To the Death: The Hunger Games meets The Last of Us in this heartstopping YA dystopia

by Melissa Welliver

Welcome to Blood Island, where the struggle for survival against the bloodthirsty undead is captured on camera for entertainment.

'Welcome back, dystopia. Welliver delivers a razor-sharp assault on life, death and media itself. To the Death doesn't just raise the stakes, it lights them on fire.' - Bill Wood
'Melissa Welliver is redefining dystopia for a whole new generation. To the Death is a riotous, bloodthirsty triumph and her best work yet.' - Cynthia Murphy

When Bloodwatch, the shadowy organisation behind the ever-watchful cameras, descends upon the island to shoot a new high-stakes reality show, Astrid finds herself thrust into the spotlight. The prize at stake? A coveted ticket off the island. Paired with Luke, a risk-taking outsider harbouring secrets of his own, Astrid discovers the perilous costs of winning the adoration of a legion of fans.

Caught in a deadly game where the undead and other contestants close in, Astrid must navigate her developing feelings for Luke and the treacherous terrain of reality TV, where there can be only one winner.

Escaping the past is impossible when the present threatens to devour you.

A heartstopping dystopia, perfect for fans of The Last of Us and The Hunger Games.

More praise for To the Death:
'To the Death is everything fans of The Hunger Games could want - but with much sharper teeth! Prepare for a fast-paced, heart-pounding horror adventure with monsters - both human and not-so-human - lurking around every corner. Buckle up, and let the games begin!' - Kat Ellis
'Fast, fun, and bloodthirsty, To the Death brings the dystopian genre back to life with sharp teeth and cutting commentary on reality TV's hunger for spectacle. Melissa Welliver is on fire, and I can't wait to see what she writes next.' - Kathryn Foxfield
'Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and The Last of Us, this is a chilling, gory thriller with plenty of bite! Dystopias are back and Melissa Welliver is at the helm.' - Amy McCaw
'To the Death is a wild ride from start to finish - you won't want to put it down. Welliver is in her element and is bringing dystopia back with an epic story of zombie vampires . . . Loved it.' - Naomi Gibson

Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 26, 2026

About the author

Melissa Welliver writes speculative fiction about how the End Of The World is never really the end of the world. After studying MA Creative Writing under Jeanette Winterson at the University of Manchester, she went on to complete Curtis Brown Creative’s Writing for Children course. Her work has listed in Bath Novel Award, Mslexia, the Hachette Children’s Novel Award, and the Wells Book for Children Competition. She has been published in two short story collections and is an avid member of the Twitter writing community. Born in Stockport, she now lives in the High Peak with an assortment of doggy friends. The Undying Tower is her first novel.

Reviews

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

To the Death is promoted as Hunger Games meets The Last of Us and I can definitely see influences of both at the core of this story. This dystopian tale follows Astrid who is surviving on an island where there was an outbreak of some sort and bloodthirsty, undead creatures are now a constant threat. As she is just trying to survive, the mainland is watching everything as entertainment via camera's that have been set up all over the island. When viewing numbers are dwindling, they come up with the idea of a reality show competition in which islanders are paired with mainlanders and have to fight their way through different challenges until only one of the pairs survives. All of this, for a ticket off the island.

What a fun and compelling read! Astrid's story was thrilling from start to finish. This combined with Welliver's easy writing style kept me turning pages until there were sadly no more left. It's been quite a while since I enjoyed a dystopian book this much. I think the mystery of what this undead outbreak is and how the logic of it works was really interesting. The element of the greedy big corporations who are only out for viewers and making more money without any regard for people's lives was very unsettling to read as it really feels like this would be a plausible outcome when something like this would happen in our own world (or maybe I'm just too pessimistic).

All of the characters throughout this story were very much their own person. At the beginning some of them will feel a lot like stereotypes, but they all get thoroughly fleshed out throughout this journey and their facades often have a good reason behind them. Most of these contestants are definitely not friends, but it was great to see some of them put their differences aside and bond over their hate for the Bloodwork network. I especially enjoyed how Astrid and Luke's histories and motivations were explored. I also have a thing for science, so I couldn't help but root for the nerdy researcher during his time on the show.

Overall I found To the Death to be a fast-paced, high stakes story with layered characters, relentless tension with unsettling social commentary. I'm not sure if this will just be a standalone or if more books are coming that follow the aftermath, but I'm definitely still intrigued to see what's next.

I was lucky enough to win a proof copy of this book at YALC. Thank you to teambkmrk for the chance to read this early.

[Cat Treadwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

YA dystopia? Televised survival trials? Zombies? Seen it all…?

Except not like this, you haven’t!

‘To the Death’ is being called ‘The Hunger Games’ meets ‘The Last of Us’, which is true up to a point - but I’d add a hefty dose of ‘28 Days Later’ in there as well. This is a very contained British post-apocalypse, where an island (I’m guessing akin to the Isle of Wight?) has become its own Alcatraz for those infected by a zombie virus, together with those who were unfortunate enough to be there when everything went literally to hell.

It’s only eight years later, but a giant media corporation has decided to monetise this tiny zombie-land, with Islanders and Mainlanders competing to win a ticket off and a large chunk of cash, respectively. Plus all the fame that comes with being a reality TV star.

