The Ridden: A Gamelit Apocalypse Progression Fantasy Novel

by Joshua Kern

Genres: Fantasy action & adventure; Contemporary Fantasy; Science Fiction Fantasy; Horror; Post-Apocalyptic sci-fi; YA Zombies; action adventure romance; first love; urban fantasy; second chance; gamelit; zombies

Synopsis

People called them different things when they first appeared. Walkers, Cryptids, Infected, the Ridden. The most popular was also the least apt, Zombies.

 

Chris stumbled out of his cheap motel room after the worst night of his life and straight into the apocalypse. It didn't take him long to learn what happened, even if it was somewhat unbelievable. Doubts that are quickly dispelled with reality.

 

Heading to his parent’s farm, Chris is determined to make sure they are safe. Joining up with an old girlfriend, the two set forth to gather supplies and turn the farm into a sanctuary of their own. Unfortunately, they’re not the only ones with that idea.

 

This is not your normal zombie apocalypse story. As Chris is about to find out, it’s not just the monsters he needs to worry about.

 

It’s the humans he’ll have to fight to survive.

 

If you liked The Last of Us and World War Z, you will be sure to enjoy The Ridden.

What Amazon readers are saying:

★★★★★ 'Great new book by Joshua Kern. A good twist on a 'zombie' book which integrates a realistic RPG aspect. Very well edited for a brand new book too.'

★★★★★ 'This was a good take on the 'zombie' team. I enjoyed reading this and would recommend it to anyone interested in the zombie apocalypse.'

★★★★★ 'I like it! Definitely an interesting take on the zombie apocalypse. I like the whole being able to upgrade themselves thing.'

★★★★★ 'This was easy to read. Great plot, keeps you interested.
I liked the humor and action in it.'

Release date: October 27, 2020

Print pages: 355

Sample

Prologue

 

Christopher leaned against the rough red-brick wall and wiped the blood from his mouth. He had grown used to having blood and fluids of all kinds on his clothes. Having it in his mouth was another matter, one he didn’t think he would ever get used to. The animals and humans that had been changed all paid no mind to where or what they bled on.

 

He gave one last kick to the still body in front of him in annoyance. The cloud of spores that it spewed out in death drifted over to him and he made sure to breathe them all in, not letting any escape.

 

His finger traced lightly through the cooling puddle of blood, slowly seeping into the cracks of the asphalt next to him. With the amount that had dribbled into his mouth during the short but intense fight, he wasn’t worried about bloodborne diseases. If there was something in it, he already had it after all. Besides, once the bugs came, people had stopped getting sick. Not that a single perk or two made up for what they had done to the world.

 

A groan of unintelligible sounds came from around the far corner of the building. The weaker ridden had long since lost all fine motor control and died, only the stronger and somewhat smarter ones were still around.

 

The survivors, the few he had seen outside of the cities at least, all had different names for the monsters that prowled through the once crowded streets. Walkers, the taken, cryptid, ridden, the most popular was also the least apt, zombies. For his part Chris was partial to ‘ridden’, in his mind it was the best fit. After all, that was what was happening, people were having their body’s hijacked and taken for a ride.

 

Bloody fingers moved from the sticky blood to a wooden bat on its last legs. The cracks running up and down its once sturdy length did nothing to belie its pitiful state. The bat had been new and undamaged when he found it hours earlier. His increased strength and speed had sent it hurtling towards countless heads in that time, cracking and breaking it a little more with each strike.

 

Muffling his own pained groan, muscles protesting at the simple movement, he pushed off the rough surface of the building with a tacky hand and went into a shambling run. If there was one thing the last few weeks had shown him, it was that he should have exercised even more before this all happened. Asthma had prevented him from exercising more than he already had at the gym before work most mornings.

 

Though, frankly, he was lucky he hadn’t drunk himself into a whiskey induced coma. That had seemed like the most reasonable response when he found his wife in bed with the neighbor.