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The Dog Stars
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
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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.
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The Breakers Omnibus
- Books 1-3 and Prequel Novella
- By: Edward W. Robertson
- Narrated by: Ray Chase
- Length: 42 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Books 1-3 and the prequel novella of the Breakers series.
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So glad I downloaded this one.
- By Stevie Havoc on 11-16-15
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Ceremony
- By: Leslie Marmon Silko
- Narrated by: Pete Bradbury
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Leslie Marmon Silko's sublime Ceremony is almost universally considered one of the finest novels ever written by an American Indian. It is the poetic, dreamlike tale of Tayo, a mixed-blood Laguna Pueblo and veteran of World War II. Tormented by shell shock and haunted by memories of his cousin who died in the war, Tayo struggles on his impoverished reservation. After turning to alcohol to ease his pain, he strives for a better understanding of who he is.
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Worth a re-read
- By Mariah on 02-02-09
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I Am Still Alive
- By: Kate Alice Marshall
- Narrated by: Amy McFadden
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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After: Jess is alone. Her cabin has burned to the ground. She knows if she doesn't act fast, the cold will kill her before she has time to worry about food. But she is still alive - for now. Before: Jess hadn't seen her survivalist, off-the-grid dad in more than a decade. But after a car crash killed her mother and left her injured, she was forced to move to his cabin in the remote Canadian wilderness. Just as Jess was beginning to get to know him, a secret from his past paid them a visit, leaving her father dead and Jess stranded.
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YA fiction, but a decent enough yarn.
- By LibraryNinja on 01-12-22
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The Stand
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 47 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death. And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides - or are chosen.
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My First Completed Stephen King Novel
- By Meaghan Bynum on 02-20-12
By: Stephen King
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Sometimes a Great Notion
- By: Ken Kesey
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
- Length: 30 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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A literary icon sometimes seen as a bridge between the Beat Generation and the hippies, Ken Kesey scored an unexpected hit with his first novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. His successful follow-up, Sometimes a Great Notion, was also transformed into a major motion picture, directed by and starring Paul Newman. Here, Oregon’s Stamper family does what it can to survive a bitter strike dividing their tiny logging community. And as tensions rise, delicate family bonds begin to fray and unravel.
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Sometimes a Great Novel Pops up out of Nowhere
- By Mr. Eyuz on 06-07-19
By: Ken Kesey
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Once Upon a River
- By: Bonnie Jo Campbell
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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A finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, Bonnie Jo Campbell is a rising star in contemporary fiction. Hailed by Booklist as a female Huckleberry Finn, Campbell’s heroine is 16yearold Margo Crane. Complicit in her father’s death, Margo flees home for the Stark River. And as she follows the current, she learns the ways of the world from the eccentric characters she meets.
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Great Narrator - Horrific story
- By J. Kromrie on 11-04-20
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Far Cry: Absolution
- By: Urban Waite
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Hope County, Montana. Land of the free and the brave, but also home to a fanatical doomsday cult known as The Church of Eden’s Gate that has slowly been infiltrating the residents’ daily lives in the past years. Mary May Fairgrave, a local barkeep, has lost almost everything to the Church: her parents died in suspicious conditions and her brother, entranced by the cult leader’s charismatic words, has vanished. When the authorities refuse to investigate further, she decides to take matters in to her own hands.
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Good story but generic for gameplay story
- By LITRPG Audiobook Reviews on 03-30-19
By: Urban Waite
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Scribbling the Cat
- Travels with an African Soldier
- By: Alexandra Fuller
- Narrated by: Lisette Lecat
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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When Alexandra ("Bo") Fuller was home in Zambia a few years ago, visiting her parents for Christmas, she asked her father about a nearby banana farmer who was known for being a "tough bugger". Her father's response was a warning to steer clear of him; he told Bo: "Curiosity scribbled the cat." Nonetheless, Fuller began her strange friendship with the man she calls K, a white African and veteran of the Rhodesian war.
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Astonishing
- By G. Robinson on 06-27-04
By: Alexandra Fuller
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The Fireman
- A Novel
- By: Joe Hill
- Narrated by: Kate Mulgrew
- Length: 22 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it's Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies - before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.
