No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Moon of the Crusted Snow is an uncommon dystopia, both wistful and tough, in which there’s nothing all that new about the end of everything.ĭisclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review.

Hints of an anti-colonialist allegory emerge with Scott’s appearance, but they aren’t the priority: survival is, as well as maintaining community traditions and knowledge that has faced, and survived, existential threats before. When the outside world fades away here, it’s no more violent than other past challenges to the community: there’s hunger, there’s desperation, and there’s death, but its all familiar. Evan progresses, at home and in his community, with outward calm, but it’s all a wary calculation. The text is somber and controlled as it builds toward its ultimate revelation. And Scott has something dark and inarticulable planned, not to mention aspirations to an unearned leadership role. Young girls turn up dead in the snow suicides follow. His influence poisons community relations, and Evan-with his partner, Nicole, and their two young children-faces the possibility that the Anishinaabe won’t make it through the winter intact. He announces chaos in the south and begs to stay, but chaos trails him anyway. Then an outsider, Justin Scott, arrives, towing an arsenal and a personal supply of booze. And whether they let those around them see it or not, Evan and the other community leaders begin to plan for the worst.

A food delivery from the south does not turn up. Most of the connected conveniences are newer to them, anyway. When the power goes out in a northern Anishinaabe community, its tribal leaders aren’t initially worried. Moon of the Crusted Snow is an isolated dystopia-a picture of what the end of the world might look like if you only ever lived at the edge of the world to begin with.

Moon crusted snow