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bookswithlydscl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
3.5
Described as a steampunk, dystopian fiction that feels like Piranesi, meets Babel meets Murder on the Orient Express, I knew I needed to read this book as soon as I heard about it and it sat high on my anticipated books list. I love a hybrid genre read and with this you have historical fiction, magical realism/fantasy, and horror touches. And overall I am really glad I read it but it didn't quite hit the heights for me as I hoped.
There is no denying this is a beautifully written debut. The words used, the sentence structures, the growing sense of unease and dread, the slow and languid build up - all gorgeous. But unfortunately, for several sections of the book, it was also a bit dull.
The story focuses on the passengers and crew aboard the great Trans-Siberian Express at the end of the 19th Century, on the first crossing since an unfortunate incident occurred a short while before. The journey is risky and filled with danger as they cross The Wastelands, a terrain of terrible miracles that lies between Beijing and Moscow and one which seems to be changing rapidly which the train seems unable to cope with.
We follow several characters as they hope to survive the journey and uncover the secrets and stories of the train, the crossing and the land beyond.
Overall, such a wonderful premise but a few things just didn't quite land for me. Some of the characters felt underdeveloped, especially the male academic types, and the main thing was that I wanted more about the Wastelands. I didn't feel like I could picture fully what it was. We had the perspective of the character's but not enough widely from a world building perspective outside of the train.
I really liked the first and final quarters of the book, and even though I hadn't fully connected with the characters I felt really satisfied as a reader by how it closed and the potential for what could come in the future.
I feel that understanding now the pacing - the slower character focus instead of faster paced action, will help in the future with a re-read. There's so much potential here based on the writing skill alone. I really do appreciate a beautifully written book and that is what has stood out most to me along with the premise. I love a journey and I love a found family which I feel like there's the making of with the story and I think that this is a book that will grow on me and I'll want to come back to again and I think a second reading will be all the richer knowing what I know now.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group | W&N for a digital review copy of "The Cautious Traveller's Guide to The Wastelands" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.
There is no denying this is a beautifully written debut. The words used, the sentence structures, the growing sense of unease and dread, the slow and languid build up - all gorgeous. But unfortunately, for several sections of the book, it was also a bit dull.
The story focuses on the passengers and crew aboard the great Trans-Siberian Express at the end of the 19th Century, on the first crossing since an unfortunate incident occurred a short while before. The journey is risky and filled with danger as they cross The Wastelands, a terrain of terrible miracles that lies between Beijing and Moscow and one which seems to be changing rapidly which the train seems unable to cope with.
We follow several characters as they hope to survive the journey and uncover the secrets and stories of the train, the crossing and the land beyond.
Overall, such a wonderful premise but a few things just didn't quite land for me. Some of the characters felt underdeveloped, especially the male academic types, and the main thing was that I wanted more about the Wastelands. I didn't feel like I could picture fully what it was. We had the perspective of the character's but not enough widely from a world building perspective outside of the train.
I really liked the first and final quarters of the book, and even though I hadn't fully connected with the characters I felt really satisfied as a reader by how it closed and the potential for what could come in the future.
I feel that understanding now the pacing - the slower character focus instead of faster paced action, will help in the future with a re-read. There's so much potential here based on the writing skill alone. I really do appreciate a beautifully written book and that is what has stood out most to me along with the premise. I love a journey and I love a found family which I feel like there's the making of with the story and I think that this is a book that will grow on me and I'll want to come back to again and I think a second reading will be all the richer knowing what I know now.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group | W&N for a digital review copy of "The Cautious Traveller's Guide to The Wastelands" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.
mcgbreads's review against another edition
ARC review; thanks to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Macmillan Audio for the access to the ebook and the audiobook.
Oh man, this was a disappointment. I was so ready to love this, but I just couldn't get into it, so I pulled the plug at 36%. The premise of this is amazing, I liked the writing and loved the setting, but this just didn't have a good pace. It also didn't have a hook, a reason for me to be engaged and continue reading. Yes, there is a bit of a mystery, but I didn't care at all about it and nothing was happening. As for characters, Weiwei was the most interesting one, but everyone else felt quite flat.
