilization hits rock bottom, a new stone age will emerge, with its own personal day of blood reckoning. In the Deathlands, the future could always be worse. Now it is….

#85

Dark Resurrection (Empire of Xibalba, #2)

2009

Postnuclear America has changed little since the primal leveling of the twenty-first century. Warrior survivalists Ryan Cawdor and his band live by a code that honors the kind of absolute freedom only a raw frontier can provide. Until rumors of a wider, more prosperous world than the Deathlands thriving deep in Mexico, untouched by the nukecaust, lure them into uncharted waters.… Captured by the pirate foot soldiers of the mysterious Lords of Death, Ryan Cawdor and his companions sail into a surreal world where electric lights blaze but blood terror reigns. In Veracruz, Mexico, Ryan is marked for slaughter, his effigy linked to an ancient deity. Helpless, Krysty, Dix and the others await a horrifying fate at the hands of whitecoats manipulating pre-dark plague warfare. As the Lords of Death unleash their demonic vision, hope—for Ryan, the others and nascent civilization—appears irrevocably lost.

#86

Eden's Twilight

2009

Rumors of an untouched predark ville in the mountains of West Virginia lure traders in search of unimaginable wealth. They're coming from all directions—the good, the bad, the worst. Ryan and his warrior group join in, although it means an uneasy truce with an old enemy, going back to days of spilled blood and the legacy of the Trader. But as their journey to a place called Cascade reveals more of Deathlands' darkest secrets, it remains to be seen if this place will become their salvation…or their final resting place.

#87

Desolation Crossing

2009

Survival is a dangerous enterprise in the aftermath of a nuked America. Humanity perseveres, but the Deathlands code is far kill or be killed, live or die trying. Driven by the fires of hope, a resilient band of warriors traverse the new frontier of the future, survivors by skill and legends by reputation. The legend of the trader returns in the simmering dust bowl of the Badlands, the past calling out to armorer J. B. Dix. Her name is Eula. Young, silent and lethal, she's part of a new trading convoy quick to invite Ryan Cawdor and his band on a journey across the hostile terrain. But high-tech hardware, fast wags, flowing jack and friendly words don't tell the real story behind a vendetta that is years in the making.

#88

Alpha Wave

2009

In the postapocalyptic world of Deathlands, the past and its way of life are as obsolete as myth. Now the days are filled with death, violence and little promise. Still, the human spirit endures, and a group of intrepid warrior survivalists dare to believe that out there, something better is on offer. If they live long enough to find it. Across the flat plains of the Dakotas, an iron horse shrieks and rumbles across refurbished tracks. Inside the boxcars, Ryan Cawdor and his companions face trouble unlike any other. Jak is missing, Krysty is dying and the train is loaded with sec men, whitecoats and a horrifying experiment—a baron with psionic abilities using stolen children to fuel his mad dream for mind control of every living soul in Deathlands.

#89

Time Castaways

2009

In the nuke-altered America of the twenty-first century, time conspires against survival, especially for a legendary group of warriors led by Ryan Cawdor. Born and bred in Deathlands, Ryan dares to unlock the secrets buried deep in the wreckage of a planet. Time may be the enemy in the daily struggle to stay alive, but perhaps it can reveal something better…. Barely escaping a redoubt hidden in an old aircraft carrier guarded by killer droids, the companions emerge into the backwater world of Lake Superior's Royal Island. Here, metal and salt are commodities worth killing and dying for, and two rival barons rule mutant-infested land and water with blood will. But though Ryan was hoping for honesty and fair trade, he's soon in a death race to stop the secrets of the gateways from becoming an open passage to the future's worst enemies….

#90

Prophecy

2010

After the nuclear winter, the taint of humanity worsened in the raw blood-quest for survival. Hunger for jack and power now fuels traders and barons, who relinquish authority only through death, crushing everything in their path. Still, a handful seek a better way of life, where iron fists and ordnance are replaced by harmony, justice and fair trade. Separated by fate and a freak storm in the shifting landscape of the Great Plains, the companions find themselves on a path of strange prophecy. Here, Native American tribes embrace a peaceful, sacred way of life the travelers have only imagined. Still, Deathlands is a place with no reverence for ease or peace; the land was once the clandestine sanctuary of preDark science. Are Ryan Cawdor and his warrior survivalists destined to fulfill a vision-quest foretold by the shamans…or take a final, fatal plunge into the grim reality of a shattered world?

#91

Blood Harvest

2010

The cataclysm of nuclear winter transmuted the world into a place both torturous and unforgiving. But there are those with the courage and perseverance to seek out something beyond the merciless life-and-death struggle of Deathlands. In a treacherous frontier that plays for keeps, staying alive is the best victory…. Washed ashore in the North Atlantic, Ryan Cawdor and Doc Tanner discover two islands still pristinely intact after Skydark, but whose inhabitants suffer a darker, more horrifying punishment. A hideous strain of mutation manifests, turning some into half-monstrous giants with an unquenchable thirst for blood. The Nightwalkers unleash a hellish feast of horror when the sun goes down. Now Ryan and Doc struggle to survive this enclave of unimaginable terror, trapped in a baronial conflict between the rulers of night and day, with only one way out—internecine war in a world of the damned…. Welcome to the dark side of tomorrow. Welcome to the Deathlands.

