Cover Image: A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World

A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World

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Member Reviews

I really want to read the rest of this book! The dystopian/apocalyptic setting is rich and nuanced, and I liked the characters and premise. (Please change the dog's name, though: "Jip" is a variant of "Gyp(sy)" and is offensive.) I want to know more about this world and its people and how they are surviving and what they value.

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So far so good! I will write a full review once I have read the book in it's entirety since the publisher was so kind to send me the completed book. The sample chapters ended in a cliffhanger that has me eager to read the rest!

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Fall foliage is beginning to transform into bare branches and blanketed snow, and the colder the weather gets, the more reason readers have for staying indoors with a cozy new read. Whether you're in the mood for a steamy romance, heart-pounding thriller, or riveting historical fiction, there's a book for everyone on this list. Check out our list of the best books winter 2018 has to offer, complete with publishers' descriptions.

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I like books based around apocalypse scenarios, I enjoyed the sample chapters, the book is due to be released in. Looking forward to reading more!

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This is the preview version of the first six chapters, but now that the full version is available, I'll hold off and give feedback on that instead. Love the sound of this book, the concept, and the cover!

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I was enticed by this book cover, which is beautiful, and suggested that the main character, the narrator,was a young boy, a child.
In fact he's not. After reading the first six chapters I came to the conclusion that he probably was a teenager, but only because of the context. His voice isn't fresh and naive (writing very short sentences isn't the trick about it!), but is much older, one of an adult, of an old man even. I don't believe that a child, or even a teenager, even gifted, could have this kind of voice, disillusioned and dismal. No naivety, no freshness, just a dry tone, sad and forlorn.

The context is interesting: a slow apocalypse, with no direct brutality, just the extinction of the human race for lack of births, for no known reason. To be honest this kind of story is absolutely not my favourite, I just wanted to try this book because of the cover, I wanted a story about a boy and his dog, but not this kind of story. This kind of book is clearly a hit-or-miss kind of book, and for me it was quite evidently a miss (well the first six chapters were, and I believe the whole book to be quite homogeneous).

The narrator reads a lot (not really credible in the context he lives, I can't believe he could have been able to access to so many books we know) and thinks a lot. It should have been attractive to me, but it didn't sounded very natural to my ears, too much fantasised maybe...

Some details are a bit too much, as the names, all bizarre; I couldn't tell the difference between people's names and dog's names! A detail, but when one doesn't like much a read, all details began to carry weight.

The narrative is very particular and I understand how it may be very seductive, hypnotic even. It gaves a strong atmosphere to the story, very similar, I believe, to "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. I haven't read it but have read many extracts and reviews and, not coincidentally, the narrator says that this book was the worst (the more horrible future) apocalypse book he's read so far.

The writing style is special, and if I'm able to see the attraction I wasn't convinced at all. The narration is slow, with quantities of small digressions along the story telling. Well, it's coherent, as the narrator leads such a simple life that anything is interesting and worthy of some lengthy rumination for him. But still, dull and rather boring.

Griz (the narrator) is speaking to someone, we understand very quickly to who. It's supposed to be sweet and melancholic I suppose, but the result is rather weird, even a little passive-aggressive sometimes.

Here's an extract which illustrates quite well the kind of narration used to tell the story:

"Or maybe I'm writing my life to you because the people I could talk to about things are gone, or can't talk to me anymore. Maybe I think too much. Maybe that comes with reading a lot. Dad says I think too much. Says I ask too many questions. Says he thinks the lack of answers always makes me unhappy. Don't know if that's true. Do know he hates the asking. As if it takes something away from him, not knowing how to reply. It's just information I'm after, not responsibility for something that is far too big to be down to him anyway".

I really believe that many readers will love this book, but I'm not among them. The writing style and the atmosphere have lots of personality, but not to my taste: rather pretentious and missing the point for the first, and depressive for the second.

If you're looking for some epic post-ap story with plenty of dramatic action don't read this book.
If you like positive and heart warming reads, you should maybe read the extract first.
But if melancholic and introvert stories told in this kind of voice appeal to you, you absolutely should thinking about reading "A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World" !

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I'm definitely interested in reading more. What I've seen grabs me. I'd prefer to hold out on analyzing anything until I'm able to /finish/ the book, though; based on the first few chapters, I'd say it has a strong enough narrative foundation that I would certainly continue reading. I look forward to the full ARC.

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Thank you to NetGalley for the sample chapters of A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World.

