Mary Vigliante Szydlowski

Sitting at the dining room table writing THE COLONY on my old Smith Corona portable typewriter.



"Vigliante creates a breathtaking sense of involvement." "The story is distressing and frighteningly realistic." part of the Janus Winter 1980 review of THE COLONY written by Diane Martin.

THE COLONY

Published by Manor Books in 1979 under the pseudonym Mary Vigliante



  Hell awaited those who survived the nuclear war. Humanity had reverted to barbarism. All the evils of the old society had grown worse. Sunny had been captured by four men who informed her she was now their wife. When the survivors organized, the men far outnumbered the women. They created a society and a family structure that supported male dominance. By their decree women existed only to serve their husbands and male masters. Sunny resisted, but was beaten and forced to submit. When she could bear no more of their cruelty, she tried to run away. But they dragged her back. Then Sunny found a gun.




  The Colony is the first of two novels about a post-holocaust world. The sequel, The Land, takes place approximately 300 years later. They were marketed by Manor Books as a mini-series, Aftermath Book #1 The Colony and Aftermath Book #2 The Land.

SELECTED WORKS

CHILDREN'S BOOKS
THE DUCK IN THE HOLE
When six year-old Keesha discovers a duck trapped in a hole, she uses her grit, resourcefulness, and determination to find just the right way to free it.
I CAN'T TALK, I'VE GOT FARBLES IN MY MOUTH!
A family of Farbles takes up residence in James Beechum's mouth after workmen repairing paths in a nearby park destroy their home. They intend to stay with James until their problem is resolved.
HORROR
WORSHIP THE NIGHT
Enslaved by Demonic Passion! The remote forests of the Adirondack Mts. are the setting for this tale of murder, madness, and horror.
FICTION
SILENT SONG
Philomena Rienzi cannot speak. Raised by immigrant parents who believe her to be retarded, she grows up in a world that extends no further than her backyard. After her father's desertion and her mother's suicide, Philomena becomes a ward of the state and is placed in an institution. Kept sedated and in restraints, Philomena is stripped of her dignity and humanity. She is rescued by two unlikely heroes, an elderly lady named Signora Mancuso and a lonely middle-aged bachelor named Tony, her former neighbors. Can they help her win her freedom and a chance at happiness?
SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY
SOURCE OF EVIL
Adrianne Del-2, captain of the spacecraft Logo, has been ordered on a mission, an aggressive invasion of other worlds. But something goes wrong. An inexplicable series of malfunctions cripples her ship. They have no idea why until a mysterious voice explains why they must be punished and the means of their atonement.
THE LAND
Her sisters were shocked when their princess loved a beast!
THE COLONY
The nuclear war was over in an afternoon. Both sides lost. Sunny managed to stay alive, but now she must face the brutal society created by the survivors.
THE ARK
They discovered the location of the cocoons. The bodies were frozen intact. Sebrum eyed them and an idea passed his brain. Meat was meat, anything was better than starvation. They allowed the corpse to thaw and then began to devour it.