A Post-Apocalyptic Nightmare I Didn't Want To Wake Up From

The premise of this post-apocalyptic thriller makes it sound like a real piece of pulp fiction. The story is set on a military base that is one of the last outposts of humanity. Most of the rest of the human race have been infected by a parasitic fungus that turns them into flesh-eating zombies known as 'Hungries'. Here on the base they are desperately seeking a cure.

Don't be fooled. The Girl With All The Gifts is much more than a genre thriller. It is an intelligently written, character-based piece of speculative fiction. Seen largely from the point of view of one of the Hungries, a highly-intelligent child who only gradually comes to understand her true nature, it presents the reader with a series of moral dilemmas and avoids offering easy solutions.

It's also compelling reading. I had to regularly stop myself reading so I could get on with the rest of my life. Now that's it's over I wish I could start all over again.