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GOD'S WAITING ROOM; AKA FLORIDA
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-25-17
By: Joe Hill
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The Wolf Road
- By: Beth Lewis
- Narrated by: Amy McFadden
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Everything Elka knows of the world she learned from the man she calls Father, the solitary hunter who took her under his wing when she was just seven years old. He has taught her how to shoot, track, set snares, and start fires - all the skills she needs to survive in a frozen, lawless land where civilization has been destroyed and men are at the mercy of the elements and each other. But the man Elka thought she knew so well is harboring a terrible secret. He's a killer. A monster.
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Almost too bloody
- By Melissa Fafarman on 12-06-16
By: Beth Lewis
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I would have enjoyed this book...
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Entertaining Fiction…I hope.
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Disappointing Read From A Favorite Author
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Murder HE Wrote
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You left me hanging. Excellent story line
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Disappointing Read From A Favorite Author
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The Tsangpo Gorge in southeastern Tibet has lured explorers and adventurers since its discovery. Sacred to the Buddhists, the inspiration for Shangri La, the Gorge is as steeped in legend and mystery as any spot on earth. As a river-running challenge, the remote Tsangpo is relentlessly unforgiving, more difficult than any stretch of river ever attempted. Its mysteries have withstood a century's worth of determined efforts to explore its length. The finest expedition paddlers on earth have tried.
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Hell or High Water (Unabridged)
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The cabin had always been a special retreat for Isherwood Williams, a haven from the demands of society. But one day while hiking, Ish was bitten by a rattlesnake, and the solitude he had so desired took on dire new significance. Ish headed home when he finally felt himself again—and noticed the strangeness almost immediately. No cars passed him on the road; the gas station not far from his cabin looked abandoned; and he was shocked to see the body of a man on the roadside near a small town. Without a radio or phone, Ish had no idea of humanity’s abrupt demise.
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The accolades are undeserved
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Kook
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Having resolved to master a big - hollow wave - that is, to go from kook (surfese for beginner) to shredder-in a single year, Heller travels from Southern California down the coast of Mexico in the company of his girlfriend and the eccentric surfers they meet. Exuberant and fearless, Heller explores the technique and science of surfing the secrets of its culture, and the environmental ravages to the stunning coastline he visits.
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Narrator....
- By Jimmy P on 12-14-17
By: Peter Heller
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The Whale Warriors
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For two months, journalist Peter Heller rode aboard the vegan pirate ship Farley Mowat as it stalked its prey, a Japanese whaling fleet, through the storms and ice of Antarctica. The ship is black, flies under a jolly roger, and carries members of the Sea Shepherd Society, a radical environmental group who are willing to die to stop illegal whale hunting.
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A book everyone needs to read!
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By: Peter Heller
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Burn
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Every year Jess and Storey have made an annual pilgrimage to northern Maine, where they camp, hunt, and hike, leaving much from their long friendship unspoken. Although the state has convulsed all summer with secession mania—a mania that had simultaneously spread across other states—Jess and Storey figure it’s a fight reserved for legislators or, worse-case scenario, folks in the capitol. But after two weeks hunting moose off the grid, the men reach a small town and are shocked to find a bridge blown apart, buildings burned to the ground, and bombed-out cars abandoned on the road.
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A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World
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My name's Griz. I've never been to school, I've never had friends, and in my whole life I've not met enough people to play a game of football. My parents told me how crowded the world used to be, before all the people went away. But we were never lonely on our remote island. We had each other and our dogs. Then the thief came.
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Ah, NOT for animal lovers!
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Die Lodge
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Die Kingfisher Lodge in Colorado bietet exklusives Fliegenfischen für wohlhabende Kunden. Jack hofft, mit einem Job bei der Lodge zur Normalität zurückkehren zu können – nach einem jungen, von Verlusten geprägten Leben. Seine Aufgabe besteht darin, die Ausrüstung der Gäste zu tragen und sie zu den besten Forellen zu führen. Sein erster Gast ist die prominente Sängerin Allison, es macht Jack Spaß, mit ihr unterwegs zu sein. Doch bald wird klar, dass in der Lodge etwas nicht stimmt.