#92

Arcadian's Asylum

2010

The brutality of post-nuclear America has spawned a dark frontier where the harsh and unforgiving new rules of existence cannot obliterate the decency and determination that drive the true human spirit. It's tested and tormented but never destroyed. A lust for power and a strong sec-force are the basic requirements of any Deathlands baron. But brilliant, charismatic Baron Eugene Arcadian has bigger visions than simply a monopoly on jack and trade. He wants the future. Turning his ville into the nascent heartbeat of the new civilization would require the help of Ryan Cawdor and his warrior group. But for these unwilling participants, the endgame of their enigmatic host remains hidden in the secret maze of laboratories beneath Arcady, where a new terror is about to be reborn…. In the Deathlands, always watch your back.

#93

Baptism of Rage

2010

The end of the world arrived in a nuclear rush, forging the agonized remains of past and present into a new reality known as Deathlands. Now life is a simple series of rules of survival, where having is better than not having—and anything is worth killing for. But in a world that has seemingly turned against mankind, the possibility of miracles can exist.... Of all the resources Ryan Cawdor and his group struggle to recoup, hope for escaping the grim daily life-and-death struggle has suffered most. But now reports of a ville holding the mythical waters of rejuvenation, a fountain of youth, appear to be true, luring Doc and the others on a journey inspired by promise, tainted by mistrust. Hiring on as sec men with a convoy headed to the healing waters of Babyville, the survivors discover the deadly price of immortality. In the Deathlands the future looks like hell—and delivers far worse...

#94

Doom Helix

2010

Devastation from the nukewar shattered civilization and left a planet both primitive and ripe for rebirth—or retaking. While the balance of power has fallen to avaricious, amoral barons, a handful of humanity still holds hope of a future worth fighting for or dying to defend. If a better life inside the hellground exists, Ryan Cawdor and his friends will find it. The Deathlands feudal system may be hell on earth but it must be protected from invaders from Shadow Earth, a parallel world stripped clean of its resources by the ruling conglomerate and its white coats. Ryan and his band had a near-fatal encounter with these genetically enhanced aggressors and their advanced weaponry and wags once before. Only a fatal chink in enemy armor saved planet Earth from plunder. Now, these superhuman predators are back, ready to topple the hellscape's baronies one by one.

#95

Moonfeast

2010

BETRAY THE BETRAYER In the nuke-conceived birth of Deathlands, a rare breed of warrior-survivor emerged—born into suffering, hardened by circumstance, forged by endurance and sharpened by combat. Yet in the heart of this warrior, the quest to find a place of peace beats on unrelenting… LAND OF THE LOST The pristine coastal waters off San Clemente become a battleground over the island and its abandoned naval station. The rocky shores are rife with the sulfur mines that make Deathlands' richest jack—gunpowder. To maintain hell-fought possession, a ruthless sea baron and his fleet engage rebellion from the land. On this island populated by roaming bio-weap nightmares engineered by predark whitecoats,Ryan Cawdor is caught in a war he has no intention of fighting, but has every determination to survive.

#96

Downrigger Drift

2011

The nuclear cataclysm that maimed America altered the rules of existence. The new reality guarantees a grim battle for survival, but the higher human instinct to exist in peace and good will lives on. Legends endure and Ryan Cawdor is a warrior of his time. When the good fight needs to be won, Ryan and his band take a stand. In the nuke-altered region of the Great Lakes, Ryan and his group face the spectrum—from the idyllic to the horrific—of a world reborn. Close to enclaves of peace and sanctuary, Deathlands' most distorted spawn of humanity, cannibals, spread terror. Against the battered shoreline of Lake Michigan, an encounter with an old friend leads to a battle to save Milwaukee from a force of deadly mutant interlopers—and to liberate one of their own.

#97

Playfair's Axiom

2011

When J.B. Dix is gravely wounded in the concrete jungle of St. Louis, Ryan Cawdor and his group become captives of a local barony. Freedom lies in the success of a deal: recapture a runaway teen, the daughter of the ailing baron. Original.

#98

Tainted Cascade

2011

The blighted aftermath of a global nuclear showdown, Deathlands exacts a blood price. The living pay it; the dead don't care. For one legendary band of warriors, this barbaric new world holds a chance for the secrets of the past. They roam a disfigured America, searching for pre-dark tech…seeking the path to a future worth living. Utah's Great Salt Lake Desert remains a death pit of scorching heat, cannies and grim odds. Ryan Cawdor and his group survive the trek there, only to be drugged, robbed and left for the slave trade. Escaping their captors leaves them alive but stripped of their prized their weps, J. B. Dix's glasses, Dr. Mildred Wyeth's medical kit and, worse, her secret codex. The companions must rely on each other to challenge their enemy and settle the score.

#99

Perception Fault

2011

The ravaged landscape that was America two centuries ago is now blighted by post-nuclear holocaust savagery. Still, there remain pockets of preDark technology that may offer undiscovered paths to reclaiming the future. Ryan Cawdor and his companions have faced most kinds of horror that Deathlands can deliver—and survived. This merciless place can break even the strongest, but it has yet to destroy hope. Denver offers a glimpse of that very hope—a power plant, electricity, food and freedom. But the city is caught in a civil war between two would-be leaders and their civilian armies. Challenged by both sides to do their bidding, Ryan discovers a third player in the quest to control the mile-high city—a secret enclave of White Coats with the strength and technology to pursue a twisted agenda of their own.