I love dystopian novels in general, and the interesting thing about this story is that it takes place a long time after the collapse of civilization as we know it. I was totally captivated by the first few chapters. Hearing about how Griz and his family live without technology or communication was fascinating. I liked the concept that they knew more about the world before the collapse than about what actually happened and state of the world outside of their island, which makes perfect sense as communication networks would have broken down quickly. I love that what Griz knows he has learned from books and photographs, and how science fiction has such a strong allure for him. I can't wait to continue the story and learn more about the world as Griz explores it in pursuit of his dog and the thief.

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This book took such a different path within the dystopian / post-apocalyptic genre. If it usually full of actions, horrors, terrors and endless fears, this book has none of it. It rather soft and calming and it's a very uncommon way to tell a story about the end of the world, I'd say. It felt unfamiliar but still intriguing. People no longer care asking about what and how it happened. It just did and those who survived it, just trying their best to survive and live. However, this impression came from the first few chapters only. There's probably more intense scenes towards the middle and ending, who knows? However, I feel the all-narrated book can be tricky. The target audience is too narrow and I guess I'm not one of them. It slightly bored me here and there sometimes. Things definitely happened, but it seems like nothing happened.

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The following article will be published on 11/7 on Reviews & Robots:

I had the chance to preview the first few chapters of A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World and was impressed by the strong first-person narrative and the daily life of a dystopian future set long after the actual dystopia. There isn’t a deep fear present at the beginning. So many dystopian novels feed on our fears of what may come from current events. A Boy looks at the aftermath instead, showing what life might be like decades or centuries in the future. There are no zombies or rampant plagues, no mutant animals or cannibals roaming the countryside. There are only scant families trying to get by on what little they have. In all honesty, that might be more unsettling given the realism of such a world. Of course, the preview only extended 8 chapters into the book, so any number of terrifying things might be waiting around the bend.

I can’t say that I’ve read a dystopia that openly referenced other dystopias. The main character is uniquely informed about the fictional literary history of dystopian, or end-of-the-world, fiction. His knowledge lends the book an air of authenticity, leaving the reader feeling like this is the real end of the world, the one that will actually happen.

Overall, the book promises to be a daring exploration of a world near the dusk of humanity. The imminent journey is sure to contain any number of struggles as our brave protagonist extends into the unknown. I look forward to following this one to the end.

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It was an amazing story. When i finished reading i wanted to read more. I usually don't read apocalypse - end of the world - type stories but cover and synopsis got my attention. I can't wait to read the whole story.

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A boy and his dog at the end of the world was shocking in how quickly I was drawn into this story. I’ve never read anything like this story. I’ve read every type of apocalypse book, but nothing compares to this beautifully written story. The world in which Griz lives with his family and dogs is wonderfully created. I am so upset that I have to wait until April 2019 to get to read the rest of this story but let me tell you if the rest are anything like chapters 1-6, this will be a book to read in one sitting. The simple style truly sucks you in and I was unable to put it down. Thank you to the publisher’s for at least giving me a taste of this book by including the sample characters on Netgalley. You can believe my library will be purchasing this title once it is available.

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A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World is a poignant and lovely story. I cannot wait to read more of it!

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My goodness, I can't remember when I read a book (or, like here, began reading....) and was so impressed and eager to continue! There is something in the writing that is both dark and capturing, telling and prosaic at the same time - completely fell for it after the first few lines. It reminds me on a little British tv series about the aftermath of a zombie catastrophe, how people dealt with it, accepting what life was now, no dwelling on how was it before.
It's too sad that I now have to wait 6 months before I can read the whole book! Tooooo sad, seriously.
Heartful thanks to the publisher for providing these sample chapters! Full applause to the author!

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Griz lives in the After, when the world is barely populated and the Human race is winding down. It doesn't matter why or how, it just is. For Griz, the only thing that matters is that a stranger stole his dog, and that stranger is going to pay for committing such a heinous crime. Without a thought, Griz takes off after them, leaving his family and whole life behind.
Griz narrates the story quietly and thoughtfully, even when incensed by the loss of his dog, giving this story a perfectly haunting feeling.

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There's an issue: this is just a sampler and I cannot wait to read the entire book. It's well written, enthralling and atmospheric.
I loved what I read and I want more.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

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A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World is an inventive and engaging story, written in vivid and ironic first person. My only complaint about this excerpt is that I would rather read the full book. I'm looking forward to reading more by C.A. Fletcher.

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