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4.0 

Wayward

By Chuck Wendig
Wayward by Chuck Wendig digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

“If King had written a sequel to The Stand, it might look something like this monumental epic of a story.”—James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Kingdom of Bones

“As great as Wanderers was, Wayward is better.”—Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones


Five years ago, ordinary Americans fell under the grip of a strange new malady that caused them to sleepwalk across the country to a destination only they knew. They were followed on their quest by the shepherds: friends and family who gave up everything to protect them.

Their secret destination: Ouray, a small town in Colorado that would become one of the last outposts of civilization. Because the sleepwalking epidemic was only the first in a chain of events that led to the end of the world—and the birth of a new one.

The survivors, sleepwalkers and shepherds alike, have a dream of rebuilding human society. Among them are Benji, the scientist struggling through grief to lead the town; Marcy, the former police officer who wants only to look after the people she loves; and Shana, the teenage girl who became the first shepherd—and an unlikely hero whose courage will be needed again.

Because the people of Ouray are not the only survivors, and the world they are building is fragile. The forces of cruelty and brutality are amassing under the leadership of self-proclaimed president Ed Creel. And in the very heart of Ouray, the most powerful survivor of all is plotting its own vision for the new world: Black Swan, the A.I. who imagined the apocalypse.

Against these threats, Benji, Marcy, Shana, and the rest have only one hope: one another. Because the only way to survive the end of the world is together.

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329 Reviews

4.0
“Wowza. This was the follow up that Wanderers needed. Easily a 5 stars with Wendig bringing everything full circle. Wayward gives the ~mostly~ deserved endings to all our favorite (and least favorite) characters left or unaccounted for at the end of Wanderers, along with some new additions. We follow the epic journey of Benji and Shana from Ouray, Colorado, to Atlanta, Georgia—making their way across a post-pandemic -ravaged country with no clue what they’ll face. Fair warning that this one is significantly more gory/descriptive than I remember the first one being. Also, definitely read the acknowledgements at the end. SPOILERS I am so glad that the majority of our main characters had a happy ending, even if they didn’t all get to stay together. I do wish Pete was there to see it all (he promised Shana 😭), but I’m so glad that he went out in a crazy blaze of glory way. And the whole epilogue where we find out that the “A Bird’s Journal” entries were Autumn all along… I never put it together that she was still alive. Matthew also deserved a better ending, but at least he got Autumn there with him in the end (and Kuma!).”
“Oh boy I am so sad I finished this book. Where to start… I think this might be one of my favorite apocalypse stories ever. I love the references made to music and other authors. It’s hard to not think of Swan Song when reading this (end of the world… black SWAN) and it was so satisfying to see it mentioned. I flew through this book because although I had a feeling it would end the way I expected it to, I didn’t know HOW Wendig would get us there. Seeing the characters change and grow was also so satisfying, especially Shana. I’m a bit worried at the ending though, as they technically “won” but… is it sustainable? If another sequel comes out, count me in. Also I know Matthew wasn’t the perfect man but I sure do have a soft spot for him.”
“I finished the first book in January 2020 (a behemoth about a worldwide pandemic called White Mask that wiped out the population (originally transmitted by *bats*), society fracturing because of polarizing politics, a maniacal alt-right president-hopeful, AI takeover, etc.) so naturally I was a little creeped out by the too-close-to-home aspects of the story and needed some space to feel ready for the sequel. But I also thought of the story frequently and wanted a conclusion. When I finally picked up Wayward, it felt like no time had passed. The characters were /shockingly/ still stuck in my brain. This story was so compelling!! As with the first, I didn't love any of the characters, didn't like most of them, and really hated some of them. Even the chapters with the terrible people were still intriguing or insightful, so I soldiered on. The concepts of depravity and desperation were poignant. It made me appreciate chocolate and coffee more, and had me thinking about all my life's luxuries. I will say, I found the story to be overwritten* (Wanderers was the same and I forgot about that...). It makes it very difficult to keep reading when there's so much extra description without much payoff. I think we could have achieved a similar outcome in 500 fewer pages. *"PASTOR MATTHEW BIRD. PAST-ER, PAST, gone, over. Bird, bird in hand, held fast, held tight. No flight. Matt, mat, pat, pat, gnat smashed flat." pg. 621. Excuse me, why?? What are we doing here??”

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