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Hugh Howey
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Elinor Taylor
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The Balloon Hunter: A Found Novel (Dear Apocalypse Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Hugh Howey (Author), Elinor Taylor (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 out of 5 stars 765 ratings
Shoot anything you don't understand. That's been my motto, and it's kept me alive.
So when I saw something drifting above the fog, I lined it up in my sights and took it out.
Only realized after that it was a balloon. With a note attached.
Rita. Who are you? Where are you?
Hang tight. I'm coming.
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  1. Book 1 of 2
    Dear Apocalypse
  2. Language
    English
  3. Accessibility
    Learn more
  4. Publication date
    May 31, 2023
  5. Reading age
    14 - 18 years
  6. File size
    54.1 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Not Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Not Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C6WL2WTF
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Broad Reach Publishing
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 31, 2023
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 54.1 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Book 1 of 2 ‏ : ‎ Dear Apocalypse
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 - 18 years
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 765 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Hugh Howey

    Hugh Howey

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Hugh Howey is New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of WOOL, MACHINE LEARNING, SAND, BEACON 23, and many others. His works have been translated into over 40 languages with millions of copies sold around the world. WOOL has been adapted into Silo, a TV show from AppleTVPlus. A show based on BEACON 23 is due out in 2023 from AMC. Hugh lives between New York and the UK with his wife, Shay.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Elinor Taylor

    Elinor Taylor

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Elinor Taylor is the author of The Fisher Girl, The Smallest of Sparks Volumes 1 and 2, and short story collection, Storms in Jars (as E.J. More).

    Her recent publications, The Balloon Hunter and Death To Anyone Who Reads This, are unique graphic novellas set in the apocalypse, and co-written with Hugh Howey, bestselling author of the Wool trilogy (now 'Silo' on Apple TV+), Beacon 23 (coming soon on MGM+), and Sand series.

    Elinor lives in beautiful West Yorkshire, UK.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
765 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's creativity positive, describing it as wonderfully creative and clever right to the end. Moreover, the authenticity receives positive feedback, with one customer noting its very authentic feel. However, the readability and ending receive mixed reactions, with some finding it a compelling read while others say it's very hard to read, and several customers find the ambiguous ending frustrating.

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CreativityAuthenticityReadabilityEnding
16 customers mention "Creativity"16 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's creativity, finding it clever throughout and interesting as a concept, with one customer noting its unique landscape format.

"...Interesting idea, but ultimately unsatisfying. VFL" Read more

"...It sounded sort of gimmicky, but I ended up really enjoying the layout...." Read more

"Interesting idea but not good enough to be great. Beware of the format. It is a collection of written postcards only, no other text...." Read more

"I liked the concept as it was a novel approach. Nice cover art and storyline, and I'd definitely read a sequel." Read more

4 customers mention "Authenticity"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the authenticity of the book, with one noting its very authentic feel and another describing it as raw and riveting.

"...I loved the storytelling through postcards — it felt raw and personal, like glimpses into someone's soul...." Read more

"Such a great plot! What an amazing idea of a story! Compelling, sincere and touching, well-paced and nostalgic in the same time...." Read more

"Really liked this book. Very authentic feel and an engrossing read. You CARE about Rita and Clayton and wonder how it will end...." Read more

"...This is wonderfully creative and brilliant and riveting! It's pretty good summation of humankind as well." Read more

55 customers mention "Readability"35 positive20 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's readability, with some finding it a compelling and good story while others say it's very hard to read.

"Such a great plot! What an amazing idea of a story! Compelling, sincere and touching, well-paced and nostalgic in the same time...." Read more

"Really liked this book. Very authentic feel and an engrossing read. You CARE about Rita and Clayton and wonder how it will end...." Read more

"...Interesting idea, but ultimately unsatisfying. VFL" Read more

"...I was engaged by the letters and did my best to read all of the ones on the front of the post cards and felt like I didn’t miss anything when it was..." Read more

9 customers mention "Ending"3 positive6 negative

Customers have mixed reactions to the book's ending, with several finding it frustratingly ambiguous.

"...Dystopian setting Helium balloon postcard delivery Depressing/disturbing Ambiguous ending..." Read more

"...Strange premise. Good story and it kept me on edge until the end. Give it a trry." Read more

"...And, I've read hundreds. It has an undercurrent that is occasionally disturbing but, I chalked that up to my distrust of strangers...." Read more

"The ending was too confusing to follow… I re-read the last 20 postcards several times, and still have no idea WTF happened...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • tatcol
    5.0 out of 5 stars I need more of this story!!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    I read this in one sitting, and was blown away. I learned so much about the characters just from reading their postcards. They became important and dear to me. Their situation, though, remains somewhat mysterious...what happened to the world? What is this fog, and what did or does it do? How near or far are the main characters from one another? What other threats are they facing? I am so looking forward the second volume, where I hope some questions will be answered.

