Lost Dogs by Kenton Kilgore

Buddy--a German Shepherd--and Sally--a Beagle/Basset Hound mix--are the beloved pets of Rob and Gennifer Bennett and their young daughter Audrey. Their home is Kent Island, MD: a beautiful, peaceful place, good for raising a family, good for having dogs. 

When unearthly beings strike without warning or mercy against humankind, Buddy and Sally lose the ones they love and the lives they knew. Now they must band together with other "lost dogs" to find food, water, and shelter without their masters. 

But survival is not enough for Buddy: he holds out hope that Rob, Genn, and Audrey live. And that he can find them before inhuman forces ensure that man is never again Earth's master.

fter reading The Dragon Tamer's Daughter, I was really excited to get a hold of Kilgore's newest book.  I loved his writing style and story telling before and was avidly looking forward to more of the same.  Instead of reading the story line, I plunged right in and found myself immediately fascinating with a new Kilgore world once again.

Let me start by saying that I'm not what one would consider a 'dog person.'  I know several of them and while I have no issue with them, I am not the person to look at the picture of the Dachsund in a purse and say 'Awww!'  Dogs are great, but not one of my 'aw' weaknesses.  However, in this book, it made no difference.  The dogs, while clearly depicted as dogs, have been humanized enough to make it easy to empathize and comprehend them.  They still retain their dogginess, down to their descriptions and thought patterns and even language.  

I think if I'd have read the description before I started, I would have considered it a 'dog book' or 'dog sci fi'.  It really isn't though.  It's apocalyptical.  Think Walking Dead meets Watership Down.  We have this wonderful cast of characters who happen to be dogs.  Most of humanity has disappeared and now they're left alone, confused, and in a world that doesn't support them the way it used to.  Not only that, there's such a loss of sense of purpose.  While we're taking the journey with these dogs, we feel the same sense of loss and urgency that they do.  I'll admit that there were several points in the book where I cried my little eyes out.  This is a touching and tormenting tale of an alien invasion from the dogs' point of view.

Kilgore definitely kept me happy with his writing style and storytelling once again.  I found myself unable to tear myself away from the pages.  I was so lost in his world that I felt a bit jolted when I was forced to return to reality.  Once I'd finished, I felt rubbed raw from emotion, but at the same time oddly satisfied.  This is not a 'tie it up in pretty ribbons' book.  Given the situation in the book, there are bound to be some dirty and gritty parts, and it's all a part of the ride. 

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Shawn