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The Countdown
Six strangers. No memories. One way out.
They wake in a locked prison with no idea who they are or how they got there. Each finds a note—cryptic, manipulative, and claiming to hold the truth. But in a place built on lies, can they trust even themselves?
Their escape leads to a towering library where five baffling trials guard the path to freedom. With every challenge, alliances shift, secrets surface, and survival depends on knowing who to help—and who to leave behind.
Beyond the last door waits a barren island, a single boat, and a brutal only three can leave. Two must stay behind… and trust that one will return.
Told through interwoven perspectives, The Countdown is a tense, twist-filled locked-room mystery where every decision could be your last.
They wake in a locked prison with no idea who they are or how they got there. Each finds a note—cryptic, manipulative, and claiming to hold the truth. But in a place built on lies, can they trust even themselves?
Their escape leads to a towering library where five baffling trials guard the path to freedom. With every challenge, alliances shift, secrets surface, and survival depends on knowing who to help—and who to leave behind.
Beyond the last door waits a barren island, a single boat, and a brutal only three can leave. Two must stay behind… and trust that one will return.
Told through interwoven perspectives, The Countdown is a tense, twist-filled locked-room mystery where every decision could be your last.
210 pages, Paperback
Published November 8, 2025
About the author
S.M. Sykes
15 books18 followersS.M. Sykes is a multi-genre author with a relentless imagination, a taste for the catastrophic, and a deep love for the strange corners of speculative fiction. Whether it’s a world-ending apocalypse, invading dragons, twisted fairy tales, or the quiet terror of what lurks in the dark, Sykes crafts stories that pull readers to the edge of the unknown—and dares them to look over the side.
Best known for The Blue Series—including Eyes of Blue, A Dim Blue, Loss of Blue, and A Faded Blue—Sykes blends post-apocalyptic grit, emotional depth, and character-driven tension into an expansive universe filled with Deaders, spores, survivors, and the haunting cost of memory. The series has grown into a reader-favorite world with spin-offs like Lives of Blue: Stories from the Unseen and Starfall: First Days of the Apocalypse.
Outside of the Blue universe, Sykes continues to push genre boundaries. He’s tackled dark fantasy with Fantasy Slayer, a sword-and-dragon saga set in a broken, high-magic Earth; psychological horror with First Snow a dark Oz retelling in Blood Stained Bricks; a locked-room thriller in The Countdown; and cosmic-leaning monstrosities in Living Adjacent, his original anthology series showcasing new voices in horror.
Sykes is also the creator and editor behind SMSykes Anthologies, an emerging imprint dedicated to curated collections of horror, fantasy, and speculative fiction from independent and up-and-coming writers. He is passionate about building spaces for community, collaboration, and fresh storytelling—especially stories that explore fear, survival, and the human spirit under impossible pressure.
When he’s not writing, Sykes is usually building something—crafting new worlds, 3D-printing models for upcoming releases, designing promotional art, or supporting local events and libraries across Delaware. He works closely with his wife Tanya, who runs LetMeTryItCrafts, to bring bookish gifts, handcrafted art, and limited-edition collectibles to readers at conventions and fairs.
With dozens of projects in development, Sykes shows no signs of slowing down. He doesn’t pick genres—he picks catastrophes—and his readers have learned to expect the unexpected.
Best known for The Blue Series—including Eyes of Blue, A Dim Blue, Loss of Blue, and A Faded Blue—Sykes blends post-apocalyptic grit, emotional depth, and character-driven tension into an expansive universe filled with Deaders, spores, survivors, and the haunting cost of memory. The series has grown into a reader-favorite world with spin-offs like Lives of Blue: Stories from the Unseen and Starfall: First Days of the Apocalypse.
Outside of the Blue universe, Sykes continues to push genre boundaries. He’s tackled dark fantasy with Fantasy Slayer, a sword-and-dragon saga set in a broken, high-magic Earth; psychological horror with First Snow a dark Oz retelling in Blood Stained Bricks; a locked-room thriller in The Countdown; and cosmic-leaning monstrosities in Living Adjacent, his original anthology series showcasing new voices in horror.
Sykes is also the creator and editor behind SMSykes Anthologies, an emerging imprint dedicated to curated collections of horror, fantasy, and speculative fiction from independent and up-and-coming writers. He is passionate about building spaces for community, collaboration, and fresh storytelling—especially stories that explore fear, survival, and the human spirit under impossible pressure.
When he’s not writing, Sykes is usually building something—crafting new worlds, 3D-printing models for upcoming releases, designing promotional art, or supporting local events and libraries across Delaware. He works closely with his wife Tanya, who runs LetMeTryItCrafts, to bring bookish gifts, handcrafted art, and limited-edition collectibles to readers at conventions and fairs.
With dozens of projects in development, Sykes shows no signs of slowing down. He doesn’t pick genres—he picks catastrophes—and his readers have learned to expect the unexpected.
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