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The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands
For fans of Piranesi and The Midnight Library, a stunning historical fantasy novel set on a grand express train, about a group of passengers on a dangerous journey across a magical landscape
It is said there is a price that every passenger must pay. A price beyond the cost of a ticket.
There is only one way to travel across the Wastelands: on the Trans-Siberian Express, a train as famous for its luxury as for its danger. The train is never short of passengers, eager to catch sight of Wastelands creatures more miraculous and terrifying than anything they could imagine. But on the train's last journey, something went horribly wrong, though no one seems to remember what exactly happened. Not even Zhang Weiwei, who has spent her life onboard and thought she knew all of the train’s secrets.
Now, the train is about to embark again, with a new set of passengers. Among them are Marya Petrovna, a grieving woman with a borrowed name; Henry Grey, a disgraced naturalist looking for redemption; and Elena, a beguiling stowaway with a powerful connection to the Wastelands itself. Weiwei knows she should report Elena, but she can’t help but be drawn to her. As the girls begin a forbidden friendship, there are warning signs that the rules of the Wastelands are changing and the train might once again be imperiled. Can the passengers trust each other, as the wildness outside threatens to consume them all?
It is said there is a price that every passenger must pay. A price beyond the cost of a ticket.
There is only one way to travel across the Wastelands: on the Trans-Siberian Express, a train as famous for its luxury as for its danger. The train is never short of passengers, eager to catch sight of Wastelands creatures more miraculous and terrifying than anything they could imagine. But on the train's last journey, something went horribly wrong, though no one seems to remember what exactly happened. Not even Zhang Weiwei, who has spent her life onboard and thought she knew all of the train’s secrets.
Now, the train is about to embark again, with a new set of passengers. Among them are Marya Petrovna, a grieving woman with a borrowed name; Henry Grey, a disgraced naturalist looking for redemption; and Elena, a beguiling stowaway with a powerful connection to the Wastelands itself. Weiwei knows she should report Elena, but she can’t help but be drawn to her. As the girls begin a forbidden friendship, there are warning signs that the rules of the Wastelands are changing and the train might once again be imperiled. Can the passengers trust each other, as the wildness outside threatens to consume them all?
336 pages, Hardcover
First published June 18, 2024
About the author
Sarah Brooks
1 book13 followersSarah Brooks is a writer living in Leeds. She won the Lucy Cavendish Prize in 2019 and a Northern Debut Award from New Writing North in 2021. She works in East Asian Studies at the University of Leeds, where she helps run the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing. She is co-editor of Samovar, a bilingual online magazine for translated speculative fiction. The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands is her debut novel and will be published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in the UK and Flatiron Books in the US in June 2024.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 324 reviews
May 5, 2024
I'm not going to lie, this one was a bit disappointing. From the description it sounded right up my alley and I was super excited to read it. I waited over four months for the publisher to approve my ARC request and another month until I could find a spot in my schedule to start it, and then … sadness. I really, really wanted to love this one.
I just could not get into this story, though. The first 60% pretty much just consists of the characters walking around the train and talking to each other. Nothing happens. I mean, I suppose there's the whole thing with Elena, but for something that should be a very surprising occurrence, it's tremendously anticlimactic. And, honestly, I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters – they're all pretty one-dimensional and I never felt like I got to know them in the slightest. I kept thinking that things had to get interesting at some point so I kept on reading, despite the fact that I really wanted to DNF around the 40% mark (I actually got out of bed around 2 a.m. to go downstairs and “officially” mark it as DNF'd on Goodreads but changed my mind at the last second). And there is a bit of action around the 60% mark, and things get supremely wonky after that point, but I can't say that I ever truly got invested in the story. It just all felt so … flat.
But, with that said, this book has a fantastic premise. A dangerous train journey though the magical wastelands of Siberia? Yes, please! And I have to say that I didn't hate the ending. I wasn't exactly invested in it, but it's unique and seems appropriate considering the events that lead up to it. If there were just a little more “oomph” to this story, it really could have been phenomenal.
