Before the plague and the quarantine fourteenyearold Daniel Raymond had only heard of the Listeners They were a gang maybe even a cult or at least thats what his best friend Katies police officer father had said They were criminals thieves monstersdeadly men clearly identifiable by the removal of their right earsThats what Daniel had heard But he didnt knowHe didnt know much in those early days He didnt know how the plague began but then no one did The doctors and emergency medical personnel said it was airborne and highly contagious They said those infected became distorted both inside and out and very very dangerousThen the helicopters came and took the doctors away and no one said much of anything after thatExcept the police officers They said theyd provide food and order in exchange for guns and ultimately anything else they felt like takingDaniels mother went out for toilet paper She never came back He hasnt heard from Katie since the phones went dead And with his real family gone and surrogate family unreachable Daniel scared and alone has nothing except the walls of his apartment the window shattered the poisonous air seeping inThats when the Listeners arrive Derek the oneeared man with the big soulful eyes promises protection and hope and the choice not to sit alone and wait to die in some horrific way He offers a brotherhood under the watch of their leader the prophet Adam He offers a place in the world to comeA harrowing work of literary horror The Listeners Harrison Demchicks electrifying debut is a dark and terrifying journey into loneliness desperation and the devastating experience of one young boy in a world gone mad