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.
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
Industry Reviews
"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 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"" 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""
