The Heap by Sean Adams is a dystopian novel set in a massive landfill where people live on top of the trash in a vertical city called “the heap”. The story follows two characters, an investigative journalist named Bernard and a garbage sorter named Lita, as they uncover corruption and conspiracy within the society of the heap.

Bernard investigates the death of his brother, who was a government official working to improve conditions in the heap. Lita discovers a mysterious object that leads her to question the true purpose of the heap and the motivations of those in power.

As they delve deeper into the secrets of the heap, Bernard and Lita must confront dangerous enemies and decide whether to fight for change or accept their bleak reality. The Heap offers a thought-provoking commentary on societal inequality, environmental degradation, and the struggle for justice in the face of overwhelming odds.

• The Heap

• A Novel
• By: Sean Adams
• Narrated by: David Sadzin, Allyson Ryan, Sarah Naughton, Todd Haberkorn

Blending the piercing humor of Alexandra Kleeman and the jagged satire of Black Mirror, an audacious, eerily prescient debut novel that chronicles the rise and fall of a massive high-rise housing complex, and the lives it affected before – and after – its demise.

Nearly 500 stories high, Los Verticalés used to be bustling with life and bustle. Now, this marvel of modern architecture and non-traditional urban planning has collapsed into a ruin known as The Heap.

In exchange for digging gear, a rehabilitated bicycle, and a small living stipend, a vast community of Dig Hands removes debris, trash, and bodies from the building’s mountainous remains, which span 20 acres of unincorporated desert land.

Orville Anders ducks into the rubble to find his brother Bernard, the beloved radio DJ of Los Verticalés, who is still alive and magically broadcasting somewhere under the massive rubble.

For months, Orville lived in a sea of campers that surrounded the Heap, working tirelessly to free Bernard – the only known survivor of the blown up city – whom he said talk every night, call into your radio program.

The brothers’ conversations are a ratings bonanza, and the station’s parent company, Sundial Media, wants to boost its profits by having Orville slyly drop brand names into his nightly talks with Bernard. When Orville refuses, his access to Bernard is suddenly cut off, but strangely, he continues to hear his own voice over the airwaves, casually shilling products as “he” converses with Bernard.

What follows is an imaginative and darkly hilarious story of conspiracy, revenge, and the strange life and death of Los Verticalés that both captures the wonderful weirdness of community and the bonds that tie us together.

A wonderful first novel that is biting in it’s satire and humanity. I read a blurb that compared Adam’s writing to Pynchon’s, which I initially scoffed at, but this novel is reminiscent of The Crying of Lot 49 in a way. Highly recommend.

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