The author shocks readers with unexpected bursts of action-packed scenes that keep the book moving at a suspenseful pace…a book that rests easily on shelves with Dean Koontz, Jack London or Hemingway.” His eyes are open to the world as only a poet’s can be, observing and absorbing any beauty left in the aftermath of the world’s tragedy. Hig is a charmer, a man of his word with a wicked sense of humor and an acute sense of survival. “A dreamy, postapocalyptic love letter to things of beauty, big and small: a twitching trout, a can of Sprite, empathy, sex, decency, and a good dog” The Atlantic Monthly, Best Books of 2012 “beautifully written and morally challenging” In spare, poetic prose, he portrays a soaring spirit of hope that triumphs over heartbreak, trauma, and insurmountable struggles. “Heller has written a stunning debut novel. “One of the most powerful reads in years.” “With poetic flair, Heller’s magnificent debut novel crafts perfect moments of humor and heartache in a deeply affecting story of a man who refuses to let tragedy shatter him.” 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. 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 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. In his 1956 Cessna, Hig flies the perimeter of the airfield or sneaks off to the mountains to fish and pretend that things are the way they used to be. 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. Hig survived the flu that killed everyone he knows. ★ PUBLISHED IN TWENTY-TWO LANGUAGES WORLDWIDE ★ A FLAVORWIRE BOOK THAT MADE THE MOST ‘BEST OF 2012’ BOOK LISTS ★ HUDSON BOOKSELLERS’ TOP FICTION TITLE OF 2012

The dog stars by peter heller