Fighting to Survive: As the World Dies, Book 2

First self-published in 2009, this revised and expanded edition continues the story begun in July’s The First Days. When the world was overrun by zombies, a small group of quick-thinking survivors led by construction worker Travis converted a building site into an ad hoc fortress secure against the ravening hordes. Now overcrowded and pressed for supplies, the survivors must clear and secure the zombie-infested hotel next door while dealing with internal divisions, profound survivor’s guilt, troubled romances, and a heavy-armed, brutally predatory biker gang. Centering on the travails of close friends Jenni and Katie, Frater’s novel explicitly draws from Romero’s works while developing optimistic themes untapped by the pessimistic filmmaker, embracing the possibility of creation even in the face of the end of the world as we know it. (Nov.)