Apocalypse Parenting

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

A few minutes ago, Meghan Moretti’s biggest concern was getting the kids’ athletic clothes washed in time for practice this evening. Now, it seems that Earth has been forced into participating in some high-stakes intergalactic reality television. All electrical wiring has been slagged, and most combustibles neutralized. Some kind of evil space rodents are appearing on the front lawn, too.

Like any parent, Meghan’s first instinct is to keep her young kids safely away from the monsters, but an odd stroke of luck has her coming into some advanced information about this dangerous game. She learns that her kids will have to fight too.

What’s a mom to do?

Updates Tuesdays and Thursdays. Book 4 will be removed from Royal Road on Friday, August 8, in preparation for publication.

Find Apocalypse Parenting

Book 1: Time to PlayonAmazonandAudibleBook 2: Making FriendsonAmazonandAudibleBook 3: Hide and SeekonAmazonandAudibleBook 4: Breaking RulesonAmazonand Audible - releasing August 26, available for preorder now!

There's alsoEngineer's Odyssey, a standalone in the Apocalypse Parenting universe I intend to leave on Royal Road indefinitely. It's intended to be a good starting point, but if you're already an Apocalypse Parenting fan, you'd probably enjoy reading it between books 3 & 4 of the main series. You can also find the more polished version onAmazon,Audible,or request it in your library through Libby/Overdrive!

You can also sign up for my mailing list to receive a freeshort storyset in the Apocalypse Parenting universe.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2021
Author: 300YearOldMagician

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 1,543
Views: 184,272

Chapters(62 total)

What readers say about Apocalypse Parenting

“To summarize this story: System apocalypse caused by aliens as a TV show. The main character is a mom of 3 children (9, 6 and 3 years old). no one has a way out. Kids and the elderly are being treated just like everyone else. This part of summary makes it d…”
yggdrasil_dreamerRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“It's a good story. It keeps you engaged and entertained. The only thing that could be improved is character building - kids are a little bit too mature, understanding and eloquent for their ages (I would give them extra 3 years with their maturity levels),…”
ClavitaRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

yggdrasil_dreamerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
To summarize this story: System apocalypse caused by aliens as a TV show. The main character is a mom of 3 children (9, 6 and 3 years old).
no one has a way out. Kids and the elderly are being treated just like everyone else.
This part of summary makes it different from almost all others stories of its kind. In most of the dozen I read, the younger children are either protected specifically (with or without the mother) or left with their families like some sorts of NPC. They hinder the adults and need to be kept in security. Until they are old enough to suddenly fight like adults, when they reach 12 or 15 or 18. It can vary a lot depending on the author. And reveal a lot about where the story is going. Same in the rare times they are all immediately killed.
Not here! Every human might have to fight a monster alone. Even a newborn or an ailing 100 years old grandmother.
Even if it is awful for human sensitivities, it unfortunately makes a lot of sense for the very different viewpoint of an alien race. After all there is hardly an absolute consensus on the age of adulthood among humans cultures. And many other species have been used for the game. So under a very hypocritical basis of equality, no one is spared.
In almost all other stories the death of children is simply used as a way to keep the hero on their roaring rampage for revenge.
Here we follow a mother who intend to keep her children alive... Whatever the cost?
As of chapter 53 when I write this, it is still unclear how far the mom will go. But I am OK with it. As we follow her, it becomes clear how much her parenting is total improvising more often than not.
That feels very realistic with such circumstances. And a few times she might have taken a slippery slope, her children or friends were there.
Style: The general feeling of the piece as created by the author's word choice, literary devices, and unique way of writing.
I have seen better written works, but very few. It still is probably the location where t
ClavitaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It's a good story. It keeps you engaged and entertained. The only thing that could be improved is character building - kids are a little bit too mature, understanding and eloquent for their ages (I would give them extra 3 years with their maturity levels), plus the secondary characters are a little bit too 1-dimensional. As I said it's literally the only thing that I could think of that could be improved. The rest of the story - worldbuilding, the system, pace, plot development - is as close to perfection as a human could get. I cannot recommend this story enough (if you like kid characters, that is).
DfensRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
An interesting take on the stystem apocalypse genre: Ms MC has kids she need to protect! The characters all have a believable 'voice', even the kids. Many times I've seen kids basically written as squashed adults. Not here.
Characters can plan and do clever things without feeling like some of the inhumanly calculating OP protaganists. They can also mess up or be surprised and it doesn't feel like they were handed a plot-mandated idiot ball.
There is an interesting setup to the system to dig into, but the blue boxes are kept in check enough that they aren't taking over and keeping the story from progressing.
Really interested to see where this goes.
EliXiR_Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Being a mom is hard. Being a mom in a world that's gone mad with a system apocalypse? God dayum.
In this story, the author somehow manages to combine the tediousness of being a mother to three adorably annoying children, with the rather stale concept of a system apocalypse, in a way that is not only entertaining, but actually relatable.
I didn't even know that was a thing that could be done.
Simply put, I'm amazed at this burgeoning masterpiece, and eager to see where it takes me.
rexcorvusRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I just read through Apocalypse Parenting on KU after seeing it recommended on site while waiting for The Captain (Will Wight's new book) and had Draw Attention cast on me with that cover! Normally, I'm pretty cautious about Amazon's recommendations since they aren't the best... but this time it totally was! I blazed through both books and the RR backlog in the past couple of days and loved every minute of it. Meghan is such a compelling character, I love the community building, and the way her kids are depicted as actual children that aren't burdens, but growing human beings.
Thankfully I've made a habit of searching good Kindle books on Google and Royal Road or I would've missed the fact that book three was out! If you have KU, you have to read the first two books come back up. It's definitely worth it.
ChronsyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
As a parent myself I am so glad I have this book to prepare for the impending apocalypse! I am hooked and can't wait for more! I see my kid in nearly every action taken here and I would probably not do nearly as well as the parents in this book. Also Pointy rules!
Justin MarksRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Just found this and read all the posted chapeters. It's a refreshing take on the genre and well paced and edited. I am enjoying the story and character building with a good mix of realism without being over the top. Can't wait to read what comes next and see the system build out. There are a good number of threads in place for story advancement.
Miraie AwajiRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Loving it so much!
A good mix of action, comedy and education!!
The writing style is smooth and descriptive which makes it easy to imagine without interruptions by illogical or strange sentences.
A very talented writer with a fascinating and gripping story.
Thank you for the good reading time :))
Keep up the good work!
MooshieDRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a fantastic story. I've read tons of stories on RR, but none of them have resonated with my real life the way this has because I have two kids the same ages as in the story and am now constantly humored by the communication between the mom and the kids as well as over anxious because of the exact same thing. Balancing getting your kids to do something they need to do with having them understand why and getting it all done within a time limit and (hopefully) still having them happy and appreciative afterward.... it's a legit minute to minute struggle once you're an involved parent:)
anyhoo. Great story. Loving it. Despite the anxiety and infiltration of my dreams.
I'll also probably get some extra duct tape next trip to the hardware store.
thx author!
SailWriteRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Brillant take on an apocalypse.
Meghan is thrown into the thick of it and there is nothing more important than protecting her family. The people who brought the apocalypse aren't friendly, fair or helpful. Meghan and those around her must fight for every piece of information and safety.
The system is interesting and abilities compelling. Lots of juicy moral challenges too.