Read an extract from The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
In this extract from Peter Heller’s novel, the August read for the New Scientist Book Club, we are introduced to pilot Hig, who lives alone after most of the world was killed in a superflu pandemic
The Dog Stars, authored by Peter Heller, is the chosen August read for the New Scientist Book Club. In this tale, the protagonist, Hig, maintains a routine to keep his companion, the Beast, a 1956 Cessna 182, operational and fuelled. Hig is both young and old, having once loved fishing trout more than anything else, but those days have long since passed; the fish are no longer present.
Hig's wife, Melissa, a former hippie, remains an essential part of his life, though she bears some resemblance to Eve from the Bible. Lamentations, a book in the Bible, seems to echo Hig's current state of existence. As the world gets colder, even colder than it gets warmer, Hig remains optimistic, believing he will survive until the Beast fails him.
A neighbor, Bruce Bangley, lives close by in an old truck, and Hig shares a small country airport with him. Hig fishes out of the glove box for a tire pressure gauge he intends to take with him in the Beast. The two of them are practically alone in an expanse of eight miles. Hig maintains a keen interest in the green patches of woods spreading year after year, which he believes symbolize life's resilience.
When he has the chance, Hig hikes into the greener woods, feeling a sense of danger but exhilarated by the adrenaline rush. He has spotted elk signs, though no actual elk; Bangley, however, remains unconvinced. Hig brings a .308 rifle and has killed a doe, dragging its body back to his kayak, which he converted into a sled. The landscape is filled with sage and grass, rabbit brush, and old farms, leaving a lasting impression on Hig.
Written by urgent.news from New Scientist's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
