Featured in Polygon’s Best of 2020 “The best kind of dystopian novel: one rooted deeply in the hearts of his characters and emphasizing hope and connection over fear…. Compelling, realistic, and impossible to put down.” –Booklist Four survivors come together as the country rebuilds in the aftermath of a devastating pandemic. A character-driven postapocalyptic suspense with an intimate, … postapocalyptic suspense with an intimate, hopeful look at how people can move forward by creating something better.
Six years after a virus wiped out most of the planet’s population, former pop star Moira is living under a new identity to escape her past–until her domineering father launches a sweeping public search to track her down. Desperate for a fresh start herself, jaded event planner Krista navigates the world for those still too traumatized to go outside, but she never reaches out on her own behalf. Rob has tried to protect his daughter, Sunny, by keeping a heartbreaking secret, but when strict government rules threaten to separate parent and child, Rob needs to prove himself worthy in the city’s eyes by connecting with people again.
Krista, Moira, Rob and Sunny meet by circumstance and their lives begin to twine together. When reports of another outbreak throw the fragile society into panic, the friends are forced to finally face everything that came before–and everything they still stand to lose. Because sometimes having one person is enough to keep the world going.
“A slice-of-life at the end of the world, tender, character-driven, and gentle–which makes it feel all the more terrifyingly plausible…. profoundly subversive and honest… This book is never bleak. Instead, hope reverberates through every character and plotline.” –Tor.com on A Beginning at the End
more
Poignant, touching, beautiful, A Beginning At The End is everything I wanted to read right now, but didn’t know I needed. Somehow Chen has turned a story about a pandemic into a story about family, survival and hope, showing us how humanity will prevail if we don’t give in to panic or fear, because we have each other. And we’re all family these days. I highly recommend.
The Review
This was a truly unique and gripping sci-fi dystopian thriller! The timing of this novel’s release was hard not to see of course, but what the author did so splendidly was not focus the entire novel on the actual “apocalypse”, but instead on the society that came after an epidemic that took out a large portion of the world’s population. The unique perspective, narratively speaking, highlights humanity’s persistence and strength in the face of adversity and overwhelming odds, even with the mental and physical tolls each of these characters are struggling with.
What the author really did a great job of was balancing the ever-shifting mythos of this dystopian world with the emotional depths of each character’s growth throughout the narrative. As a fan of Stephen King’s “The Stand”, I’ve always felt that this balance was necessary for a story about the end of the world to really feel emotionally connected to the reader, and the author perfectly hits the nail on the head with this read.
The Verdict
A masterful, heartfelt, and entertaining read, author Mike Chen’s “A Beginning At the End” is a must-read novel for fans of the sci-fi and dystopian thriller genres. The engaging way the author connected his characters and both the internal and external struggles each character faced made this novel become an instant hit. Be sure to grab your copy today!
Very topical book. I especially enjoyed seeing how society was attempting to rebuild itself, and how the effect on the individuals by the disaster affected the rebuild.
Is there a story to this book? I could not finish this, and I usually strive to finish books. But I could not see a point to this.
Human beings are the worst, but they’re also the best — and A Beginning at the End is a brilliant story about how the best parts of ourselves won’t be stopped by a little something like the apocalypse.
If you’re tired of grim, grueling apocalypses with high body counts and bleak horizons, A Beginning at the End offers an intimate, surprisingly gentle vision of post-disaster humanity, less concerned with how we might survive than with why — and for whom.
Strikes the perfect balance of dystopian collapse… and a fresh start for humanity. It’s science fiction with heart… you won’t be able to put it down.
I tried. I really REALLY did. I LOVED Mike Chen’s Here and Now and Then, and when I saw this new title available through the Harlequin Winter Book Tour, I was delighted at the chance to jump into another one of his worlds. H&N&T was an incredible story – character-driven, with a solidly original and entertaining plot line and a deeply complex consideration of family relationships. This new title sounded so promising – not many authors go into what happens AFTER cataclysm, after all, with most focusing on how the end comes and how things are scraped together in its aftermath…
So as you can tell, I went into this one full of optimism and excitement – which made the disappointment hit that much harder.
