SOLO: Homeward

by David Hughes

SOLO: Homeward is BOOK III, the final book in the SOLO series, chronicling one man's through-hike of the apocalypse.

Off-the-grid and unaware. A descent into a surreal world. A non-stop fight to survive…
Under investigation for a police shooting, Officer Val Slaine seeks seclusion and anonymity through-hiking California's Pacific Crest Trail. While off-the-grid, Val hikes into a sleepy Northern California town and discovers a viral outbreak has quickly taken over the world. Infected human killers now mercilessly hunt down the uninfected, and civilization has already descended into chaos. Val's journey to the Northern California coastline is turned into a violent battleground, where his resolve to make his way home is put to the test.

In SOLO: Homeward, Book III, Val continues his homeward trek through the California Bay Area and Inland. During his harrowing journey he encounters other survivors, confronts new threats on land and water, and learns to adapt to the violent new world he has stumbled into.

745 pages, Paperback

Published March 23, 2026

About the author

Dave Hughes has been a rabid fan of zombie movies and books since he was a kid. In 2015, he retired from a 27-year career in law enforcement, wondering what to do next. He turned a decades-long passion for genealogy into a post-retirement business. When he is not writing, he works as a genealogist and private investigator doing heir research. Dave lives with his wife and two sons in El Dorado Hills, California.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author gave much serious thought in this series for what being in a zombie apocalypse could really be for a person on their own or how different for separate individuals in a group. The menace of various uninfected -- some whose psychoses were probably undiagnosed prior to the apocalypse -- can pose deadlier danger for the unwary. Good people are treasure in any world. And, so is a good dog.