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roq's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
catsy2022's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Rating: B
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig is a tome written in 2019 about a global pandemic, uncomfortably on the nose politically for the times we are experiencing now. Set in the USA, Wanderers follows a large and diverse set of protagonists at the start of a suspected pandemic. People suddenly leave their homes walking in a single direction. They do not respond to outside stimuli and their skin is hard enough to turn away blades and needles. They walk through any weather and can climb over obstacles. Their family members are choosing to follow with the sleepwalkers to their final destination.
In the background there are several elements to this story that the author slowly brings together. In pandemic and apocalyptic books we see many of the same themes; hope, love, life and an idea of the future, but we often see racism, religion, and the government's struggle in the final years.
This book brings a few new ideas to the table that are incredibly interesting but continues to rehash the same ideas we are sick of and make less sense in this currently climate.
Racism reminded him of Lyme, a tick-borne disease. A deer tick would bite a person, passing along a little bugger named Borrelia burgdorferi—the nasty bacterium that caused the disease. When you contracted it, it might look like a case of the flu. Then it could go dormant for weeks, months, sometimes even years—and then when it came back, it manifested ten times worse than it began.
The pacing of the book was really great for the first few hundred pages, then really dragged throughout the middle section from about 450 to 700. I felt like these sections were rife with some unnecessary perspectives and small picture human struggles - as well as some really horrible and very unnecessary abusive scenes. I felt disgusted by their inclusion; after reading Swan Song last month or whatever, I felt like these ideas should be left in the past. If we are struggling for life, wouldn't it be more likely we are struggling as humans rather than struggling as white people vs the other races?
I personally found the ending a bit of a fizzle compared to a bang. I felt somewhat disappointed but elements of the conclusion can be seen throughout the book, especially from the perspective of the sleepwalkers.
I really enjoyed reading some of the character perspectives too, but I couldn't really say that I truly came to care about any of them. The death scenes never hit me hard like they had in Seveneves.
I'm not sure how I feel about this book if I'm being honest. I don't know if it's actually worth reading but it didn't feel like 800 pages long until I got past the middle of it.
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig is a tome written in 2019 about a global pandemic, uncomfortably on the nose politically for the times we are experiencing now. Set in the USA, Wanderers follows a large and diverse set of protagonists at the start of a suspected pandemic. People suddenly leave their homes walking in a single direction. They do not respond to outside stimuli and their skin is hard enough to turn away blades and needles. They walk through any weather and can climb over obstacles. Their family members are choosing to follow with the sleepwalkers to their final destination.
In the background there are several elements to this story that the author slowly brings together. In pandemic and apocalyptic books we see many of the same themes; hope, love, life and an idea of the future, but we often see racism, religion, and the government's struggle in the final years.
This book brings a few new ideas to the table that are incredibly interesting but continues to rehash the same ideas we are sick of and make less sense in this currently climate.
Racism reminded him of Lyme, a tick-borne disease. A deer tick would bite a person, passing along a little bugger named Borrelia burgdorferi—the nasty bacterium that caused the disease. When you contracted it, it might look like a case of the flu. Then it could go dormant for weeks, months, sometimes even years—and then when it came back, it manifested ten times worse than it began.
The pacing of the book was really great for the first few hundred pages, then really dragged throughout the middle section from about 450 to 700. I felt like these sections were rife with some unnecessary perspectives and small picture human struggles - as well as some really horrible and very unnecessary abusive scenes. I felt disgusted by their inclusion; after reading Swan Song last month or whatever, I felt like these ideas should be left in the past. If we are struggling for life, wouldn't it be more likely we are struggling as humans rather than struggling as white people vs the other races?
I personally found the ending a bit of a fizzle compared to a bang. I felt somewhat disappointed but elements of the conclusion can be seen throughout the book, especially from the perspective of the sleepwalkers.
I really enjoyed reading some of the character perspectives too, but I couldn't really say that I truly came to care about any of them. The death scenes never hit me hard like they had in Seveneves.
I'm not sure how I feel about this book if I'm being honest. I don't know if it's actually worth reading but it didn't feel like 800 pages long until I got past the middle of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gun violence
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Animal cruelty
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