Wanderers by Chuck Wendig (2019)
A long but enjoyable journey
Book cover blurb
A decadent rockstar. A deeply religious radio host. A disgraced scientist. And a teenage girl who may be the world’s last hope.
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.
For as the sleepwalking phenomenon awakens terror and violence in America, the real danger may not be the epidemic but the fear of it. With society collapsing all around them--and an ultraviolent militia threatening to exterminate them--the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unravelling 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 Review
My dyslexia quite literally makes me terrified of big hefty books like Chuck Wendig's Wanderers. Even short books can be hard work for me to read. So, in all honesty, I wasn't expecting to finish this monster. I even scheduled a midpoint break and put this book to one side while I read something else, just to try and stave off that stale feeling I was expecting to get by being weighed down by the volume of this thing.
But a funny thing happened, I didn't feel stale while reading these hundreds of pages. There was no boredom, no mind-wandering and no "Will this thing ever end?" thoughts each time I rejoined the story. Even during my midpoint break, I wasn't breathing sighs of relief to be away from it for a while; on the contrary, I actually found myself wanting to get back to The Flock, The Shepherds, Benji, Black Swan and Rock God Pete.
Did I enjoy it?
I enjoyed the reading, I enjoyed the writing and I enjoyed the leisurely pace of the story's duration. Nothing felt rushed, but it didn't feel like it dragged either, I guess it was just right, at least for me. It was a hell of a stretch in believability at certain points, but this is science fiction, sort of, so if you can't suspend your disbelief then you're in the wrong place.
I didn't enjoy some of the more graphic sections of the book though, most namely the male rape scene. It made me feel incredibly uncomfortable and managed to turn my stomach. Personally, I'd rather that wasn't in there, I don't really think it was necessary, but this is Chuck's book and you have to respect the author's choices. It certainly got an emotional response from me which will be with me for a long time, and isn't that the whole point of storytelling? There is actually a hell of a lot of this book that will stay with me for a long time.
I imagine there won't be many 'on the fence' opinions when it comes to this book, most people will either love it or hate it. Me? I thought it was a fantastic experience and a great ride to go on.
If you're thinking of trying this book then I suggest you should just go ahead and do it. Don't let the page count put you off. It's an enthralling read which rattles along with incredible ease.
My copy of this novel
Solaris hardback edition.
Published in 2019
782 pages
ISBN 9781781088104