7 August 2026
Even before the story, the music begins. “Here’s a tune I wrote before any of this,” goes the first sentence of Simple Songs for the End of the World, spoken by Gus as he gives us a line of musical notation, a little melody high up in treble clef, just a few bars. “I hum it when things get uncomfortable,” he says. Throughout Simple Songs for the End of the World, author MC Schmidt embeds Gus’s music into the text, the tunes accompanying a sweetly human story of resilience through adversity. As Gus faces an emasculating battle with cancer, an accident in space simultaneously shuts down all satellite communications, leaving the whole world as bewildered as our newly diagnosed protagonist. What happens next? How do we keep track of each other? How do we hold on?
Gus navigates the new reality through his music, simple songs strummed on a beloved guitar, an artistic response to the chaos unfolding, the punishing medical treatments, and the world outside hoarding toilet paper as its cell phones go dark. Meanwhile, Gus finds his way forward through the new songs he’s composing and recording in his room, relying on the art that has always centered him, common ground for himself and a rich cast of bandmates and likeminded friends. With his bold-as-brass German mother and the ex-girlfriend he should never have let go, Gus’s journey transcends the fear of a painful death from cancer. With the sudden decline in technological connections, human relationships rush in to fill the void, and by the end it’s clear that nothing is over, hope was never lost, that our hearts had been longing all along for a reason to put down our phones.
Schmidt’s novel, with its accompanying soundtrack (accessed via QR code), is a breath of fresh air. These are characters you want to know, who make you believe that the good in each of us is only waiting to be unleashed. The songs are as simple as advertised and in that way, disarming. Here is the homemade sound of heartfelt music by an artist who has found the true meaning of his craft. These tunes would never have gone viral, would never have caught the ear of an influencer, or made the rounds on TikTok. But now, in Gus’s post-satellite reality, it doesn’t matter. All that artificiality is gone. And what’s left? A few Simple Songs for the End of the World.
Thanks to Silent Clamor Press for an advanced reader’s copy. Simple Songs was released June 30, 2026. Order at https://www.silentclamor.com/simple-songs-for-the-end-of-the-world
Jennifer Frost Writes 