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Dead Cities: Zombie Apocalypse Thriller Set in ABC Region

📅 2026-09-16🔄 Updated: 2026-10-12⏱️ 7 min read📝
Dead Cities: Zombie Apocalypse Thriller Set in ABC Region
Dead Cities: Zombie Apocalypse Thriller Set in ABC Region — High-Fidelity Artistic Illustration created by artificial intelligence based on scientific research.
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Quick Summary

Exclusive interview with author Filipe Salomão on 'Dead Cities: Exiles in the ABC', a realistic dystopian thriller exploring urban collapse in metropolitan São Paulo. Apocalyptic horror and speculative survival fiction acquired an authentic South American voice with the publication of "Dead Cities: Exiles in the ABC" (Cidades Mortas: Exilados no ABC), a psychological thriller crafted by Brazilian author Filipe Salomão.

Key Takeaways:

  • The plot of Dead Cities: Exiles in the ABC tracks the fragmented trajectories of three central protagonists—Camila, Rafaela, and Diego—each stranded within distinct urban redoubts across the metropolitan region.
  • To contextualize the narrative mechanics and thematic architecture of Dead Cities: Exiles in the ABC, the analytical matrix below contrasts the novel's localized realism against standardized North American survival archetypes:
  • Below is the complete transcript of the exclusive discussion between Mundo Incrível and author Filipe Salomão regarding the creative process and independent literary publishing:

Dead Cities: Zombie Apocalypse Thriller Set in ABC Region

Apocalyptic horror and speculative survival fiction acquired an authentic South American voice with the publication of "Dead Cities: Exiles in the ABC" (Cidades Mortas: Exilados no ABC), a psychological thriller crafted by Brazilian author Filipe Salomão. Set across the densely populated metropolitan triangle of Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, and São Caetano do Sul—collectively known as the ABC Paulista—the novel poses an unsettling question: how would everyday urban society endure if an uncontrollable zombie pandemic caused the total collapse of Brazil's complex infrastructure?

Departing from conventional Hollywood survival narratives, the work interrogates cultural, logistical, and architectural realities unique to metropolitan South America. Beyond evading relentless infected populations, the survivors confront institutional abandonment, the failure of water and municipal power grids, and the rapid decay of social trust when legal structures dissolve.

Dead Cities: Exiles in the ABC Book Cover

In an exclusive interview with Mundo Incrível, author Filipe Salomão shared the conceptual origins of the novel, the logistical research underlying urban starvation and resource exhaustion, the psychological moral dilemmas confronting his protagonists, and the expanding landscape of independent digital publishing in Brazil.

The Apocalypse in Our Backyard: Narrative Framework #

The plot of Dead Cities: Exiles in the ABC tracks the fragmented trajectories of three central protagonists—Camila, Rafaela, and Diego—each stranded within distinct urban redoubts across the metropolitan region. The ABC Paulista, celebrated historically as the manufacturing and automotive powerhouse of Brazil, becomes a hostile expanse of concrete, stalled highways, and contaminated waterways.

Salomão explains that anchoring the story within his home region stemmed from a longstanding desire to situate South America at the center of high-stakes speculative fiction:

"I have always loved post-apocalyptic books, television series, and films—not merely zombie outbreaks, but all forms of dystopian collapse. Envisioning what an apocalyptic scenario would look like within our country, embedded directly in our culture and everyday reality, was a narrative space that fascinated me." — Filipe Salomão

A distinguishing feature highlighted by early readers is the operational verisimilitude of the survival dilemmas. Unlike the United States, where widespread civilian firearm ownership is common, Brazilian society operates under strict civilian weapon regulations. Consequently, characters cannot depend on automatic rifles or stockpiled ammunition, forcing them to navigate survival through tactical cunning, mechanical improvisation, and local geographical knowledge.

