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Mike Kraus (Kenny Soward) Books in Order

Part ofKenny Soward Books in Order

Browse Kenny Soward and Mike Kraus collaborations in order, with quick summaries, shared background, and a simple guide to each disaster series.

Last updated: July 14, 2026

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Mike Kraus (Kenny Soward) books in publication order

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22 books

1

Those Poor, Poor Bastards

by Kenny Soward

2013

In 1868 Sierra Nevada, Nina Weaver and her father reach a railroad town just as zombies overrun it. To survive, they must face the undead, a brutal frontier, and supernatural horrors that reach beyond the grave.

2

The Ten Thousand Things

by Kenny Soward

2014

Nina Weaver and her uneasy allies cross the Sierra Nevada while undead horrors and a shadowy evil hunt them. As danger closes in, Nina must confront the spiritual powers tied to her Shoshone heritage.

3

Inferno

by Mike Kraus

2019

Injured and running out of options, Jake and his allies face a country battered by storms and sabotage. Sara's side of the family must endure the danger at home as the crisis deepens.

4

Surge

by Mike Kraus

2019

The storms intensify as Jake fights his way toward home and Sara struggles to protect the children. A wider conspiracy turns a weather emergency into a threat that could destabilize the country.

5

Tempest

by Mike Kraus

2019

Multiple Category Five hurricanes trap Jake Walton in Boston while his wife and children shelter in Tennessee. As attacks on American infrastructure begin, Jake risks everything to get back to his family.

6

Windburn

by Mike Kraus

2019

Leaving Boston behind does not make Jake's route home any safer. The Walton family remains caught between extreme weather, broken systems, and enemies using the chaos to pursue a larger plan.

7

Choke

by Mike Kraus

2020

The crop-borne catastrophe continues as survivors face hunger, sickness, and a dangerous landscape. Every mile toward safety brings new threats, forcing desperate people to decide who can be trusted.

8

Downburst

by Mike Kraus

2020

Jake draws closer to home, but the groups around him face new dangers in a battered nation. Storm damage, desperate survivors, and an unfolding conspiracy make every step toward reunion harder.

9

Exist

by Mike Kraus

2020

As the spore disaster remakes the country, survival becomes more than avoiding infection. The remaining travelers must find a way to endure hunger, danger, and the constant fear that nowhere is truly safe.

10

Fight

by Mike Kraus

2020

Food is scarce, disease remains close, and survivors must defend what little they have. The struggle to stay alive becomes a fight over supplies, shelter, and the fragile alliances holding groups together.

11

Frostpoint

by Mike Kraus

2020

The final battle lines form as Jake and Sara's family confront the forces behind the catastrophic storm season. Getting home is no longer enough, they must fight for the future left to them.

12

Spore

by Mike Kraus

2020

America's crops vanish overnight, followed by a deadly illness linked to contaminated air and soil. As the country collapses, scattered survivors head west, searching for food, shelter, and a way to escape the spores.

13

Torch

by Mike Kraus

2020

The survivors press onward through a country ruined by crop collapse and illness. With resources dwindling and threats closing in, they must protect one another while searching for a place worth rebuilding.

14

Firewalk

by Mike Kraus

2021

Mega-eruptions and shifting tectonic plates devastate the world as Ben Willard tries to reach his family. Government officials need his theory of the catastrophe, but Ben knows his children need him more.

15

Fracture

by Mike Kraus

2021

Devastating earthquakes and tsunamis strike the West Coast, separating geologist Ben Willard from his family. As the disaster widens, Ben must evade government pressure and find a way back to the people he loves.

16

Split

by Mike Kraus

2021

The long fight against the spore-ravaged world forces survivors onto difficult, separate paths. With illness, shortages, and fear still shaping every decision, staying alive may require choices that split the group apart.

17

Taken

by Mike Kraus

2021

An EMP and fresh earthquakes bring the eastern United States to the brink of collapse. Ben races toward his parents while Pam and the children flee toward a cabin, pursued by danger on every side.

18

Trapped

by Kenny Soward

2021

The Willard family's struggle continues as the geological disaster reshapes the country. Separated survivors face dangerous travel, failing infrastructure, and the hard choices required to keep moving toward one another.

19

Eruption

by Mike Kraus

2022

With the world still reeling from seismic collapse, volcanic violence raises the stakes again. Ben and his family must survive a worsening landscape while the search for answers becomes more urgent and more dangerous.

