Synopses & Reviews
In Benjamin Percy's new thriller, a post-apocalyptic reimagining of the Lewis and Clark saga, a super flu and nuclear fallout have made a husk of the world we know. A few humans carry on, living in outposts such as the Sanctuary-the remains of St. Louis-a shielded community that owes its survival to its militant defense and fear-mongering leaders.
Then a rider comes from the wasteland beyond its walls. She reports on the outside world: west of the Cascades, rain falls, crops grow, civilization thrives. But there is danger too: the rising power of an army that pillages and enslaves every community they happen upon.
Against the wishes of the Sanctuary, a small group sets out in secrecy. Led by Lewis Meriwether and Mina Clark, they hope to expand their infant nation, and to reunite the States. But the Sanctuary will not allow them to escape without a fight.
Synopsis
A MINNESOTA BOOK AWARDS FINALIST IN NOVEL & SHORT STORY
Read the "finely crafted and relentlessly inventive" thriller, The Dead Lands, a post-apocalyptic retelling of the epic journey of Lewis and Clark (Washington Post). In Benjamin Percy's new thriller, a post-apocalyptic reinvention of the Lewis and Clark saga, a super flu and nuclear fallout have made a husk of the world we know. A few humans carry on, living in outposts such as the Sanctuary-the remains of St. Louis-a shielded community that owes its survival to its militant defense and fear-mongering leaders.
Then a rider comes from the wasteland beyond its walls. She reports on the outside world: west of the Cascades, rain falls, crops grow, civilization thrives. But there is danger too: the rising power of an army that pillages and enslaves every community they happen upon.
Against the wishes of the Sanctuary, a small group sets out in secrecy. Led by Lewis Meriwether and Mina Clark, they hope to expand their infant nation, and to reunite the States. But the Sanctuary will not allow them to escape without a fight.
About the Author
Benjamin Percy is the author of the novels Red Moon and The Wilding, and two short story collections, Refresh, Refresh and The Language of Elk. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Esquire, Orion, Outside, The Wall Street Journal, Tin House and elsewhere. His honors include the Pushcart Prize, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the George Plimpton Prize for Fiction awarded by The Paris Review, and a Whiting Award. Raised in the high desert of central Oregon, he is the writer-in-residence at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.