By: Peter Heller
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A war no one fully understands has devastated the planet with radioactive fallout from massive cobalt bombing. Melbourne, Australia, is the only area whose citizens have not yet succumbed to the contamination. But there isn’t much time left, a few months, maybe more—and the citizens of Melbourne must decide how they will live the remaining weeks of their lives, and how they will face a hopeless future.
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Rice Moore is just beginning to think his troubles are behind him. He’s found a job protecting a remote forest preserve in Virginian Appalachia where his main responsibilities include tracking wildlife and refurbishing cabins. It’s hard work, and totally solitary - perfect to hide away from the Mexican drug cartels he betrayed back in Arizona. But when Rice finds the carcass of a bear killed on the grounds, the quiet solitude he’s so desperately sought is suddenly at risk.
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Other Reviews Pretty Accurate, Positive & Negative
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gah!
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This true modern masterpiece is built around the two fateful words that make up the title and herald the end - “Alas, Babylon.” When a nuclear holocaust ravages the United States, a thousand years of civilization are stripped away overnight, and tens of millions of people are killed instantly. But for one small town in Florida, miraculously spared, the struggle is just beginning, as men and women of all backgrounds join together to confront the darkness....
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Years ago, just before the country was incinerated to wasteland, 10 men and their families colonized an island off the coast. They built a radical society of ancestor worship, controlled breeding, and the strict rationing of knowledge and history. Only the Wanderers - chosen male descendants of the original 10 - are allowed to cross to the wastelands, where they scavenge for detritus among the still-smoldering fires.
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A gripping but disturbing read
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What listeners say about The Dog Stars
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Mel
- 08-10-12
Absolutely Stellar!
What a debut! Heller proves, WOW, he can write; and the fact that he creates a beautiful story of regeneration and hope against the background of such a bleak dystopian world makes this debut novel altogether stunning.
Nine years have passed since a virulent flu-like pandemic annihilated 99% of the population, or *The End.* Hig is in the 1%...a gnawing fact that keeps him searching for answers. All he knows about this new world--is what is in *the perimeter*, the area he can fly over in his primo '56 Cessna he calls *Beast,* the area before the point of no return (*PNR*) or when the fuel is emptied. He lives in an abandon subdivision, choosing to sleep under the stars (to avoid being attacked and trapped in a shelter) with his aging, much loved, cannine companion, Jasper, and his memories--memories he'd like to forget. Also in the perimeter is co-survivor, Bangley, an ornry old gun-packing survivalist/misanthrope, and a neighboring colony of friendly, but blood-sick, Mennonites. Together, Hig, Jasper, and Bangley have survived a day-to-day existence of loneliness and *necessary violence,* more like *an old married couple* than friends.They know that together is their only chance of survival, and that outside of the perimeter is certain death. The marauders are fellow survivors--what you would expect to crawl out if you threw humankind into a fighting pit--not rabid infected changelings or zombies, but brutal savage men -- this is a more believable apocalyptic world. Daily, Hig flys recon with Jasper perched in the co-pilot's seat on a stack of heirloom quilts..."The whole time I fly I talk to him, and it amuses me to no end that the whole time he pretends not to listen." Then one day he hears a voice over the radio transmitter that ignites in him another question...what is beyond the perimeter. The Dog Stars is the story of Hig's journey, both concretely and existentially.
Though Dog Stars is his debut, Heller is a gifted writer and story-teller. His style is choppy and blunt, but absolutely precise, and adds to the sense of an abbreviated world. Throughout, the book is powerfully emotional, you'll laugh and you'll cry (maybe even blubber like a baby...just saying) and I doubt you'll ever forget. Heller just intuitively knows how to connect with all the facets of the human spirit. Dog Stars is rich with prose that are at once beautifully intimate and simple, and as profound and gut wrenching as the post-apocalyptic setting. It speaks straight to your soul. Heller's descriptions of nature are breathtakingly beautiful. Narrator Mark Deakins does a remarkable job bringing this text to life with such profundity that I found myself often in awe of simple sentences, or consummed with the loneliness, or sometimes even on the edge of a stream looking for trout, surrounded by the scent of fir trees and sounds of the forest.
