Book Review | Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

Wanderers is an apocalyptic novel by Chuck Wendig.

A decadent rock star. A deeply religious radio host. A disgraced scientist. And a teenage girl who may be the world's last hope. In the tradition of The Stand and Station Eleven comes a gripping saga that weaves an epic tapestry of humanity into an astonishing tale of survival.

Shana wakes up one morning to discover her little sister in the grip of a strange malady. She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that only she knows. But Shana and are sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey. And like Shana, there are other “shepherds” who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road ahead.

For on their journey, they will discover an America convulsed with terror and violence, where this apocalyptic epidemic proves less dangerous than the fear of it. As the rest of society collapses all around them–and an ultraviolent militia threatens to exterminate them–the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart–or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world.

My experience with Wanderers was an interesting one. I was absolutely hooked when I started reading it. Chuck Wendig is a great writer!

Wanderers has everything: a large cast, an apocalyptic disease, a broad setting, artificial intelligence... I was here for it! The only problem is it was so epic for so long that I never really connected with anyone. I hit a wall when I got to 80%. Normally this would be something I could overcome, but Wanderers weighs in at 800 pages. I started making excuses: it's summer, I'm reading it on the Kindle, etc. By the time I got to 95%, though, I knew it wasn't me. As epic as Wanderers was, it didn't matter to me the ultimate fate of anyone. I would have felt the exact same way no matter what the outcome was.

I feel like most people won't have the problem that I did. Wanderers is really great on a lot of levels, I just personally never connected with it.

⭐⭐⭐★★

Review copy provided by publisher

Book Review | Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman

Unbury Carol is a horror/western novel from Josh Malerman.

Carol Evers is a woman with a dark secret. She has died many times . . . but her many deaths are not final: They are comas, a waking slumber indistinguishable from death, each lasting days.

Only two people know of Carol’s eerie condition. One is her husband, Dwight, who married Carol for her fortune, and—when she lapses into another coma—plots to seize it by proclaiming her dead and quickly burying her . . . alive. The other is her lost love, the infamous outlaw James Moxie. When word of Carol’s dreadful fate reaches him, Moxie rides the Trail again to save his beloved from an early, unnatural grave.

And all the while, awake and aware, Carol fights to free herself from the crippling darkness that binds her—summoning her own fierce will to survive. As the players in this drama of life and death fight to decide her fate, Carol must in the end battle to save herself.

I have been hyped up on the Malerman this year after having read Bird Box. When I heard what Unbury Carol was going to be about, I could not have been more excited about it.

The Strengths

The premise of Unbury Carol was unique and interesting. The main character Carol slips into comas that make her appear to be dead. Carol's husband decided to use the opportunity to pass her off as dead so he could bury her and steal her fortune.

The scenes I enjoyed most were told from Carol’s perspective. Unfortunately, these were not the focus of Unbury Carol, and I would have loved to have more from Carol.

Even when I knew Unbury Carol wasn’t working for me, it was able to hold my attention.

The Weaknesses

There wasn’t a lot of character development for any of the characters so I was frustrated with their actions and confused about their motivations. I had no reason to root for Carol. I still don’t know her even after having read the book.

The pacing was slow until the halfway point, but it did finally pick up and hold until the end.

The most interesting part of the ending (Carol’s fate) was told to the reader. I would have loved a lot more show throughout the book.

After the intense reading experience of Bird Box and the assumption that being buried alive would be a large focus of this one, I was disappointed that Unbury Carol wasn’t a suspenseful read. The western aspect took me by surprise.

I wish there had been a lot more world building both inside Carol’s coma world and outside in this western setting. I would have loved to know more about the coma world just because I was fascinated by it, but I needed more information about the outside world just to understand the setting.

Overall, Unbury Carol was a miss for me, but Josh Malerman is still on my must read list.

3/10: Didn't Work For Me

Review copy provided by publisher

Hounded by Kevin Hearne | Audiobook Review

Hounded is the first book in the Iron Druid Chronicles series.

Book Description

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

Review

If you are looking for something fun to listen to on audio, Hounded is a great choice. Luke Daniels's voice is really age and style appropriate although Atticus's dog Oberon does sound too much like Cheech Marin to me.

I laughed out loud so many times listening to Hounded. I don't do that very often, much less multiple times in the same book.

I'm certain the book is just as fun in print as it is in audio, but I like finding audiobooks that have this level of entertainment in them.

The Iron Druid Chronicles is an urban fantasy series. Many (many) mythical creatures make an appearance in Hounded, but they all have their place. I kind of tiptoe through the urban fantasy genre every once in a while, and I've really enjoyed every UF book that I've given a try so far.

I will definitely continue on with this series, and I will likely listen to them all on audio as well.

7/10: Recommended Read