The Dog Stars
{{short description|2012 novel by Peter Heller}}
{{for|the 1950 novel by Donald Windham|The Dog Star}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
The Dog Stars is a 2012 post-apocalyptic fiction novel by Peter Heller.{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/what-were-reading-postapocalit-love-among-the-chickens|title=What We're Reading: Postapocalit, "Love Among the Chickens"|date=2012-10-26|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=2016-12-18}}
{{Infobox book
| name = The Dog Stars
| image = File:The Dog Stars.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = First edition
| author = Peter Heller
| audio_read_by =
| title_orig =
| orig_lang_code =
| title_working =
| translator =
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| release_number =
| subject =
| genre = Post-apocalyptic, adventure
| set_in =
| published =
| publisher = Alfred A. Knopf
| publisher2 =
| pub_date = August 7, 2012
| english_pub_date =
| media_type =
| pages = 320
| awards =
| isbn =
| isbn_note =
| oclc =
| dewey =
| congress =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| native_wikisource =
| wikisource =
| notes =
| exclude_cover =
| website =
}}
Plot
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.{{Cite news|url=https://mastersreview.com/book-review-the-dog-stars-by-peter-heller/|title=Book Review – The Dog Stars by Peter Heller|newspaper=The Masters Review|access-date=2016-12-18}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Book-Review-The-Dog-Stars-by-Peter-Heller-5408948.php|title=Book Review: 'The Dog Stars' by Peter Heller|newspaper=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|access-date=2016-12-18}}{{Cite news|url=http://thebark.com/content/book-review-dog-stars|title=Book Review: The Dog Stars|newspaper=The Bark|access-date=2016-12-18}}{{Cite news |title=A review of the book 'The Dog Stars'by Peter Heller - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2012/08/15/review-book-the-dog-stars-peter-heller/UxjqQFMxrmfDxVMjbrtHYO/story.html |access-date=2016-12-18 |newspaper=BostonGlobe.com}}
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."{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/08/07/157431750/dog-stars-dwells-on-the-upside-of-apocalypse|title = 'Dog Stars' Dwells on the Upside of Apocalypse| website=NPR | date=7 August 2012 | last1=Reese | first1=Jennifer }}
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."
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 Jacob Elordi as lead. Elordi replaces Paul Mescal, who had previously worked with Scott on Gladiator II, and production is expected to begin in spring 2025.{{Cite web|date=2024-11-08|last1=Kroll|first1=Justin|last2=Fleming|first2=Mike Jr.|url=https://deadline.com/2024/11/ridley-scott-paul-mescal-the-dog-stars-gladiator-ii-1236161226/|title=Ridley Scott Back In Arena With 'Gladiator II' Star Paul Mescal On 'The Dog Stars' At 20th Century|access-date=2024-11-08|website=Deadline Hollywood}}
Variety reported on February 12, 2025 that Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley and Guy Pearce had also been cast in the project.{{cite web | url=https://variety.com/2025/film/news/josh-brolin-margaret-qualley-guy-pearce-cast-ridley-scott-the-dog-stars-1236305681/ | title=Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce to Star in Ridley Scott's 'The Dog Stars' | date=12 February 2025 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dog Stars, The}}
Category:American post-apocalyptic novels
Category:Alfred A. Knopf books
Category:Novels set in Colorado
{{US-novel-stub}}
{{2010s-specf-novel-stub}}