Title: End Time (The End Time Saga Book 1)
Author: Daniel Greene
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic/Horror/Military
Book Blurb:
Screams in the jungle are only the beginning... Dr. Joseph Jackowski is a CDC disease research specialist deep in the jungles of the Congo witnessing the horrifying next phase in evolution. Hell awaits Mark Steele and a team of counterterrorism agents sent to extract the personnel from the besieged US Embassy Kinshasa... Gwen Reynolds, a Red Cross worker from Iowa, prepares for a disaster, but finds it on the streets of the District of Columbia. United States Department of State Under Secretary Michael Kinnick is tasked with sweeping an embassy terrorist hostage situation under the rug. The ruthless leader of a Congolese militia group, Jacobin Kosoko, races toward Kinshasa to find treatment for his dying son. They all collide with the dead in what is to become the deadliest outbreak in human history. No character is safe. You will follow Special Forces teams, bands of survivors, religious fanatics, counterterrorism units, biker gangs, and farmers as the government tries to stem the tide of the dead and the nation is turned into a hellish landscape. Who will rise? Who will fall? The only certainty is the dead will rule over all. Start the post-apocalyptic series perfect for fans of Nicholas Sansbury Smith, DJ Molles, Anthony Melchiorri, Tom Abrahams, and Mark Tufo. Readers are calling the series: "...the best ZA in awhile period." "Grueling choices, mixed with rapid-fire action, is a hallmark of this series." "Greene has raised the stakes yet again and the suspense doesn't stop." "With every new book in the Saga the stakes get higher and the action explodes off the page."
Excerpt:
Joseph’s gaze fell upon a man seated against the cafeteria wall. “Why is this happening?” he said loudly, staring into space.
As if God had answered his prayers, Joseph heard the prominent swoosh, swoosh, swoosh of a helicopter, and the building shuddered as it set down on the rooftop helipad. There was hope. There would always be hope. People glanced up with light in their eyes. They would make it, after all. This disaster would come to an end. The wagons were circled, and now, the cavalry had arrived. People rose up and flooded toward the exit, and Joseph found himself in the middle.
People jostled into the hallway bumping each other’s shoulders appearing polite but on edge.
“I need everyone to go to the roof in an orderly fashion,” yelled a helmeted Marine guard in full battle dress. He elbowed open the door to the stairwell, his long gun slung across his body as he directed them.
Blood red flood lights coated the stairwell and dimly lit the way. It was as if the darkness would hide their actions. They ignored the guard’s instructions, and as soon as they hit the stairs, they started running in a state of panic. They pushed and shoved, scrambling for position as they sprinted up the stairs. Joseph got caught up in the rush and lost sight of Harkin. Shoulders, arms and hands drove him forward. Soon, he found himself doing the same, as he put a hand into the person’s back in front of him, fear in his gut driving him onward. A woman tripped, hands reaching out to brace her fall.
“Someone please help,” she cried. No one bothered to give her a second glance.
Joseph couldn’t stop. The tide of people swept Joseph up. He made a feeble reach to help her; at least that’s what he told himself. The last thing he saw of the woman was her bloodied face, stricken with fear as she tried to use a handrail to pull herself upright.
The rooftop door opened with a bang, and the staffers bolted through. They ran for the helicopter, becoming a frenzied mob.
The only thing that slowed them down were two DS agents in full tactical gear. Vests featuring bullet holders, guns, and cylindrical things hanging from clips. The militant contraptions went beyond Joseph’s understanding. He had never even held a gun.
The agents held up their hands. “Stop!” they shouted, attempting to bring order to the mob. Joseph recognized Agent Yang from an earlier deployment. “Keep your heads down,” they yelled over the rotor blades, hands cupped to their mouths.
“Women and children first,” shouted the other agent.
“Get in line!” shouted Agent Yang.
One man led his family aboard the aircraft, and then another. The number of seats dwindled rapidly like the worst game of musical chairs he had ever played in his life.
Joseph could feel a swell of panicked energy from the civilians around him. They all wanted on. They didn’t want to be left behind like some less vigilant creature of Noah’s biblical flood. They were like animals that had been backed into a corner: shaking with fright, willing to do anything to survive. A staffer in a sports jacket fell forward, knocking into Agent Yang.
Yang tried to block the staffer from entering the helo, and a scuffle ensued. There was no way everyone could leave on the lone chopper; it was just too full. It would have to go and come back. It has to come back, thought Joseph. Unless I can somehow squeeze to the front. He turned sideways and weaved his way forward.
“Wait your turn, asshole,” shouted a staffer, putting a rough hand on Joseph’s shoulder. Joseph wriggled in fear, slipping through the man’s hands. Now he had a front row seat to the end of all his hope.
Agent Yang extracted himself from the man’s grasp, striking the staffer in the face. “You, stay back,” he bellowed, pointing his MP5 submachine gun at the staffer, more out of fear than malice. “This bird’s full. The next one’ll be here shortly.”
The man clutched his face where he had been struck, crinkling in hate. “Fuck you. I want on THIS one,” he yelled.
He lunged for Yang’s gun and, caught off guard, Yang fell backward, excitedly ripping a few rounds into the crowd before losing his grip on the weapon. The two men rolled around on the ground, fighting for control.
The woman next to Joseph dropped to her knees, holding her stomach. She pulled her hand away from the wound, lips quivering as she stared down at her own blood. Everyone gaped at the woman in silence as she gasped for breath.
“Ahhhh,” she wailed in pain bringing a bittersweet drenched hand toward her face. Everyone just stared. Joseph’s jaw dropped. The man responsible for their safety had shot one of their own. That was the turning point.
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
Readers are calling the award-winning series: "...the best ZA in awhile period." "Grueling choices, mixed with rapid-fire action, is a hallmark of this series." "Greene has raised the stakes yet again and the suspense doesn't stop." "With every new book in the Saga the stakes get higher and the action explodes off the page."
Start the first installment of the award-winning post-apocalyptic saga in the same vein as Nicholas Sansbury Smith, DJ Molles, Anthony Melchiorri, Tom Abrahams, and Mark Tufo.
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Author Biography:
Daniel is the award-winning author of The End Time Saga and the historical fiction Northern Wolf Series. Whether it’s a saber charge in the American Civil War or a gun battle between two rival bands surviving a hellish landscape, he is known for his ability to embed every page with fast-paced action, thrilling suspense, and gritty realism. He is an avid traveler and physical fitness enthusiast with a deep passion for history. The works of George R.R. Martin, Steven Pressfield, Bernard Cornwell, Robert Jordan, and George Romero have inspired his work. Although he is a Midwesterner for life, he's lived in Virginia long enough to consider it home. He is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association, the Historical Novel Society, and the Military Writers Society of America.
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