The Last Weekend
Published on 5. January 2016
256 pages
978-1-59780-582-7 (ISBN)
Description
Vasilis "Billy" Kostopolos is a Bay Area Rust Belt refugee, failed sci-fi writer, successful barfly and, since the exceptionally American zombie apocalypse, an accomplished "driller" of reanimated corpses. There aren't many sane, well-adjusted human beings left in San Francisco, but facing the end of the world, Billy's found his vocation trepanning the undead, peddling his one and only published short story, and drinking himself to death.
Things don't stay static for long. Billy discovers that both his girlfriends turn out to be homicidal revolutionaries. He collides with a gang of Berkeley scientists gone berserker. Finally, the long-awaited "Big One" shakes the foundation of San Francisco to its core, and the crumbled remains of City Hall can no longer hide the awful secret lurking deep in the basement. Can Billy unearth the truth behind America's demise and San Francisco's survival-and will he destroy what little's left of it in the process? Is he legend, the last man, or just another sucker on the vine?
Nick Mamatas takes a high-powered drill to the lurching, groaning conventions of zombie dystopias and conspiracy thrillers, sparing no cliche about tortured artists, alcoholic "genius," noir action heroes, survivalist dogma, or starry-eyed California dreaming. Starting in booze-soaked but very clear-eyed cynicism and ending in gloriously uncozy catastrophe, The Last Weekend is merciless, uncomfortably perceptive, and bleakly hilarious.
Things don't stay static for long. Billy discovers that both his girlfriends turn out to be homicidal revolutionaries. He collides with a gang of Berkeley scientists gone berserker. Finally, the long-awaited "Big One" shakes the foundation of San Francisco to its core, and the crumbled remains of City Hall can no longer hide the awful secret lurking deep in the basement. Can Billy unearth the truth behind America's demise and San Francisco's survival-and will he destroy what little's left of it in the process? Is he legend, the last man, or just another sucker on the vine?
Nick Mamatas takes a high-powered drill to the lurching, groaning conventions of zombie dystopias and conspiracy thrillers, sparing no cliche about tortured artists, alcoholic "genius," noir action heroes, survivalist dogma, or starry-eyed California dreaming. Starting in booze-soaked but very clear-eyed cynicism and ending in gloriously uncozy catastrophe, The Last Weekend is merciless, uncomfortably perceptive, and bleakly hilarious.
Reviews / Votes
"If you're looking for something that's different from your everyday zombie gorefest, if you want a zombie novel with actual brains, and a mouth that cannot be silenced, try The Last Weekend. It's killer."?Strange Horizons
?In The Last Weekend, it is the shades of Charles Bukowski, Henry Miller, John Fante and other hard-drinking scribblers who haunt the pages. ... Mamatas finds new life in the old apocalyptic cliches, and even this late in the zombie craze, he manages to deliver a highly caustic and entertaining end-of-the-world satire."
?San Francisco Chronicle
?Nick Mamatas crafts a clever blend of multiple genres that is equal parts heartfelt, fearful, and funny. The Last Weekend is a headshot to a tiresome trope. I loved it!"
?Brian Keene, author of The Rising and The Last Zombie
?Mamatas's wisecracking philosophical undead opus vivisects genre stereotypes and moral preconceptions with viciousness and style . . . focused intimacy and sustainable dark humor will delight both zombie fans and readers looking for some moral questioning and emotional substance."
?Publishers Weekly
?Mamatas is adept at creating menacing scenarios that induce cognitive dissonance, i.e., ?Do I laugh here, cringe, or both?" An unusual effect; one I admire."
?Buy Zombie
"If you're looking for something that's different from your everyday zombie gorefest, if you want a zombie novel with actual brains, and a mouth that cannot be silenced, try The Last Weekend. It's killer."
?Strange Horizons "If you're looking for something that's different from your everyday zombie gorefest, if you want a zombie novel with actual brains, and a mouth that cannot be silenced, try The Last Weekend. It's killer."
?Strange Horizons
?In The Last Weekend, it is the shades of Charles Bukowski, Henry Miller, John Fante and other hard-drinking scribblers who haunt the pages. ... Mamatas finds new life in the old apocalyptic cliches, and even this late in the zombie craze, he manages to deliver a highly caustic and entertaining end-of-the-world satire."
?San Francisco Chronicle
?Nick Mamatas crafts a clever blend of multiple genres that is equal parts heartfelt, fearful, and funny. The Last Weekend is a headshot to a tiresome trope. I loved it!"
?Brian Keene, author of The Rising and The Last Zombie
?Mamatas's wisecracking philosophical undead opus vivisects genre stereotypes and moral preconceptions with viciousness and style . . . focused intimacy and sustainable dark humor will delight both zombie fans and readers looking for some moral questioning and emotional substance."
?Publishers Weekly
?Mamatas is adept at creating menacing scenarios that induce cognitive dissonance, i.e., ?Do I laugh here, cringe, or both?" An unusual effect; one I admire."
?Buy Zombie
"If you're looking for something that's different from your everyday zombie gorefest, if you want a zombie novel with actual brains, and a mouth that cannot be silenced, try The Last Weekend. It's killer."
?Strange Horizons
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
OR
United States
File size
2,69 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-59780-582-7 (9781597805827)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
01/2016
Night Shade Books
€15.50
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Person
Nick Mamatas is the author of six and a half novels, including The Last Weekend (PS Publishing), Love is the Law (Dark Horse), The Damned Highway with Brian Keene (Dark Horse), Bullettime (CZP), Sensation (PM Press), Under My Roof (Counterpoint/Soft Skull), and Move Under Ground (Night Shade/Prime). His latest collection is The Nickronomicon, from Innsmouth Free Press. His novels have been translated into German, Italian, and Greek. Nick is also an anthologist and editor of short fiction: with Masumi Washington he co-edited the Locus Award-nominated The Future Is Japanese (Haikasoru), and with Ellen Datlow he co-edited the Bram Stoker Award-winning Haunted Legends (Tor Books). Nick's own short fiction has appeared in genre publications such as Asimov's Science Fiction and Tor.com, lit journals including New Haven Review and subTERRAIN, and anthologies such as Hint Fiction and Best American Mystery Stories 2013. His fiction and editorial work has been nominated for the Bram Stoker award five times, the Hugo Award twice, the World Fantasy Award twice, and the Shirley Jackson, International Horror Guild, and Locus Awards. His writing guide Starve Better: Surviving the Endless Horror of the Writing Life (Apex Publications) has been excerpted in The Writer, and he has also published two joke/reference books: Insults Every Man Should Know and Quotes Every Man Should Know (Quirk Books).
Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- About the Book
- About the Author
