Horizon

Littlefield’s third novel of the zombie apocalypse (Aftertime; Rebirth) is relentlessly hard on Cass Dollar, who started the series as a dazed yet driven woman and has now become a stagnating, drunken portrait of lust and despair. One man she loves is in a vegetative state; the other is supposedly with another woman, but he snatches little sordid moments with Cass when everyone else is asleep. The narrative perspective wanders aimlessly for several chapters before anyone demonstrates the motivation to act decisively—in response, not surprisingly, to an onslaught of the zombies known as Beaters. The crackling, incisive style of the first book has been replaced by discursive, loosely punctuated sentences that beg for an editor’s hand. The story is not without the grim pleasures of its predecessors, however; as always, Littlefield evokes her dystopian California with unnerving conviction, and Cass’s encounters with Beaters retain their horrifying power. Agent: Irene Goodman Literary Agency. (Feb.)