I do love cozy fantasies and mysteries, I like low stakes, but if nothing's happening, the characters and what's happening with them has to be compelling. That's what was missing here for me. I see a lot of people loving this, though, and I wanted to be one of them, so it's not a book I would skip. I think it's worth a try and see if you can get into it. I'll definitely keep my eye on this author because I think she has great ideas and even though this one wasn't for me, I'd like to give her work another chance.
About the audiobook narration: it's okay, nothing to write home about. The narrator doesn't really change her voice for each character, and I think that was a mistake. There are quite a few characters here and differentiating them isn't only helpful, it would also make the audiobook more dynamic.
Oh man, this was a disappointment. I was so ready to love this, but I just couldn't get into it, so I pulled the plug at 36%. The premise of this is amazing, I liked the writing and loved the setting, but this just didn't have a good pace. It also didn't have a hook, a reason for me to be engaged and continue reading. Yes, there is a bit of a mystery, but I didn't care at all about it and nothing was happening. As for characters, Weiwei was the most interesting one, but everyone else felt quite flat.
I do love cozy fantasies and mysteries, I like low stakes, but if nothing's happening, the characters and what's happening with them has to be compelling. That's what was missing here for me. I see a lot of people loving this, though, and I wanted to be one of them, so it's not a book I would skip. I think it's worth a try and see if you can get into it. I'll definitely keep my eye on this author because I think she has great ideas and even though this one wasn't for me, I'd like to give her work another chance.
About the audiobook narration: it's okay, nothing to write home about. The narrator doesn't really change her voice for each character, and I think that was a mistake. There are quite a few characters here and differentiating them isn't only helpful, it would also make the audiobook more dynamic.
righter_of_words's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
sebrittainclark's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Between Beijing and Moscow, there is a wasteland full of rapidly mutating flora and fauna that is as strange as it is terrifying. And there is a train that is the only way to safely traverse the wasteland without becoming infected by it. The story follows Weiwei, a member of the train's crew, Marya Petrovna who is looking to uncover the train's secrets, and Henry Grey who wants to uncover the miracles the wasteland contains.
I really enjoyed the descriptions of this train and the strange landscape it passes through. I thought it was a wonderful book about how we can both change and be changed by the world around us.
I thought both narrators did a great job, and I appreciated that one narrator voiced the characters while the other voiced excerpts from the in-world book, The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed the descriptions of this train and the strange landscape it passes through. I thought it was a wonderful book about how we can both change and be changed by the world around us.
I thought both narrators did a great job, and I appreciated that one narrator voiced the characters while the other voiced excerpts from the in-world book, The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
hannahmci's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
cerysm's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
magic_kitten's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? No
4.5
mikeyb25's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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? No
3.5
cpalmisanod's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
While beautifully written, this book is kind of boring. Which is weird considering it’s about a treacherous train journey with mysterious creatures, deaths, and stowaway.
thebooktrail88's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
I immediately feel as if I want to list the ways I love this novel.
A novel set on board the Trans Siberian Express
A steampunk fantasy
An alternative, dark yet magical, Victorian world
This book has changed and altered me in ways I can’t yet tell. I feel different having read it and that might be because of the magic within. Let me explain:
Picture yourself on board this very mystical and magical train. You fly past the landscape between Bejing and Moscow so you can imagine the scenery and the distance. A wonderful journey from the start. However, this is no ordinary journey – it’s fraught with danger and strange other-worldly things. There are walls at the start and end of the track and along the way the train is protected by outside forces. Certain cities are protected by giant walls and there is a distinct difference between outsiders and insiders.
Now this is where you can read so much more into the novel than first appears – walls being built to keep people out of a country for starters. Then there’s the idea of belonging to another territory and what happens when that link breaks. What about the walls and barriers we can’t see?
Even with those serious layers, there is nothing heavy about this book. There’s nods to Agatha Christie’s Orient Express and I got Night Circus vibes too given the world building and the link between the real world and that which we cannot see.
I enjoyed every magical part of this book but the setting – oh the setting!- was out of this world. I want to go to the Wastelands and board that train. It lives on in my mind but I have been back many times in my dreams.
That’s when you know a book has you hooked!