No, it’s not the name of that crappy band that practices next door to you, its the premise behind Matthew Sharpe’s newest novel, Jamestown. Silly you.

Sharpe has taken the now legendary story of Virginia’s first colony, and reimagined it in the 21st century, shortly after the Chrysler building as mysteriously fallen into the Earth’s gaping maw. A band of rogue survivors gets it into their heads that they’re going to travel down to southern Virginia, find oil and exploit the native population. Members of the group have assumed the roles of famous Jamestownians of yore: Pocahantas, John Smith, Powhawtan, all with clever tweaks on the qualities generally associated with originals. By juxtaposing the traditional narrative against an apocalyptic backdrop that modern readers can more easily identify with, Sharpe has illuminated an American legend in ways never before conceived.

And aren’t you lucky, NPR has put an excerpt on its website.