Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend

Dan Foster has spent his adult life coasting, and he knows it. His job and his ambitions have both landed at average. Now he is on a resort island with his girlfriend, Mara, finally taking a vacation. A few Miller Lites in, things are looking up.

Then the sun explodes. The resort goes dark, and the temperature starts to fall. Some of the wealthier guests respond by staging a coup and taking over the supplies, which turns the stranded holiday into a fight between the haves and the have-nots.

As resentment builds toward revolution, Dan becomes a symbol of hope for the other vacationers, and he never meant to. Then someone finds a six-seat plane that could carry a few people back to the mainland. Dan has to decide whether to leave with Mara or stay and fight for the others.

The book is a social satire with an apocalyptic setup, played for dark laughs. The tone is quick and sardonic, with class conflict as its sharpest target. At the centre is an underachiever who is hard to picture as a hero. The stakes are survival for a whole island of guests, and for Dan, a choice between his own escape and everyone else.