#100

Prodigal's Return

2011

America, defiled and reshaped by nuclear carnage, promises little but a struggle for survival. Still, a group of hard travelers trek the worst this hellish place can offer, surviving by their wits, razor skill and knowledge of preDark technology. Their leader, Ryan Cawdor, is a Deathlands legend, a warrior and hero to many, a relentless enemy to more. And he understands the only way forward is the future, even when the past has a will of its own…. Searching for an operational redoubt, Ryan and his companions go up against a ruthless band of coldhearts. The shock of seeing Ryan's long-lost son as the band's point man puts the group on a new mission—rescue Dean at all cost. But when Dean shoots and wounds his father in a firefight, the strange turn of events leads the travelers deeper into the shifting sands of their own destiny. And father and son, each committed to the laws of decency and fair play, will confront an uncertain legacy.

#101

Lost Gates

2011

GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE Existence after Skydark is a gamble against grim odds—winners and losers decided by guns, jack and raw nerve. Still, one intrepid group pushes on, working to understand the secrets of preDark tech at the heart of nuke-altered America. Because keeping hope alive is the next best thing to a good shot at finding something better. LAW OF SUDDEN DEATH Baron Crabbe is dangerously high on legends of the Trader and rumors of a secret cache. He occupies a redoubt but the old tech remains unfathomable. His ace in the hole is Ryan Cawdor and his band. Prisoners at blasterpoint, they’re ordered to use the matter-transfer units to secure the whereabouts of the imagined weapons stockpile. Ryan knows the truth—and it won’t help Crabbe. But the only option is to play along with the crazed Baron’s scheme and make the dangerous jumps in a limited window of time. Staying alive is all about buying time—waiting for their one chance to chill their captors.

#102

Haven's Blight

2012

The future rose from the ashes of nuke-scorched America with a vengeance. The unchecked wrath of Deathlands pits Ryan Cawdor and his companions against long odds. But their skill as survivors, strategists and warriors is unmatched and they've held on to something more precious than their humanity. They nurture the hope that somewhere, hidden amid the grotesquerie of a tortured land, safety and sanctuary awaits. Bartering their expertise to a nautical band of brilliant technomads, Ryan's group fi nds trouble waiting in the steaming, fetid swamplands of the Louisiana Gulf. Merciless storms and pirates strand them in Haven. But the barony's inviting name masks a ville hijacked by fear, territorial conflict and monstrous horror. With the gravely injured Krysty Wroth's fate uncertain, a desperate Ryan aids the strange but hospitable Baron Blackwell in his effort to save Haven from a genetic blood curse. He'll succeed, provided his luck—and his options—don't run out first.

#103

Hell Road Warriors

2012

FUTURE SPOILS The human will to survive has sharpened to a knife edge after a century of postnuclear madness. In a lawless land where firepower and savagery rule, power lies with the barons and coldhearts who wield control through terror. Against all odds, a courageous few still fight for something better to live by-honor, decency and hope. CHILL FACTOR Emerging relatively unscathed from the apocalyptic rebirth of North America, Canada hides a trove of Cold War– era secret government installations known as Diefenbunkers, filled with caches of weapons, wags and food. Ryan Cawdor and his companions agree to ride sec for a convoy headed west across the remnants of the old Trans-Canada Highway to retrieve the ultimate prize: four portable nuclear reactors. It's enough power to light up a ville for years, a bright beacon for a new tomorrow. But they have death on their tail, a baron and his sec men who will stop at nothing to claim the prize as their own. In the Deathlands, the road to hell is a one-way ride...

#104

Palaces of Light

2012

LOST VISTAS Remnants of America's past are littered across the postapocalyptic landscape, but little remains of the predark ideals of law and order. Survival is a blood quest, and lethal force the means to power. Still, a handful retains their humanity among thecoldhearts, and in a world where nothing lasts forever, hope is a commodity as precious as jack. DIVIDE AND CONQUER Steeped in beauty and mysticism, the canyons of Mesa Verde, Colorado, survived the blast that altered the American west. Hired to track a group of missing children, Ryan Cawdor and his band follow the trail to a legendary city carved in stone, older and stronger than the nukecaust. The inhabitants of the palaces of light are more than warriors and survivors; they are masters of mind games that prey on illusion. And true believers in a metaphysical end game poised to push the companions over the edge of reality...into certain death.

#105

Wretched Earth

2012

INTEGRITY LOSTAfter the Megacull, the weak died off, so that a century later, the living have descended from only the toughest stock. Still, it takes more than strength to survive Deathlands. It takes skill, cunning and a warrior's heart. But for Ryan Cawdor, staying alive isn't just about living. In this nuke-transformed America, it helps if somewhere, deep inside, there's hope of finding something better. WALKING DEAD A virulent strain of a predark biowep has been unleashed upon the denizens of northern Kansas, turning them into rotting, flesh-eating monsters. Running from the mindless, soulless rottie hordes, Ryan and his companions arrive in the civil-war-torn ville of Sweetwater Junction. They've got one shot at beating the hungry rotties: turn the bloodlust of the ville's warring factions away from each other and toward a common enemy. But that means splitting up and hiring on as sec for both sides and surviving the firefight—before the real hell is unleashed. In Deathlands, time is blood.

