Never Far Gone by Kelvin Urena

Miles Gether, a sharpshooting school security guard, becomes the unlikely leader of a desperate group of survivors as the world crumbles into barbaric chaos in Never Far Gone by Kelvin Urena, a gritty and realistic apocalyptic thriller.

With humanity unraveling in the face of a zombie-like plague, more people arrive to seek safety in a commune of “Thrivers,” but their resources are strained, and the spectral abominations outside are relentless. A daring plan to retake control of their city requires tenuous alliances and rooting out enemies from within, as well as a war-weary leader to rise from the ashes – even if the creatures outside the walls are the most obvious danger, the violence and selfish cruelty of human beings can never be ignored.

This apocalypse origin storyline has echoes of popular zombie lore, with a swelling and shrinking cast of panicked fighters scraping out one narrow victory after another, slowly stabilizing into a capable unit and delicate community. The prose is energetically packed with action and character drama, but the author relies a bit too much on interjections of internal monologue and telling, rather than showing, along with some spelling errors that a standard check might miss (e.g. “reigns” vs “reins”).

All told, however, Urena delivers an authentic portrait of rugged survival at the end of the world, exploring the life-saving logistics and frequently overlooked challenges of an abrupt dystopia. Considering the nexus of crises humanity faces today, the novel is both an exhilarating thriller and a chilling warning about loyalty, trust, and the fragile tenacity of our species, for a dramatic examination of the human condition in the face of crisis.