The Laws of the Skies

By: Gregoire Courtois, Rhonda Mullins - translator

Narrated by: Daniel Matmor

Winnie-the-Pooh meets The Blair Witch Project in this very grown-up tale of a camping trip gone horribly awry.

Twelve six-year-olds and their three adult chaperones head into the woods on a camping trip. None of them make it out alive. The Laws of the Skies tells the harrowing story of those days in the woods, of illness and accidents, and of a murderous child.

Part fairy tale, part horror film, this macabre fable takes us through the minds of all the members of this doomed party, murderers and murdered alike.

©2016; 2019 Le Quartanier and Gregoire Courtois; English translation copyright Rhonda Mullins (P)2022 Coach House Books

Critic reviews

“The Law of the Skies is not an easy book to digest, and I’m sure it won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but I found it exhilarating to read a novel that’s this unflinching, this nihilistic, and also this deeply profound.” (Locus Magazine)

“That is what Courtois aims to do - shock and destabilize - and that is what he does in this slim novel about a children’s camping trip gone horribly wrong.” (New York Times, Summer Reads)

“Unflinching in its savagery, the nightmarish poetry of this modern Lord of the Flies is undeniable.” (Publishers Weekly)

it was fine

A good little listen, but I feel like it might have been more impactful/understandable if I had actually read it instead of listened to it. All the perspective jumping with no clear outline was hard to follow sometimes

Twisted and eerie

Want a book to make you feel good, warm, and happy!? Keep looking!

This story unveils true sickness and madness possessed by a young boy. Every moment you think things will turn for the better, think again.

Moral of the story? Don’t be something or someone you are not?!

Well.

Shocking & makes me terrified of 1st graders. Some parts were confusing & hard to follow. Overall not a complete waste of a credit

Very dark story

Super dark but it certainly grabbed me. The ending was great and felt like a fitting fate.

Truly Horrifying

French horror never disappoints. It is truly a traumatizing and horrifying story. If you are a person who does not like horror that deals with child injury, don't listen to this tale.