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A review by podanotherjessi
The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The vibes of this book were incredible. Absolutely amazing world building and the tone throughout created a beautiful sense of wonder. I wanted to know so much more about the Wastelands and the train and the people on it. But beyond that, the book struggled to deliver on much beyond the atmosphere.
Marya and Weiwei's stories were really interesting individually. But I didn't really feel like they went together in a way that felt like more than a sum of their parts. And Grey's perspective added very little at all that I don't think couldn't have been accomplished within the other two. While I was intrigued by many figures on the train, we don't actually get to know them that well.
And in the end, I still don't know what message Brooks was trying to send with this novel. It could be read as an environmentalist, anti-corporation message, but instead it felt very anti-industrialist in a way that's 150 years out of date. Which makes sense given the setting, but just because a book is historical doesn't mean it's themes need to be.
Marya and Weiwei's stories were really interesting individually. But I didn't really feel like they went together in a way that felt like more than a sum of their parts. And Grey's perspective added very little at all that I don't think couldn't have been accomplished within the other two. While I was intrigued by many figures on the train, we don't actually get to know them that well.
And in the end, I still don't know what message Brooks was trying to send with this novel. It could be read as an environmentalist, anti-corporation message, but instead it felt very anti-industrialist in a way that's 150 years out of date. Which makes sense given the setting, but just because a book is historical doesn't mean it's themes need to be.