#106

Crimson Waters

2012

Everyone who lives in Deathlands must endure the hellscape of a world mutilated by nukes and madness. Survival is a grim pursuit, achieved only by the most ruthless means. Yet Ryan Cawdor and his companions remain determined to persevere by doing whatever it takes to surviveWhen a mat-trans malfunction strands Ryan Cawdor and his friends in a gutted redoubt in the West Indies, the crystal waters offer them a tantalizing glimpse of untouched splendour. But the oasis is abruptly shattered by violent and ruthless pirates, and Ryan has to barter with a young guide, a teenage boy on a blood quest against a sadistic local warlord, to navigate a land teeming with predators—mutie, human and animal. The race is on to find a second redoubt, buried deep in the inhospitable heart of Monster Island. As pirates, mutie sec men and monsters converge, the kill zone widens, blood flows…and the group rushes to escape paradise before it destroys them. Because even paradise has claws in Deathlands.

#107

No Man's Land

2012

There's little to remember about life before the Big Nuke, but there's plenty to scavenge in the tainted wreckage of the post apocalyptic frontier. The barbaric code of survival of the fittest, meanest or dirtiest makes for hard living and easy death. But Ryan Cawdor and his friends have stayed alive by holding on to their humanity—playing fair…and chilling only when they've got no choice.A civil war raging in the Des Moines River valley forces Ryan and his companions to take sides, or die. Because somewhere in the middle of the generations-old conflict is a lost redoubt. But Snake Eye, the deadliest gunslinger in Deathlands, stands between them and the way out. And the mutie contract chiller won't step aside until he has Ryan's head. In Deathlands, there's nothing but rock and a hard place….

#108

Nemesis

2013

CRUEL DISPENSATION Burying the past in a nuclear cull, Deathlands spares no one from its punishing assault. In this grim new reality, there's little to live—or die—for, except the possibility of unlocking the mysteries of the past. Ryan Cawdor and his group of fellow survivors scour the perilous land for sanctuary in a world where nothing is guaranteed but death. PAROLE OF THE DAMNED Hiring on as crew to a merchant's wag-train, Ryan and his companions anticipate trouble as they head west toward what was once Montana. The terrain is treacherous, but the company is worse as anger, jealousy and male rivalry erupt into chaos and death. But as they get closer to their destination, the true nature of the journey unfolds. There's a map to a mysterious valley rich with predark stockpiles. But is it the promised land they've been seeking…or the dead end they never saw coming?

#109

Chrono Spasm

2013

SURVIVAL INSTINCT Remnants of humanity have managed to regroup after a global nuclear showdown that decimated the planet. But life in Deathlands is a far cry from actual living. And the survivors must believe they'll find something better, because surrendering to the inhospitable forces of a nuked world means giving in to death. Or worse. HELL FREEZES OVER Fear and human depravity permeate the frigid air in a once-dynamic Alaskan city. Ryan Cawdor and his group of survivalists go on red alert the moment they set foot on the forbidding tundra, but regardless, they find themselves rounded up by cannibal coldhearts. The companions quickly discover there's a fate much worse than becoming food. Dangerous new experiments are taking place in a long-abandoned military base and, in the bitter heart of the frozen North, new horrors reach out to poison their hope for a better tomorrow.

#110

Sins of Honor

2013

COLLATERAL DAMAGE The survivors of postnuclear America struggle against the free fall into anarchy and barbarism. Hot lead keeps people sharp, but it's the fire within that keeps them alive. Ryan Cawdor and his band roam Deathlands searching for somewhere to call home. Until then, it's survival at all cost. LINE OF ATTACK New Hampshire is rich with big game, more than enough to feed Ryan and his hungry companions. But claims to a fallen elk get ugly and Ryan is forced to chill another hunter, the self-proclaimed king of the Granite Highlands, over the meat. Soon the hunters become the hunted as the dead man's widow gives chase, armed with predark tanks and heavy artillery. As the kill zone widens across cannibal-ridden lava fields, Ryan and his group search for leverage in the merciless landscape.

#111

Storm Breakers

2013

PLUNGE FROM GRACE In post-apocalyptic Deathlands, America the beautiful has been ravaged by two centuries of nuclear fallout. Here, the American dream boils down to one survival. Ryan Cawdor and his fellow warriors seize each day, armed and ready to hold on to the only life they've got. Despite the odds, they believe in something better, someplace they can call home…where peace isn't just a dream. LEGACY OF MADNESS On the coast of what used to be Maine, the group's armourer, J. B.Dix, lies dying from a gunshot wound. Having no other choice, Ryan makes a deal with a local baron and his strangely beautiful wife. J.B. will get the surgery he needs when Ryan and crew rescue the couple's daughter, abducted by slavers. But the cold, deep Atlantic waters harbor predark secrets, including the terrifying specter of a U.S.S.R. nuclear submarine…and its descendants. In Deathlands, no one is ever free from the past.

#112

Dark Fathoms

2013

DANGER ZONE No place on Earth escaped the nuclear Armageddon that spawned the hellscape known as Deathlands. In a ravaged world where violence and lawlessness rule, a rare breed of hero has emerged. Ryan Cawdor is a lethal fighter who lives by a code of honor and fair play, and that has made him a legend…. DEPTH CHARGE Miles beneath the ocean's surface, a decaying redoubt barely protects Ryan and his companions from a watery death. Battling vicious assaults from cyborgs programmed by artificial intelligence to kill them, they're desperate to escape this underwater trap. But above the waves a new threat a massive predark super ship banished to the seas of Deathlands. Decades of madness have led to civil war between the citizens of the upper and lower decks. Now pawns in a bloody game, Ryan and the other survivors must destroy the ship or face their certain end at sea.

