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Apocalypse Barnes
First comes nausea... then unconsciousness... then the hunger.
After the leafy streets of affluent London suburb Barnes are overwhelmed with shambling, bloodthirsty creatures, two uninfected survivors struggle to escape the well-dressed undead hordes, via the wobbly green towers of Hammersmith Bridge.
Featuring combat juggling, a deadly farmer's market, and zombie Roger McGough, this comedy horror novella puts the "urrrrr" into "Gap yurrrrr"...
After the leafy streets of affluent London suburb Barnes are overwhelmed with shambling, bloodthirsty creatures, two uninfected survivors struggle to escape the well-dressed undead hordes, via the wobbly green towers of Hammersmith Bridge.
Featuring combat juggling, a deadly farmer's market, and zombie Roger McGough, this comedy horror novella puts the "urrrrr" into "Gap yurrrrr"...
112 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 9, 2017
8 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Andrew K. Lawston
54 books63 followersAndrew K. Lawston writes quirky comedy fiction over a variety of genres. His writing is infused with the kind of worldview that comes from watching a lot of French cinema and Doctor Who (not necessarily in that order), and reading a lot of Pratchett, Dickens and Shakespeare.
His best-known series is Detective Daintypaws - the adventures of a crime-solving cat in the south west London suburb of Barnes. Detective Daintypaws is unashamedly modelled on his own cat Buscemi, who passed away at the venerable age of 19 and a half in September 2024. The Detective Daintypaws series concluded in February 2026, as it proved too painful to write about such an extraordinary cat after she'd gone.
With a degree in French, Andrew also translates classic French books, most notably Casanova's account of his escape from Venice prison in 1755, and the Chantecoq series of pulp detective novels by Arthur Bernède.
Andrew is also a theatre reviewer and occasional playwright. His play Matrexit was a finalist in the Arts Richmond New Plays Festival in 2018, and Guess Who's Computing To Dinner won a Metatra play-writing contest in 2025, and was performed as part of the Meteatra production Borders at the Arcola Theatre in February 2026.
He lives in London with a lovely wife and a hamster who has his own little hamster car.
His best-known series is Detective Daintypaws - the adventures of a crime-solving cat in the south west London suburb of Barnes. Detective Daintypaws is unashamedly modelled on his own cat Buscemi, who passed away at the venerable age of 19 and a half in September 2024. The Detective Daintypaws series concluded in February 2026, as it proved too painful to write about such an extraordinary cat after she'd gone.
With a degree in French, Andrew also translates classic French books, most notably Casanova's account of his escape from Venice prison in 1755, and the Chantecoq series of pulp detective novels by Arthur Bernède.
Andrew is also a theatre reviewer and occasional playwright. His play Matrexit was a finalist in the Arts Richmond New Plays Festival in 2018, and Guess Who's Computing To Dinner won a Metatra play-writing contest in 2025, and was performed as part of the Meteatra production Borders at the Arcola Theatre in February 2026.
He lives in London with a lovely wife and a hamster who has his own little hamster car.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 24, 2017
It's rarely that I set aside time to go out of my way to read a book in one sitting, but based on Andrew's previous output, I suspected that this was going to be special. For a story that started in a pub, it only seemed only appropriate to begin it sitting in the quiet snug of my local with two pints of Byatt's Platinum Blonde (ABV 3.9%, Zesty citrus flavours).
Zombies have been (no pun intended) done to death. It takes a very unique voice or style to cut through the morass of identikit undead tales, but Andrew has achieved exactly that. It's quintessentially British, and has all the gleeful cynicism that you'd expect. Laugh-out loud hilarious (which I can vouch for based on the reaction of young Dave, the barman who kept pointing out that it must have been a funny book), wry and compelling.
It's too easy with satire to end up with jokes at the expense of character - and equally as easy to create comedic scenes without any real reason or logic - but Lawston has managed to carefully balance plot and wit. Likeable, believable characters and topped off with an ending I didn't see coming.
