This is the first book by Mike Chen that I have read and it was quite good. The story has three primary characters and they are so thoughtfully developed you really start to sympathize with their issues and how they are trying to rebuild their lives. It's not a scary look at the end of the world but a softer look at how we might survive.

A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen has Society rebuilding after a flu epidemic that killed billions of people. The struggle to rebuild and to return to normal is depicted rather than turbulent repercussions of the pandemic. Characters are relatable with interesting backgrounds and personalities. A story of finding hope in the darkness of tragedy.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I loved this book!
Mike Chen seamlessly merges a deeply personal, character-driven story with a fast-paced, real-stakes plot. This post-pandemic book focuses not on the chaotic aftermath of global tragedy, but on regrowth and the very human struggle to return to normalcy. The refreshing and relatable take on post-apocalyptic sci-fi builds hope for humanity and keeps you rooting for the characters throughout the entire book. I highly recommend it!

Loved this book! A spectacular follow up to Mike Chen's Here And Now And Then. I loved the concept from the moment I heard it, and the author didn't disappoint. The characters are fantastic and the tension keeps you turning pages long after you told yourself you were going to stop. Definitely recommend (and if you haven't already, seek out Here And Now And Then).

As in his debut novel, Here and Now and Then, Mike Chen brings a refreshing new emotionalism to science fiction with his latest work, A Beginning at the End. This is a refreshing take on post-apocalyptic sci-fi. A flu pandemic devastates the world population—and takes with it the world economy and infrastructure—bringing an end to the world as we know it. As a physician, I found that aspect both realistic and terrifying. Chen does a great job in his near-future world-building, showing the after-effects of such a pandemic. He weaves together the lives of Rob (who lost his wife not to the flu but to the mob-mentality afterward); Krista (a survivor of childhood physical and emotional abuse from her alcoholic mother); Moira, a former child musical prodigy and pop star running from an abusive father; and Sunny (Rob’s daughter who, despite the new world order, is a refreshingly outspoken and slightly precocious child). These characters read as real—flawed, but surviving. They search for normality in an abnormal world, living with the accumulated trauma of this post-apocalyptic world while staring at a new pandemic. They grapple with questions of identity, the new vs the old morality, how to become a family related, if not by blood, then by choice. Like Here and Now and Then, A Beginning at the End is a kinder, gentler look at post-apocalyptic science fiction and well worth the read.