THE AFTERS

In O’Connell’s horror series starter, the survivors of a global pandemic take a stand against the undead while also confronting fiends among the uninfected.

Charlie Billingsworth is one of the relatively few people who are immune to an airborne virus that’s wiped out most of Earth’s population. Those who have succumbed to the disease have essentially become zombies that crave living flesh. Charlie easily handles himself among the monstrous hordes as he goes on supply runs for the Community, a band of survivors who’ve settled near Boston. During a hunt for fuel, he happens upon a couple of young kids named Trey and Ellie; he immediately takes a shine to them and fights to protect them. Meanwhile, survivor Kalila Trout seeks revenge against a figure named King George, who leads a heavily armed group who recently slaughtered her post-apocalypse foundfamily. She wants revenge and may get vital assistance in her mission from Charlie, especially after King George’s minions snatch one of the children. O’Connell injects a good deal of adrenaline into the narrative: Charlie and others dodge, hide from, or scuffle with zombies while armed with guns, crossbows, or, in Charlie’s case, a trusty machete. Fans of zombie fiction won’t find much that’s new here; a later revelation involving King George’s people, for instance, comes as little surprise. Still, the author gradually adds intriguing elements that enhance the narrative and the series’ potential. Ellie, for instance, displays astonishing abilities, and a new breed of zombies threatens what few survivors are left. Charlie is an appealing and believable hero; his close-quarter fights are realistic, and his plans to keep himself and others safe don’t always work out as expected. Readers can only hope the dependable supporting cast makes it to future installments—particularly Ellie, who communicates only by whispering, and the formidable zombie-killer Big Berthaat the Community.

A winning cast of characters breathes life into a worn but still entertaining subgenre.