Massachusetts Fall 3 (In The October Fall World)

by Phineas Strange · January 2026

You may know me as Phineas Strange — but I also write under the name Michael McDonald. My wife writes as Karen McDonald. The Fall Series is a collection of post-apocalyptic fiction set within the October Fall World. Four standalone series, twelve books in total, that can be read in any order you choose. Whether you start in Indiana, Boston, New Hampshire, or Massachusetts, you'll find yourself dropped into a world forever changed, following ordinary people navigating extraordinary circumstances. Each series is its own story, its own community, its own fight to survive. But they all share the same broken world — and the same belief that even in the darkest of times, people find ways to endure. If stories about resilience, survival, and the stubborn persistence of hope speak to you, I think you'll feel right at home here. If you enjoy these twelve books, I'd also encourage you to explore the entire In The October Fall World series — multiple authors, multiple stories, all centered around one cataclysmic event. It's a shared universe unlike anything else in post-apocalyptic fiction. Available from Raventhorne Books on Amazon.

— Phineas Strange

About Massachusetts Fall 3 (In The October Fall World)

The lights are still out—and now belief itself has become a weapon. As the aftermath of the EMP deepens, Matt Bradley and his family have found fragile refuge in the Berkshire Mountains. But safety proves to be an illusion. In nearby Lenox, a religious movement tightens its grip, drawing frightened survivors into a system built on obedience, fear, and control. When a teenage leader, Xena, is taken by the cult, Matt and those around him are forced to confront a terrible truth: survival is no longer just about food, shelter, or firepower. It’s about who we become when power is abused—and whether mercy still matters in a broken world. Outmatched, under-armed, and unwilling to start a war, Matt and his allies must act anyway. Not to conquer. Not to dominate. But to refuse abandonment. To stand against fanaticism without becoming fanatics themselves. As the cult begins to collapse under the weight of its own lies, the cost is devastating—and irreversible. Not everyone will be saved. Not every wound will heal. But something enduring is born in the ruins: a fragile community built on compassion, shared loss, and the courage to remain human. Massachusetts Fall 3 is the most emotionally powerful chapter of the series—a story of faith tested, innocence lost, and the hard work of choosing mercy when hatred would be easier.

Phineas Strange

Phineas Strange and Michael McDonald are both pen names for the same New England author. Phineas Strange has a lifelong fascination with the unexplained, the true, and the weird. He writes A Curious Compendium of Strange Events, which explores documented supernatural phenomena with the eye of a skeptic and the heart of a true believer, and Stone Walls & Steeples, a true crime series that brings forgotten New England victims back into the light — one region, one era, one state at a time. Michael McDonald and Karen McDonald write post-apocalyptic fiction set within the October Fall World — four standalone series, twelve books in total. The author grew up in the Midwest, met his New England born wife while she was in college and they transplanted to New England. They also lived overseas for twelve years — which explains a lot.

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