    I'm glad I waived my "no physical books" rule to purchase the paper version. This one would have been challenging to navigate on the phone! I enjoy the other work of both of the authors, and this was a great collaboration.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Michele Risner
    4.0 out of 5 stars Tethered by Words: A Flight Worth Taking
    Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    This book caught my interest when a pen pal and fellow Goodreads user mentioned it in a letter. It's not something I would have stumbled upon otherwise, and what a beautiful surprise it turned out to be. I loved the storytelling through postcards — it felt raw and personal, like glimpses into someone's soul. Each message was filled with a quiet sense of longing, hope, and discovery. Hugh Howey managed to say so much with so little, and it left me thinking about the characters and their journey long after I turned the final page.
    Helpful
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  • BigOrangeDave
    3.0 out of 5 stars Probably works better in print then kindle
    Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    You never really know what is happened to cause this particular apocalypse. It seemed like a side story to Stephen King’s “The Mist“ that happened on the other side of the country as there is some thing in the fog.

    A series of postcards gets annotated by the guy who finds them. His annotations are a bit tough to read on the Kindle as they are scribbled over a picture. At times I find myself skipping through his notes as at least, the lady, he was chasing, wrote hers on the backside of the postcard in a neat print.

    Interesting idea, but ultimately unsatisfying.

    VFL
    Helpful
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  • Tania
    5.0 out of 5 stars A true masterpiece
    Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Such a great plot! What an amazing idea of a story! Compelling, sincere and touching, well-paced and nostalgic in the same time. I'm all exclamation marks here!!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Rain
    4.0 out of 5 stars Ambiguous ending was frustrating…
    Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Reading this book of nothing but exchanged postcards, felt voyeuristic, and a bit like doing some minor detective work.

    Dystopian setting
    Helium balloon postcard delivery
    Depressing/disturbing
    Ambiguous ending

    Each postcard, giving tiny clues of the individual who wrote it and their innermost thoughts. It is amazing what you can learn about someone with just a few handwritten notes. I can’t say that I necessarily enjoyed this unique format, but I did inhale this “story.” It was frustrating that it ended with a cliffhanger and left me with all my questions unanswered.

    Rita and Clayton, are you the only ones passing messages? Is Clayton a good guy? What exactly are those creatures? What happened to the world?
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • IndigoD
    5.0 out of 5 stars Griffin and Sabine with a splash of apocalyptic bitters
    Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Really liked this book. Very authentic feel and an engrossing read. You CARE about Rita and Clayton and wonder how it will end. And what is in the Fog? What IS the Fog? Is it part of Project Arrowhead? It doesn’t matter, so don’t get distracted. Focus on the story!
    Am downloading the next one as soon as this review is done.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • D. de Silva
    1.0 out of 5 stars Description doesn't say this is a graphic novel!!!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    The description says nothing about being a graphic novel, which looks terrible and is hard to read on a kindle. I had to flip through several pages to see if the whole book was like this and now I can't return it. $7 wasted!!!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • M Winter
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wow
    Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Full disclosure, Hugh Howey is one of my favorite authors. I was unsure I’d like this though because of the format. It sounded sort of gimmicky, but I ended up really enjoying the layout. One more disclosure, I’m terrible at writing and especially bad at book reviews. So I’ll just say that the way Howey and Taylor slowly built a sense of suspense and dread is masterful. Unfortunately there are few endings that catch me off guard, but this “twist” took me completely by surprise. Highly recommend!
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • rosie123
    5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Of course we expect excellence and novelty from anything with Hugh Howey's name attached and this doesn't disappoint. At first I struggled with the format but i turned the brightness up in settings and just skimmed the odd sentence or two that were too annoying: my eyes soon tuned in.
    It seems as though we aren't given much detail about the exact nature of the apocalypse but it's all there, just implied. I like a story that demands a little bit of attention to detail from the reader - I'm not 5!
    The way in which we are so cleverly led on to follow the developing story is brilliant but I won't give a spoiler about the ending - my word! Puzzlement, shock, enough said.
    I'm starting the sequel now.
    Report
  • Mary-jane Pereira
    3.0 out of 5 stars text is as if it's hand written and hard to read at times.
    Reviewed in Australia on April 17, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Love the author but firstly the presentation is in horizontal format and cant be changed. secondly, it is printed as if it's hand written and I found some of the writing too hard to read. Couldnt enlarge it as it became too big for the page. I like the concept but didnt really enjoy the book. Made my eyes hurt.
    Report
  • Glen G Stone
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wow
    Reviewed in Canada on May 6, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    What an imaginative, heartbreaking story! I was sucked into this world, caring for the characters and desperate to learn their fate. I won't forget this one in a hurry.
    Report
  • Jenny wren
    1.0 out of 5 stars Very hard to see the writing to enable the story to flow.
    Reviewed in Australia on March 9, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Very hard to read.Could not finish this book. Story is intriguing but the writing is just to difficult to see. What a shame
    Report
  • BookMason
    3.0 out of 5 stars Okay, but drags on
    Reviewed in Canada on April 1, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Idea is okay, the fronts are a bit hard to read online, gets a bit long in the tooth as it proceeds, skipped a bit to get to the unsurprising end.

    Not reading second in the series
    Report

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