“How we gentle our losses into paler ghosts.”
If you found yourself captivated by the haunting beauty of The Dog Stars by Peter Heller, you’re likely the type of reader who enjoys stories that capture a similar mix of survival, hope and the emotional toll of a world in a crisis. With its post-apocalyptic setting where humanity has been devastated by a deadly flu, The Dog Stars is far more than just a story of survival – it is a meditation on loneliness, love and the search for meaning. If you loved Hig’s adventure beyond the abandoned airport he calls home with his dog Jasper, risking everything for a shot at a freer life somewhere outside its perimeter, we have you covered here at What We Reading. From introspective journeys across a dystopian landscape to thought-provoking reflections about human resilience, join us for the best books like The Dog Stars that teach us how survival is far more than just staying alive, but also about preserving what makes us human.
Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel
Kicking off our list of the best books like The Dog Stars is Emily St. John Mandel’s acclaimed dystopian novel, Station Eleven. Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night the famous Hollywood actor, Arthur Leander, suffered a heart attack on stage during a performance of King Lear. That was the night a deadly flu pandemic arrived in the city. Within weeks, civilisation as we know it was brought to its knees.
Two decades on, Kirsten and a small group of fellow actors and musicians navigate the forever-altered world, moving between settlements and calling themselves The Traveling Symphony. The troupe have dedicated themselves to preserving art and humanity. But, when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a volatile prophet that threatens the band’s very existence. And, as St. John Mandel pulls readers back and forth in time before and after the pandemic, the ways in which all of their lives intersect will be revealed.
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California – Edan Lepucki
The world Cal and Frida have always known is long gone, and they’ve put the crumbling city of Los Angeles far behind them. Together, they live in a shack out in the wilderness, working side-by-side to make their days as manageable as possible in the face of hardship and isolation. Still mourning a past they can never recapture, they find solace in one another. Yet, the fragile existence they’ve carved out for themselves is upended when Frida discovers that she is pregnant.
Terrified of the revelation and unsure whether they can raise a child on their own, Cal and Frida set out to the nearest settlement, a guarded and paranoid community full of secrets. Whilst they are offered a secure new home, the pair soon realise this community poses dangers unlike any other they have faced before. If you loved the quiet eerieness of The Dog Stars, Edan Lepucki’s debut novel, California, is the perfect follow-up dystopian read.
The Last Dog On Earth – Adrian J. Walker
They say that every dog has its day. And for Lineker, a happy-go-lucky mongrel from Peckham, the day the world comes to an end is his: a chance to prove to his owner just how loyal he can be. Reg is an agoraphobic writer with a keen passion for nineties football. He intends to wait out the impending doom in his second-floor apartment, burrowing himself from the riots outside.
But, when an abandoned orphan appears in the stairwell of their building, Reg and Lineker must face the outside to not only save the child but also themselves. Like The Dog Stars, Adrian J. Walker’s The Last Dog on Earth is a post-apocalyptic tale featuring a man, his dog and a journey of friendship and meaning.
The Last Policeman (The Last Policeman #1) – Ben H. Winters
What is the point in solving murders if everyone is about to die, anyway? Detective Hank Palace has grappled with this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 was first spotted on a collision course with planet Earth. There’s no chance left. No hope remaining. Just six short months until impact.
Putting a fresh spin on the dystopia genre books like The Dog Stars has established, Ben Winters’ The Last Policeman is a portrait of a pre-apocalyptic United States. Churches are ransacked, crops rot in the field, the economy spirals downward and people across the globe are walking off the job. Except Hank. A whodunnit mystery set on the brink of the apocalypse, The Last Policeman asks readers what life is worth and what any of us would do if we knew our days were numbered.
Good Morning, Midnight – Lilly Brooks-Dalton
Augustine is an enigmatic, ageing astronomer who is consumed by the stars. For years he has lived in remote outposts, studying the skies above him for evidence of how the universe began. When rumblings of war arrive, Augustine refuses to abandon his work. Shortly after his fellow scientists leave, he discovers a mysterious child, Iris, and realises the airwaves have gone silent.
At the same time, Mission Specialist Sullivan is aboard the Aether on its return flight from Jupiter. The astronauts are the first humans to delve into the depths of space, and Sully has learned to live with the sacrifices she has made for this achievement. Yet, when Mission Control falls silent, she and her crewmates are forced to wonder if they will ever reach home. Featuring intertwining stories, forbidding but beautiful landscapes and uncertain futures, Lilly Brooks-Dalton’s Good Morning, Midnight is another one of the best sci-fi books like The Dog Stars.
The Road – Cormac McCarthy
No list of books similar to The Dog Stars would be complete without mentioning Cormac McCarthy’s acclaimed post-apocalyptic read, The Road. The story follows a father and his son walking across the ravaged United States of America. The cold is enough to crack stone, the wind is full of ash and, when the snow falls, it is grey. They are heading for the coast, although they don’t know what, or who awaits them there. The only things they are armed with are a sole pistol, the clothes they are wearing, and each other.
Like Haller’s novel, The Road is a profoundly moving journey. It paints a picture of a future where everything has been taken away, except for the shared love and reliance between a father and his son.
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The Wolf Road – Beth Lewis
Elka barely remembers a time before she knew Trapper. She had been just seven years old, wandering lost, alone and hungry in the wilderness when the solitary hunter took her in. In the years since then, he’s taught her how to survive in the ravaged lands where civilisation once stood, but has since been destroyed, and where men now find themselves at the mercy of the elements and each other.
But the man Elka thought she knew has been harbouring a harrowing, monstrous secret. And now that she has stumbled upon the truth, she may just find herself in his crosshairs as his next victim. Nevertheless, Trapper has taught Elka well. Like him, she is a predator and prepared to do whatever it takes to survive. Beth Lewis’ The Wolf Road is a brutal dystopian tale that, like The Dog Stars, follows a young girl navigating a dangerous terrain to rejoin humanity.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
