Fall of Night (Dead of Night)

Against all odds, two cops, a reporter, and hundreds of schoolchildren have survived zombies and an aggressive military response, fortifying the school and waiting to see what the government’s next move will be. As a serial killer spreads the zombie plague beyond Stebbins County, Dez, JT, and Billy find themselves in a standoff with the President’s top advisors as everyone races to stop the zombie threat. But time is running out, and as the nuclear option looms large, their brave efforts may prove all for naught.

Fall of Night is the relentless sequel to Maberry’s Dead of Night, which offered a curious new take on zombies. Combining superhero-esque elements with the spirit of The Walking Dead‘s humans-are-worse-than-zombies mentality, and a little bit of West Wing “speaking truth to power” for flavor, Fall of Night is survival horror with some unexpected twists.

Maberry has clearly given careful thought to how an outbreak would play out, and as the story progresses, it richly details the outbreak’s many vectors, filling in the small gaps so many films and stories leave in order to avoid tough questions. Maberry’s outbreak is covered step by step, effectively enhancing the scenario’s many potential horrors.