Comparative Survival Framework: ABC Reality vs. Hollywood Tropes #

To contextualize the narrative mechanics and thematic architecture of Dead Cities: Exiles in the ABC, the analytical matrix below contrasts the novel's localized realism against standardized North American survival archetypes:

Narrative Dimension Dead Cities: ABC Paulista Realism Conventional Hollywood Zombie Tropes Logistical Constraint in Novel Thematic Impact on Reader
Defensive Hardware Scythes, machetes, crowbars, improvised tools Abundant semi-automatic firearms and ammunition Strict civilian gun control in Brazilian territory Heightens visceral tension and physical vulnerability
Fuel Procurement Siphoning stalled cars; non-functional pumps Effortless refueling at roadside gas stations Electrical grid collapse disables submersible pumps Emphasizes energy scarcity and limits vehicle travel
Primary Refuge Commercial shopping centers and industrial sites Rural farmsteads and reinforced military bases Diesel generator runtime measured in days, not months Forces characters into active urban scavenging
Social Dynamics Communal improvisation and ethical fragmentation Lone-wolf vigilantism and romanticized heroics Crowded apartment towers and dense urban geography Explores complex psychological stress and solidarity

Exclusive Interview with Author Filipe Salomão #

Below is the complete transcript of the exclusive discussion between Mundo Incrível and author Filipe Salomão regarding the creative process and independent literary publishing:

Author Filipe Salomão

Mundo Incrível: What motivated you to transport the zombie apocalypse directly into Brazil, specifically into the ABC Paulista? #

Filipe Salomão: I have a deep affinity for apocalyptic literature and cinema across all genres. Imagining how an apocalypse would manifest within our country, bound to our culture and urban layout, was irresistible.

Consider the gun culture: in foreign films, nearly every civilian knows how to handle a firearm and acquires ammunition effortlessly. In Brazil, civilian reality is entirely different. That contrast alone completely transforms the physical struggle to barricade shelters, escape infected hordes, and secure territory without overwhelming firepower.

Mundo Incrível: How did you calibrate the tension between ruthless survival instincts and altruistic solidarity among your characters? #

Filipe Salomão: I was very deliberate about avoiding binary archetypes of pure heroes and one-dimensional villains. There are no flawless characters in Dead Cities; every individual carries unresolved trauma, specific motivations, and internal flaws. My goal is for readers to recognize genuine human reactions in each protagonist, without necessarily condoning every action they take. The core narrative objective is for readers to understand their dilemmas and comprehend why someone might make desperate choices that ordinary societal rules would condemn.

Mundo Incrível: What technical research went into modeling the breakdown of public utilities and critical infrastructure? #

Filipe Salomão: Researching how the immediate absence of electricity and communications would paralyze daily routines was both challenging and fascinating. A clear practical example: locating an abandoned gas station is useless if there is no electric current to drive the subterranean pumps.

In Dead Cities, we follow three distinct survivor groups, each establishing a redoubt in a specific urban location. For the group taking shelter within a large shopping center, I investigated the operational autonomy of industrial diesel generators and calculated potable water tank capacities to determine how many weeks they could realistically survive before structural starvation forced them outside.

Mundo Incrível: What has been the response from Brazilian readers seeing their local neighborhoods in an apocalyptic thriller? #

Filipe Salomão: The engagement has been remarkably enthusiastic. The concept grips readers before they even turn the first page, because seeing an apocalyptic crisis unfold in familiar avenues and local transit hubs creates immediate emotional resonance. Readers constantly message me noting how strange it feels to walk past a recognizable landmark and imagine it overrun by infected hordes.

Mundo Incrível: What guidance would you offer to aspiring independent writers seeking to publish their first book? #

Filipe Salomão: I encourage anyone harboring the desire to write to begin immediately, even if it starts as a private personal project. Creative writing can be deeply therapeutic: sitting down, organizing thoughts, and seeing what narrative emerges on the page. If the objective is commercial publication, modern independent platforms like Amazon Kindle make the pathway far more accessible than traditional gatekeepers ever allowed. The most crucial advice is simple: stop waiting for an ideal moment that never arrives. Just start writing.

Mundo Incrível: Should readers expect future sequels or universe expansions within the Dead Cities timeline? #

Filipe Salomão: Absolutely. From its initial outline, the project was envisioned as an expansive series. I have already drafted narrative threads, background lore, and supplementary materials to broaden the universe, so Dead Cities still has extensive stories waiting to be told.

