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1-Page Summary of The Dog Stars
Overall Summary
The Dog Stars is a post-apocalyptic novel that follows Hig, the narrator and his partner Bruce Bangley as they protect their eight mile radius around an abandoned airport in Erie, Colorado outside of Denver where fuel and survival supplies are plentiful.
The novel picks up nine years after a flu epidemic that killed most of the population. Survivors are the only remaining humans, and life is almost militaristic. As the novel progresses, Hig patrols his space in a Cessna plane nicknamed “the Beast.” He lost his wife to the flu, so he has a close relationship with his co-pilot dog named Jasper. The first book explores how they protect their land from intruders at all costs by killing anyone who comes too close. Tension rises when marauders stalk him on his way home from fishing and hunting trips and Bangley’s survivalist tactics save Hig’s life. In addition to patrolling around Erie in “the Beast,” Hig also uses these opportunities to bring supplies to Mennonite families whose blood infection keeps them quarantined but keeps intruders away as well.
After the death of Jasper, Book 2 covers Hig’s flight towards Grand Junction. Three years ago, he heard a voice respond from the air traffic control tower radio in Grand Junction. Hig knows he’s flown too far and must find fuel to continue his journey. From the air, Hig spots a stone house and a man and woman outside it; therefore, he decides to land to scope out the situation. This leads to Pops surprising Hig by shoving a rifle in his back and binding him with rope before taking him inside their stone house at gunpoint. At the stone house, Cima tells her father that she wants him to untie Hig because they need help with their farm animals—they have cattle and sheep—and they can’t do it alone. Pops agrees but makes sure that no one is armed when they enter or leaves any room where there are weapons together so as not to be surprised again like this time when someone comes into his home uninvited while holding an assault rifle pointed at them all during mealtime after landing on their property without permission from them first!
Book 3 is about the complications of a flight to Grand Junction. Hig and Cima are instructed by radio communication to descend into a trap, but they notice in time and land safely. Shots were fired from the tower, so Pops shoots back, killing an old man and his wife in the process. When they return to Erie, they find that their hangar was partially destroyed. They also discover Bangley covered in blood; he had been shot while out hunting for food with two other men who had stolen supplies from them. The book explores themes of displacement as well as haunted dreams. It also discusses nature’s beauty and humanity’s smallness compared to nature’s grandeur.
Book 1, Chapter 1
In the first chapter of The Dog Stars, Hig introduces the eight-mile area where he lives with his dog Jasper and a neighbor named Bruce Bangley. This area is secured by an old airport that has supplies for them to survive. There are also nearby homes that they use from time to time. Hig flies a Cessna 182 nicknamed “The Beast” around their perimeter to keep watch over it all.
Higgins patrols his area to protect himself from the Mennonites and other groups, as well as for supplies. He jumps back and forth between present action and memories of past events that contribute to the current situation he’s in. As a result, readers are able to contextualize Hig’s dire situation better. The chapter ends when five people approach Hig’s house at night; Higgins counts to two hundred before shooting them because Bangley usually comes with help within two minutes of being called. Narrative tension increases as Hig gets close to reaching two hundred while waiting for Bangley’s arrival, but he shoots the five intruders instead. Readers also learn that Bangley watched Higgins through a rifle scope while Higgins slept, making him wonder how often Bangley watches him without knowing it.
