Zone One

In this singular take on the post-apocalyptic horror novel, a pandemic has devastated the planet. The plague has sorted humanity into two types: the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead. The worst of the plague is over, and the provisional government in Buffalo orchestrates the return to civilization with the aid of therapy seminars, corporate sponsorships, and the uplifting anthem “Stop! Can You Hear the Eagle Roar?” The resettlement of Manhattan is a top priority. Armed forces stationed in Chinatown’s Fort Wonton have successfully reclaimed the island south of Canal Street – aka Zone One – but pockets of plague-ridden squatters remain. Mark Spitz is a member of one of the three-person civilian sweeper units clearing lower Manhattan building by building, block by block. Alternating between haunting flashbacks of Spitz’s desperate fight for survival during the worst of the outbreak and his present narrative, Zone One unfolds over three surreal days in which Spitz is occupied with the mundane missions of straggler removal, then rigors of Post-Apocalyptic Stress Disorder (PASD), and the impossible task of coming to terms with a fallen world. And then things start to go wrong…259p.