AN END

In Pawlicki’s horror series launch, siblings traverse America in the wake of a devastating zombie apocalypse.

Vallerie Sabell and her brother, Allan, are the only two survivors of a school shooting. Having lost her boyfriend in the massacre, Vallerie is plagued by nightmares. But after somehow ending up in a coma, she awakens to something even more terrifying: Zombies have run amok across the United States; Allan and Vallerie’s friend, Trisha Belrave, have managed to keep themselves and their comatose loved one alive. Vallerie quickly adjusts to this new way of life (no phones, no internet) and hones her skills with weapons to take out the undead. She joins Allan and Trisha in scavenging for food and supplies as the trio searches for a secure shelter that they can call home, at least for a time. Walking corpses aren’t the only threat in this apocalypse—there are militant groups as well, including one that sets its malicious sights on a member of Vallerie’s tiny group. The narrative runs down the zombie-genre checklist, from the looting of seemingly abandoned properties to fellow human survivors proving just as dangerous as the undead. The story skips past the first several months of the zombie outbreak, and neither Vallerie nor the readers get much backstory, though intermittent flashbacks offer some illumination. The author’s simple but smartly concise prose describes scenes of foraging that are fraught with tension (“A TV with a cracked screen was left on the floor next to a wooden stand, appearing to have been dropped mid-theft. She entered inside, cautious in her step”), as zombies can shuffle up without warning. In the same vein, every newly introduced human feels untrustworthy and may very well harbor a sinister agenda. The final act gives the story a much-welcome shot of adrenaline with a frenzied and wholly engaging rescue attempt.

A measured, commendable start to an undead saga with definite potential.