Thunder and Ashes
A lot can change in three months: wars can be decided, nations can be forged... or entire species can be brought to the brink of annihilation. The Morningstar Virus, an incredibly virulent disease, has swept the face of the planet, infecting billions. Its hosts rampage, attacking anything that remains uninfected. Even death can't stop the virus – its victims as cannibalistic shamblers. Scattered across the world, embattled groups have persevered. For some, surviving is the pinnacle of achievement. Others hoard goods and weapons. And still others leverage power over the remnants of humanity in the form of a mysterious cure for Morningstar. Francis Sherman and Anna Demilio want only a vaccine, but to find it, they must cross a countryside in ruins, dodging not only the infected, but also the lawless living. The bulk of the storm has passed over the world, leaving echoing thunder and softly drifting ashes. But for the survivors, the peril remains, and the search for a cure is just beginning...
Z. A. Recht
Z.A. Recht (1983–2009) was an author best known for his trilogy of zombie-themed books. Recht only wrote two of the three books in his trilogy before passing away.
The Morningstar Strain
THE END BEGINS WITH AN UNPRECEDENTED VIRAL OUTBREAK
Morningstar. The infected are subject to delirium, fever, violent behavior... and a one hundred percent mortality rate.
BUT THE END IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
The victims return from death to walk the earth. When a massive military operation fails to contain the plague of the living dead, it escalates into a worldwide pandemic.
NOW, A SINGLE LAW OF NATURE DOMINATES THE GLOBAL LANDSCAPE
Live or die, kill or be killed. On one side of the world, thousands of miles from home, a battle-hardened general surveys the remnants of his command: a young medic, a veteran photographer, a brash private, and dozens of refugees - all are his responsibility. While in the United States, an army colonel discovers the darker side of Morningstar and collaborates with a well-known journalist to leak the information to the public...
The Morningstar Strain consists of three books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.