Wayward

A Novel

English language

Published July 23, 2022 by Random House Publishing Group.

ISBN:
978-0-593-15877-7
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4 stars (11 reviews)

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 …

4 editions

Not the Sequel I Hoped For

3 stars

I’ll keep it short. Where the first book was linear and had a strong “hero’s journey” focus that I loved, Wayward just meanders and lacks any real focus at all. I was excited to finally read this one, but the story was disappointing and the finale fizzled.

It was interesting to read the afterward, where Wendig discusses how Wanderers was written before the 2020 pandemic (which surprised me) and how Wayward was written during the height of the pandemic. That gave the book another half star in my rating.

Review of 'Wayward' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

2 stars as this was a did not finish at around 30pc. Strange, because I really enjoyed the first book in this series but I bounced off this one hard.
I usually feel compelled to wax lyrical in defense of books I don't finish but to be honest, with this one, I just wasn't enjoying it. I had a feeling it was going to get somewhere interesting but I just wasn't interested in the journey to get there.
Sorry Chuck, cannot recommend.

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