#113

Motherlode

2013

COERCION VORTEX The cost of living disintegrated after America's nuclear cull, and a life in Deathlands—any life—is dirt cheap. But those few who manage to stay alive in the savage new reality must travel the hellgrounds any way they can. For Ryan Cawdor and his fellow survivors, that means denying the pull toward savagery, and clinging to what little humanity they have left, when they can afford it. SEEDS OF SUSTAINABLITY Desperately short of supplies, Ryan and his companions are forced to seek help at the prosperous-looking ville of Amity Springs. Hired on to retrieve a stolen relic, they quickly become caught up in an escalating power struggle between two strong-willed lady barons. Each woman covets the cache of predark goods buried in the ville's backyard. But they are not alone in their desire. And all that stands between a motherlode of buried bounty and the destructive power of unchecked greed is Ryan's grim determination to survive another day. The final frontier isn't in space…it's in Deathlands.

#114

Siren Song

2014

PARADISE LOST Crawling from the wreckage of Armageddon, humanity endures, mutated and forever altered. Gone are the comforts of civilization, replaced by a bloodlust to survive. Deathlands is a tortured landscape where peace and hope struggle to take root. Still, Ryan Cawdor and his band push onward, seeking a place to call home. SWARM OF MADNESS If any kind of utopia exists in postapocalyptic America, Ryan and his companions have yet to find it. But high in the Virginian mountains, their quest may find its reward. Heaven Falls is an agrarian idyll, its thriving inhabitants harnessing powerful feminine energy and the medicinal qualities of honey. Bountiful and serene, this community is the closest thing to sanctuary the companions have ever encountered. But as they are seduced by a life they have only envisioned, they discover Heaven has a trapdoor that opens straight to hell…

#115

Hanging Judge

2014

SCARRED FOR EXISTENCE In the Deathlands, the game of survival offers no reprieve. There's nothing to win in nuke-blasted America except the chance to fight another day. Still, Ryan Cawdor and his fellow travelers hope for sanctuary - somewhere. Until they find it, they face each dawn as if it's their last. Because it just might be. DEVIL'S COURT Justice is a damning word in what used to be called Oklahoma, thanks to a sadistic baron known as the Hanging Judge. Crazy, powerful and backed by a despotic sec crew, the judge drops innocents from the gallows at will. When Jak narrowly escapes wearing his own rope as a necktie, a rift among the companions sends them deep into the mutie-infested wilderness outside the ville. Separated and hurting, time is running out for the survivors to realize they're stronger together than they ever could be alone - before a ruthless madman brings them to the end of their rope.

#116

End Program

2014

HOPE'S ADVERSARY No one waits long for trouble in Deathlands�it's everywhere in the remains of a nuke-altered civilization. The American dream was annihilated more than a century ago by the country's own unchecked power play. But the worst may be yet to come. SURVIVAL'S CASTOFF Built upon a predark military installation in former California, a ville called Progress could be the utopia Ryan Cawdor and his companions have been seeking. A place where humanity and technology thrive, it's the nucleus of a new hope for Deathlands. The successful replacement of Ryan's missing eye with a cybernetic prosthetic nearly convinces the group that their days of surviving hell are behind them. Then they discover that the high tech in Progress isn't designed to enhance human life, but to destroy it. To block the final assault, the companions must stop Ryan from becoming a willing pawn in the eradication of mankind.

#117

Desolation Angels

2014

BETRAYED BY TOMORROW A hundred years after the nukecaust, the tortured landscape of postapocalyptic America offers a brutal fight for survival. Yet tech secrets lie hidden, useful to those brave and strong enough to believe that hope can carry them toward ever-elusive peace. BAD TO THE BONE Violent gangs, a corrupt mayor and a heavily armed police force are the hallmarks of former Detroit, a mutie-infested, rubble-strewn metropolis. When Ryan and the companions show up, the Desolation Angels are waging a war to rule the streets. After saving the companions from being chilled by gangsters, the mayor hires Ryan and his friends to stop the Angels cold. But each hard blow toward victory proves there's no good side to be fighting for. As Motor City erupts into bloody conflagration, the companions are caught in the crossfire. In Deathlands, hell is called home.

#118

Blood Red Tide

2014

RUINS OF WAR In a nuclear wasteland where death and destruction are the norm, Ryan Cawdor and his fellow survivors seek out refuge while looking to one another for protection. Civilization no longer exists in the barren Deathlands. There is only the will to survive and the dim hope of a promised land. CREW OF THE DAMNED Taken captive on a ship in the former Caribbean, Ryan and his companions must work as part of the crew or perish at the hands of the captain. But the mutant in charge of the vessel is the least of their worries. Each day is a struggle as they face rivalry among the sailors, violent attacks and deadly storms. Worse, a powerful enemy is hunting the ship to destroy everyone on board. Fighting for their lives and those of their shipmates, the companions must find unity within the chaos or die in the attempt.

#119

Polestar Omega

2014

ARMAGEDDON'S NOMADS Banded together to survive, Ryan Cawdor and his companions travel the barren wastelands of a post-nuclear world. There are no laws in Deathlands—only fear, destruction and annihilation. As each day brings a new struggle, this group journeys toward the shaky promise of sanctuary. COLD WAR Ryan and his friends become the subjects in a deadly experiment when they're taken captive inside a redoubt at the South Pole. A team of scientists is convinced the earth must be purified of mutants, and now they have the perfect lab rats to test their powerful bioweapon. Within Antarctica's harsh and unstable conditions, the companions must fight the odds and take down the whitecoats before millions are killed. But in this uncompromising landscape, defeating the enemy may be just another step toward a different kind of death….

