Arachnapocalypse! The Anthology — Justin Sloan

Arachnapocalypse! The Anthology is a collection of riveting tales about life in a grimdark post-apocalyptic world riddled with otherworldly horrors. Follow the adventures of people just trying to stay alive in the chaos that is Arachnapocalypse! The Arachnapocalypse! universe spans a significant chunk of time, starting when the Arachnids landed on Earth in 2018. Some of humanity manages to survive the arrival of the giant flying techno-spiders from space, but just barely. As the humans rebuild, new and wild dangers arise. This alternate timeline devolves into higher and higher stakes as the stories progress; from a body-possessing space-fungus to unhinged scientists to super-soldiers and even spider-loving cultists, there is something in this anthology for anyone who enjoys an excellent grimdark or sci-fi horror read! Now, a word from the creator of the Arachnapocalypse! universe, Zak Lettercast: Arachnapocalypse! The Anthology is my debut project, my literary baby. The creation of this universe came about in the winter of 2020. The pandemic was still in its early stages, and I had not written anything seriously in several months. As I began my work on a little one-shot story titled Violet Winter, I found that my writer's block was starting to melt. As it turns out, I was using the creative process to begin coping with everything that changed in my life that year, as I'm sure you'll see in my work.As these things sometimes do, the Arachnapocalypse! universe turned into more than just a therapy piece. The further I went into the story, the more there was to reveal through my writing, and the more I had to get out on paper. Over the next year, more stories in this universe revealed themselves to me, and a timeline began to form. At first, I was going to publish a collection of four short stories titled Arachnapocalypse! toward the end of 2021.But then an idea came to me. I really liked the thought of other people playing around in this little world I built. I reached out to some other authors and invited them to work on the project with me, with a goal publication date of October 2022. I couldn't offer them much, not even royalties. But the concept was exciting enough that I got a few takers, and we set to work getting the timeline fleshed out through the art of short storytelling.The stories in Arachnapocalyse! the Anthology offer glimpses into the end of the world as we knew it, and the dawn of a new and violent age. Each story centers around different characters, at different times and locations, all between the arrival of the Arachnids in late 2018 and the raid on the Mars outpost in the distant future. The universe and storytelling styles are very extra - and they're meant to be! The themes here are inspired by the likes of Warhammer, Star Trek, Event Horizon, The Walking Dead, and Starship Troopers.There's love and war, kindness and deception, and a whole lot of bugs.As authors and creatives, our goal is to provide the reader with captivating worlds that walk the line between fantastical and honest, to give you a place to escape, but also to make you feel something, to draw attention to the human condition and shine a light on the complexities and contradictions that come with being a person, all without taking ourselves too seriously. I hope these stories do that for you. If anything, I hope to give you an enjoyable afternoon away from whatever is going on in your life right now.As I write this, I have plans to work on some novels in this universe to be published in 2025. From there, who knows? A tabletop game, or graphic novels, or a tarot deck, or more books? Stay tuned for updates, and as always, thank you very much for supporting my art.Sincerely, Zak Lettercast