From the Bookshelf of Apocalypse Whenever…

The Dog Stars

Peter Heller

Start date: April 16, 2015

Finish date: May 1, 2015

Discussion: AW BOOK CLUB (spoilers)

Why we're reading this: MAY 1ST, DISCUSSION BEGINS.
Chosen by our "book dictator" Joanne, The Dog Stars is a popular post-apocaly…more
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MAY 1ST, DISCUSSION BEGINS.
Chosen by our "book dictator" Joanne, The Dog Stars is a popular post-apocalyptic book (flu pandemic) we've not read in the group, so we're about to change that...

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AW BOOK CLUB (spoilers)

* What is a good book for AW discussion? (Nominations pool)
By Gertie · 65 posts · 218 views

last updated Oct 18, 2025 05:31PM

* AW Book Club: what we've read
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last updated Dec 10, 2019 09:01AM

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What Members Thought

Oct 20, 2021 Mitchell Friedman rated it liked it

Shelves: library, liked-reviews, near-future, own, science-fiction, fiction, violence, post-apocalyptic

Dark. But not as dark as The Road. Basically this was bad guys killing bad guys. We are in the head of a slightly less bad bad guy. Lots of senseless killing. Occasional righteous killing. Some bits of non survival oriented friendliness. And some expectation that other people, probably the A-rabs have more and are going to kill everyone eventually. Oddly weird use of language. Some flying. Some fishing. Not a lot of civilization building. And what gets built mostly gets destroyed, so not an obvi ...more

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Jul 29, 2014 Todd rated it really liked it

Shelves: literature

The Dog Stars left me in stunned silence upon finishing the final word. The sheer beauty and profundity of Peter Heller’s writing is still shaking me up days after finishing this novel. The man is not merely a writer or even simply a poet, Peter Heller is a cartographer of the human spirit. The book is a moral triumph and a vaccine against the dystopian and post apocalyptic storytelling that has become so popular in recent years.

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Jan 30, 2013 ambimb rated it it was amazing

Shelves: apocalypse

I realize I've set the bar pretty low by reading so much poppy, pulp trash for so long, but this book still stands out — above — most of the other post-apocalyptic novels I've been strangely unable to stop myself from reading. (Yes, "The Twelve" has literary qualities and ambitions, but its still much too reliant on its plotting and the cosmology of its vampires to make it much more than a really good thriller.) Dog Stars is not so concerned about how society ended, or even really precisely abou I realize I've set the bar pretty low by reading so much poppy, pulp trash for so long, but this book still stands out — above — most of the other post-apocalyptic novels I've been strangely unable to stop myself from reading. (Yes, "The Twelve" has literary qualities and ambitions, but its still much too reliant on its plotting and the cosmology of its vampires to make it much more than a really good thriller.) Dog Stars is not so concerned about how society ended, or even really precisely about how it continues (although, in a sense, that is exactly what it's about), but instead focuses on the losses and the grieving and the psychological battle of a survivor to be more than just a being that continues to live. The costs of survival are staggering, and so we follow Hig as he staggers, often literally, through some of the most beautiful yet desolate PA landscapes (both geographical and emotional) you may ever encounter.

Hig's narrative voice feels fresh to me, which was unexpected and welcome. When I started it I thought the pseudo-stream-of-consciousness was going to be tedious and that I might struggle getting through it, but not at all. Despite spending the whole novel in Hig's addled head, I was never bored and the action, his dogged determination to get more from what is left of life, pulled me right along.

Plus, I have to say, there are some nice turns of phrase and beautiful ideas and bits of language sprinkled throughout that make your reading a surprising treat. It's not overdone, not like Heller was trying to hard to be "literary." It's just well-done, which makes it great. Example, this oft-highlighted passage: "Grief is an element. It has it's own cycle like the carbon cycle, the nitrogen. It never diminishes not ever. It passes in and out of everything." 115.

Or this: "Nothing to lose is so empty, so light, that the sand you crumble to at last blows away in a gust, so insubstantial it's carried upwards to shirr into the sandstorm of the stars. That's where we all get to. The rest is just wearing thin waiting for wind." 197.

Even one of the sex scenes — in which Hig imagines himself and his partner disintegrating, blown apart, the remains of their bodies raining down on them like ash in the moments after climax — is well-done, and we all know that is no easy task.

And Jasper and Hig's love for him have got to be among the great man-loves-dog stories of all time.

Good stuff. Recommended. ...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Alison rated it it was amazing

Beautiful, simply beautiful.

The writing style was a bit distracting at first, but eventually, it worked, and I fell into the story even more completely.

I will read this again.

On a side note: I've read people comparing this to Cormac McCarthy's The Road, and I see why they do that, but this is a very different story with a very different tone. I like The Road very much, but if you did not, don't let that stop you from reading this. ...more

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Jun 12, 2015 Eric rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dystopian, top-10-favorites

I really enjoyed this book. The story was enjoyable and kept me wanting to know what happened next. It kept me emotionally invested and had me a little teary-eyed more than once.

In the other reviews, I see a lot of complaints about the writing style. It is composed differently and I can see how it could be a little hard to read. I listened to the audio version, though, and can't recommend it enough. The reader did a masterful job in telling the story and made it so very enjoyable. ...more

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May 29, 2020 Susan rated it really liked it

Post-apocalyptic novel, writing style similar to Cormac McCarthy, short incomplete sentences, no quotation marks. This style works well for the story and characters and immersed me completely.
The only downside (for me) was the over the top and lengthy descriptions of the airplane maintenance, inner workings, fuel, etc.

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