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A review by raforall
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
5.0
Three Words That Describe This Book: epic, intense, character centered
This is a title that walks the tightrope between SF and Horror. It is Cli-fi and apocalyptic but there is also an evil outside force that is from a speculative origin.
This book is long. You can't get over that when you see it. But, it moves at a compelling pace from the first page. The large cast of characters are easily organized. You move back and forth between settings, learning about the characters more than you learn what is actually happening for a huge portion of the book. But I liked that. We can't learn about why this diseases is spreading and why the walkers aren't getting it until we know about everyone involved.
This kept the pace going at a steady both because the characters in and of themselves were interesting, but also because we bounced back and forth.
You want to keep reading, but man does this story unsettle you. As the fungus begins to spread it is intense. And don't get the sniffles while reading it, you may have a panic attack.
But that was also so cool. A fictional story made me anxious, made me feel visceral emotions. That is the sign of a good story.
This book is a comment on the current state of our society, from climate change to politics, to social media. It has an extremely diverse group of characters-- and it turns out that their diversity is key to the plot itself.
This is a single volume, epic sf/horror apocalyptic tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the final words, and those are as unsettling as the entire book.
Just a great and engrossing read, perfect for anytime you can devote to immersing yourself in a long book over the course of week or two. And then, when it is done, you cannot stop thinking about it. That is the sign of a great story.
Readalikes: People are comparing it to THE STAND which is fair, but it has more of a 21st Century storytelling style. It reminded me a lot of THE PASSAGE by Cronin and THE FIREMAN by Hill.
There is also a little bit of the NEWSFLESH Trilogy by Mira Grant here. If you put all the books together. Actually, anything by Grant would also work.
Finally, I think one of the nest readalikes to suggest that people might not have read already is THE BOOK OF M by Peng Shephard. It has the proper horror/SF mix that WANDERERS handles so well.
This is a title that walks the tightrope between SF and Horror. It is Cli-fi and apocalyptic but there is also an evil outside force that is from a speculative origin.
This book is long. You can't get over that when you see it. But, it moves at a compelling pace from the first page. The large cast of characters are easily organized. You move back and forth between settings, learning about the characters more than you learn what is actually happening for a huge portion of the book. But I liked that. We can't learn about why this diseases is spreading and why the walkers aren't getting it until we know about everyone involved.
This kept the pace going at a steady both because the characters in and of themselves were interesting, but also because we bounced back and forth.
You want to keep reading, but man does this story unsettle you. As the fungus begins to spread it is intense. And don't get the sniffles while reading it, you may have a panic attack.
But that was also so cool. A fictional story made me anxious, made me feel visceral emotions. That is the sign of a good story.
This book is a comment on the current state of our society, from climate change to politics, to social media. It has an extremely diverse group of characters-- and it turns out that their diversity is key to the plot itself.
This is a single volume, epic sf/horror apocalyptic tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the final words, and those are as unsettling as the entire book.
Just a great and engrossing read, perfect for anytime you can devote to immersing yourself in a long book over the course of week or two. And then, when it is done, you cannot stop thinking about it. That is the sign of a great story.
Readalikes: People are comparing it to THE STAND which is fair, but it has more of a 21st Century storytelling style. It reminded me a lot of THE PASSAGE by Cronin and THE FIREMAN by Hill.
There is also a little bit of the NEWSFLESH Trilogy by Mira Grant here. If you put all the books together. Actually, anything by Grant would also work.
Finally, I think one of the nest readalikes to suggest that people might not have read already is THE BOOK OF M by Peng Shephard. It has the proper horror/SF mix that WANDERERS handles so well.