Profiling Filipe Salomão: From Systems Analysis to Speculative Fiction #

Born in 1988 and living in São Caetano do Sul, Filipe Salomão represents a dynamic generation of Brazilian independent authors. Having worked previously as a professional drummer, banking employee, systems analyst, and entertainment journalist at the gaming portal Combo Infinito, Salomão synthesizes multidisciplinary life experiences into his prose.

Characterizing his narrative philosophy as "fiction infused with reality, and reality seasoned with fiction," the author views writing as both a rigorous craft and an introspective mechanism. Leveraging Amazon's global Kindle Direct Publishing infrastructure, Salomão exemplifies the independent digital movement delivering sophisticated local storytelling to audiences hungry for grounded South American narratives.

Urban Topography of the ABC Industrial Belt and Systems-Engineering Realism in Brazilian Speculative Fiction #

What elevates Filipe Salomão's Dead Cities: Exiles in the ABC (Cidades Mortas: Exilados no ABC) within contemporary Latin American speculative literature is its rigorous integration of real-world urban logistics, industrial geography, and civil defense vulnerabilities across Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, and São Caetano do Sul. Drawing directly from his professional background in systems analysis, Salomão treats the viral collapse not as a supernatural abstraction, but as a cascading failure of interconnected metropolitan networks—from the supply bottlenecks along the Anchieta-Imigrantes highway corridor to the acoustic hazards of densely packed metallurgy plants and high-rise residential blocks. Every tactical decision made by protagonist Bruno reflects verifiable spatial constraints, caloric rationing mathematics, and line-of-sight acoustics familiar to residents of Greater São Paulo.

By anchoring psychological trauma and moral ambiguity inside recognizable Brazilian municipal landmarks rather than imported North American suburban tropes, the novel establishes a benchmark for regional dystopian world-building. Readers and literary critics alike have noted that the narrative's tension derives precisely from the friction between algorithmic rationality and human grief when institutional order evaporates overnight.

Official Publication Channels and Author Information #

For readers interested in high-tension psychological fiction and grounded apocalyptic scenarios, the book is available digitally:

🏷️ Tags:

#DeadCitiesExilesintheABC#FilipeSalomão#Brazilianzombieapocalypse#independentliteratureBrazil#kindlesuspensethriller#ABCPaulistasurvival

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❓Frequently Asked Questions

Dead Cities: Exiles in the ABC is a speculative horror thriller written by Brazilian independent author Filipe Salomão and published in digital format on Amazon Kindle in September 2026. Set against the real geographical backdrop of the industrial ABC region of São Paulo—encompassing Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, and São Caetano do Sul—the novel explores the catastrophic aftermath of a sudden viral outbreak. Rather than relying on Hollywood tropes of heavily armed protagonists, the story examines the collapse of urban infrastructure, electrical grid failure, severe water scarcity, and the psychological fractures of ordinary civilians fighting for survival.
Filipe Salomão is an independent Brazilian author born in 1988 and residing in São Caetano do Sul, within the metropolitan belt of São Paulo. Bringing a multifaceted creative and professional background as a former musician, commercial banking employee, systems analyst, and pop-culture columnist at the gaming outlet Combo Infinito, Salomão approaches speculative fiction through a lens of psychological realism. He utilizes writing both as a literary discipline and a therapeutic exploration of contemporary Brazilian society, constructing narratives where human vulnerability, ethical ambiguity, and regional authenticity supersede romanticized apocalyptic survival fantasies.
Situating an apocalyptic outbreak within the dense urban geography of the ABC Paulista strips away familiar foreign survival cliches. In Brazil, strict civilian gun ownership laws prevent protagonists from easily securing firearms and ammunition, compelling them to rely on tactical improvisation and environmental awareness. Furthermore, the novel confronts logistical realities: fuel cannot be extracted from modern gas stations once the regional power grid fails, commercial generators inside shopping complexes possess limited diesel reserves, and dense urban populations create massive infection vectors that turn ordinary city neighborhoods into insurmountable logistical traps.

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