Zimbabwe’s first Zombie novel, The Beginning of Z tells the story of Raymond Munyaradzi Shumba’s journey to survive in a world that is quickly descending into chaos. Fans of this genre will be familiar with zombie apocalypse stories, but never has the story been told from this part of the world, where the end of everything is just the beginning…

“Dude, what the fuck are you doing? Let’s go. What are you waiting for?!” Ray pushed past Chido without any resistance into the room, noticing first that from the inside, the torn-down curtains were covered in what looked to be red paint, or blood. Secondly, he noticed a smell that instantly took him to his family’s childhood visit to his grandfather, the abattoir, who took them to the place where they disposed of meat that had gone bad. Thirdly, he couldn’t help but squint as the setting sun seemed to be shining exclusively into this, and only this room, creating a gruesome and perfect spotlight. A spotlight shining on the fourth thing he noticed…