It’s a quiet night. From inside her studio apartment, the outside noises are drowned out by the gentle whirring of the air conditioner. Her pajamas are on and the comforter is warm; yet sleep eludes her. The restlessness becomes maddening and the twisting and turning becomes violent as the comforter is manipulated and pulled in ways it was not designed to.

Then, inspiration strikes. She settles down, closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath as she wills her mind to explore the dark recesses of her imagination that only dare to be touched when reality is too daunting. Fake scenarios — some that could be plausible and others that involve magic and wings — become a welcome distraction that will eventually lull her to sleep. There are those of the musical prodigy, the potential conversations with a crush that is not aware of her existence and — of course — the classic apocalyptic scenario.

Would she survive? Well, it depends on the type of apocalypse. There’s zombies, alien invasions and deadly viruses. Take your pick and the answer is probably still no. Yet for the sake of her sanity she is willing to imagine the impossible and improbable in order to get a decent night’s sleep.

In UO alumnus B. F. Galligan’s novel “Sovereign Citizen: Solitude,” he explores exactly this. In an apocalyptic scenario akin to “Avengers: Endgame,” all humans abruptly disappear — except one. “He” is a man with no name living in a post-apocalyptic reality with no explanation as to what happened.

This novel does not fall into the science fiction or action adventure genres. There is no explanation for the apocalypse throughout the entirety of the book, nor is the protagonist referred to as anything other than his pronouns. In this way, Galligan is able to take a cliche scenario and add a twist that I have never witnessed before.

Taking away these additional factors allows the reader to have a more personal experience while reading the book, almost as if they stepped into the shoes of this middle-aged man. It consequently allows further exploration of the human processes of grief and acceptance.

There is hope in the beginning of the novel, that perhaps it was just a bad dream or a psychotic break. There is paranoia in the thought that aliens are behind the sudden disappearances, with no guarantees that they won’t come for him next. There is numbness in the abandonment of social norms that have no point of existing without a society to enforce them. And there is acceptance of his new reality and the death of his previous one.

In all honesty, this book was not a light read. Unlike most post-apocalyptic movies, this novel forces the reader to confront difficult emotions. Galligan did a hauntingly realistic job articulating the complex processes of anger, loneliness and grief. With that said, the novel had a slow start. I could not predict the plot and often wished it would speed up. Then again, the unrushed pace added realism to “His” character development, which ultimately gave this novel my recommendation.

This is the first of five volumes to be released and can be found online and in Barnes & Noble if you wish to support a fellow Duck!