This "genre-shredding" (Tor.com) feminist dystopian eco-horror,
perfect for fans of The Last of Us, traces a girl's coming-of-age on a
post-apocalyptic trek through the Southwest.
In a bleak, desiccated future, eleven-year-old Magdala and her father
are forced to flee through the desolate landscape of the American
Southwest, searching for shelter and peace. Pursued by horrors both
unnatural and all-too-human, they join a pilgrimage to the holy city of
Las Vegas, where it is said that vigilante saints reside, bright with
neon power. Magdala, born with a clubfoot, is determined to be healed
there. But one by one, the pilgrims and her father fall victim to an
eerie, all-consuming sickness--leaving Magdala to fend for herself in
the wilderness.
After surviving for years on her own, Magdala grows tired of waiting for
her miracle. She turns her gaze to Las Vegas once more, taking an exiled
Vegas priest hostage to guide her as she navigates the unsettling
expanse of the desert and the hungry, dark ambitions of men. Even as she
nears the holy land, Magdala must choose: survival or salvation?
In this moving debut novel, acclaimed short fiction writer Kay
Chronister twines the strange, terrible beauty of the desert into a
haunting exploration of faith and hope. Bold and disquieting, Desert
Creatures is a surreal examination of humanity and the myths we tell
ourselves to survive.