"Life and death lived inside each other. That's what occurred to me. Death was inside all of us, waiting for warmer nights, a compromised system, a beetle, as in the now dying black timber on the mountains. And life was inside death, virulent and insistent as a strain of flu. How it should be."
"Is it possible to love so desperately that life is unbearable? I don't mean unrequited love, I mean being in the love. In the midst of it and desperate. Because knowing it will end, because everything does. End."
This is more a story of a sensitive man's search for meaning (apologies to Frankl) than a post-apocalyptic tale--more Alas Babylon, Earth Abides, than McCarthy's depressing gem The Road. Though Hig mostly contemplates what drives a man to live when they have lost everything but their life, he still finds humor and beauty in this world, he still appreciates the wonder of nature, the desire for human connection, the glowing light of hope. I'm not sure if the ending was abrupt or whether I just regretted any ending--possibly both. The Dog Stars is everything I hope a book will be, highly entertaining, creative, evocative, the kind of book I'd gift or pass along. I think it will appeal to almost everyone, and may even linger on to become a classic. (There is some harsh language and violence that might cross this one off some people's list, but considering the subject--relatively little.) Best book I've read in a long while, and I can't wait to see what Peter Heller does next. Just stunning.
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Overall
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- Pamela Harvey
- 08-15-12
Dialogue? What's That?
My review is titled as such - instead of a hyperbolic "Ten Dog Stars out of Five" or "Brilliant Post-Apocalyptic VIsion" or some other extravagant moniker - because I love the fact that there is very little dialogue and a complex vision of the ruination of a world as we know it is accomplished with almost no conversation.
I am not a fan of dialogue. It's only in the hands of a master that such a device advances a plot or defines character. Many writers fail at it, and there are very notable exceptions, but usually it leaves me frustrated, annoyed and ultimately bored. I want description of the inner landscape, thought, meditation, confession, deep ruminations. If I want conversation I can listen to a morning talk show on my way to work, or host a dinner party. One of the main reasons I read is to find a quiet interior space that is without conversation.
So, having said that, it's evident why I love this book. The story proceeds for the most part in the thoughts and recollections of the narrator, the "I" in the story, semi stream-of-consciousness style. What dialogue does arise is well-considered, brief, economical and spare.
I have now read a few books in this genre, if you can call it that, describing the "after", when all our alleged greed and selfishness afforded by extreme prosperity destroys life on the planet as we know it.This is more of an interior meditation on that state of affairs, rather than the dark, "noir", yet humorous, vision portrayed in "Super Sad True Love Story", for example. The two main characters survive by managing and defending their limited resources in mutual co-operation, although one wonders if in any other context these two would be likely comrades or even know each other.
The only downsides to this book that I noticed are the semi-predictability of the plot resolution and the slow pace with which the first half of HIg's story proceeds. I almost put the book down several times during Part 1, and wanted to move on to another book - perhaps return to "The Dog Stars" later, or as a filler in between reads. But I am glad I stayed with this.
I also wanted to know more about the pandemic to which 99% of the world's population succumbed. How did it start? How was it passed on? Is it viral, bacterial, or something else? These questions are only partially answered but that's all okay, and I'll give the book an all-star rating anyway, "downsides" accepted as the price of admission.
Narration was perfect.
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52 people found this helpful
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- Doug
- 08-17-12
Stars Shine Bright
My reading list includes very few stories with post-apocalyptic settings. I have high regard for "On the Beach" and "Alas Babylon" but those were of another era. I wasn't sure I would enjoy "The Dog Stars." It was almost an impulse purchase.
I was very pleased with my purchase. Peter Heller has written a very well rounded novel. The overall melancholy and the episodes of violent encounters were there, as I expected, but it was the description of introspective thoughts and emotions which made the novel stand out for me.
Heller does an excellent job of introducing story threads into the novel and then following and expanding them with great attention to details and overall pacing of the tale. Nothing gets shoved into a corner or suddenly dropped in the next chapter.
Heller's writing of Hig's relationship with his dog Jasper touched me most of all, and a man's love for his dog is something that's as timeless as the constellations in the sky.