This one never gelled for me. The characters – which were one of the major strengths in his previous book – felt two-dimensional and not fully fleshed out in the way I would have liked. I never connected with any of them, which made it all that much harder to engage with the story, particularly since the story seems to skip a big chunk of time – and important backstory – by jumping from killer flu to six years later… I never felt like I really understood how things got to the point that they did – or, more importantly, why. Focus on family – fine. But why this laser-focus on one particular format of family – one that, frankly, didn’t seem the most likely outcome in a world that had suffered as this one had. The lack of detail on both character and rationale for the police state everyone found themselves in left me constantly flipping back to see if I’d missed some detail or reference necessary to understand why things were proceeding as they were. It resulted in an overall feeling that I was missing something and trying to fill in blanks – but without even enough reference points to generate plausibles in my own head…
This one just didn’t do it for me. I have seen a lot of reviewers rave about it. I have also seen a decent number raise issues similar to mine. If memory serves, H&N&T generated similar reactions – strong, either way. Chen is, after all, a talented writer – I happily admit that he turns beautiful phrases, even when there aren’t as many details as I’d like – and I suspect with his books they either work for you (and if so, they work completely) or they don’t (ditto). This one didn’t do it for me. But I still consider myself a fan of his writing and would definitely pick up another title by him in the hopes of hitting the jackpot again!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my obligation-free review copy.
A Beginning at the End. has a unique plot that is disturbingly plausible. Usually, the disturbing part of any post-apocalyptic novel is the description of the apocalyptic event and the immediate aftermath. Yet, A Beginning at the End does not linger on the viral event itself. Instead, it focuses on the emotional consequences that result in a static world. Everyone wears a mask – a real one to help prevent the spreading of germs – and a metaphorical one formed by their fear and lies. People no longer connect, and the mask is a symbolic representation of that barrier that each person forms to protect themselves. But, growth and change require connections, and human relationships can only happen when the wall comes down, leaving them vulnerable.
Favorite character: Moira Gorman
Once a pop star, Moira left the spotlight and her father when the virus reached epidemic proportions. She made a new life for herself, all the while searching for the safety and security that she has always craved. When the story begins, she is planning a wedding to a man who offers just that. His whole family came through the virus without loss and remain a tight family unit. Being part of a family is precisely the life that Moira wants for herself. Her many experiences have made her mature and reflective, and I felt instantly drawn to her.
What I Liked About A Beginning at the End
I felt like I knew the characters. They are well-developed, and I instantly connected to all of them. I sympathized with Rob, who had a hard time saying that his wife was dead even to his daughter. I fought the good fight with Krista and hoped that Moira would achieve her dreams. Even with their masks on, I could recognize them even if they don’t know themselves.
I loved that the story ends on a positive note, with the dropping of masks and connections reforming. Just as it takes till the end of the book and a grown-up Sunny to define the fourth path for me, it also took that long for me to apply the story’s message to my world. It made me feel good that there was hope in this world gone wrong, once people realized that the disease was the common enemy and they must band together not just to survive but to live.
What I Wish
I found it hard to follow the initial scenes. It wasn’t until the stories merged that the plot began to flow for me. I wish that the beginning flowed as well as the rest of the novel.
To Read or Not to Read
A Beginning at the End is a unique story that will make you think and reflect – on your own life and humanity in general – and to that end, I would strongly recommend adding it to your bookshelves as soon as it comes out.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A BEGINNING AT THE END offers something I haven’t seen from post-apocalyptic fiction before: the point at which society begins to rebuild, when people must move forward, try to cultivate a new sense of normalcy, all while living with the lingering trauma of everything they lost when their world collapsed. This book does an excellent job exploring the struggles of that kind of life, but what I really admire is that most of the characters’ biggest challenges are ones that we’ve all faced, flu-ridden world or not. These major characters (an ex-pop star, an event planner, a man who lost his wife and made a regretful decision in the name of protecting his daughter) all grapple with questions of identity and morality, of what it means to be part of a family, of what we’re willing to sacrifice and for whom. This is a story that’s as fun as it is moving. The characters are well developed, each with layered back stories that propel them forward—or try to derail them—in this new world, and the world itself is a fascinating one. Mike Chen has richly imagined every detail of the book’s Metros and Reclaimed territories, and I loved seeing how the old way of life overlapped with the new. A BEGINNING AT THE END is truly a special addition to the post-apocalyptic genre, and it stands up right alongside heavy hitters like STATION ELEVEN and THE LAST.
This is my first time reading this author and I’m happy that I was given the chance to read this book. This book is slightly different to most others as it centers around 3 adults in particular. They are strangers to each other, but they form a common bond and work together. I thought the author did a great job with world and character building and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from the author.