The Body Collector: A Post-Apocalyptic Adventure Series

by T.J. Brearton

Mad Max meets Dune in this post-apocalyptic survival adventure set in the lawless perimeter of Manna City.

Out in the Perimeter, no one cares if you die...
Manna City is a climate-controlled utopia for the elite, enclosed in a massive wall. But when an unknown female is found dead in the shantytown outside full of desperate people hoping to get in, the local Body Collector takes an interest.

His usual job is to burn unclaimed dead to earn a meager wage. However, the victim bears the strange markings of the Olduvai survivalists who manage to live in the surrounding wasteland by cultivating dala, a medicinal plant with hallucinogenic properties.

The Olduvai want to know what happened to one of their own, and they’ll pay the Body Collector in supplies — maybe dala — so he can leave this place for good.

Unless, of course, her trail points him to what lies on the other side of the wall, and a truth about the world that can change everything.

Jump into an an action-thriller twisting around a conspiracy in a post-apocalyptic world, perfect for fans of William Gibson, Brandon Sanderson, Michael Crichton, and the game Fallout!

326 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 4, 2025

About the author

Timothy James Brearton lives in the Adirondack Mountains with his wife and three children. He's loved thrillers and police stories for most of his life. HABIT follows broken cop Brendan Healy down the rabbit hole of a human trafficking conspiracy. DEAD GONE delivers Florida cop Tom Lange into a criminal underworld and THE KILLING TIME introduces FBI agent Shannon Ames, a country girl in the big city.

http://tjbrearton.net/about

Reviews

[Wesley A Ouzts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique take on the Apocalypse from climate change

Well written and believable actions from protagonist to villains. A pleasure to read a interesting departure from the stereotypical stories that invariably follow the same bs formula!
Due to this departure from the trite formula writing so common in this genre, there constant surprises both good and bad. This made for an enjoyable read.
Thank you for daring to be different but not outlandish!

[David Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Body Collector is the 20th book by T.J. Brearton I’ve read over the last six years. Unlike the previous 19, this is the first book in the science fiction/post-apocalyptic genre. Several years ago, I exclusively read post-apocalyptic books, but I hit a point where they all seemed to be the same. Recently I’ve begun reading post-apocalyptic again in hopes of finding a book or series that would grab my attention causing me to binge read the series.

The Body Collector happens to be one of those books that grabbed my attention by being different from “all the rest in this genre.” Along with an original world, the characters are well developed and over the arc of the story their backstories trickle out allowing the reader to get to know the character and their world.

Sadly, I’m going to have to wait on the next book in this series. But it will be a book I keep looking for so I can revisit the world of the Body Collector as well as hanging out with the characters again.

[Kathy Wortham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark gritty layers of current and future

Interwoven in the story are parables for modern times. Then there are dark visions of the future of a wasted earth and a world made up of the haves and the have-nots. The true survivors are those who broke with society to live by older ways. In doing so they discovered, out in the desert, a plant that is a universal cure for almost everything. But, it's not easy to cultivate and becomes an item for both trade and blackmail. The haves life inside the walled city depends on it for survival more than any others, and they will do what is necessary to keep their supply plentiful.

[Daybreak · Rating 2 out of 5]

the book is written and edited well, it's more of a noir style and investigation. the the whole thing feels bloated and not streamlined. mc is an undertaker of sorts but he thinks he is the sheriff so he has to get himself involved unnecessarily with every petty crime that might get him killed and has nothing to do with the investigation sooo he doesn't come across as someone who lived in a post apocalypse world he just isn't street smart and more of a pacifist hero than anything else.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A world where humans fight for survival. A fallen world. A dystopia Greta T. worries will happen

I'm looking forward to reading more of this author. This is of a world that some believe could happen. For instance India and especially China have no restraints on CO2 emission.