Set in Colorado after the world's population has been ravaged by a pandemic, a man lives a lonesome existence in an airplane hangar with his dog and a dour gunman he has befriended. When a mysterious transmission comes through on the radio while he is flying his old Cessna, it sparks a hunt for the provenance of the sound.[2][3][4][5][6]
Reception
NPR described the novel as "crackerjack" and said: "With its soulful hero, macabre villains, tender (if thin) love story and action scenes staggered at perfectly spaced intervals, the story unfolds with the vigor of the film it will undoubtedly become. But it also succeeds as a dark, poetic and funny novel in its own right."[7]
The Boston Globe also had praise for the novel, stating, "Peter Heller serves up an insightful account of physical, mental, and spiritual survival unfolded in dramatic and often lyrical prose, a difficult tale in which unexpected hope persistently flickers amid darkness."[6]
Film adaptation
On November 8, 2024, it was announced that Ridley Scott would direct a film adaptation of the novel for 20th Century Studios from a screenplay by Mark L. Smith, with Paul Mescal, who had previously worked with Scott on Gladiator II, in negotiations to star in the project and production expected to begin in spring 2025.[8]
