The name says it all, and then some. I’ve had a post-apoc book itching away inside me for a very long time, ever since reading all those “Death Lands” books by James Axler, “Lucifer’s Hammer” by Larry Niven/Jerry P., “One Second After,” “Alas Babylon” — and many more. In a way, those books got together in my head, did the hinky-pinky, and out popped “Hell’s Children.”
The book is different than “Kick” or “Thief’s Odyssey” in that it’s written in 3rd person, not 1st. It’s also told from the perspective of a 14-year-old kid named Jack. Here’s the product description:
The world has gone to hell and it isn’t coming back.
It happened in a year: starvation, gangs of kids with guns, and every adult in the world dead from the Sickness. Houses are now mausoleums. Civilization lies in the hands of children who’ve never had to feed themselves or survive a winter without gas or electricity. Most will die. Others — a bare few — will tread a different path.
Fourteen-year-old Jack Ferris is a survivor — because his parents raised him that way. Leveraging qualities rare for his age, he must lead his desperate companions to a secret refuge. Too late, he learns that safety is a mirage, and that the high price of hope is paid in blood.
So yeah, it’s a little grim, haha. Don’t blame me — blame all those authors I mentioned. They ruined the world with nuclear bombs and stuff. In my world, the bombs are still there, waiting to be found by descendants of the survivors. I’m merciful, see?
If all this fun stuff interests you, pick it up and give it a read.
Here’s the link again: Hell’s Children: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller
John L. Monk 
Reblogged this on indiataylorblog.
I bought it this morning and read the first pages. Already I don’t want to put it down, but must work! Congratulations!
Who needs work! Thanks for the support 🙂
A new book? I had no idea. Looking forward to it.
I can’t believe I didn’t tell you. I could have sworn. Thanks for buying — hope you like!
Hi John. I have just finished reading Hells Children, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love dystopian, post apocalyptic novels and have read hundreds. I would love to see more interaction with those at the airport and to hear of the back grounds of other characters and things like how they are coping finding clean fresh water and what they plan to do when the gas for the cars goes bad! I am really looking forward to your next instalment comes out! Thank you for the enjoyable read
Helene xx
That’s great that you liked it! And thanks for letting me know 🙂 I plan to address at least some of this in the next book. Gasoline shouldn’t go bad for about 2 years tops. Diesel, about 5. Of course, being kids, they don’t know this. I think in the book you read, I mentioned how the cabins have a stream that feeds a pond. I probably should have been more explicit about that. Thanks for pointing it out. Still, they will travel beyond those places — for example, the airport as you say — and would need water there too. All good stuff to think about.
Again, thanks for reaching out!
Hey John! I heard about your book when I listened to the Rocking Self Publishing Podcast. I not only loved the show and gathered so many great ideas, but I also HAD to read this book that everyone is suddenly talking about. Long story short, I LOVED IT. I loved it so much, I’m buying the paperback (I read Kindle) so that my 15 year old son can read it. I think he’s going to really love it, and I’m excited to find a book that could get him back into reading.
I also wrote a review for it at my blog (https://crissilangwell.com/2016/09/08/book-crush-hells-children/).
Thank you so much for writing a great book, and also for sharing your secrets so that other authors can learn from your success. I look forward to reading your next book!
Thanks so much for reaching out 🙂 You read the ebook and are buying the paperback?! Now that’s high praise! Really hope your son likes it. Thank you for blogging about it. Also, glad you liked my RSPP show. It’s one of my favorite shows (big fan of Simon).
Cheers
I’m a fan of your Kick series and have started checking out PA/Dystopian novels and was glad to see you had a book in that genre. Loved Hells Children and can’t wait for the next in the series!
Thanks Rod, I appreciate it 🙂 Working on the next one now.
Hi John I just finished reading your book and I loved it! But I was just wondering when you will release the second and what it will be called thx
Hey, glad you liked the book! I’m hoping 1st quarter this year. It’s been slow going because of some personal stuff that threw off my schedule (sickness in family), but that seems to have resolved itself (all is well). I haven’t settled on a title yet, but if you subscribe to my mailing list (link on the main page) you’ll be the first to hear when it’s out. Again, thanks for reading, and for contacting!
Hi, I absolutely loved Hell’s Children, will a sequel be coming soon?
Sorry, just read through comments and seen my question has already been answered. Looking forward to the release. Do you have twitter/Facebook so I can follow progress? Thanks
Sadly, I don’t have a twitter account. But if you friend me on Faceboko, we can like each others’ cat videos 🙂 I’ll give you the link. Right now, I’m trying to stay off Facebook at least until the 1st draft is done, which should be in about 2 weeks I’m thinking.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006349118209
(if that link doesn’t work, just search for “John L. Monk”)
Cheers!
Thank you! I hope for the sequel to come out this quarter. I’m pretty far along with it 🙂