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Storm Warning: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller

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The blackout was the beginning. The plague was the plan. This is the endgame.

Six years after a coronal mass ejection silenced the grid, humanity isn't rebuilding. It's losing. The engineered plague that rose from Catalyst's ashes is still doing exactly what its architects designed it to do—evolve. The infected aren't shambling anymore. They're organizing. Hunting with purpose. Converging. And something new has emerged from the horde—something that watches, plans, and waits.

Off the Costa Rican coast, four thousand souls aboard a crippled cruise ship may be one of the last organized remnants of the old world. Supplies are failing. The jungle is turning hostile. And a traumatized boy has begun filling page after page with drawings no one understands—until they're spread across the war room floor and the pattern emerges. It's a map. It's a countdown. And it says the storm is coming for them all.

Deep in the Georgia woods, one man has spent four years alone with what the plague's architect made him. Scott Montgomery loved her. He killed her. And the serum she hid in his blood is still working—making him faster, stronger, and invisible to the infected. She built him for a purpose she never lived to reveal.

Now, as the remnants of mankind face the war Catalyst set in motion years ago, humanity's survival may hinge on its most dangerous

What exactly did she build him to do?

Storm Warning is Book 5 in the bestselling Catalyst series—a post-apocalyptic thriller where the end of the world was only the opening move.

594 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 21, 2026

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JK Franks

6 books4 followers

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
3 reviews
August 2, 2026
Disappointed

Couldn't wait to read the fifth instalment of this series but was very disappointed. The story line is fine but the numerous repetitions are very off-putting. Same phrases are used over and over until it actually become irritating, like the lilt of the ship. Also long drawn-out pieces with no other purpose but taking up space. One part of the book seems to be a section that was supposed to have been cut from the book but was then included due to poor editing. Some serious revision is needed. I really enjoyed the previous four books but this one felt tedious most of the same time.
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Author 51 books1,845 followers
August 8, 2026
‘What doesn’t kill you doesn’t make you stronger. It makes you meaner

Georgia author JK Franks specializes his writing skills on the post-apocalyptic genre with thirteen novels published to date – including his popular Catalyst Series DOWNWARD CYCLE, KINGDOMS OF SORROW, AMERICAN EXODUS, GHOST COUNTRY, and now STORM WARNING - Catalyst Book 5. According to Franks, “Really interesting things happen to people when it all goes sideways. Good dystopian stories just peel away all pretenses of civilized behavior and societal norms. What’s left when you expose all that is just rich characters with raw human needs and wants. This provides an opportunity for a writer to really tell an honest story.”

JK provides a carefully distilled synopsis: ‘The blackout was the beginning. The plague was the plan. This is the endgame. Six years after a coronal mass ejection silenced the grid, humanity isn't rebuilding. It's losing. The engineered plague that rose from Catalyst's ashes is still doing exactly what its architects designed it to do—evolve. The infected aren't shambling anymore. They're organizing. Hunting with purpose. Converging. And something new has emerged from the horde—something that watches, plans, and waits. Off the Costa Rican coast, four thousand souls aboard a crippled cruise ship may be one of the last organized remnants of the old world. Supplies are failing. The jungle is turning hostile. And a traumatized boy has begun filling page after page with drawings no one understands—until they're spread across the war room floor and the pattern emerges. It's a map. It's a countdown. And it says the storm is coming for them all. Deep in the Georgia woods, one man has spent four years alone with what the plague's architect made him. Scott Montgomery loved her. He killed her. And the serum she hid in his blood is still working—making him faster, stronger, and invisible to the infected. She built him for a purpose she never lived to reveal. Now, as the remnants of mankind face the war Catalyst set in motion years ago, humanity's survival may hinge on its most dangerous question: What exactly did she build him to do?’

STORM WARNING is a fine book, one of the best CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) post apocalyptic this reader has read. After reading this book the first word that come to mind is Splendid! Writing of this order is too rarely encountered and even for those who usually avoid post-apocalyptic stories, this one is so well conceived and written that it supersedes genre and is simply fine writing. And the quiet message of survival in a world that seems shattered is most appropriate at this time. Very highly recommended

1 review
September 28, 2026
catalyst books

That didn’t end right what happened to Scott friends? And what happened to Scott? I learn the book I couldn’t. I couldn’t put him down, but I’m disappointed in the end. Thank you.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews