So good. Language is so powerful. Apocalyptic, post flu. ( )

Somewhere in Colorado, some years into the future, Hig is one of the few survivors of a global flu pandemic. Resource scarcity has caused a rise in violence as people do whatever it takes to ensure their survival. Hig has forged a partnership with Bangley and together they protect their compound from marauding gangs. Bangley's back story is not clear, although his expertise with guns and ammunition offers clues. But Hig also has a humanitarian side, and routinely uses his private plane to provide food and other aid to a Mennonite community.

Hig suffered tremendous loss during the pandemic; his dog Jasper is now his only family. But nine years after the pandemic, Jasper is showing signs of age. Hig and Jasper go out foraging, sometimes spending the night in the wilderness. Jasper also accompanies Hig on his routine reconnaissance flights. Whenever Hig flies near an airport, he uses his radio in hopes of finding other human life. On one flight he received a faint response, and ultimately decided to search for its source. This trip will be longer than usual, with a risk of running out of fuel, not to mention other potential dangers.

This marks a turning point in the novel, as the focus shifts from the bleak and violent living conditions fraught with despair, to a personal journey that offers hope. I will refrain from saying more, except that once Hig began his journey I found this book un-putdownable. ( )

Pretty standard post-apocalyptic fare, but with unusually lovely words and some real heart now and then. ( )

I'm not sure if I liked this. At times wonderfully evocative, flowing stream of consciousness writing, it all seemed to be building up toward something, but it just fizzles. The disconnect between the violence and the blasé attitudes of the narrator get McCarthian at times, but that too never amounts to anything. He's just a normal guy by the end. Nothing that happens, no matter how bad, seems to be of any consequence. Maybe that was the point? Is that good writing? ( )

CO author with apocalyptic story.

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