Harsher in Hindsight: Hoo boy. In 2023, just one year after the release of the film adaptation, a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio caused the exact sort of "airborne toxic event" disaster that the book depicted happening in its small-town Ohio setting. The worst part? The train crash scene was filmed in East Palestine and hired local residents as extras for the scene where they evacuate the town.
Moment of Awesome: Jack experiences one in the book, when his family (along with a lot of other people) are displaced from their homes because of the Airborne Toxic Event. He watches his adolescent daughter sleeping and notices that she's talking in her sleep, so he leans down to hear what she's saying. It turns out to be 'Toyota Celica'. He experiences this as a 'revelation'. Doubles for the reader as a Funny Moment.
Slow-Paced Beginning: The Airborne Toxic Event plot doesn't start until almost halfway through the book, the first half resembling a meandering absurdistSitcom.
Webcomic
Viewer Gender Confusion: It's possible to mistake Wren for a girl. There is also confusion over Lawler's gender.
The Woobie: Wren starts out the comic as one of two survivors after his home colony is attacked by the Herald. Later, he suffers dehydration, murk poisoning, having his knee bashed in, and getting pistol whipped which which might have killed him if Winter hadn't taken over his body. In the most recent updates, he appears to be dealing with PTSD.
In 2023, just one year after the release of the film adaptation, a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio caused the exact sort of "airborne toxic event" disaster that the book depicted happening in its small-town Ohio setting. The worst part? The train crash scene was filmed in East Palestine