Obviously I'm in the minority here – lots of other reviewers have loved this book. While I wasn't its biggest fan, I'd certainly be willing to try out another book by Sarah Brooks in the future – she definitely knows how to come up with an intriguing premise!
My overall rating: 2.75 stars, rounded up.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.
I just could not get into this story, though. The first 60% pretty much just consists of the characters walking around the train and talking to each other. Nothing happens. I mean, I suppose there's the whole thing with Elena, but for something that should be a very surprising occurrence, it's tremendously anticlimactic. And, honestly, I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters – they're all pretty one-dimensional and I never felt like I got to know them in the slightest. I kept thinking that things had to get interesting at some point so I kept on reading, despite the fact that I really wanted to DNF around the 40% mark (I actually got out of bed around 2 a.m. to go downstairs and “officially” mark it as DNF'd on Goodreads but changed my mind at the last second). And there is a bit of action around the 60% mark, and things get supremely wonky after that point, but I can't say that I ever truly got invested in the story. It just all felt so … flat.
But, with that said, this book has a fantastic premise. A dangerous train journey though the magical wastelands of Siberia? Yes, please! And I have to say that I didn't hate the ending. I wasn't exactly invested in it, but it's unique and seems appropriate considering the events that lead up to it. If there were just a little more “oomph” to this story, it really could have been phenomenal.
Obviously I'm in the minority here – lots of other reviewers have loved this book. While I wasn't its biggest fan, I'd certainly be willing to try out another book by Sarah Brooks in the future – she definitely knows how to come up with an intriguing premise!
My overall rating: 2.75 stars, rounded up.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.
March 9, 2024
This book comes highly recommended for fans of fantasy thriller, gothic horror, and historical fiction, offering a captivating blend of genres reminiscent of Agatha Christie's 'Murder on the Orient Express.'
While the slow-paced beginning may raise some initial questions, the narrative quickly gains momentum as different narrators unveil their introductory stories, drawing readers into a thrilling adventure. Picture a journey through the Wasteland, where glimpsing out of the train windows can unleash twisted images that threaten to shatter one's sanity. The voyage aboard the Trans-Siberian Express from Beijing to Moscow proves to be a journey not only of financial cost but also of mental toll—a price that voyagers may pay with their very sanity.
The cast of characters is as diverse as it is intriguing, reminiscent of the 12 passengers aboard the haunted Orient Express. Among them is Marya Petrovna, a grieving woman harboring a secret agenda under a borrowed name; Henry Grey, a disgraced naturalist seeking redemption for his past sins; and Elena, a stowaway with secrets and mysterious connections to the Wasteland. As alliances form and betrayals loom, passengers like Zhang Weivei find themselves torn between duty and loyalty, grappling with decisions that could alter the course of their journey—and their lives. With danger lurking both inside and outside the train, trust becomes a precious commodity, and passengers must navigate a web of deception to uncover the truth.
Overall, this is a captivating and smartly written fiction that seamlessly blends different genres, evoking Christie-esque vibes while delivering a thrilling fantasy-horror narrative with a touch of gothic intrigue. I wholeheartedly recommend it to genre enthusiasts and fiction readers alike, offering a unique and adventurous journey filled with twists and surprises.
A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with a digital review copy of this exceptional novel in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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While the slow-paced beginning may raise some initial questions, the narrative quickly gains momentum as different narrators unveil their introductory stories, drawing readers into a thrilling adventure. Picture a journey through the Wasteland, where glimpsing out of the train windows can unleash twisted images that threaten to shatter one's sanity. The voyage aboard the Trans-Siberian Express from Beijing to Moscow proves to be a journey not only of financial cost but also of mental toll—a price that voyagers may pay with their very sanity.
