The Dog Stars. Peter Heller. 2012.
Survival fiction. Post-apocalyptic. Dystopian.
After a pandemic wipes out nearly everyone on Earth, a grieving pilot who lives in an abandoned airport with his dog and a weapons-expert neighbor risks everything—flying past his point of no return—to locate the source of a mysterious voice on his airplane radio.
The story is told from the perspective of a gentle, caring man forced to survive in a brutal, uncaring remnant of his former world. He sees what is happening around him and knows that it is what it is, but he can’t stop grieving for what was lost or yearning for a rebirth of human kindness.
The vibe for much of this novel is as hopeless and lonely as you would expect it to be in an empty, desperate world. But a turn in the midpoint delivers a message of hope and optimism that lifts everyone’s spirits before the end.
Although 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑜𝑔 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑠 is a survival story, it has more in common with Station Eleven than it does with 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑜𝑎𝑑 or the 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟. In fact, I tend to think of it as survival fiction for a reader seeking a book boyfriend to fall in love with.
AUTHORS – I write short book reviews that focus on voice and vibe. They are useful to querying authors searching for comp titles. There are more like this on my website.