Learning how to survive or handle challenging and unforeseen circumstances is one of the necessities of life. You may not have gotten yourself in such situations, but you can still educate yourself on how to survive them through books.
Survival fiction book genres develop their plots primarily on scenarios that need survival. These are mainly some of the most challenging scenarios a human being may have to face. Through the books, you imagine the situations encountered by the character(s).
Characters try to survive with the little they can get, and sometimes, they may even have to get by with nothing. You get to see how various circumstances can be navigated by visualizing what the victim(s) do to survive.
Below are some excellent survival fiction books to read this year.
Firth’s Chasm, by Travis James (2020)
Travis James faces a doomed situation when the jetliner he is on starts to break apart at the Arctic circle. He will have to live through a horrendous ordeal when he realizes that he will be alone and that no one is coming to help him.
Travis goes into survival mode while his damaged body keeps deteriorating. He is trapped in the wilderness and can’t travel south to seek safety. His situation forces him to become a man of means as he aches to go back to his family, who now believe he is dead. Travis will be pushed to his limits and beyond his ability as he navigates an unfriendly terrain.
He finally kicks off push south, but the trail is full of agony and death. Even the civilized world doesn’t concede that anyone survived. Travis is just another homeless man. He is disfigured, and he is in conflict with his mind about whether he should join his family since he now looks different or if he should save his family more grief by wandering off into the sunset. Travis will triumph as he survives with determination, integrity, and love.
I Am Still Alive, by Kate Alice Marshall (2018)
I am Still Alive is a heart-pounding story about revenge and survival in an unforgiving wilderness. Jess’s cabin has just burned to the ground, and she is all alone. She only knows that if she doesn’t act fast enough, she will die from the cold before she can even start worrying about food. But Jess is alive. At least for now. But can it remain so?
Past circumstances forced Jess to move into this cabin. She hadn’t seen her off-the-grid and survivalist dad for more than ten years. Then a car accident led to the death of her mother, and she sustained some injuries. That’s when she came to this remote Canadian Wilderness. Jess was just starting to build a relationship with her dad, but one of his past secrets came to light. Her father died, and she was left stranded.
She now only has her dad’s dog to keep her company. Jess must scavenge and hunt for food, build herself and the dog a new shelter, and try to keep herself warm. She will have bad days when the wild feels like it is out to wreck her. But Jess is strong and even stronger in a way she never thought of. She will have to survive as she seeks revenge for her father. She knows who murdered him.
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves, by Meg Long (2022)
This book will leave you breathless with its tale of survival and a newfound family with a unique twist.
The sled race claimed Sena Korhosen’s mother’s life half a decade ago. This is one of the reasons she dislikes the sled race. She is alone on a frozen planet and strives to make money in any way she can, up to when he double-crosses one of the local gangsters.
She is highly desperate to escape this place and flees alongside Iska, his prized fighting wolf. Iska has taken an offer from some researchers. They are ready to pay her but under one condition. Sena must use the skills her moms taught her about survival to enable them to finish their race. Tundra is, however, an insidious place. The ice never ends, and the weather is electrically charged.
This race will threaten everyone at every step, and Sena will have to figure out if she is capable enough to help this team survive the wild. She also has to determine whether She and Iska can get everyone out and alive.
Sena and Iska will form a strong bond and fight to get away from giant bears, ice goblins, temperature drops, collapsing ice, and a cruel gang leader out to trap them. The only question and concern driving them forward are where to turn with nowhere to hide.
The Light We Lost, by Kyla Stone (2022)
Sunlight gives life, but the sun can also be a source of destruction. But who will save you after all lights fail?
Shiloh wakes up to a dead body next to her, her brother is missing, and she cannot remember what happened. She decides to go looking for him with the help of the blazing and fiery northern lights.
Jackson Cross is haunted by the past and wants to catch a vicious killer. The problem is that all the clues he unravels lead him further into undefeatable darkness. Eli Pope is out of prison after a wrongful conviction, and he now wants exact vengeance on everyone who betrayed him.
First responder Lena Eston is also on a journey to rescue children belonging to the only one person she was unable to save.
Multiple solar storms are striking the earth, power grids are failing, transformers are exploding, and all the communication networks are cut off. The planet is now in the chaos following a power outage.
With society crumbling further, the survivors have to fight for their lives and all they hold dear. Devastation, depravity, hope, and perseverance are intertwined.
These Silent Woods, by Kimi Cunningham Grant (2021)
Cooper and Finch, his daughter, live in isolation in a cabin in the Appalachian Mountains. They have no electricity or connection to the outside. This is precisely how Cooper wants the situation, considering everything he must keep hidden.
Finch has grown up reading the books in the cabin. Living in the wilderness is beautiful but also brutal. She is now beginning to push back against the isolated life her dad has built for her. Cooper is also haunted by a past and painful truth that got them here.
Scotland and Jake are the only ones who know that Cooper and Finch exist. Scotland seems overly friendly and has obscure intentions. Jake is an old friend of Cooper, and he comes to visit them every winter with food and supplies. It becomes strange when Jake doesn’t show up, and that just sets off a chain of events that reveals how precarious the father and daughter’s situation is.
The boundaries of this safe haven will blur after a stranger wanders and shows up. Finch is also getting obsessed with her, and they may be in danger. Cooper will be faced with tough decisions after a disappearance threatens Finch’s life.
Continue reading this article on Joelbooks
Originally published at https://joelbooks.com on April 25, 2022.
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