Today’s review is about WE BURNED SO BRIGHT by T.J. Klune. It’s a standalone novella in which a black hole is about to destroy Earth. The end of the world is the impetus Rodney and Don need to travel cross country to finally do something they put off for years. There are quite a few content warnings for this one, so check them out. That said, I loved this book, as much as one can when it’s about the end of the world.
Author: T.J. Klune
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Tor Books
Publish Date: April 28, 2026
Print Length: 176
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We Burned So Bright Synopsis
Synopsis
A heart-wrenching standalone novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, We Burned So Bright follows an elder gay couple on an end-of-the-world road-trip.
The road stretched out before them. No other cars, just the headlights on the blacktop. Above, the cracked moon in a kaleidoscope sky….
Husbands Don and Rodney have lived a good long life. Together they’ve experienced the highest highs of love and family, and lows so low that they felt like the end of the world.
Now, the world is ending for real. A rogue black hole is coming for Earth and in a month everything and everyone they’ve ever known will be gone.
Suddenly, after 40 years together, Don and Rodney are out of time. They’re in a race against the clock to make it from Maine to Washington State to take care of some unfinished business before it’s all over.
On the road they meet those who refuse to believe death is coming and those who rush to meet it. But there are also people living their final days as best they know how—impromptu weddings, bright burning bonfires, shared meals, and new friends.
And as the black hole draws near, among ball lightning and under a cracked moon in a kaleidoscope sky, Don and Rodney will look back on their lives and ask if their best was good enough.
Is it enough to burn bright if nothing comes from the ashes?
We Burned So Bright Book Review
It’s the end of the world as Rodney and Don know it, and they don’t feel fine. A black hole is making its way toward Earth and destroying everything in its path. This impending apocalypse is the impetus they need to travel from Maine to Washington to do something important they’ve put off for years. Along the way they meet various people, all of them dealing with and processing their grief in different ways.
This is only the second book of Klune’s I’ve had the pleasure to read and it was fantastic. Despite the rather bleak premise, the exploration and meshing of helplessness and carpe diem spoke to me in light of current events. It really was one of those books that I read at a time when I needed it most. It’s fairly raw, some experiences told unflinchingly. The cast of folks Rodney and Don encounter along the way all vary so much in how they handle knowing that they’re all doing to die. Shout out to the very last character, who was my favorite because my heart also thinks about the animals.
I think it’s best to go into this one without knowing much about it, so I won’t describe the various people Rodney and Don speak with. In summary, though, discussions center around not being able to grow old; bringing life into a dying world; whether humans will be remembered, if they’re worth remembering; love; and control. There are quite a few content warnings, so I recommend looking those up before beginning your literary journey. Even though Klune doesn’t viscerally describe The End, I woke up the next morning and realized I’d had a nightmare about the cracked moon and black hole. (Nightmares are a rarity for me in general and usually only happen after I read a pandemic book.) Overall, I heartily recommend WE BURNED SO BRIGHT.
Rating: 4.5
Content warnings: murder, death, gun violence, homophobia, suicide, drug use, mental illness
Reading format: Library hardback
For additional thoughts about this book, check reviews by Books Are the New Black and Books, Bones & Buffy.
