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Last Call: Book 1 in the Dead City: New York Series — A Fast-Paced, Gory Zombie Survival Horror
72 hours. 8 million zombies. One stubborn bartender.
LAST CALL is a visceral, relentless zombie survival thriller Brutal, graphic combat with overwhelming oddsA flawed protagonist's journey from observer to warriorGore-heavy action with emotional depthA 72-hour countdown through Manhattan's collapseMelee combat—no guns, just grit and a crowbarHigh body count with meaningful character deathsDeclan O'Sullivan never left his neighborhood. For twenty years, he poured drinks at The Copper Still, watched life happen to other people, and stayed safely behind his bar. He was content. Comfortable. Afraid to take risks.
Then the world ended.
When the outbreak hits Manhattan, Declan's instinct is to hide, to wait for rescue, to let someone else take charge. But rescue isn't coming. The military has fallen. The bridges are collapsing. And eight million people are turning into mindless, savage undead.
Survival demands transformation. The passive bartender must become a fighter. The watcher must become a leader. The man who never took chances must make impossible choices—who lives, who dies, and how much of his humanity he's willing to sacrifice to see another sunrise.
Guided by a gruff mentor and haunted by everyone he couldn't save, Declan fights through the burning streets of Hell's Kitchen, across zombie-infested bridges, and into a nightmare where every victory costs blood and every loss carves deeper scars.
But when Declan discovers he might be immune to the infection that killed millions, everything changes. He's not just another survivor anymore. He's something different. Something the new world desperately needs.
Or something it should fear.
Perfect for fans of THE WALKING DEAD, WORLD WAR Z, and readers who like their zombie fiction fast, brutal, and unforgiving.
The world ended. But some people kept walking.
LAST CALL is a visceral, relentless zombie survival thriller Brutal, graphic combat with overwhelming oddsA flawed protagonist's journey from observer to warriorGore-heavy action with emotional depthA 72-hour countdown through Manhattan's collapseMelee combat—no guns, just grit and a crowbarHigh body count with meaningful character deathsDeclan O'Sullivan never left his neighborhood. For twenty years, he poured drinks at The Copper Still, watched life happen to other people, and stayed safely behind his bar. He was content. Comfortable. Afraid to take risks.
Then the world ended.
When the outbreak hits Manhattan, Declan's instinct is to hide, to wait for rescue, to let someone else take charge. But rescue isn't coming. The military has fallen. The bridges are collapsing. And eight million people are turning into mindless, savage undead.
Survival demands transformation. The passive bartender must become a fighter. The watcher must become a leader. The man who never took chances must make impossible choices—who lives, who dies, and how much of his humanity he's willing to sacrifice to see another sunrise.
Guided by a gruff mentor and haunted by everyone he couldn't save, Declan fights through the burning streets of Hell's Kitchen, across zombie-infested bridges, and into a nightmare where every victory costs blood and every loss carves deeper scars.
But when Declan discovers he might be immune to the infection that killed millions, everything changes. He's not just another survivor anymore. He's something different. Something the new world desperately needs.
Or something it should fear.
Perfect for fans of THE WALKING DEAD, WORLD WAR Z, and readers who like their zombie fiction fast, brutal, and unforgiving.
The world ended. But some people kept walking.
554 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 4, 2025
2 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 21, 2025
If you’re looking for a zombie story that hits like a crowbar to the skull, raw, grounded, and intensely character-driven, A Killer Performance Last Call delivers in spades. What I really loved is that this isn’t just another survival gore fest (though the gore is definitely there, and described in such visceral detail that I could practically feel bone crunching). At its core, the book is about Declan O'Sullivan, someone who starts out as painfully ordinary, almost to the point of frustration, and transforms into someone you can’t help but root for.
Declan has been behind his bar for twenty years, comfortably watching life pass him by. When the world ends in Manhattan practically overnight, his first instinct is to do the same thing: hide and hope. That felt incredibly real to me. Ison captures that very human moment where someone who has never seen themselves as heroic is suddenly forced into becoming something else entirely.
And that shift is what makes the book so compelling. Declan doesn’t suddenly become a badass; he earns every step. He fights, he bleeds, he doubts himself, and he breaks, and the book makes you feel every mental and physical hit. The melee combat is especially brutal because there are no guns, no easy out, just raw survival, improvised weapons, and terrifyingly overwhelming odds. The 72-hour ticking clock adds a constant tension that never lets up.
I also appreciated that even the high body count meant something. Characters aren’t disposable; when someone dies, it hurts both Declan and the reader. There’s a real sense of grief, loss, and the emotional cost of staying alive. Declan’s mentor was a standout for me, gruff, hardened, yet surprisingly essential to Declan’s growth.
Then there’s the twist of Declan possibly being immune. It changes the story in a way that opens the door to something bigger, and I found myself torn the same way Declan is does this make him humanity’s hope, or something dangerous that the world isn’t prepared for?
The writing is gritty and cinematic, and the setting of collapsing Manhattan is used to full advantage: Hell’s Kitchen streets slick with blood, bridges teeming with the undead, and the eerie tension of a city going silent one block at a time.
Overall, A Killer Performance Last Call is fast, violent, emotional, and surprisingly layered. It’s not just about surviving zombies, it’s about surviving yourself when the world falls apart. If the next book continues at this level, this series is going to be one hell of a ride.
Declan has been behind his bar for twenty years, comfortably watching life pass him by. When the world ends in Manhattan practically overnight, his first instinct is to do the same thing: hide and hope. That felt incredibly real to me. Ison captures that very human moment where someone who has never seen themselves as heroic is suddenly forced into becoming something else entirely.
And that shift is what makes the book so compelling. Declan doesn’t suddenly become a badass; he earns every step. He fights, he bleeds, he doubts himself, and he breaks, and the book makes you feel every mental and physical hit. The melee combat is especially brutal because there are no guns, no easy out, just raw survival, improvised weapons, and terrifyingly overwhelming odds. The 72-hour ticking clock adds a constant tension that never lets up.
I also appreciated that even the high body count meant something. Characters aren’t disposable; when someone dies, it hurts both Declan and the reader. There’s a real sense of grief, loss, and the emotional cost of staying alive. Declan’s mentor was a standout for me, gruff, hardened, yet surprisingly essential to Declan’s growth.
Then there’s the twist of Declan possibly being immune. It changes the story in a way that opens the door to something bigger, and I found myself torn the same way Declan is does this make him humanity’s hope, or something dangerous that the world isn’t prepared for?
The writing is gritty and cinematic, and the setting of collapsing Manhattan is used to full advantage: Hell’s Kitchen streets slick with blood, bridges teeming with the undead, and the eerie tension of a city going silent one block at a time.
Overall, A Killer Performance Last Call is fast, violent, emotional, and surprisingly layered. It’s not just about surviving zombies, it’s about surviving yourself when the world falls apart. If the next book continues at this level, this series is going to be one hell of a ride.
Displaying 1 of 1 review