#120

Hive Invasion

2015

DUST DWELLERS Seeking refuge in a post-Armageddon America, Ryan Cawdor and his crew of misfits travel together for survival and sanity. Known as Deathlands, this lawless hellscape is defined by destruction, death and despair. Only those who persevere with the belief in a better future stand a chance in this world where each day brings a new, and potentially lethal, struggle. HARNESSED MINDS Desperate to find water and shelter on the barren plains of former Oklahoma, Ryan and his team come upon a community that appears, at first, to be peaceful. Then the ville is attacked by a group of its own inhabitants—people infected with a parasite that has turned them into slave warriors for an unknown overlord. The companions try to help fend off the enemy and protect the remaining population, but when Ryan is captured during a second ambush, all hope seems lost. Especially when he launches an assault against his own crew.

#121

End Day

2015

TIME WARPED Ryan Cawdor and his six companions struggle to survive postnuclear America, a grim new world where hope for the future is lost amid the devastation. APOCALYPSE REDUX In pursuit of a hardened enemy�Magus�Ryan and the companions find themselves in a land more foreign than any they've encountered. After unwittingly slipping through a time hole, the group lands in twentieth-century New York City, getting their first glimpse of predark civilization. And they're not sure they like it. Only Mildred and Doc can appreciate this strange metropolis, but Armageddon is just seventy-two hours away, and Magus will stop at nothing to make sure Ryan and his team are destroyed on Nuke Day…

#122

Forbidden Trespass

2015

WEARY WANDERERS In the war-torn wasteland known as Deathlands, desperation and destruction have replaced dreams and peace. Each day arrives with a new life-threatening challenge for wanderer Ryan Cawdor and his fellow band of survivors… FEAST OR FAMINE Bizarre murders are taking place in a fertile farming community, and the locals are quick to point fingers at Ryan and his companions. But they know another culprit is responsible. A colony of mutants has been driven from its underground home, forced to find sustenance in the light of day. And only human flesh will satisfy their hunger. Caught between a rock and a horde of hungry cannibals, Ryan and the companions face an ultimatum�help the cannies reclaim their territory, or risk becoming the next meal. Except something far more sinister� and ravenous�lurks beneath the lush fields…

#123

Iron Rage

2015

DESPERATE MEASURES Since the nukecaust, the American dream has been reduced to a daily fight for survival. In the hellish landscape of Deathlands, few dare to dream of a better tomorrow. But Ryan Cawdor and his companions press on, driven by the need for a future less treacherous than the present. CAUGHT IN THE CROSS FIRE Pulling sec duty aboard a steamboat on the mighty Sippi is a welcome reprieve for Ryan and his friends…until armored warships reduce their vessel to a burning husk. Abruptly stranded in a nightmarish, poisonous swamp, fighting off crocodiles and muties, the companions and their crew of allies get to work building rafts. Their escape route, however, is swiftly intercepted, and they learn they've sailed into the middle of a fierce conflict between two villes fighting over the iron trade. The companions don't seem to stand a chance against the fleets of ironclad gunboats. But in Deathlands, even the underdog can bite back…

#124

Child of Slaughter

2015

MORTAL RIFTS When Doc is taken captive by a band of marauders in what was once Nebraska, Ryan and the companions rally to get him back. But they aren't just fighting the local muties. They're also up against the area's terrifying terrain, which shifts and morphs at a moment's notice. With their options dwindling in this mazelike region that doesn't obey the laws of physics, the team joins forces with a beautiful and deadly woman who evens the odds on the battlefield. But while this warrior seems to be on their side, she has a secret agenda that could spell the end for them all… THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE Since the nukecaust, the American dream has been reduced to a daily fight for survival. In the hellish landscape of Deathlands, few dare to dream of a better tomorrow. But Ryan Cawdor and his companions press on, driven by the need for a future less treacherous than the present.

#125

Devil's Vortex

2015

CHILD OF DARKNESS An orphaned teen with the ability to transform into a vicious whirlwind latches on to Ryan and the companions as they travel through former North Dakota. Her deadly power seems like a boon at first, until it starts to control her. When threatened, she destroys everything in her path…including those she loves. Then a group of outcast fighters kidnaps the young woman and manipulates her—and her terrifying mutation—for their own destructive agenda. With the vortex unleashed, the companions face a tough decision: chill the orphan or perish in her violent wake. AMERICAN NIGHTMARE Since the nukecaust, the American dream has been reduced to a daily fight for survival. In the hellish landscape of Deathlands, few dare to dream of a better tomorrow. But Ryan Cawdor and his companions press on, driven by the need for a future less treacherous than the present.

#126

Survival in Doubt

2016

Release Date: Aug 31, 2016 Approximate Running Time: 6 Hours Number of CDs: 6 ISBN # 978-1-62851-286-1 Content Rating: Ages 18+ Survival In Doubt is the first original Deathlands story written specifically for GraphicAudio and is available in no other format. The companions have returned from their time jump back to the year 2001 on a mission to put an end to the malevolent cyborg known as Magus. Despite having narrowly survived that harrowing adventure, Ryan Cawdor’s intrepid team is not about to give up. They renew their pursuit of the augmented madman. But there are disturbing indications that the Deathlands to which they’ve returned may not be the one they remember. Savage battles against the gauntlet of horrors Magus hurls in their path soon leave the Deathlands warriors trapped, battered and bleeding, with Ryan in a coma and the other survivors mourning the loss of one of their own. Story and ℗ 2016 The Cutting Corporation Inc. All Rights Reserved. GOLD EAGLE® and DEATHLANDS® are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited used by others under license. © 2016 Worldwide Library.

