The Dog Stars

By: Peter Heller

Narrated by: Mark Deakins

Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

A riveting, powerful novel about a pilot living in a world filled with loss - and what he is willing to risk to rediscover, against all odds, connection, love, and grace.

Hig survived the flu that killed everyone he knows. His wife is gone, his friends are dead, he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, his only neighbor a gun-toting misanthrope. In his 1956 Cessna, Hig flies the perimeter of the airfield or sneaks off to the mountains to fish and to pretend that things are the way they used to be. But when a random transmission somehow beams through his radio, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life - something like his old life - exists beyond the airport.

Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return - not enough fuel to get him home - following the trail of the static-broken voice on the radio. But what he encounters and what he must face - in the people he meets, and in himself - is both better and worse than anything he could have hoped for.

Narrated by a man who is part warrior and part dreamer, a hunter with a great shot and a heart that refuses to harden, The Dog Stars is both savagely funny and achingly sad, a breathtaking story about what it means to be human.

©2012 Peter Heller (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Richly evocative yet streamlined journal entries propel the high-stakes plot while simultaneously illuminating Hig's nuanced states of mind as isolation and constant vigilance exact their toll, along with his sorrow for the dying world.... Heller's surprising and irresistible blend of suspense, romance, social insight, and humor creates a cunning form of cognitive dissonance neatly pegged by Hig as an apocalyptic parody of Norman Rockwell...a novel, that is, of spiky pleasure and signal resonance." ( Booklist)

"In the tradition of postapocalyptic literary fiction such as Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Jim Crace's The Pesthouse, this hypervisceral first novel by adventure writer Heller ( Kook) takes place nine years after a superflu has killed off much of mankind.... With its evocative descriptions of hunting, fishing, and flying, this novel, perhaps the world's most poetic survival guide, reads as if Billy Collins had novelized one of George Romero's zombie flicks. From start to finish, Heller carries the reader aloft on graceful prose, intense action, and deeply felt emotion." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Leave it to Peter Heller to imagine a post-apocalyptic world that contains as much loveliness as it does devastation. His likable hero, Hig, flies around what was once Colorado in his 1956 Cessna, chasing all the same things we chase in these pre-annihilation days: love, friendship, the solace of the natural world, the chance to perform some small kindness, and a good dog for a co-pilot. The Dog Stars is a wholly compelling and deeply engaging debut." (Pam Houston, author of Contents May Have Shifted)

Not my usual genre

I listened to this book because I was looking for something different from my usual playlist. I found the book addictive. Very well written.

Absolutely beautiful.

This book was a very pleasant surprise. A post apocalyptic tale with the undertone of living with loss, sorrow, and eventually healing. This book contains one of the most moving odes to loss and grief that I have ever read. It takes a lot to make me emotional. Especially in literature or cinema. I cried no less than 3 times during this story. Stunning story. Very convincing characters. A real treat. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone interested in post apocalypse tales, or people dealing with loss/ sorrow.

Smart for the most part

There are things that make this almost a five-star book, but other things that detract from it. I will try to outline some of those things without spoiling. The book is better listened to than read. I've seen the "actual" book, and it's challenging to say the least, It's stilted and has these weird devices. The author put a lot of time into this stream of conscious device and it makes an interesting listen but a difficult read. I get that some books need a love story and even some type of sex scene, but at one point for a solid hour this book turns into erotic fiction and it detracts from the story and becomes cringeworthy. It made me feel like the biggest prude, but making a grown man blush is quite a feat. Finally, it's supposed to be 9 years after the end of the world, and yet global warming is still a thing. It's true that in our current world global warming/climate change is a huge problem, but 9 years without emissions from cars and even electricity would dramatically reduce that and that isn't taken into account here. There are other issues, the solitariness of the characters, no sense of real large community, but at least that is somewhat plausible. It's a good book, but there are issues that one should know about going into it. Narration is good, a little flat and unemotional, but I think it fits.

Narration

Narration very calm and not forced sounding. Scenes dragged on in some chapters. Explanation of what caused the pandemic weak

Great Story

Wonderfully colorful characters. Different perspective on facing difficult times. Narrator made the story come to life.

A very profound book

But oh so depressing!! Written well, and poignant, yet another apocalyptic story, this one beats everything I have ever read in this genre in terms of morbidity!
I had to take breaks. But loved it anyway.

Yes there is pure evil in the world.

Where does The Dog Stars rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Upper third of my 200 plus. Could be higher. See below.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Better development of those that would set traps for peaceful passersby. Would have been better if there was no one left in Grand Junction.

Any additional comments?

This is one that I really need a half star for. Then I could have given 3.5 for story.

Incredible

It has been along time since a book has consumed my attention.

It was like drinking great vintage red. Savoring each sip.

One of my favorite audible books of all time.

Very good

This was a compelling story. I liked it. Sometimes a little clumsy and heavy-handed with the imagery, but poignant and beautiful all the same. The performance was excellent.

Outstanding!!

This is an amazing, creative piece of literature. A poetic and intimate invitation into the mind of the sturdy yet vulnerable protagonist. The beginning is a bit of an adjustment, but don't give up. There is an adjustment period and wading through it will allow you to take an amazing journey. Mark Deakins was the perfect voice for this story.