THE AWARD WINNING SF SAGA! Voted "best work of original fiction" by the readers of Startling Science Stories! Get set for pulse-pounding action! Scout tells the story of about a young man, Miguel Santana, who lives in a United States that has been devastated by biological and chemical warfare. It is a dangerous continent, one filled with mutated soldiers, cannibalistic hordes, and flesh-eating insects. As Santana fights to survive in this bizarre new environment, he joins forces with two other survivalists: There is Zozobra, a modern-day combination of Army Ranger and Marine Green Beret, who saves Santana's life after he is bitten by a disease-infested cannibal. And there is Thin Lizzy, a motorcycle-driving, rifle-toting girl who has been at war with a throng of cannibals who have established a foothold in White Rock, New Mexico. As Santana soon learns from Zozobra, there is a new hazard facing an already weakened America. Certain forces within the fledgling US government intend to secure and then detonate a biological weapon, thereby starting another conflict with the Middle Eastern alliance that almost destroyed the US during the first confrontation. At first Santana and Lizzy support Zozobra's plan to stop these forces, but as they do battle with the Scout's adversary, a shadowy sniper known only as the Tracker, the duo begin to question Zozobra's motives. Is Zozobra attempting to stop a new world war or is he pushing forward a personal agenda of revenge and murder? Filled with rich detail that paints vivid images of the Southwestern landscape, provides accurate descriptions of conventional and advanced weapons and munitions, and unfolds exciting accounts of long and close-range combat, Scout presents a plausible vision of a future America filled with those willing to exploit it and a public whose single, simple goal is to survive. The action never stops in Scout. Octavio Ramos Jr. works as a technical writer-editor at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the home of the world's first atomic weapon. He has published several books (such as Cerro Grande: Canyons of Fire, Spirit of Community and Raising Cane: Introductory Techniques), a short story collection (Smoke Signals), and a chapbook ("Folio of Edicts"). In addition, he has more than 200 publications in magazines, such as Sounds of Death Magazine, Pit Magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum, Glyph, Fighting Chance, Weird Times, The Zone, Double Danger Tales, Sepulchre, Bizarre Bazaar, Starfleet Mysteries, The Silver Web, Black Lotus, Best of the Midwest, Project Mars, Showcase, The Police Marksman, and Sheriff Times. He lives in White Rock with his wife, Christine, and their two children, Teresa Elena and Gloria Isabelle.