Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig is a thriller, survival novel, post-apocalyptic tale, and study of human nature, all wrapped up in one fascinating and terrifying bundle. This is not a novel you want to read if you have any phobias surrounding germs or diseases. And even if you do have a healthy (no pun intended) grasp on that subject, you’ll still find yourself flinching at sneezes when you’re done with this one. Trust me, I’ve been there.

This novel follows a set of characters trying to survive an impending apocalypse. They all have different skills and understandings of what is happening around them. The result is something both dark and brilliant. But also oddly heartwarming at times.

Wanderers has already been optioned for an adaptation. So, if you’re the type who likes to stay ahead of the game, I would read this book ASAP.

Writing

Chuck Wendig goes all out when setting up an emotional and chilling thriller. Though really, thriller doesn’t cover everything that happens in this novel. This novel covered many elements that go hand in hand with human nature, leaving you wondering.

The tone of this novel was somewhere between The Stand and Hot Zone, or at least that is how it read to me. Though thankfully, it isn’t a real-life story like the latter. Not yet, at least. This novel wasn’t afraid to delve into the deeper science of dealing with contagions, but it made it all feel so dark and foreboding.

Several perspectives were used in this novel, which allowed us to get a full view of what happened when this fictional world collapsed. It was enlightening, showing both the best and worst humanity has to offer.

Development

Wanderers never rushed, but it also never felt like it was dragging its feet. The constant perspective shifts did help to keep any one plot from feeling stale. Though admittedly, I did have my favorites when it came to perspectives. Granted, I don’t think we were supposed to like certain ones. It was at least partially the point.

Every single one of the characters changes throughout this novel. All of the main perspectives, at least. They all had some major philosophical or moral conflict they had to face. In short, it was a study of human nature. All within an escalating conflict.

The description of this novel’s various diseases, fungi, and other contagions was horrifying and detailed. It didn’t help that many of the things mentioned were real-life. But it did make this novel feel more grounded in reality – for better or worse.

As far as the conclusion is concerned, I’m still a bit conflicted about that. And I honestly think that might be a good thing. Maybe we were meant to leave this one with some questions and concerns.

Conclusion

Wanderers was an extremely brave concept to try out. It just encompassed so much, and it did so in a relatively short amount of time. To have an apocalyptic event occurring alongside all of the other elements – a study on human nature, the fight for survival, and a thriller through and through, is impressive. To put it lightly.

I enjoyed Wanderers. It isn’t the shortest novel, but I read it all in one sitting. I just couldn’t put it down. Granted, by the time I was finished, I flinched at the early (and common) symptoms described in this book. So there’s that.

This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.

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