Siege: As the World Dies, Book 3

The people of Ashley Oaks have managed to survive the zombie plague detailed in The First Days and Fighting to Survive, thanks to hard work and the leadership of new mayor Travis. As characters struggle with their new circumstances, they find a community of survivors, under the brutal control of ambitious Sen. Paige Brightman and Maj. Gen. Gordon Knox. The danger represented by the senator and her minions pales in comparison to the tsunami of undead making its slow but inexorable way toward Ashley Oaks and its tasty inhabitants. Frater has managed to develop an original treatment of the zompocalypse; the protagonists try their best not to abandon civilized values, and they resist despair despite tragic loss. Even in the face of disaster, the series manages an odd but reassuring optimism, a peculiar faith in humanity not often seen in horror. (Apr.)