Moon of the Crusted Snow

Moon of the Crusted Snow is a 2018 post-apocalyptic thriller novel by Canadian Anishinaabe writer Waubgeshig Rice.

Moon of the Crusted Snow is a 2018 post-apocalyptic thriller novel by Canadian Anishinaabe writer Waubgeshig Rice. Set in a remote Anishinaabe community in northern Canada, the story follows residents as they cope with isolation and social breakdown after all outside connections fail. Published by ECW Press, the novel was followed by a sequel, Moon of the Turning Leaves (2023).

Publication

Moon of the Crusted Snow was published in 2018 by ECW Press. It is Rice's English-language novel and is listed as 213 pages in the paperback edition.

Plot

The novel centres on a northern Anishinaabe community that loses contact with the outside world as food and power supplies become uncertain. As conditions worsen, the community faces conflict, scarcity, and questions of leadership.

Themes

Reviews and summaries describe the novel as post-apocalyptic and dystopian, with attention to survival, community resilience, and Indigenous traditions in the face of collapse.

Reception

The novel received critical attention and was nominated for the 2019 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

Sequel

Moon of the Crusted Snow was followed by Moon of the Turning Leaves, released in 2023.