cover image Feral

Feral

James DeMonaco and B.K. Evenson. Anchor, $15 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-101-97270-0

DeMonaco, writer and director of the Purge franchise, teams up with Evenson (The Warren) for a bloody tale of apocalypse. When a fire at Arcon, a research facility, releases a dangerous virus, men turn into ravening, violent psychopaths, killing women with mindless ferocity. Sixteen-year-old Allie Hilts’s father kills her mother, and she’s left to protect herself and her nine-year-old sister, Kim. Three years later, Allie has transformed herself into a fighting machine, keeping her sister and the people of their settlement safe, while Dr. Zeman, an Arcon scientist, tries to find a cure. Allie smears herself with the blood of the infected and brings back subjects for Dr. Zeman’s trials while distancing herself from the group, emotionally and physically, but everything changes when she meets a stranger who could be the key to humankind’s future. Told from multiple perspectives, this nail-biter, packed with plenty of gore to satisfy horror fans, offers a neat woman-power twist on the zombie-apocalypse story and a surprisingly poignant, satisfying finale. (Apr.)