The cast of characters is as diverse as it is intriguing, reminiscent of the 12 passengers aboard the haunted Orient Express. Among them is Marya Petrovna, a grieving woman harboring a secret agenda under a borrowed name; Henry Grey, a disgraced naturalist seeking redemption for his past sins; and Elena, a stowaway with secrets and mysterious connections to the Wasteland. As alliances form and betrayals loom, passengers like Zhang Weivei find themselves torn between duty and loyalty, grappling with decisions that could alter the course of their journey—and their lives. With danger lurking both inside and outside the train, trust becomes a precious commodity, and passengers must navigate a web of deception to uncover the truth.
Overall, this is a captivating and smartly written fiction that seamlessly blends different genres, evoking Christie-esque vibes while delivering a thrilling fantasy-horror narrative with a touch of gothic intrigue. I wholeheartedly recommend it to genre enthusiasts and fiction readers alike, offering a unique and adventurous journey filled with twists and surprises.
A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with a digital review copy of this exceptional novel in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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September 23, 2023
My blurb:
‘A journey both unnerving and powerful, which thunders along at breathtaking speed, abounding with mysteries and marvels. Be warned – once you step into The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands, you’ll never want to disembark.’
Note: I received an Advance Reading Copy from the publisher.
‘A journey both unnerving and powerful, which thunders along at breathtaking speed, abounding with mysteries and marvels. Be warned – once you step into The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands, you’ll never want to disembark.’
Note: I received an Advance Reading Copy from the publisher.
June 18, 2024
Happy publication day to one of the best books I've read this year!
This book straddles every single genre I love: historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, speculative fiction, mystery, steampunk fantasy, and alternate history. It is written in vivid descriptive prose and is surprisingly engaging and fast-moving even when rife with metaphors, and so much of it feeling like a commentary on society, science, history, and our constant human need to ascribe meaning to things.
Sarah Brooks creates an enrapturing version of the world with the wild landscape of the Wastelands that lie between China and Russia, which are connected by a train and its secrets. She weaves the story of the characters well with the (literal and metaphorical) journey they take across the Wastelands and balances the realism of the world with the magic associated with fantasy novels.
This book has echoes of many books I've previously read, and would appeal to those who like the same: Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials, Susanna Clarke's Piranesi, Yann Martel's Life of Pi, and R.F. Kuang's Babel. It's strange, fantastical, whimsical, and introspective. I can't wait to get my hands on a paperback, dive back in, and understand the story deeper.
Thanks to Flatiron books and Netgalley for an eARC of the book, and thank you to the author for that wonderful, beautiful story!
This book straddles every single genre I love: historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, speculative fiction, mystery, steampunk fantasy, and alternate history. It is written in vivid descriptive prose and is surprisingly engaging and fast-moving even when rife with metaphors, and so much of it feeling like a commentary on society, science, history, and our constant human need to ascribe meaning to things.
Sarah Brooks creates an enrapturing version of the world with the wild landscape of the Wastelands that lie between China and Russia, which are connected by a train and its secrets. She weaves the story of the characters well with the (literal and metaphorical) journey they take across the Wastelands and balances the realism of the world with the magic associated with fantasy novels.
This book has echoes of many books I've previously read, and would appeal to those who like the same: Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials, Susanna Clarke's Piranesi, Yann Martel's Life of Pi, and R.F. Kuang's Babel. It's strange, fantastical, whimsical, and introspective. I can't wait to get my hands on a paperback, dive back in, and understand the story deeper.
Thanks to Flatiron books and Netgalley for an eARC of the book, and thank you to the author for that wonderful, beautiful story!
June 12, 2024
What’s that? A refrain that echoes through every crossing. The crew have taught themselves not to react. A crawler, a specter; some familiar strangeness.
This was really good and inventive. The writing is a little thick so it took me a while to finish, but I was engrossed almost the entire time.
One part historical fantasy, one part science fiction, and a decent helping of horror thrown in. A train full of people traverses the wastelands that are both dangerous and unknowable, a land known for inducing bouts of madness or even memory loss.
