The '''Deathlands''' is a series of novels that takes place almost a century after a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union in January 2001. For the most part, the series follows the travels of seven characters as they make their way through a violent, post-apocalyptic world. The stories are structured in a similar manner in that the seven characters are put into a challenging situation and forced to use their minds and muscles to reach safety.

Many of the novels begin with the seven arriving in a new, unknown location by means of a matter transmitter often referred to as a Mat Trans by the characters.  The Mat-Trans units were an invention by a Pre-Dark (before