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47 people found this helpful
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- Craig
- 08-14-12
The End is Merely a Beginning
This first person apocalyptic narrative is sometimes hard for listeners/readers to stomach. I understand that. However, The Dog Stars overcomes all the pitfalls of broody end-of-days pessimism by engaging the listener in a myriad of believable and realistic scenarios that might occur should North America be devastated by a biological holocaust.
I found the main character compelling and believable due to his self-doubt, empathy, and a touch of true-to-life skills that make his survival and subsequent experiences plausible.
It is my contention that this book is worth of your credit, if for nothing else than the truly human uncertainties expressed by the protagonist. I usually found myself sympathetic with the main character, often asking the question, "Is that what I would have done?" The answer was more often than not, "Yes!"
This writer has much to offer all of us in terms of insight into our own fears and angst about a future uncertain. We all could learn much from his narrative.
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- Mike Naka
- 06-08-14
beautifully written and narrated!
What other book might you compare The Dog Stars to and why?
call me crazy, but i'd compare the beauty of the story to hemingway's the sun also rises.
What about Mark Deakins’s performance did you like?
the narration is spectacular! the narrator has a warm voice and is easy to listen to. his voice and reading add a haunting beauty to the story. his voices for higg and bangley are unique and match each character's disposition.
Any additional comments?
don't let the weird name of the book throw you off! the dog's stars is a beautifully written and narrated story! if you're a fan of dystopian stories, then this is a must listen!
the story is told in the first person by higg. he lives at an old country airport a few miles from the mountains. his only neighbor is bangley, a gruff survivalist. they are like an old married couple. there are very tense moments and some very funny moments. they are constantly sparring. higg is a free spirit while bangley is a stickler about following rules and protocols. together, they monitor the 8 square miles surrounding the airport.
higg flies his cessna around the property, looking for threats as bangley monitors the grounds from his sniper position. higg is the eyes, and bangley is the muscle.
i love dogs, and i love a good story about a dog. higg has a dog named jasper, who is a character in his own right. the author did an excellent job weaving the companionship and loyalty a dog can provide and display into this story.
i give this audio book my highest recommendation! there is only one caveat to this story- how and when you listen to it. you will probably want to listen to this when you have the time to devote your full attention to it. trust me, it is well worth it!
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- adrienne
- 06-08-13
Thought provoking post apocalyptic story.
This was worth the time spent listening. I am not a fan of post apocalyptic fiction as it usually involves horrors that I do not find entertaining.
This book, however, is believable. The characters have substance, their need to protect themselves ongoing, and the tedium of little or no change in their microcosms is palpable.
Hig's decision to break the 9 year pattern is a do-or-die move. It has more than one consequence and a new equilibrium is established at the end.
This is not an action packed adrenaline fueled book. It does, however, portray human adaptability and the will to survive. Needless to say some think individually, some on the group level, and some are just evil.
The narration is appropriate for this book; it is not too emotional nor too flat.
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- Lynn
- 09-10-12
Betting this is a better listen than a read
What made the experience of listening to The Dog Stars the most enjoyable?
I really enjoyed this audiobook. I am a fan of apocalyptic literature, and this did not disappoint. However, I think the apocalyptic scenario was more the background, against which played out themes of trust and faith in oneself and others. It delves into the basic dependence we must have on others to survive, and is very thoughtful. I think if I had read this, I would have skimmed over much of the internal dialogue the main character has with himself. I tend to do that when trying to get to the action. I am glad I listened to this book instead - I would have missed so much had I skimmed over some of those parts. Thought provoking and it stays with you. The reader was great.
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- Brian PDX
- 08-10-12
Interesting-Different take on "end of the world."
Most of the reviews of the written version of "The Dog Stars" on Amazon, many readers disliked this book, primarily because it's without dialog-very little give and take..Instead, it's kind of a train of thought and reminded me of the journaling part in "Dances With Wolves" , though the plot is more "The Stand". It's very much one persons reflections on his life.
