Shadow Zone: A Novel

by Daniel Suarez

From the New York Times bestselling author, a gripping pre-apocalyptic thriller about a first responder who must stop billionaire survivalists and their AI from turning the end of the world into a curated opportunity for absolute power.

On the brink of global nuclear war, a social media post goes viral claiming a remote New Hampshire valley is a Shadow Zone, a unique place where people can take refuge from fallout and nuclear winter. Millions flood toward it, abandoning cities, laws, and morality in a desperate bid to survive.

Taken there against his will, New York City paramedic Michael Ryan discovers a fraught divide between hordes of newcomers seeking safety and occupants of a luxury doomsday bunker constructed on the site years before by a tech mogul. Protected by an all-seeing artificial intelligence and autonomous robotic weapons, the billionaire and his elite followers believe civilization deserves to collapse, and that they alone are fit to rule what comes after.

As the luxury bunker residents attempt to drive refugees from the valley's national forest and the countdown to nuclear annihilation continues, Ryan leads a ragtag team of hackers, engineers, and citizen soldiers on a quest to disrupt the billionaire’s post-apocalyptic plans and give ordinary people a chance to survive a crisis whose origins might not be an accident.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 30, 2027

About the author

DANIEL SUAREZ is the author of the New York Times bestseller Daemon, Freedom™, Kill Decision, and Influx. A former systems consultant to Fortune 1000 companies, he has designed and developed mission-critical software for the defense, finance, and entertainment industries. With a lifelong interest in both IT systems and creative writing, his high-tech and Sci-Fi thrillers focus on technology-driven change. Suarez is a past speaker at TED Global, MIT Media Lab, NASA Ames, the Long Now Foundation, and the headquarters of Google, Microsoft, and Amazon -- among many others. Self-taught in software development, he is a graduate from University of Delaware with a BA in English Literature. An avid PC and console gamer, his own world-building skills were bolstered through years as a pen & paper role-playing game moderator. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Reviews

[Jasmine · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC. This book is for people who like militarily and medically technical details in their end of the world scenarios. It took a little while to get into the story, and it was very eventful - at the cost of delayed character development. The idea of oligarchs and super wealthy creating a safe haven while crafting the end of civilization and relying on AI is carefully developed.