From the "1" on the subtitle on the cover, I'm hoping very much there will be other books in this series. Highly recommended. The only downside is that I daren't let my wife read it, due to her inherent and overwhelming fear of Canadian Geese. You'll know what I mean when you read it.
Zombies have been (no pun intended) done to death. It takes a very unique voice or style to cut through the morass of identikit undead tales, but Andrew has achieved exactly that. It's quintessentially British, and has all the gleeful cynicism that you'd expect. Laugh-out loud hilarious (which I can vouch for based on the reaction of young Dave, the barman who kept pointing out that it must have been a funny book), wry and compelling.
It's too easy with satire to end up with jokes at the expense of character - and equally as easy to create comedic scenes without any real reason or logic - but Lawston has managed to carefully balance plot and wit. Likeable, believable characters and topped off with an ending I didn't see coming.
From the "1" on the subtitle on the cover, I'm hoping very much there will be other books in this series. Highly recommended. The only downside is that I daren't let my wife read it, due to her inherent and overwhelming fear of Canadian Geese. You'll know what I mean when you read it.
April 3, 2018
A fun zombie romp through one of London's most idyllic suburbs.
This book is great fun, especially if you are familiar with the area, although this is not a requirement. The short journey of the everyman character, Alan, from Barnes green to Hammersmith bridge is far from the usual peaceful stroll and I thoroughly enjoyed all the twists and turns. There were some fun nods to local celebs and organisations and I found myself, despite the relatively short time spent with him, genuinely concerned about Alan and wanting him to keep going. I will definitely be giving it another read at some point and look forward to the next book in the series.
This book is great fun, especially if you are familiar with the area, although this is not a requirement. The short journey of the everyman character, Alan, from Barnes green to Hammersmith bridge is far from the usual peaceful stroll and I thoroughly enjoyed all the twists and turns. There were some fun nods to local celebs and organisations and I found myself, despite the relatively short time spent with him, genuinely concerned about Alan and wanting him to keep going. I will definitely be giving it another read at some point and look forward to the next book in the series.
August 12, 2017
Imagine Shaun of the Dead, if done by Ealing studios, and you have yourself a taste of Apocalypse Barnes. Detailing the wild adventures of a man named Alan, as he braces farmers markets, herons, and the undead Roger McGough in an attempt to reach Hammersmith Bridge. It's a short book, but packed with enough laughs to make it worth a quick read. There are some moments where the more anal grammaticists will sneer - as well as a plot line that seemed to this reader to go nowhere - but overall Apocalypse Barnes carries on the great British humour of Andrew Lawston.
Now, on with the next one...
Now, on with the next one...
January 25, 2023
Although I wish that I hadn't started reading 'Apocalypse Barnes' just before bedtime, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this story, thrilling to questions such as 'can the zombie hoardes be repelled using only artisan loaves and pocket full of KitKats?', 'Will zombie Roger McGough succeed in giving his poetry recital despite being undead?, and 'are zombie geese more or less frightening than living ones?'. Read on to find out the answers to these questions and more.
May 3, 2023
This was an enjoyable short book about an ordinary guy getting caught up in a zombie apocalypse. It was fast paced and easy to read. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I lived in the UK because there were a lot of references to things that only a Londoner would appreciate. There was plenty of humor, but a lot of it was beyond me because of these things.
The narrator did a good job, but every time the young boy spoke, I felt like I was listening to a Monty Python skit.
The narrator did a good job, but every time the young boy spoke, I felt like I was listening to a Monty Python skit.
May 1, 2024
I burnt myself out on the zombie genre quite a while back, and it takes a lot to really get my attention with a zompoc novel now. That being said, this book was good. It's well-written and has some clever dry humor. In no way does it add anything new to the genre, but it's a fun quick read. 3 stars
November 15, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this book throughout. There are a few bits at the beginning that I'm a bit confused by, but overall a great read and the ending was not what I expected, but brilliant.
I'll be reading more from this author now
I'll be reading more from this author now
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews