The Deadlands by Minerva Hart

In a world ravaged and reshaped by a monstrous virus, an unlikely pair attempt to save a girl from a Jhingoist cult.

Thirty years ago, the Splicer’s Sickness swept across the globe, turning all it infected into vicious, half-animal creatures and leaving everyone else to fend for themselves. Since then, life has adapted. That goes doubly for Karl Gearhart, a former soldier in the Alpine Safe Zone who has since deserted his group and gone to live in an abandoned factory. He is happy to live the same day over and over and spend his time tinkering.

But one day, after his home is compromised, he meets Nessa Shirokuma, a charming young archer on her way to New York City. The cult that lives there, the Lightbringers, have kidnapped her sister as part of their deluded mission to reestablish the pre-Sickness USA. Karl is convinced it’s a lost cause, but Nessa will not be dissuaded. Thus, they form a deal: He will accompany her to New York, and she in turn will help him find a new home.

It will be a dangerous journey, fraught with monsters of both the splicer and human persuasion. They will come across religious zealots, angry mobs, cannibals, and many more perils. All the while, they will learn to lean on each other as their partnership blooms into something more. But will it be enough to keep them alive?

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