Griz (so called as he was a grisly child and it stuck) lives in the “after”. After is the world after most of the population have died and only a few remain who are able to have children. Think Life of Pi meets Waterworld (Mel Gibson). Where civilisation as we know it no longer exists and those surviving have to cobble together things to either make or repair what little they have. There are no factories, no food, no medicines. Primitive basics in a crumbling world. Most live on islands as the sea is the safest place as his family found when they had a visitor to their island. Brand stole one of Griz’s dogs along with food and other items and drugged the family. Griz having a bad tooth didn’t eat so much, made the discovery and gave chase in his boat.this is the story of the chase and his discoveries in a world he knows little about. There are some philosophical lines in such as “dreams are rather like small jellyfish, they slip through your fingers not knowing if they were really true or you dreamed that you dreamed them”.. I liked Griz and his steely determination both to survive and to try and find his dog (Would anyone not do the same?). I won’t give anything away but there are a couple of surprises along the way. A beautifully described read and one to perhaps make us think about life and treasure the things we maybe take for granted, If you liked Life of Pi , you may love this.
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A really gripping fresh storyline- Griz lives in a world where few people and animals are fertile, and the population has dwindled, as such Grizs world is his family and his dogs- when one dog is stolen he sets out with one of his dogs to find her.l, encountering a haunting view of the world that once was on his way. This felt really modern and fresh- something completely new- and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I tried three times to get into this book but I struggled. I'm not sure if it was the writing style or the fact that it just wasn't for me, but it wasn't grabbing my attention like I had hoped. The story itself sounds intriguing, and I encourage those who like post apocalyptic series to give it a try anyway! Although I didn't finish it, the premise of the book is an interesting one and I for one would have liked to know how things progressed. I just think it's one that might not be everyone's cup of tea, and I'm not sure if that's just down to the writing style and the way the story is presented, as it seems like a very interesting but heartbreaking story.

I did not read all of this book. I did no get on with the writing style. The concept was intriguing but the narration for me, could have been better.

An intriguing post-apocalyptic novel which pulled me in from the start. I admit a big part of the attraction for me was the Scottish setting and what the author’s vision of a post-catastrophic-event Scotland would look like. I found the characters interesting with the main focus on the intrepid Griz, his love of his dog (which drives the story) and the intriguing John Dark (I don’t think that’s a spoiler). This novel has some beautiful writing and I’ve highlighted many passages. I also enjoyed getting onto the wavelength of someone for whom the post-apocalyptic setting is all they’ve ever known. I suspect this will be a big seller and rightly so and I fully expect a film to be made. Highly recommended. PS. If you love dogs you’ll enjoy it though not necessarily in a nice fluffy way!

Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown for ARC.

This book is set in the days after what they call The Gelding happened. When the population plummeted until there were few people still alive; spread thinly around the world. Our hero Griz's family live together with their animals on a remote island in Scotland. They spend their time scavenging things to make their lives more comfortable and to aid farming, hunting and fishing enough to keep alive. One day, a stranger lands and says he has things to trade. He wants one of Griz's dogs, Jess, and says he has a part for their windmill. Griz's father says no trade but next morning, it transpires that the stranger has taken the dog and sailed away. Griz races to the shore just in time to see him in the distance and makes the decision to follow him to retrieve Jess. Taking Jess's brother Jip along for the ride, what follow next is a journey of discovery and awakening as Griz's determination to save Jess despite all the danger it puts in the way.
It's hard to say much more about this book without giving away any spoilers. In fact, saying anything about anyone in the book has its danger with regard to that too so I'm sorry if I'm going to be too oblique. Even though, the thing I am trying not to mention actually was a bit on the "whatever" side for me rather than have much impact at all, I am trying to respect those who might react with a bit more umpf!
I did enjoy Griz's story, the places visited, the people met, the danger encountered. Especially trying to guess the phonetically spelled French, most of which just confused me more! I loved the author's description of places I knew which had descended into ruin through Griz's eyes.
Told in the form of a journal written to someone I'll leave you to discover, it's a great journey to follow and there's an ending, a pretty good one at that too, but when I finished the book I wasn't satisfied. There was something missing for me but I'm not sure I can say what it was. I honestly don't know. I did enjoy it; the journey, the characters, the dystopian world as created, but I wanted more from it. Did the author rely too much on the thing or did I just not connect to Griz as much as I thought I had? I'm not sure. Maybe there was a point I missed along the way... I think this could be a book for the re-read pile.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Griz's family live on an island in the Outer Hebrides, about a century after most humans have become infertile. They survive by fishing, farming and scavenging what they can from other islands and the mainland. Griz has never seen more than a handful of people.

But then a trader arrives, charms the whole family - and steals one of their dogs on the way out. Griz isn't going to stand for that. Dogs are family, after all. But the long journey over the mainland will turn the whole world upside down.


In one of those strange coincidences that often show up in publishing, this is the second book I've read recently featuring apocalypse by infertility. The other is a quieter meditation on what being human means; this is much more action packed and covers a wider area, allowing us to see the effects a lack of humanity would have on the world more clearly. I loved the little comments here and there from Griz, wondering whether we found things strange and exciting or were just used to them - things like cars and music players.

None of the other characters really stood out for me, but they weren't the point of the book anyway. There was an excellent twist near the end, one that really took me by surprise. However, I didn't like the formatting; speech isn't marked out at all, no quotation marks or even dashes, and sometimes one character's dialogue runs straight on from another's so I had to go back and reread a couple of times to untangle it. It took me right out of the story every time. Luckily, Griz is alone for huge swathes of the story, so I was able to ignore it.

This story will stay with me for a long time.

I do like a bit of dystopian fiction -as does Griz, the main character in this post-apocalyptic novel. It was a fairly gentle apocalypse, as apocalypses go. People just stopped having babies.

