The Earth is blasted and burned by an unexplained force and a relative handful of people survive, subsisting on what little food remains and dodging some ravenous creatures created by a space-borne organism. The tale is one of unrelieved misery and loss. In fact, it is monotonously endlessly repetitive. I kept reading hoping that the plot would develop. It didnt.
Very dark, very gruesome. Imagine if HP Lovecraft wrote a post-apocalyptic novel today, using modern characters and setting. It starts with the main character who is a diver in the North Sea, then follows him as he makes his way to land and across a scarred England to London to find his son.