An unknown devastation has swept across the United States, a sickness causes the dead to flower and sprout fruit, and the promise of miracles draws pilgrims from all over to the Holy City of Las Vegas.
Magdala and her father flee their home in the Sonora Desert, setting out across the wasteland in search of a cure for her disability. As they pass through blasted cities and ruined towns, they are forced to join with a group of survivors making their own pilgrimage.
But the road to Las Vegas is filled with danger, strange cults occupying the wreckage of towns, and uncanny stuffed men roaming the desert.
As a strange sickness begins to take hold, the band of survivors grows ever thinner, and months turn to years. Magdala finds herself placing her trust in the most unlikely of places, and the closer she gets to her holy destination, the further from salvation she seems.
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THE FIRE CAME AT NIGHT, a flash of gasoline scent and shattered glass, then a column of flame that swept across the floor.- OUTLAWS
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(@TitanBooks, 5 September 2023, e-galley, 288 pages, copy from the publisher via @NetGalley)
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I really enjoyed Desert Creatures. I'm a fan of Dystopian fiction in general and liked the way the author tackled this well used trope. It made me laugh thinking about Las Vegas as a Holy City and reminded me a little of people flocking to Flagg in Stephen King's The Stand. The book is told through the eyes of Magdala as she searches for a cure and becomes embroiled in the lives of strange people she meets along the way, passing through strange cities and sights. This is a powerful, evocative read. I thought it was terrific.