This is survival of the fittest indeed, but as ‘viewers’ ourselves, we must also decide who to root for. The psycho influencer, the Alpha Male jock… and the regular people who could be anyone we know in this world, of varied ages, jobs and motivations.

And protagonist Astrid, fighting for the sake of her island community and as vengeance for those who’ve refused to rescue the humans all this time, utilising them purely for ratings and rewards.

This is an incredibly fast-paced action thriller of a book, never shying away from the reality of what battling through a decrepit zombie-infested world would look like, and also asking ‘what if’ a money-hungry corporation felt that it could do this… would it? ‘Survivor’ with a body count. Remember right at the end of ‘Shaun of the Dead’ where this was happening on normal TV…?

What makes ‘To the Death’ stand out is how smart and honest it is. This is a book about holding on to one’s humanity, and examining just what we might do in such a scenario. It pulls from the best of similar tales gone before and crafts a world where this is entirely believable. The villains are ‘just doing their jobs’, killers ‘just trying to survive.’ But no matter how much everyone justifies it to themselves, it’s never that clear cut when it’s life or death.

The romance angle isn’t overdone (phew!) and while I did guess some of the twists, the plot hurtles along so quickly that it’s impossible not to be surprised at the directions is takes, especially in the final third. We sprint to an immensely satisfying conclusion with enough threads left for a sequel - which I’m entirely here for!

A fantastically enjoyable spin on familiar themes that will leave any horror fan thirsty for more.

I was kindly sent an early copy of this book by the publisher, but the above opinions are entirely my own.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author and publishers for giving me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

WOOOOWWWWW. What a book. It certainly is The Hunger Games meets Last of Us. There’s a sprinkle of Battle Royale and The Walking Dead in there too!! I’ve been loving dystopian novels recently and this one is up there as one of my favourites.

There’s undertones of the book that feel really reminiscent to how the world actually is right now. We have the ‘tourists’, the privileged, spoiled and out of touch crew, paired with ‘islanders’ who have been ostracised from society and left to build their own communities. I don’t want to delve too much into politics but the way this book addresses classism is truly amazing. Some may read it simply as a dystopian novel used to escape reality, but I really appreciate the lesson underneath that too. The message this book gives is that we should all have hope, and how kindness where we can. Plus, it leans a lot into the ‘found family’ trope which I adore!

The setting is exciting and thrilling, and I love that we have no idea what is going to happen next. Every chapter got better and better, and where the book finishes set up for a follow up (I’m just saying I’d be down for that 👀). It was really easy to get absorbed into this book. I literally finished it in less than 24 hours cause it’s one of those books you just want to keep reading and find out more. It was a great balance both of plot and character development/exploration.

This book gave me chills and filled me with adrenaline. Zombie-like creatures, a reality show, and a hunky calm natured man? I am sold 😍

I couldn’t put this book down. It was electrifying and exciting and I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to read this! I’m definitely saving space on my bookshelf for a copy of this book. Thank you Melissa for blessing my life with this book! 🥰

Rating: 5/5 stars (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An island has become overrun with thousands of blood thirsty undead called Pyres. The few survivors who are uninfected have mostly gathered together in an abandoned building called “the burgh” to defend themselves each night. This situation has been ongoing for several years. The population of the nearby mainland have abandoned them for fear of the infection spreading and worse, an organisation called Bloodwatch are streaming all these daily battles for survival for the entertainment of those living in safety. When viewing numbers start to drop, they launch a reality show in which islanders are paired with mainlanders to take on a series of “to the death” challenges with the winners having the opportunity to escape the island.
The main character Astrid is an islander who is selected to take part, and she has to leave her found family of survivors and join the other islanders and mainlanders who initially read like a list of stereotypes until their back stories and reasons for taking part are gradually revealed.
Who are the monsters in this story? The legions of undead or the villainous Bloodwatch creators who are trying to control people’s lives or the cold-blooded killers in the competition who are just doing what they need to do to survive? Astrid is willing to see the bigger picture and help her fellow islanders and maybe even try to shake up the order of this dystopian world.
Fans of Hunger Games will love this spin on a familiar dystopian theme which offers fast paced nonstop blood thirsty action.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

[Lizzi Cowle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I have a love hate rely with this book, but it's because I love the plot so much and I could really see a potential for a full series out of it if more time was spent on getting to know each character, as well as went more indepth with each scene.

I wanted so badly for this to be a 5 because it really kept me entertained and I wanted to know how it ended, but I'm someone who values character arc and world building so highly in a book, and it felt like this didn't have much of this.

There were deaths in this I feel like would have been heartbreaking if there had just been the time to get to know the characters more.

Yes this was fast paced, but it also felt very rushed to get the plot done, while I think this would have worked best if it was a series that slowly showed you the plot points with the Pyres rather than just tell you about them.

I would have also loved to spend more time with the Burgh before the plot really kicks off so we can really see the world and what it's like.

Because we didn't have an extended time with each character I honestly kept mixing everyone up in my head, other than the main few people you see often.

The biggest ick for me was the use of the word 'influencer'. Made me cringe every time an islander called it that. I wish another word was made up, or used for it. Even if there was a second word used by the none influencers behind their backs as a derogatory name.