My rating: 5 of 5 stars
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 her 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.
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‘Wanderers’ is a big apocalyptic novel which has already been, rightly, compared to Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’. The influences are obviously there, and Wendig mentions King on several occasions throughout the narrative (including the delicious idea of a ‘Gunslinger’ concept album). There are parallels to the likes of Robert McCammon’s ‘Swan Song’, Emily St John Mandel’s ‘Station Eleven’ and Michael Crichton’s ‘Andromeda Strain’, and, for that matter, ‘The Walking Dead’, ‘Outbreak’ and ‘Contagion’. But, in ‘Wanderers’, Chuck Wendig absorbs ingredients from all of these influences and returns a story that is the equal of any of them.
The story of the sleepwalkers is set in a world only slightly removed from our own. The spread of the disease is only too real, the development of AI perhaps a few years from reality. And, unfortunately, the reaction of the American people to the situation could be ripped from the pages of today’s newspapers. Accompanying the narrative are extracts from social media account, podcasts, political speeches, and TV news. Commentators debate the cause of the sleepwalkers - Islamist terrorists, government conspiracies, crisis actors, fake news, China, aliens, comets - while people react with fear and violence. Right wing, white supremacist militias are incited to action by fascist, MAGA politicians. This is ‘The Stand’ brought right up to date with a verisimilitude that is often uncomfortable - concerns about intensive farming, big pharma, fundamentalist preaching...
The 800 pages fly by, helped by characters, good and bad, who are complex and well drawn, and by dialogue which is natural and realistic. I am sure I will return to the book again and again - it really is that good. To be clear, ‘Wanderers’ is an ASTOUNDINGLY GOOD NOVEL. I have to confess, I had never read Chuck Wendig prior to this novel, and I thank Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers and Remy Njambi of Rebellion Publishing for the opportunity to take part in the Blogtour and for introducing me to an author whom I will be recommending to anyone who will listen.
Follow Chuck Wendig at his website terribleminds.com and on Twitter @chuckwendig
Follow the Wanderers Blogtour
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