At the End of the World, Charles E. Gannon
Full disclosure, as always: I've talked to Chuck in person on several occasions and we're friends on Facebook. As a matter of fact, right now, we're trading pings with each other in an ongoing discussion of the MCU. But there's a reason why I approached him in the first place: I like his stuff. As I've noted many times in the past, Chuck is crazy-smart and always thinks through the details -- yet somehow, at the same time, he refrains from showing off. He often deals with big ideas (like, for example, the tension between freedom and safety), but he writes in a style that's accessible and fast-paced.
At the End of the World, is, essentially, licensed fan fiction for John Ringo's Black Tide Rising universe. (As I understand it, he was asked to write a story for one of the anthologies when Baen decided to open things up to other writers and - er - got a little carried away.) And yes: it lines up with the spirit of the "canon" perfectly. Like the novels that inspired it, At the End of the World features engaging, generally competent characters who, in the face of the zombie apocalypse, decide the survival of civilization is the only acceptable outcome.
Chuck builds his story here with a series of first-person journal entries. It's a different choice for him, but I like it, as it allows readers to really get into the head of his main character and keeps the story moving at a page-turning clip. Also worth noting is the organic diversity of Chuck's cast. Alvaro, the male lead, is Hispanic. The female lead, Chloe, is an indigenous Alaskan. But neither of these two facts is belabored to the point of obnoxiousness -- and both characters are fully realized, not mouthpieces.
I happily recommend this to anyone in my audience who's a fan of the other Black Tide Rising books. It's definitely a solid "beach read"
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