Postapocalyptic novels are never warm and fuzzy stories. Trust and human kindness fade away quicker than food and gasoline supplies. Bands of bad guys make the Wild West look like a church picnic. Then thereís Hig, who does what is necessary to survive, yet maintains enough humanity to still see beauty in a devastated world. ìThe Dog Starsî provokes many introspective moments, as Hig flies over the depopulated landscape of Colorado with his dog, Jasper. Can a dreamer exist in an environment where raw animalistic instincts prevail? Under similar circumstances, what would we become?When 99 percent of the countryís population succumbs to a virulent strain of bird flu, those remaining scramble to survive ñ only cunning, ruthless, well-armed people live to see another day.Unless, like Hig, you have a skill that a maniac is willing to protect.Bruce Bangley, a heavily armed malcontent with ice running through his veins, observed an old Cessna flying overhead shortly after civilization collapsed. He tracked the pilot and plane to the Erie Airport, once surrounded by an exclusive subdivision designed for pilots; with solar-powered McMansions, private hangers and taxiways. Together, they form a shaky alliance.As Hig puts it, ìI have the plane, I am the eyes; he has the guns, he is the muscle.î Itís now nine years since the outbreak of flu that ìkilled almost everybody,î including Higís wife, Michelle. A strange blood disease followed, decimating more; and it still wreaks havoc on the only other permanent residents within 100 square miles, a small group of Mennonites.Society and culture are now meaningless words. Nature took a big hit, too. Forest fires blaze unabated; most of the birds are gone; trout no longer exist; elk havenít been seen in years; only rabbits, rats and a few herd of deer manage to escape extinction.Author Peter Heller, a contributing editor for Outside magazine, has written five nonfiction books. ìThe Dog Starsî is his first attempt at fiction, and the inspiration for the protagonist, Hig, came totally from within. Heller lives in Denver, loves nature, fishing, and flies a plane out of the Erie Airport. Both he and Hig are big fans of the series, ìLife after People.î Therefore, itís safe to say this novel is Hellerís ìwhat ifî exploration of a world none of us really want to experience.The entire book is written in short, uncomplicated sentences ñ the modus operandi for postapocalyptic stories. Evidently, when culture dies so too does complex prose. It takes a brilliant writer to make simplistic sentences evoke horror, laughter and tears, and Heller does that amazingly well. He packs all the necessary evils into ìThe Dog Starsî to create realistic, edgy, action-packed scenes. But I was thankful for the respites: Higís forays into the mountains and the flights over familiar landscapes, with Jasper serving as copilot.ìThe whole time I fly I talk to him, and it amuses me to no end that the whole time he pretends not to listen,î Hig said. Upon landing, he gently lifts the aging dog out of the plane. The affection Hig displays for Jasper plays a vital psychological role in this story, adding both warmth and hope to an otherwise depressing situation.Even though the world has drastically changed, Hig habitually sticks to the rules governing all pilots. He routinely does his pre-flight checks and laughingly calls local airport towers before landing. Strangely enough, after nine years, someone in the Grand Junction tower responds to his call. Does civilization remain in Western Colorado? Doubtful, but love does.The novel ends with a surprising twist. However, upon reflection, it ends almost as it began. With a promise that love and compassion still exist, but with the very real fear that evil may triumph. In that respect, is Hellerís postapocalyptic world much different from our own? I highly recommend reading ìThe Dog Starsî to answer that question for yourself.