20

Pilgrimage

by Kenny Soward

2022

The road through a shattered America grows longer and more perilous for the Willards and their allies. Reaching safety demands endurance, trust, and sacrifices as the disaster continues to spread.

21

Rescue

by Kenny Soward

2022

Separated family members and allies push through a broken country in search of those left behind. Rescue offers hope, but every plan is complicated by danger, scarce resources, and a world still falling apart.

22

The Road Home

by Mike Kraus

2022

After months of geological catastrophe, the survivors make their final push toward home. Reunions, safety, and the truth behind the disaster all feel close, but the road still demands one more fight.

Mike Kraus (Kenny Soward) books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Spore"

    Spore

    by Mike Kraus

    2020Spore, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Choke"

    Choke

    by Mike Kraus

    2020Spore, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Fight"

    Fight

    by Mike Kraus

    2020Spore, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Exist"

    Exist

    by Mike Kraus

    2020Spore, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Torch"

    Torch

    by Mike Kraus

    2020Spore, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Split"

    Split

    by Mike Kraus

    2021Spore, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Those Poor, Poor Bastards"

    Those Poor, Poor Bastards

    by Kenny Soward

    2013Dead West, Book 1
  8. Book cover for "The Ten Thousand Things"

    The Ten Thousand Things

    by Kenny Soward

    2014Dead West, Book 2
  9. Book cover for "Fracture"

    Fracture

    by Mike Kraus

    2021Fracture, Book 1
  10. Book cover for "Taken"

    Taken

    by Mike Kraus

    2021Fracture, Book 2
  11. Book cover for "Firewalk"

    Firewalk

    by Mike Kraus

    2021Fracture, Book 3
  12. Book cover for "Trapped"

    Trapped

    by Kenny Soward

    2021Fracture, Book 4
  13. Book cover for "Eruption"

    Eruption

    by Mike Kraus

    2022Fracture, Book 5
  14. Book cover for "Pilgrimage"

    Pilgrimage

    by Kenny Soward

    2022Fracture, Book 6
  15. Book cover for "Rescue"

    Rescue

    by Kenny Soward

    2022Fracture, Book 7
  16. Book cover for "The Road Home"

    The Road Home

    by Mike Kraus

    2022Fracture, Book 8
  17. Book cover for "Tempest"

    Tempest

    by Mike Kraus

    2019Weathering the Storm, Book 1
  18. Book cover for "Surge"

    Surge

    by Mike Kraus

    2019Weathering the Storm, Book 2
  19. Book cover for "Inferno"

    Inferno

    by Mike Kraus

    2019Weathering the Storm, Book 3
  20. Book cover for "Windburn"

    Windburn

    by Mike Kraus

    2019Weathering the Storm, Book 4
  21. Book cover for "Downburst"

    Downburst

    by Mike Kraus

    2020Weathering the Storm, Book 5
  22. Book cover for "Frostpoint"

    Frostpoint

    by Mike Kraus

    2020Weathering the Storm, Book 6

Series background & context

This page gathers Kenny Soward's work with Mike Kraus. It is best treated as a collaboration shelf rather than one continuous series. The books share a clear interest in disaster, survival, and people trying to get back to the ones they love, but each named series begins with its own catastrophe and its own cast.

The setups are big. A hurricane season becomes a national crisis in Weathering the Storm. America's food supply collapses in Spore. The ground itself begins to fail in Fracture. In Edge of Extinction, an Arctic industrial disaster sends fire and toxins into the atmosphere. The details change, but the stories stay close to the practical problems that arrive after the first shock.

Getting home is rarely simple.

Soward and Kraus often split their narratives between relatives, friends, and strangers in different locations. One character may be stranded hundreds or thousands of miles away. Another may be guarding children, supplies, or a fragile home base. That structure lets the books show both the scale of a disaster and the smaller choices that decide whether a group holds together.

Expect fast-moving post-apocalyptic thrillers with travel, shortages, weather, damaged infrastructure, and communities under strain. There are dangerous people in these worlds, but the stories also make room for cooperation, improvised plans, and the stubborn habit of helping when it would be easier to look away.

The series are connected by mood more than plot. If one premise works for you, this page makes it easy to find the next one, whether you prefer storms, disease outbreaks, earthquakes, fires, or a more general collapse-of-society scenario.

Start with the first book in any individual series, not the first title on this combined page. Each opening volume introduces a new disaster, new characters, and a new road through the aftermath.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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