Alone Together – Book Review
I received an ARC from an author I am a fan of, and I was so excited to read it! I’m also really happy to be able to share it with you, along with my spoiler-free review. So let’s dive in!
Prepare to hold your breath, skip sleep, and check your hair twice because Shaun Fitzgerald’s Alone Together is the beginning of a thrilling new post-apocalyptic series that will captivate you from the first page and keep you interested. This first installment in the Alone Together series, which is set in a world that is disintegrating at a terrible rate, offers the ideal balance of chaos, terror, and unadulterated human tenacity.
Starting with the prologue, we are launched into the story immediately. Chapter One introduces us to Lacy, as we get a front-row seat to her life and where she fits into this story.
Before going back to work, Julie prepared a combination of breast
milk and formula. Just in time, too. The past few weeks saw a spike in
panic buying. It was the same behavior their state of Florida usually
saw before a hurricane, but it was at the national level.
A lot of the behavior from people sort of made sense. Sanitation
items were bare on most shelves. The reports of a new contagion
rattled a lot of towns, and it didn’t help any that social media
platforms were actively banning people from their forums if they
shared news or updates from towns out west. Her social feeds were
usually funny skits and makeup tricks. Now it was filled with people
showing bare store shelves, long gas lines, and so many were political.
She couldn’t stand the political posts, and her drop in screen time
showed how much she wanted it to stop.
Fitzgerald doesn’t waste any time engrossing readers in an oppressive environment of chaos and fear as soon as the contagion starts to spread. The distinction between civilian and soldier becomes perilously blurred in this terrifyingly realistic depiction of societal collapse. After a mystery sickness turns almost one-third of the population into hyper-aggressive predators, the survivors are forced to adapt, band together, and fight back.
Alone Together’s emotional core is what drives its appeal, not just its quick pacing or dramatic action scenes. Fitzgerald spends a lot of time creating his ensemble of survivors, giving their tenacity, optimism, and dread a very real feel. Every character contributes something essential to the group dynamic, and their individual stories are equally as compelling as the conflicts they encounter in the collapsing world.
Fans of dystopian thrillers and survival horror will love this start to a new series. The stakes are really high, the suspense is constant, and the story twists occur at precisely the appropriate times. To discover who survives, who fails, and the true cause of the epidemic ravaging the cities, you will be rushing through the chapters.
If you enjoy books like The Stand, World War Z, or The Girl with All the Gifts, then Alone Together will be a great choice for you. Shaun Fitzgerald’s portrayal of a society in decline is uncanny, his narrative is lucid and engrossing, and his pacing is perfect.
With a June 24, 2025 delivery date, this is a preorder you won’t regret. Setting a high standard in book one, the Alone Together series has the potential to be a post-apocalyptic genre classic if this is only the beginning.
Final Verdict: Five Stars!
Summary: The compelling, high-stakes survival thriller Alone Together portrays the human spirit at its most desperate – and resolute. Don’t go through the end of the world by yourself. Take up arms.
See also: Shaun S. Fitzgerald – Author Spotlight