Moon of the Crusted Snow

I ended up pretty disappointed in this one. The book is a short look at the downfall of society from the perspective of a remote First Nation tribe in Canada where information and supplies are in short supply. Without supplies, the reservation has to make do with what it has on hand through the first winter, and conflict arises amongst the community quickly.

It bills itself as a post-apocalyptic thriller, and while it is post-apocalyptic, I found it really less than thrilling. The cast of characters is relatively small and two dimensional, with no real growth or change occurring throughout the book. Dialog does the heavy lifting of the book, but even that is flat and full of “he said”, “she said”, etc. Without spoiling the ending or the conflict, I found the ultimate confrontation at the end unexpected....but also out of place. For a bit more spoilers, an outsider joins the community fairly early on that nobody really gets along with. He brings guns, booze, and quickly usurps authority amongst leadership. Near the end of the book when food is in short supply, we find out why this outsider hasn't been looking thin -- he's been eating people. I found that a little out of place, especially in the first winter when food was still available, if not exactly pleasant. I don't like canned meat either, but I'd eat it over a person.

We also never really find out what exactly caused the collapse of the larger society, which I found unsatisfying. I realize they're remote and disconnected under normal circumstances, but even just a mention would have been far more satisfying, I think.

It's a short read, but I don't know if I'd recommend it highly.