FRAGILITY BOB

In Winters’ speculative novel, a catastrophic event brings three unlikely heroes together.

Living alone in the Tennessee woods in a cabin he built himself, Bobfeels like has everything he needs. However, his sense of peace is shattered one morning when a low-flying plane falls from the sky, crashing nearby. As Bob sets off to find out what happened, he encounters his conspiracy theorist neighbor, Fred, also known as “In-Fra-red.” Fred, a doomsday prepper, believes that an electromagnetic pulse attack occurred and that “New World 101” has finally arrived. He convinces Bob to ride shotgun on a trip to Nashville to stock up on fuel. However, Fred and Bob’s trip in the new world turns out to be more than they bargained for. In a parallel storyline, 16-year-old Jupiter is staying at her Aunt Cara’s while her father’s away. Aunt Cara and Jupiter were about to head to the airport to pick him up when they discovered that nothing worked: not the TV, not the radio, or even the faucet. Aunt Cara gathers up her two cats, Twiner and Lily, and the drive to the airport in her 1968 Volkswagen van confirms her fears that something’s very wrong, indeed. Abandoned cars litter the streets and people walk around aimlessly. Soon, Aunt Cara and Jupiter find themselves in a fight for their lives. Following a tragedy, the two storylines connect, and the characters band together when one decides to embark on a mission to locate a loved one. Over the course of this novel, Winters steeps his disaster narrative in wry humor and wit, creating a rare genre entry that mixes lightheartedness with the conventionally darker elements of after-the-end fiction. The sharp dialogue (“It’ll be good against bad from now on, same as it ever was. Only now it’s on steroids, from here on out”), likable characters, and tone of normalcy could also have an unexpected effect: It may make it easier for readers to consider what they might do in such chaos.

A delightful page-turner that defies the typical bleakness of apocalyptic fiction.