When the zoo falls, it doesn’t do so quietly.
Eleanor Rigby was supposed to be finishing her workday—maybe grabbing pizza, maybe going home early. Instead, nightfall brings screams, fire, and something impossible stalking the streets. Cages stand open. Sirens die mid-wail. And the rules of the world seem to unravel after dark.
As her world collapses hour by hour, Eleanor and a handful of survivors are forced together by terror, loss, and the relentless need to keep moving. Each day is measured not by hope, but by who didn’t make it through the night. Guilt clings as tightly as fear, and survival demands choices that will stain every soul left breathing.
The monsters aren’t just loose.
They’re hunting.
After Dark is a relentless horror novel of urban ruin, feral terror, and the thin, fragile bonds that form when the lights go out—and staying human may be the hardest fight of all. Join master of darkness Kristi Buckel, author of the acclaimed Silence series of zombie novels, on a journey you won’t forget. Or even survive.
National Emergency Alert!
Please remain indoors. If you are outside, seek shelter immediately. Dangerous individuals have been identified nationwide attacking nonviolent citizens. The National Guard has been deployed to key areas and sensitive positions throughout the city.
The CDC has confirmed that what we are seeing is, in fact, the reanimation of corpses that have been bitten by the so-called cannibals. We have no reports on how often the deceased are reanimating, how long it takes them to do so, or what the chances are of someone coming back. Please remain calm. Help is on the way.
“The Silence is a bar-setter in modern zombie horror. Crisp dialogue, emotional vulnerability, and an uncanny sense of realism compliment the deliciously bloody violence in this disturbing post-apocalyptic tale. Want to know what it feels like to become the walking dead? The unique, first-person narration of zombie infection and transformation makes The Silence must-read horror! If you're going to read one zombie horror novel this year, make it The Silence.” – Stephen Paul Sayers, Amazon best-selling author of The Carousel Man and A Taker of Morrows.
Sean and Kiera managed to survive one zombie apocalypse. Can they do it again?
With Grace, the zombie-killing dog, at their side, their newfound family is once again in the middle of an apocalyptic hellscape no one asked for. Stronger, faster, and spitting acid, the undead have evolved beyond anything from humanity’s darkest nightmares.
Help is not on the way. If anyone is going to survive, it will take a miracle… and they’ve already used up one.
“The Silence is a bar-setter in modern zombie horror. Crisp dialogue, emotional vulnerability, and an uncanny sense of realism compliment the deliciously bloody violence in this disturbing post-apocalyptic tale. Want to know what it feels like to become the walking dead? The unique, first-person narration of zombie infection and transformation makes The Silence must-read horror! If you're going to read one zombie horror novel this year, make it The Silence.” – Stephen Paul Sayers, Amazon best-selling author of The Carousel Man and A Taker of Morrows.