Palisade Meridian: Fallout Cruise

by Clinton H. Simpson

The world ended while they were on vacation.

Now four thousand people are stranded at sea.

And survival may depend on who controls the ship.

Carter Davis boarded the luxury cruise liner Palisade Meridian expecting seven days of sunshine and family time with his wife and three kids.

For the first twenty-four hours, it’s perfect.

Then the world goes silent.

The internet dies. News broadcasts freeze. Fragmented radio calls begin naming cities struck by massive explosions across the globe. With communication collapsing and major ports potentially destroyed, Captain Elias Rane makes a chilling the ship will not return to land.

Now four thousand frightened passengers are trapped in the middle of the Gulf with no clear answers, no safe harbor, and no way home.

As fear spreads and order begins to fracture, Carter realizes the greatest threat may not be the ruined world beyond the horizon.

It may be the desperate people trapped on the ship with him.

468 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 28, 2026

About the author

Clinton H Simpson is an Amazon bestselling author of thrillers, horror, and post apocalyptic fiction.

His Palisade series began with Palisade Meridian: Fallout Cruise, a survival thriller that asks a terrifying question: What happens when nuclear war erupts while thousands of passengers are stranded aboard a cruise ship? The story continues through Palisade Horizon: Hostile Waters and Palisade Survivors: Veracruz, completing the Palisade trilogy.

His newest novel, Ready or Not, Here I Come: The Origin of Harlan Hayes, takes readers in a darker direction. Set around a small Missouri town and a legend that refuses to stay buried, the story follows what happens when a group of teenagers ignores a warning, touches the headstone of a boy who died in 1883, and discovers that some childhood games were never meant to be played.

Clinton is also the author of the upcoming science fiction novel Mars Ascendant, the beginning of an epic story about humanity’s future on Mars and a colony beginning to question Earth’s control.

Across genres, Clinton’s stories focus on ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances, the choices they make when the rules disappear, and how far they will go to protect the people they love.

When he isn’t writing, Clinton is a business owner who enjoys playing guitar, painting, cooking, gardening, and developing the next story that probably won’t let his characters have an easy day.

Reviews

[Corinne Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just found Palisade Meridian and I can honestly say that I was hooked from the start. A very exciting and thrilling read, with plenty of tense moments on board the Cruise Ship. Loved Carter and his family, very likeable. Definitely recommend starting this series.

[Kimmy C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not normally a sucker for the Click On The Amazon Ad For The Book Because The Algorithm Knows I Like Dystopia Amongst Other Subjects thing, but here we are. I quite enjoyed this 2-for-the-price-of-one locked room style thriller, in which our main family boards a cruise ship ready for a well overdue family holiday. It’s a big ship, 4000 guests (my idea of Hell - I max out at a 400 person cruise, and even then I have to escape when it gets too peopley), so plenty of different types of people. Shortly into the cruise - a series of nuclear attacks on major US cities changes the world as they know it, and now being like Lord Of The Flies, but with a drinks package, the order on the ship breaks down, factions form, and violence happens. After the ship is wrecked, we change our focus to an island, where the remaining castaways must survive off the land, and avoid the threat of the survivor group who wishes to control all - through any means possible, meaning we’re now Lord Of The Flies, but with sharpened sticks. Oh wait, that happened too.
But an enjoyable read, fairly quickly paced, sort of predictable outcome, and a nice little set up for book 2.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Technically the story isn't bad so why 1 star? Because I bought a book called Fallout Cruise with a blurb about 4000 people being stuck on a cruise ship as the world ends in Nuclear disaster. I expected a book that takes place on a cruise ship with all the tension and craziness of 4000 people being stuck in close proximity as everything around them breaks down. That premise was intriguing to me and the sole reason I bought and started reading the book. The problem is, once the people on the ship find out what's happened they're only on the ship for another day before the boat grounds itself at an island that the main characters escape too. There were no altercations or note or any action whatsoever on the ship. The author also like to tell instead of show. Once on the island we are told of stuff that happens with Rios and his crew. A throw away line for an event that should have been part of the book and the action. I don't think the author had any idea how to write the story in the environment of the ship and got them off ASAP. Also, once on the island our main characters instantly knew how to build huts and do survival stuff.

TLDR: This is a bait and switch book. The tile and blurb are a lie.

[John Valley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started at 3 moving to 4 but the Rios confration at the end did me in. Rios threatened & brutualized people on the ship & once on the island he kidnapped & tortured the native island people there, then had 3 of Carter's people right in front of him, along with torturing & killing Elena. So what happens when Rios's mob comes to attack them - they shot Steele then let Rios & everyone leave. How many readers where screaming what an idiot; Rios was coming back.
And they never went back & got the rest of the guns from the ship - leaving them for anyone, along with stripping the ship clean.
Frustrating ending.

[Ann Bradbury · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book of two halves. It started out very absorbing and interesting, but about halfway the whole style changed (after the characters leave the ship). It was reminiscent of very long, wordy posts seen on Facebook these days that all have the same flat tone and are surely GenAI-generated as they are very repetitive. (I wouldn't have mentioned this as it's too easy to accuse people incorrectly, but for the discovery explained in next para.)

Ploughed on to find out what happened to the characters, but most of the main ones were killed off. At the end was an afterword which said the author used Chat-GPT to assist in writing and editing the book. Was very disappointed to find my suspicions were founded. Can't understand why this was the case when the first half didn't read like that at all and it would have been fine if the rest was to that standard. Very odd but won't be continuing the series in view of this development. A 2 star rating, which would have been lower, but am giving credit for the first part.

[Clinton Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readers Choice rated this book a perfect 5/5 in every category and said “this book is the best of the best in post nuclear survival fiction. I highly recommend”- Jamie Michele, Reader’s Choice

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good

A good book, I enjoyed it very much , characters were interesting , I liked the mail character, look forward to reading book 2

[Debbie Genge · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 39%

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. First in a trilogy.

[Sally Fowler · Rating 2 out of 5]

unrealistic

I like action books, but this one went to the moment they knew they were in trouble Everyone was picking sides. I’m sure hoping that’s not the way the world would go.