The Dog Stars

By: Peter Heller

Narrated by: Mark Deakins

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)

As good as it gets!

While I do not go out of my way to purchase post-apocalyptic novels, I do read them on occasion. This book was totally amazing, and I plan on listening it again very soon. It has been a very unique experience.

The narrator was perfection in every way and deserves some sort of award for the great job he did of capturing the spirit of the main character and the others. His voices were superb and were consistent throughout the book.

The story was vivid and imaginative. I could picture everything as described by the main character in his simple, beautiful language. Peter Heller can really write! I did not want to miss a sentence of this story.

This book has it all! It brought me to tears and it made me chuckle out loud. It had many surprises with both excitement and quiet times, where the main character revealed his deepest felt inner thoughts. Additionally, it had a very satisfying ending, for which I was grateful.

Very highly recommended. I am going to search out more books by Peter Heller in the future.

Put This One In Your Cart!

A quiet and powerful story about survival, isolation, memories,and new relationships. This novel is both subtle, as well as violent, gripping, and suspenseful. There is a slice of life within the book that details the connection between a man and his dog that is very well done. This novel is not one that I would usually choose, but I trusted the reader reviews, and it paid off.

Five stars for the first half, zero for the second

This could have been such a good book. The setup of the post apocalyptic world, characters and challenges had me glued to the speakers. But then, the second half completely fell apart. It becomes a slow moving, angsty yarn that spends far too much time dwelling on sex scenes more awkward than high school dates. Like, seriously, three hours of buildup. Those sections could have been cut completely.

My suggestion: listen to part one and then fast forward to the second to last chapter.

Something missing...

... like a unique plot? You've heard the story - some plague/blood disease wipes out most of humanity, the remaining survivors struggle to survive, etc... But the disturbing part is that people don't generally help one another in this tale. He paints a portrait of humanity that is a little like that in McCarthy's "The Road", only there's no dying Earth. Wild life abounds, crops grow, so why all the fighting and hostility? Heller never really addresses this question. And why does the dog have to eat human flesh?? Many questions unanswered. There is some good writing but it is crowded out by all the gaps in logic.

Then the narrator who seems to be taking unnecessary pauses in the middle of sentences, in the middle of thoughts. Why? More unanswered questions.

I loved,loved,loved this book...wanted more

Any additional comments?

I hope this writer does a second book . The words was like poetry. It is a great listen and left me wanting more. Worth while buying BIG TIME. I can't wait to listen to it again in the near future.

Fun leap into the apocalypse

This book held my attention and put me right there at the airfield with the protagonist, though it did drag in a few spots and spawn a love interest that seemed to have no place in this kind of story other than to give this tale a bit of happy for those that need that sort of thing.
Other than that, it was a fun read.

How a poet survived the end of the world

This is not the kind of book I listen to. It is melancholy (yet happy) and even tempo-ed and has a grand total of 5 characters, including a dog. Yet, I raced through the entire 10 plus hours in about 3 days, riveted and eager to learn what happens next. A character study written in a poetic style about a couple of survivors many years after a flu wipes out nearly everybody left on the planet. Sole searching and introspective and still able to pull off a fascinating story arc. One of the best books I've listened to in a very long time.

Lovers of dogs, flying, Colorado and all introverts should read/listen to this story.

POST APOCALYPTIC POETRY !

Never did I regret so much the lack of the master of the english language as now, since i'd like to pour all the feelings and sensations this wonderful book provoke in me!
So let me tell you a few things: At the beginning I felt as if i was in a cozy place listening to a man tell a story. His story and the story of humanity at the same time. Haltingly at first, in a short kind of staccato sentences. As if he was tired. And some time later I was absolutely enchanted ! The story as many of this genre is riveting, but... the difference is that this one is poetic.
This time the summary, the critics and the reviews are absolutely right!
One more thing: The narrator is GREAT. He brings the character to life just right. Amazing performance!
Do yourself a favor: LISTEN TO THIS BOOK! (note that i said LISTEN )

A Survivalist Gem

This is a well written, exciting story that could be one of the best ever, but the ending was a little disappointing to me. In all it is an excellent read. I recommend it.

Couldn't stop listening!

I started reading this book several years ago when it was released. I didn't finish it before starting a new job and have spent years wondering what happened to Hig and if he found what he was seeking.

I finally decided to stop wondering and download it here. I usually listen on my commute or while doing chores. This book is so enchanting I found myself sitting down in the middle of a project so I could focus on the story.

Hig is a fantastic character. He's manly, but not hard. You wouldn't exactly call him a wimp, but he and his dog, Jasper, are unlikely survivors of an apocalypse. At least Hig managed to keep himself alive long enough to team up with a fanatic that makes Clint Eastwood look like a sissy. Bangley is a GREAT character. He's mean, hard, insane, and by the time Hig left for his big adventure I completely loved him.

Hig survived the flu that wiped out most of the world, but he didn't get out unscathed. He lost his pregnant wife and the fever altered his brain function though his intelligence in intact. Hig's narration. of the story is broken and sometimes travels in weird patterns as a result. As the book progresses, this is less noticeable though. Does Hig change that much or does the reader become accustomed to the strange thought pattern? It's hard to say.

This is a fantastic story of humanity. I laughed, I cried, and I'll be thinking about the story for days.