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cassie7e's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
However the politics and desire to seem progressive are stark, and come up in places that just don't flow naturally with the story, like the author needed to jam them in even when they weren't really relevant to the story. Especially when things like climate change are thrown into lines of exposition, all tell and no show, no inherent link to the plot beyond "the world is already doooomed!!" which is just not compelling on its own. This to say that this book is not escapist, and may annoy you even if you agree with its values like I do. If I'd known how despicably polictical the arc would be I might not have picked this up, or at least been better prepared when things got darker fast.
This book also hits closer to home because it describes so so well how people reacted to COVID, before it even happened. In retrospect this isn't surprising; the COVID reactions and White Mask reactions stem from movements and ideologies already stoked in years leading up. But this may make it extra real for readers sensitive to pandemic stories.
Surprise aro/ace mention right at the start! Love seeing this exist in more books. But it doesn't really come up again, and the one other time it's referenced it doesn't really seem to be an accurate understanding of what asexuality is.
One of my least favorite audio narrators, makes every character sound aloof and cocky and judgy or hesitant and whiney.
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Confinement, Grief, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Addiction, Cursing, Dementia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, and Murder
Minor: Police brutality, Pregnancy, Medical content, Pedophilia, Vomit, and Child death
chaptersofchase's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Genre: Science Fiction
Trope: Dystopian
Format: 🎧
Audiobook Narration: ☆☆☆☆☆
Pub Date: 7.2.2019
Star Rating: ☆☆☆.5
Let me start by saying that when I ordered this book, I didn’t look at how many pages it was. When it arrived, I thought, ‘Oh dear, what have I gotten myself into?’ because Wanderers is 845 pages!! So, instead of reading, I decided to listen to the 35-hour audiobook __ If you haven’t had a chance to read Wanderers yet, I highly recommend it as it kept me entertained and motivated to stay busy with projects.
I was fully invested in the story from the start - I’ve always loved dystopian books/shows (even if they make me incredibly anxious). Still, Wanderers was even more interesting as the author gave us scientific background on other outbreaks. At one point, I had to stop to see when the book was published (2019) because it was so eerily familiar to the start of the pandemic we’re just coming out of. Truthfully, I’m blown away by the amount of research the author, Chuck Wendig, had to do before writing this.
At some point in the book, the story takes a more graphic turn (please be aware that there are many triggers throughout the book). This graphic turn seemed more in place with the author’s other book I’ve read (Book of Accidents - horror). While I was still invested in the story and characters, I had to skip entire sections as they became too much.
Overall, The Wanderers is perfect for the dystopian book lovers. I will eventually read the next book in this saga, Wayward.
Graphic: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Religious bigotry, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, and Sexual violence
mnc84's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Car accident, Dementia, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Medical content
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Car accident, and Death
valjeanval's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Torture, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide, Violence, Sexual assault, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Dementia, Grief, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Medical content, Drug use, Dementia, and Cursing
buck50's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
BUT: there’s an entire hackneyed subplot about a pastor and his family, and a violent militia and its leader and its just… awful. The story grinds to a halt every time Matthew and Ozark are the subject. They really don’t add anything and Mathew the character is a cliche, his story arc is a cliche and he’s just 100% unlikeable. Ozark is supposedly a racist Hoosier drug dealer but clearly the author has never been to Indiana. His dialogue is also cliche, his violence utterly gratuitous- do we really need
The ending is… meh. Because it’s been over complicated with a huge racist militia subplot the ending is just overly complicated and over wrought.
We suddenly learn things at the very end of the book that were mentioned in passing very early in the book, and we are meant to feel like this is exposition that changes everything.
A good editor could have cut this in half and turned it into one really good medical horror story and one cliche preacher and evil story. But instead what you get is an imitation of Steven king without the charm.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Body horror, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, War, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Kidnapping
bidufta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Rape, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Addiction, Terminal illness, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
jesato's review against another edition
Graphic: Rape and Sexual violence
emviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Racism, Rape, Gun violence, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Violence, Torture, and Homophobia
qwerty88's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol and Animal death
gwimo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Murder, Suicide, Sexual content, Sexism, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Dementia, Death of parent, Rape, Racism, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Violence, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Self harm, Pregnancy, Outing, and Gun violence