I didn’t get too far into Kay Chronister’s “Desert Creatures” because I found myself very quickly reminded of one of my favorite reads - Walter M. Miller Jr. 's sci-fi classic “A Canticle for Leibowitz.” After all, both set in a post-apocalyptic southwestern United States, with some of the remnants of humanity scrambling for existence alongside mutants, with a church being one of the few institutions left maintaining any shred of civilization.

However, “Desert Creatures'' almost feels like a well-crafted update. The world that Chronister crafts is much grittier, darker, and at times out-and-out nightmarish. The beasts that roam her deserts are impossible horrors that would not be out of place in the slightest in a Lovecraft story. The corrupt church based in a ruined Las Vegas isn’t so much focused on keeping a civilizing light flickering as much as it is on squeezing whatever it can from utterly desperate pilgrims and quashing any so-called heretics that it deems a threat. And while it’s not quite clear what exactly ruined the world, ecological devastation reigns supreme in the aftermath.

To a reader who, among other things, feels worn down by near-constant cycles of bad news, eco-anxiety, and is an ex-Catholic who has long grown cynical of most organized Christianity, there’s an unexpectedly immediate familiarity to all of the aforementioned. Also unanticipated was the resultantly strong kinship that I managed to feel with the book’s main character Magdala as she strives not only to survive but also to find healing. But probably least expected and most appreciated of all was the little nugget of hope that Chronister manages to plant in her rough and badly decayed world, making the deep immersion within all of its bleakness all the more worth it.

I haven’t had any kind of post-apocalyptic work resonate with me like this since I first read my beloved “Leibowitz” so long ago. To say the least, Chronister’s debut work is a strong recommendation from me. Not only was I able to become deeply absorbed amongst its memorable setting, plot and characters, but it honestly felt like “Desert Creatures” was able to therapeutically commiserate with me on more than a few of current fears and anxieties before providing me with a surprise (and admittedly needed) pick-me-up.

I typically use reading as an escape from reality; this is not one reality I’d ever want to escape to. The setting of this book was my worst nightmare. I was constantly thirsty and hungry while reading this. When I first started reading this, I was really afraid this was going to be a really gruesome splatter punk novel but I couldn’t be more wrong. There are some really horrific things that happen in this story but the author explains it in such a way that it’s almost poetic. Everything was easily digest-able and didn’t make me squirm. I absolutely loved this story and the characters. This had me hooked and I was often thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it. I have absolutely nothing to compare this to as it’s one of the most original concepts I’ve ever read. I’d recommend this to anyone!