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is hard to find these days. Don’t get me wrong, because I love zombies. It’s just that the popularity of the undead has lead to a pretty watered-down output. But this one really kept me on the hook. I love the basic idea of the book, and I think it was handled very well. Plus, it’s set in my home state, which was fun for me. In all, a good read and a solid recommendation from me.

I got some good laughs out of this strange little novel, and Croshaw definitely knows what comedic buttons to push without appearing to try too hard. It just took quite a while for me to connect with any of the side characters. Once I did, the book came back into focus for me and I enjoyed it quite a lot.

Definitely inspired by the pandemic of 2020, these stories examine the idea of isolation - what it means, what can cause it, and what it does to us. Here are stories about being the first, the last, the only. Stories about dangers, and benefits, of being alone. Stories that will stick with me for a long time.

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.