#127

Gaia's Promise

2016

Gaia’s Promise is an original Deathlands story written specifically for GraphicAudio and is available in no other format. Cornerstone is a ville like no other that Ryan Cawdor and his companions have ever encountered. Hoping to find medical treatment for wounds sustained combating Magus and his creations, especially Ryan’s own debilitating injury, they have been brought to Cornerstone by their new friends, a relationship forged from those same battles. The ville appears to be a prosperous bastion of civilization, sheltered from the savagery of the Deathlands by virtue of the community’s relationship with an extraordinary manifestation of the will of Gaia. As the tortured history of this ville is revealed, the companions are intrigued, to say the least. And when they confront Cornerstone’s leader, they are nothing less than astonished.

#128

Bad Blood

2015

Bad Blood is an original Deathlands story written specifically for GraphicAudio and is available in no other format. The Cornerstone saga continues as a disgruntled Ryan and troubled Jak return from their harrowing scavenger mission to find that there are two mysterious new arrivals in the ville, presumed initiates to the ways of Gaia, the Earth Mother. Krysty explores her relationship with Matriarch in this flourishing paradise founded on the beliefs instilled in her as a child, but there are serpents in this garden. Death and destruction will come to this place of peace, and the true enemy may not be what it seems. Like a storm of vengeance, the past comes back to haunt the denizens of Cornerstone, and Ryan Cawdor and his companions are right in its devastating path. Performed by Richard Rohan, Colleen Delany, Terence Aselford, Delores King Williams, Alejandro Ruiz, Jefferson A Russell, Marni Penning, Nanna Ingvarrson, Nick DePinto, Andy Brownstein, Richard Cutting, Chris Stinson, Bradley Smith, Maggie Donnelly, Amanda Forstrom, Steve Wannall, Todd Scofield, Scott Graham, Elizabeth Jernigan, Joe Mallon, Tia Shearer, Jacob Yeh, Chris Davenport, Steven Carpenter, Jonathan Lee Taylor, Kimberly Gilbert, Mary C Davis, Brian Hemmingsen, Dylan lynch, Dawn Ursula, David Jourdan, Michael John Casey, David Rohan.

#129

Angels of Our Nature

2017

Graphic audio, I movie in your mind

#130

City of Dark

2017

Having narrowly escaped with their lives from the redoubt near Cornerstone, the Deathlands survivors known as the Companions arrive via mat-trans at a destination they presume to be North Dakota, if the mysterious codes given them while in Cornerstone are accurate. That assumption is soon put in doubt as they discover a devastated city covered in continual ashfall, a sky perpetually obscured by black clouds illuminated only by sporadic lightning. The former metropolis is not deserted, however, but densely populated with ravening hordes of barely human creatures that seek only to feast on the weak. And the mat-trans that brought the companions here is a smoking ruin. Ryan Cawdor and his friends are thrust into a breathless quest for safe haven in an environment beyond hostile, all the while trying to determine just what the story is in this fresh hell in which they’ve landed. Performed by Richard Rohan, Colleen Delany, Terence Aselford, Delores King Williams, Alejandro Ruiz, Laura C Harris, Bradley Smith, Peter Holdway, Eddie Camille, Jean Camille, Steven Carpenter, Carolyn Kashner, Ken Jackson, Chris Scheeren, Alyssa Wilmoth, Drew Kopas, Ren Kasey.

#133

Grim Choices

2018

After the events of Deathlands 131: Freak Pharm and the overthrow of the corrupt pseudo-medical theocracy there, Ryan Cawdor, Krysty Wroth and their fellow companions had decided that the recovering community of Bomville would likely be the safest place to prepare for the eventual birth of Krysty’s child, rather than venturing out yet again into the unknown. Otherworldly circumstances soon convince Ryan and Krysty that the opposite is true. With a small contingent of grateful residents from the community as escort, the companions set out on horseback for old Chicago, home of the closest redoubt they know of that contains a working mat-trans gateway. They hope to use the mysterious pre-nukecaust technology to diminish the daunting distance to Front Royal, the ville of Ryan’s birth, which they presume to be a safe haven now. But the journey from former Baraboo Wisconsin to what was once called the Windy City is fraught with peril, and along the way, hard decisions must be made, invoking questions of loyalty and betrayal. The companions as a team will not survive the odyssey intact. Deathlands 133: Grim Choices is an original Deathlands story written specifically for GraphicAudio and is available in no other format.

#135

Killville

2019

Fleeing from the growing sinkhole that was once the Glory mines, Ryan Cawdor and his companions struggle to make their way east to Ryan's home of Front Royal.

#136

Trade War

2019

Ryan Cawdor awakens from a mat-trans jump to inexplicably find himself in a version of his past (just after the events of Deathlands 45: Starfall). Ryan's son Dean is back, Krysty isn’t pregnant yet and Ryan, who is the only one who feels the pull of the timeline split, is trying to keep it together. Deathlands 136: Trade War is an original Deathlands story written specifically for GraphicAudio and is available in no other format.