Griz and family live on a Scottish island. They are some of the few, scattered remnants of humanity, scavenging the knowledge and basic technology left behind when everybody else died off. There's not much left. There are books, and Griz is a reader - of everything.

The family have already known tragedy - a lost sister, a damaged mother - and then Griz's dog, Jess, is stolen, and Griz sets off to the mainland to get Jess back.

It's a great journey, across a deserted country, with recognisable landmarks poking up out of the vegetation that's taking over. The poignant remains of humanity are noted. This is a book with emotional intelligence. Griz meets new people, makes mistakes, learns things, and is a most satisfying central character.

I really loved this book.. Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read it.

Since the Gelding, the world is a place of few people. Griz’s family live on a remote Scottish island, self-sufficient and just about managing, although the tragedy of their lost daughter Joy has forever broken the mother.

One day Brand arrives, a trader in a ship with red sails. Friendly and laden with good things, the family welcome him in… yet when Griz wakes the following morning, the red sails are disappearing into the horizon and Griz’s beloved dog is gone.

And so begins Griz’s journey – to chase Brand and retrieve Jess the dog. An adventure to the end of the world, where discoveries along the way are harsh yet heart-warming, and ultimately a search for joy.

The story is set in a very recognisable environment, with vividly detailed scenery and all the paraphernalia of everyday life that we know – yet all touched by decay. This feels a very different apocalyptic read, highly recommended, a real page turner.

This is a very well written book. I am sorry but it was just not for me. I found it depressing and hard to keep reading. It was not a version of the end of the world that I liked. Sorry.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

What a beautiful book! Despite the setting of a post-apocalyptic world where few have survived, here is a story of hope and courage and loyalty. It’s hard to describe this book in detail without giving important stuff away, so I’ll make do with Griz’s own introduction:

<i>“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.

… And 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. If we’re not loyal to the things we love, what’s the point? That’s like not having a memory. That’s when we stop being human.”</i>

So begins Griz’s life-changing journey through the ruins of our world to find Jess. But this is no soppy story; rather a powerful and compelling tale of deep loyalty, unexpected courage and the wonder of discovery. We hear the story through Griz’s own words, written as a kind of diary along the way, revealing to us thoughts and feelings as well as events and so making it very very personal.

I found myself in turn fascinated, rigid with suspense and tension, chuckling, and moved to tears. I was lucky to be given an advance electronic copy to review, but as soon as this is published there is no hesitation – this will be purchased as a ‘real’ book to have and to hold, to lend to friends and to keep on my bookshelf to treasure.

This book was so heartwarming and cute but so sad and heartbreaking. I don't normally go for post-apocalyptic stories, as they aren't really my style, but this one ended up entertaining me quite a bit, which is a positive surprise. It was written, though, in a very weird say, at least for me, which kind of ruined some parts of it.

This was an enjoyable post-apocalyptic read, which could be crossover Sci-Fi/YA/General Fiction. After an epidemic incident known as “The Gelding” which left almost all of the world infertile/barren, Griz and his family are part of an incredibly small population still left on earth. They only have ever had each other, so when a mysterious stranger arrives it’s a momentous occasion. But this stranger steals Griz’s dog a bitch called Jess (which is incredibly rare) and Griz goes on a journey to save her with his male dog Jip. This was a really enjoyable read and Griz is a great character. To see the world through his point of view, which is practical, child-like and ultimately hopeful is an uplifting experience. I really was drawn to him as a character. The plot was good, although I did feel it lagged in some places and I was dying to get on to the next bit of action. The ending though!! OMG! Really didn’t see that twist coming.
Great read.

Thoroughly enjoyable. Only gripe would be the rather repetitive narrative trick of "if only I'd known then how awful forboding" etc etc.

The thing about this book is, this book gets dogs. I'm not sure I've ever read another story that captures the experience of living with one of those wonderful creatures so accurately. Most of my time reading it was spent with a small brown terrier curled up next to me, and her fearlessness, her loyalty and her love are all here in Jip.

It's a post apocalyptic story, and a pretty good one, with a different and more interesting take than the other legion of post apocalyptic stories I've read. There are secrets and twists and spoilers as well (and I'm not going to ruin them, so don't even ask - but if you pay close attention to what the story outright TELLS you it's doing, they might not be such a surprise in retrospect...). Some of it shades into YA territory, not least the central thrust of an adolescent boy leaving home and finding his own way in the world, but not strongly enough to put a grown man like me off reading it.

But yeah, it's all about the dogs. If you like dogs, this will resonate with you and you'll love it. If you don't, maybe you should read it and perhaps you will see the error of your ways.

I fear I am about to upset the apple-cart, having read so many good reviews of A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World. It just wasn't for me. This post apocalyptic story (if that is a correct description - it's not dystopian) is depressing. It is very well written but I came close to abandoning before finishing on a number of occasions. After cataclysmic events the tale unfolds around 100 years post 'the event' when the world's population is apparently reduced to around 7,500 (of what used to be 7.5 billion before 'the Gelding'). No electricity, no computers, no communication, no hope.

If this is 'the end of the world' I'll take a rain-check...

A thought provoking and compelling dystopian tale with plenty of action to raise your pulse and a brilliant ending.

Excellent dystopian tale told from the perspective of young Griz. A must for anybody who has enjoyed Station Eleven. Thought provoking and great characterisation.

An interesting and compelling tale of a quite different dystopian future - one set a little while after whatever disaster befell, where the survivors are going on living. This is Griz’s story, and it’s told beautifully.

This was a dystopian story based around the gradual demise of human beings. It was a fascinating read, a well structured story with lots of action and great characterisation.. Plenty of tension to raise your pulse rate and a brilliant conclusion.