Y’all, getting to listen to audiobooks at work is going to be a game changer, I think! I’ve read two books in two weeks, with my physical book making it three by the end of this week? WHO AM I? My second audiobook was A Boy And His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher, which was actually narrated by him, too! Which I thought was really cool.
Also: no dogs die in this book, so rest assured in that!
An ARC copy was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Book Info
Publisher: Orbit Books | Release Date: April 2019 | Pages: 365
Age Range: Adult | Genre: Dystopian | Format: Audiobook | Source: Publicist /Library
My name’s Griz. My childhood wasn’t like yours. I’ve never had friends, and in my whole life I’ve not met enough people to play a game of football.
My parents told me how crowded the world used to be, but we were never lonely on our remote island. We had each other, and our dogs.
Then the thief came.
There may be no law left except what you make of it. But if you steal my dog, you can at least expect me to come after you.
Because if we aren’t loyal to the things we love, what’s the point?
On the Page
- Animal death (NOT THE DOG)
- Animal injury
- Captivity and confinement
- Cults
- Dead bodies
- Disappearance of a loved one/kidnapping
- Drugging
- Grief and loss depiction
- Hunting
- Maritime disasters
Referenced
- Burns
- Childbirth
- Child death
- Involuntary pregnancy
- Dubious consent scenarios
- Sex trafficking
Minor
Content warnings are written up by me, unless specified. Subject to being an incomplete list, though guided by referencing this list and trying to highlight as many as I can identify.
Review
Likes
- The twists at the end. So, this book was a solid 3 gem read for me most of the way through. It was okay, but not amazing. It’s a 3.5 star read because of the twists at the end. I did NOT see them coming and it was fascinating. I literally had to pause to truly focus on what I was hearing, it was so impactful and shocking.
- How realism of the importance of dogs. I just really appreciated that there was no question what lengths Griz would go to, after one of their dogs was stolen. I feel like so many people who love dogs would go to the same lengths. I just really appreciated that.
- The snippets we get of this apocalyptic world. I was absolutely FASCINATED to see more of the dystopian in some of the descriptions. I wanted to know what happened to this world so much. The “Homely House” chapter, in particular, got me in my feels.
Dislikes
- The pacing. I felt like the pacing would have sped up just a “wee* bit. There were a few days where I didn’t want to listen at all, because I was a bit bored? By the ending, though, I felt it ended too quickly!
- Ending (sorta). So, like I mentioned with the twists, the ending!! I was floored! But I think I wanted more resolution, i.e., seeing the new reality a bit more. I understand why we didn’t (why would Griz write about it?).
Rating
So, for me, A Boy And His Dog At the End of the World was a solid read. It had some hiccups, obviously, but I don’t regret reading it. It got me in my feels more than once and that twist is going to be sitting with me for a long time. If it’s been on your radar, I encourage you to give it a try!
Patreon | Newsletter | Editorial Services | Twitter | Instagram | Kofi
![I'm so excited to stop by today and share a client highlight. This time, celebrating the publication of Veo Corva's novel, THE BEAUTIFUL DECAY, out today!
I had the pleasure of proofreading this earlier this year and when I tell you I have been dying for it to release to hype it up!! The second book in the Tombtown series, it is set in a queernorm world where our main antagonist is creepy fungi. 🍄
From the characters to the queer rep to the amazing world building of building a society surrounded by necromancy, this is a series you don't want to miss and an author you should absolutely support!!
Buy a copy here: https://veocorva.xyz/books/the-beautiful-decay-by-veo-corva/
[Image description in alt text.]](https://thoughtsstainedwithink.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
Great review! Sounds like an interesting read. I had seen the cover for this before and it piqued my interest but I was worried it’d be too sad with the dog. Glad to hear it’s not 😂 And I might need to get back to audiobooks since I’ve been feeling funky with my reading mood lately. I can’t believe I haven’t done so yet!
Thanks so much, Dini! Don’t worry: the dogs make it! There was still some hard animal scenes with horses (and death) that I struggled with, but it’s a very intriguing read!
Audiobooks are so interesting! I don’t think they’re my entire life or anything (I’ve found I need to be in a certain mood for them) but it is nice to listen to, if I’m not feeling music that day!
I hope, no matter the format, you enjoy whatever you read next (without putting any pressure on yourself to do so!).
This is giving kind of like John Wick vibes but not as wild as John Wick. It does sound interesting though. I don’t have dogs but I do have cats. I don’t know what I’d do if someone stole my cats. I do love the quote too, ” Because if we aren’t loyal to the things we love, what’s the point?” Damn this book really sounds like I might shed some tears.
I actually haven’t seen John Wick (…my bad) but it definitely has that energy! And it had a really surprising twist at the end that really upped the book for me, otherwise it would have been a good read, but nothing spectacular. I’d be super curious what you think about it!