336 pages
English language
Published Dec. 30, 2012
The Dog Stars is a post-apocalyptic fiction novel by Peter Heller. Set in Colorado, a man lives a lonesome existence in an airplane hangar with his dog and a dour gunman he has befriended. When a mysterious transmission comes through on the radio while he’s flying his old Cessna, it sparks a hunt for the provenance of the sound.
Suspenseful page-turner that explores what it would be like in the US if civilization collapsed. Unfortunately it seems to have been written by a billionaire prepper and private pilot with a love for guns. Adventure and romance with a John Wayne protagonist. Quick read. Very entertaining. Thought provoking about the nature of human ethics/values/morality when the **it hits the fan.
There were parts of this dystopian novel that I enjoyed, parts I struggled with, and a few that didn't belong. The main character is good, or discovers goodness within himself. His stream-of-consciousness narrative is jarring at times. Comparable in theme and direction to The Death of Grass, which I found marginally better. One last comment, no spoilers - the added bits of the ending make little sense to me - is the author striking out at someone, or laying the groundwork for a sequel? Either way I didn't like it.