The story takes place about a decade after the pandemic that kills most of the life on earth. People band together in small groups-this novel relates the story of a couple of these groups. The primary protagonists are Hig and Bangley-two very different men tho have joined together in mutual support. One is a farmer and a pilot, the other is a survivalist hunter type. They support each other, though they aren't really friends. Other characters come to play in Higs relating of his days events, some important, some not so much.
Mark Denkins's narration made everything that could be made of the story line-without his excellent voice, the book could become tedious, however I had a difficult time really getting into the book-it won't be for everyone...It's not an action/thriller story, not a romance or mystery. It simply related Hig's daily life and various characters interactions with him. Slightly dull-I had a difficult time giving the book a rating.
If you like introspective stories, you might enjoy this-not so much if you are looking for action-there isn't much of that here. It's just different.
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- Jim "The Impatient"
- 06-23-15
Alas Babylon, On The Road, Earth Abides, The Stand
On The Beach, Deathlands, Several Twilight Zone stories, The Gunslinger, and or One Second After.
Read any of the above listed instead of this. Every writer seems to think they can write the definitive Apocalyptic few people left novel. Many of them are excellent and many are just repeats, that bring nothing new to the table. This is the same old, same old. This is probably closer to Earth Abides then any of the others. This is slow and boring. Do not think this is a Zombie book, it is not. Alas Babylon and On The Road are the best of the group.
Do not listen to all these others and waste your credit, I think they were hypnotized.
The last man on Earth was sitting in a room and there was a knock at the door.
Narrator is good.
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- Ryan
- 12-05-15
Dog is my copilot
The pitch: It's nine years after a superflu has wiped out most of North America. Higg, one of the few survivors, has holed up in an airport in Colorado, where he maintains an 80-year-old Cessna (the book seems to take place in the mid-2030s). His only companions are a dog named Jasper and a heavily-armed misanthrope called Bangley, who's very skilled at shooting armed visitors before they realize what's going on (problem is, nearly everyone still alive in this world is armed in some way). Higg spends his days fishing and hunting with Jasper, the more emotionally available of his two friends, and flying perimeter patrols, during which he tries to warn away less-hostile-seeming visitors and occasionally drops in on a colony of Mennonites, who are all infected with some flu-related wasting disease.
Not surprisingly, Higg feels a bit lonely and yearns for something more than just surviving, while Bangley seems content to be left alone and views all other people as threats, as he does Higg's social and humanitarian urges. And to be fair, many of those who come calling do seem to have predatory intentions. Yet, Higg is unable to forget a voice he heard on his radio while flying, and wonders who it was.
For its first half, except for several bursts of hair-rising violence, this is a slow, quiet book, focused on its protagonist's feelings, memories, and existential doubts. There's stuff that anyone who's been through a traumatic experience involving the death of loved ones can relate to, and thoughts on how we create meaning by inventing small challenges for ourselves. Around the midway point of the novel, something happens that increases Higg's desire for contact, and he sets off in search of it, risks be damned. It's not much of a reveal to say that he finds other people, but after nine years of near solitude, he's somewhat forgotten how to relate to others and must relearn.
The book's emotional tone is somewhat uneven and Heller can't seem to make up his mind whether people should act like the brutal gangs in Cormac McCarthy's The Road, or show an urge to cooperate and connect. While I'm sure that people like the former would exist after a devastating population collapse, I think there's a middle path between a policy of blowing the head off every stranger one sees and one of being victimized. I imagine that many others would have an inclination to reconnect, rebuild, and repopulate, especially after nine years. So, I wasn't convinced about some of the human drama here, especially not by some characters we meet near the end, whose motives seemed nonsensical. And a significant relationship that develops between Higg and another character felt like it was missing some weight.
Still, I enjoyed this book and its meditations on aloneness of various kinds (I listened to a few chapters while XC skiing by myself in the woods, and it completely fit my mood). All in all, it's not hard to see The Dog Stars becoming one of those movies where there are long, dialogue-free stretches of simple action and landscape shots, accompanied only by swells of ambient music, and the weight of human solitude becomes felt.
This might be one of those novels that works better in audiobook. Higgs often expresses himself in abbreviated sentences that I suspect might give some people trouble with the text, but they worked well in spoken form, not unlike listening to a somewhat rambling friend.
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