Witch of Hebron. James Howard Kunstler. 2010.

In the tiny hamlet of Union Grove, New York the electricity has flickered off, the Internet is a distant memory, and the government is little more than a rumour. Travel is horse-drawn and farming is back at the center of life, but Union Grove is no pastoral haven. Wars are fought over dwindling resources and illness is a constant presence. Bandits roam the countryside, preying on the weal and a sinister cult threatens to shatter the town’s fragile stability.

In a novel that is boh shocking yet eerily convincing, Kunstler seamlessly weaves hot-button issues such as the decline of oil and the perils of climate change into a compelling narrative of violence, religious hysteria, innocence lost and love found.