SHIP IN THE SKY

A boy and his dog scrape by in an apocalyptic wasteland.

Eighteen-year-old Jack’s mundane rural life is suddenly uprooted when he survives a mysterious calamity that leaves the world wrecked to oblivion. The ground has been split open by quakes, massive floods cause devastation, and the sky rumbles with bizarre storms. Jack quickly learns that nearly everyone he knows has died in the chaos—the sole exception being his loyal dog, Bud. Horrified but unwilling to give up, Jack sets out with Bud on a journey to the coast, hoping to find a place that hasn’t been destroyed. Jack finds an ally in scrappy 16-year-old Eve, and the white-presenting pair help each other get by in the now-hostile environment. All the while, Sky Station, a large airborne vessel meant to help with “this kind of crap,” has gone strangely silent. The descriptions of the landscape are minimalist yet evocative, made up of fragmented sentences that reflect Jack’s desolation. The inherent dread of the rural setting, which evokes the American South, seeps into every page, creating a building sense of horror. Biblical allusions make the relatively grounded world feel almost supernatural. Despite the story’s grittiness, budding moments of human compassion prevent things from seeming hopeless. There are plenty of lingering mysteries about the nature of the calamity and the truth behind Sky Station that are sure to have readers coming back for the sequel.

A haunting survival story with impeccable atmosphere.