Review: “Wanderers” by Chuck Wendig

Release Date: July 2, 2019
Series: Wanderers #1
Publisher:  Del Rey
Genre: Dystopian, Techno Thriller

Description

“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 Thoughts

But the wandering is bigger than physical movement. It’s a wandering of the soul, of the mind, of the heart. Underneath the techno thriller and dystopian elements, Wanderers is really about good and evil. More specifically, it’s about how most people aren’t really one or the other but both. Sometimes they tip more to one side of the spectrum, but changing circumstances and new choices can push them into a different direction. There are people who think they’re good but do awful things and people who think they’re bad but are sometimes caring and kind. Wendig asks us whether that distinction even matters in the end. Should we look at the net value of a person’s deeds or is how they behave at the worst moment of their lives what really counts?…

To read the rest of my review, head over to Tor.com.

Thanks to Del Rey for sending me a review copy.

Do the world a favor and buy this book from your local indie bookstore or borrow it from your public library.