A very compelling story. The details around Pyro and Paracetco were some of the least believable aspects of the story to me, but they were introduced early enough and made for enough interesting plot lines that I didn't mind. The story raised very engrossing questions for me around survival and how communities operate and how to build a better world. Each chapter opens with a verse from the Book of the Living, a religious text that the protagonist is creating. I'm not big on poem or song interludes like Tolkien does, but the excerpts felt relevant and meaningful in their own right. I read this book individually and as part of a book club, and it sparked some very good conversations.