Species Books in Order

The Species series is Michael McBride's early blend of apocalypse fiction, science fiction, and zombie-like creature horror. It starts with a catastrophe that wipes away the ordinary world in a matter of moments. The survivors are not simply trying to find food and shelter. They are trying to understand what has changed and why the dead are no longer staying dead.

In Species, an unexpected event devastates the area around Denver and leaves only a small number of people alive. The survivors are forced onto the road, where they face an enemy that is numerous, evolving, and far more dangerous than it first appears. Their search for answers becomes a fight to avoid becoming part of the new order of life.

Humanity is no longer in charge.

The terror comes from alien organisms that use dead human bodies as hosts. They reanimate and alter those bodies, creating creatures that look familiar enough to be unsettling but are no longer human. One young survivor, William, has an unusual connection to the creatures, adding another layer of uncertainty to the group's attempt to stay alive.

Chronicles of the Apocalypse continues and expands the story. It brings together the original novel and its sequel, Species: The Hive, following the survivors as they try to find a way to fight back. Their possible solution requires going into a city overrun by the creatures, while the enemy itself continues adapting.

The tone is urgent and grim, but the series is also built around investigation. McBride is interested in the science, or apparent science, behind the disaster. Characters do not have the luxury of understanding everything before acting, yet they keep looking for patterns that might offer a chance of survival.

It is a harsh road-trip apocalypse.

Start with Species, which introduces the event, the survivors, and the creatures reshaping the world. Then continue to Chronicles of the Apocalypse for the larger follow-up story. Reading in that order gives the character relationships and the escalating threat their intended weight.