Imagine looking toward the familiar Colorado mountains and realizing that nearly everyone you once knew is gone.
That is the unsettling world Colorado author Peter Heller creates in The Dog Stars, but calling this simply a post-apocalyptic novel misses much of what makes it memorable.
Hig has survived a devastating pandemic that killed nearly everyone he loved. Nine years later, he lives at an abandoned airport in Erie, Colorado, alongside his dog Jasper and Bangley, a heavily armed neighbor whose approach to survival is considerably less sentimental than Hig’s. Hig patrols the surrounding area in an old Cessna, fishes, hunts, remembers his wife, and tries to hold onto pieces of the person he was before the world changed. Penguin Random House
Then a faint radio transmission changes everything.
The voice suggests there may be other people beyond the carefully protected world Hig and Bangley have created. Following it means flying beyond the point where Hig has enough fuel to safely return. Staying means security. Leaving means uncertainty, danger, and perhaps the possibility of something more than survival. Penguin Random House
That question gives The Dog Stars its emotional heartbeat:
When surviving is no longer enough, what makes a life worth living?
For Centennial readers, there is something particularly intriguing about encountering a transformed version of our own Front Range. Colorado is not merely scenery in Heller’s novel. Mountains, rivers, wildlife, changing climate, open land, and the pull of the outdoors are woven throughout Hig’s experience.
Heller knows that landscape personally. He lives in Denver and has described bringing many of his own passions, including fishing, hunting, camping, flying, and off-grid living, into the novel. Penguin Random House
And then there is Jasper.
Anyone who has loved a dog will understand immediately why Hig’s relationship with him matters so much. Jasper represents companionship without explanation, connection when language feels inadequate, and one small piece of normal life that remains when almost everything else has disappeared.
That relationship helps turn a story about catastrophe into something far more intimate. The Dog Stars becomes a book about grief, loneliness, friendship, hope, and the strange courage required to care deeply when caring leaves us vulnerable.
Heller’s novel became a national bestseller and has been published in 22 languages. It has also reached a new audience in 2026 through a major motion-picture adaptation directed by Ridley Scott. Penguin Random House
For Centennial readers who enjoy Colorado settings but are ready for something very different from a traditional regional novel, The Dog Stars delivers.
It asks us to consider what we would save if almost everything disappeared.
A place? A memory? A friendship? A dog?
Perhaps, Heller suggests, rebuilding a life begins by deciding there is still something worth flying toward.
Purchase The Dog Stars by Peter Heller on Amazon.
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Glad to hear it’s not just doom and gloom. Got burned out on apocalyptic stuff. Sounds deeper than most.
Not sure I’d have the guts to fly off not knowing if there’s enough fuel. But maybe that’s what makes Hig interesting.
It’s rare to see stories set in Erie. Usually it’s Boulder or Denver. That’s kinda cool for us smaller towns.
Saw the book at the store last week and passed on it. After reading this, I might give it another look. I do love a good Colorado read.
Heller does a great job making you care about even the small things Hig hangs on to. The airport setting was an interesting choice.
Thank you for noticing, the airport really does become almost a character itself, anchoring Hig’s attempts to hold onto elements of his old life.
Timothy E.I thought the airport was a cool twist too. It makes everything feel more open and lonely at the same time. The way Hig clings to little routines really hit home for me.
I like the focus on what makes life worth living rather than just survival. We need more stories like that.
It’s a little nerve-wracking that a story about empty towns and climate changes feels more plausible every year. Yikes.
Read the book with my book club last summer. Most of us cried. Jasper is honestly the best character.
I’m usually more into mysteries but I do like stories about rebuilding after loss. The Front Range setting is a bonus.
This review makes me want to go hiking before the world ends! I appreciate how Heller brings the outdoors to life. Anyone else get inspired to go outside after reading books like this?
I’m curious if the movie will capture the ‘feel’ of Colorado. Sometimes Hollywood versions just use Vancouver forest. Did they film here?
Great question! While the adaptation keeps much of Colorado’s spirit, some outdoor scenes were filmed elsewhere, but the filmmakers worked closely with Heller to capture the authenticity and emotional landscape of the Front Range.
The idea of companionship, especially with a dog, is what draws me in. That kind of loyalty gets me every time. Hig and Jasper remind me of me and my dog Max after my divorce.
I always wonder, why is it always men with guns in these stories? Hoping the book has more depth with its characters than just surviving with firepower.
Heller’s writing about fishing and hunting rings true if you’ve ever spent time in the backcountry. That sense of solitude felt almost peaceful to me.
Absolutely, Heller’s own love for Colorado’s outdoors shines through, making the solitude as much a comfort as a challenge for Hig.
Interesting, but I’m kind of burnt out on pandemic stories tbh. Still, I get the appeal of something set so close to home.
I already pre-ordered the tie-in edition after seeing the trailer. The combo of survival, nature, and emotional stuff sounds like my kind of story.
The plot sounds a bit like The Road but with more hope? I could use that these days. Anyone seen the new movie yet? Curious how Ridley Scott handles it.
I had no idea Peter Heller was local! That probably explains why the Colorado landscape feels real in his writing. I always like supporting hometown authors.
I’m in Erie, so this is kinda wild to picture my own neighborhood all empty and wrecked. Bet that makes it hit different for folks around here.
Love that there’s a dog as such a central part of the story. I lost my golden last year and stories like this always get me in the heart. Adding it to my library hold list.
Now I want to know what he hears on that radio. Always wondered what I would do in a situation like that, leave for the unknown or stay put. Seems like a hard call.
That’s the central tension Hig faces, whether to risk everything for hope or cling to what’s left. What he hears on the radio truly turns his world upside down.
I actually read The Dog Stars a few years back. It really stays with you, especially if you know Colorado at all. Hig’s flights over the Front Range made me homesick. Not usually a fan of post-apocalyptic stuff but this one’s different.