#138

Who Lives and Who Dies

2020

Ryan Cawdor has been narrowly rescued from a harrowing, uncontrolled plummet through the maelstrom of time, only to find himself stranded in a place outside of the reality he knows, his savior not quite the man he appears to be. At the Cawdor family home of Front Royal, the companions meet Ryan’s long lost son, who is no longer who he once was. They learn Front Royal has fallen to invaders, forces under the command of a long-time bitter enemy, and constant nemesis. Woefully outnumbered, as the birth of Krysty Wroth’s child grows imminent, the reunited companions must somehow devise a way of stopping the monsters and madmen who collectively are the Magus. Deathlands 138: Who Lives and Who Dies is an original Deathlands story written specifically for GraphicAudio and is available in no other format.

#139

Exodus From Hell

2020

After the liberation of Front Royal from the Magus’ tyranny, Ryan Cawdor and his companions grieve the heart-wrenching loss of loved ones, but must carry on. Ryan and his surviving friends assume leadership roles in Front Royal, contributing to the rebuilding of the ville and the struggle to carve out a future for the beleaguered community. Ryan must learn how to be a good father for his unique baby daughter, and with the support of his larger family do his best to help her navigate the treacherous future that is her destiny. There is still a Magus out there to be reckoned with, along with the dangerous repercussions of recklessly tampering with Gaia. Performed by Richard Rohan, Terence Aselford, Delores King Williams, Laura C. Harris, Chris Rohan, Kimberly Gilbert, Tia Shearer, Carolyn Kashner, David Coyne, Dylan Lynch, Scott Bruffey, Shayna Small, Zeke Alton, Alejandro Ruiz, Steve Wannall, Matthew Pauli, Audrey Bertaux, Matthew Schleigh, Ken Jackson, Nanette Savard and Lawrence Redmond.

#140

Sea Hag

2021

\ 6 hours and 42 minutes \ There might be safety in numbers, but numbers attract predators. The woods surrounding Lake Huron are filled with danger and bounty alike. Pirates frequent the waters, cold-hearted cannibals and stickies wander the woods, and the mystical Sea Hag and her Hag-Sworn keep an eye on it all. A local moonshiner has offered to escort the companions through the forest to the nearby Marktplatz where they can resupply at the ville's annual trade festival. However, the companions get more than they bargained for when forces converge on Marktplatz and kick off the festival with a bang. ©2021 James Axler (P)2021 GraphicAudio, LLC

#143

Grave Capitol

2021

Continuing from Deathlands 142: Into Delirium. One Nation Under Sod. Washington DC was hardest hit in the nukecaust that heralded the Deathlands era. But beneath the crater of radioactive ruins, a functioning city of survivors is crafting a culture that plans to reshape America. Ryan Cawdor and his companions enter into this enclosed, underground world and find an ordered and progressive society based on the tenets of the US Constitution. But as they settle into this seeming idyll, the companions uncover a sinister threat at the ville’s heart, and a bold plan to finally wipe out the last remnants of humankind.

#145

Kraken

2022

Beneath the waters of Lake Huron a monstrosity lurks, and Krysty Wroth may be its victim. The companions’ journey across Lake Huron is interrupted by a pirate attack during a furious storm, and Krysty is pulled overboard during the fray. The companions seek refuge on a submerged freighter occupied by ex-pirate “Mean Pete” Kellogg, and his crew. They tell stories of ‘He Who Shouts in the Lake’, a creature under the control of Heidecker labs. The stories say the director of Heidecker labs is brutal and unforgiving, burning local villages to the ground and infecting them with disease. Forget the stories. Ryan knows only one truth. He must get Krysty back.

#146

Red Letter Daze [Dramatized Adaptation]

Deathlands 146

2022

MP3 CD Format Continuing from Deathlands 144: Memory Box . Accompanied by scientist Eden Long, the companions endeavor to cross the dangerous territory of Baltimorgue to help their ally Doc Tanner to time jump home. However, they soon find themselves fending for their lives against the dangerous groups who inhabit the old city, each one set in brutal opposition to the others. When the companions get split up, they each become mired in the myriad of insanities that vie for survival in a city gone beyond the edge of reason. Performed by Richard Rohan, Terence Aselford, Lolita Horne, Colleen Delany, Alejandro Ruiz, Amanda Forstrom, Julie-Ann Elliott, Alysia Beltran, Bradley Foster Smith, Christopher Graybill, Dan Delgado, David Engel, David Zitney, Dawn Ursula, Debi Tinsley, Eric Messner, Henry W. Kramer, Karen Novack, Kelly Baskin, Ken Jackson, Michael John Casey, Mike Carnes, Nanette Savard, Nora Achrati, Rayner Gabriel, Rose Elizabeth Supan, Ryan Carlo Dalusung, Joel David Santner, Scott McCormick, Taylor Coan, Tia Shearer, Tyler Hyrchuk, and Yasmin Tuazon.

Authors

Alex Archer

Author · 65 books

A house name for the Rogue Angel series, published by the Harlequin Publishing's Gold Eagle division. The first eight novels were written by Victor Milan and Mel Odom. New writers joining the series starting with book nine include Jon Merz and Joseph Nassise.

James Axler

Author · 205 books

https://www.graphicaudio.net/our-prod...

Nick Pollotta

Author · 14 books

Nick Pollotta also writes as Nicholas Pollotta, Jack Hopkins, and house names James Axler and Don Pendleton.