The Plotting + Writing:
The story is told from 3 POVs. Arguably WeiWei, the child of the train, is the main POV and where most of the story orbits. She is curious and confident with a streak of defiance that helps her pursue a new relationship with the Wastelands.
Next is Marya, who is investigating a mystery and what happened on the previous journey. And lastly the scientist Grey (arguably the closest the book comes to a villain, other than the Crows/corporation) who is wealthy and entitled and driven by a need to define, own, and put his name to the universe.
Horror:
I'm honestly surprised that Horror isn't a higher label for this book. Maybe it's that the US cover is deceptively sweet, even while the plants on the UK cover mimic skeletons. There are a lot of bugs and tendrils and a persistent sense of uneasiness/foreboding that starts around the first third and never lets up for the rest of the novel. For the most part the descriptions are not gruesome, only haunting, aside from some predator/prey observations.
The Train:
Looking back at the synopsis, I totally see the Piranesi comparisons now. This isn't like Piranesi in the language and almost poetic nature, nor in the mysteries or plot unfurlings, but it's certainly similar in that the train and the Wastelands are essentially characters themselves. The setting is essential to the story and is often a living thing (the pulse of the train like a heartbeat, the connections in the Wastelands like veins).
Overall:
I really enjoyed this a lot and would probably give it a solid 4.5/5 stars, but with potential to be upgraded on further reflection if it really sits with me. If anything about the synopsis or reviews appeals to you, definitely try it! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for granting me an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Audiobook Notes:
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me an audio ARC.
I really loved this book when I read it earlier this year, and I think the audio version is quite good. There are two narrators (male and female voices) and they do that recent trend where each narrator will voice their characters, even during the other narrator's POV chapters. I think the female voice can lack oomph and feel a little rote, especially when narrating Marya, but overall seemed like a decent audio adaptation!
June 17, 2024
Something strange has happened to Siberia -- not in Siberia, but to the whole of the region, which is now full of previously unknown life forms and where physical space is apparently unstable. Walled off and quarantined, Siberia can now, at the turn of the 19th century, be crossed only on a specially fortified train belonging to the mysterious Company; if, on arrival at either terminus -- Beijing or Moscow -- the train has been contaminated, it's sealed off and the passengers left to die. (The train itself is said to be unique; what the Company would do without a reserve supply is left unexplained.)
On the most recent crossing, something happened -- but what? Neither the passengers nor the crew can remember. (And we never find out.) Whatever it was, it's been blamed on the man who supplied the train's window glass; he has since died. His daughter, Marya, has assumed a fake identity and booked a trip, hoping to clear her father's name. She's one of the three principal characters, along with Weiwei Zhang, called the train child because she was born on the train and has lived on it all her life, and Henry Grey, a naturalist in the true 19th-century "catch everything in a net and put it in a glass box" mold.
Sarah Brooks gets full marks for imagination -- the descriptions of the train and of the ambiguous, terrifying and enticing Wasteland it passes through are rich in sensory detail. But setting can't carry a novel all by itself, and the characters never quite came alive for me. As a case in point, Weiwei meets a stowaway, Elena, who proves to be a Wasteland being, and when they are separated late in the book we're told how close they have grown, how much fun they've had together, and how much Weiwei will miss her. But all the things that supposedly made that relationship valuable to Weiwei have taken place off the page; mostly, we've seen Elena posing problems for Weiwei and worrying her.
Flaws also appear at the intersection of worldbuilding and plot -- the question of how many trains there are and what happened on the trip that left everyone with amnesia, for instance, as well as the question of how big the train would have to be in order to carry all the trade goods exchanged between Europe and East Asia.
Finally, the narrative is oddly slow-moving, considering that it takes place on a train and that the stakes are so high. This reflects, I think, the relatively weak characterizations: I didn't care enough about these people to feel engaged with their fates.
3.5 stars, rounded up because Sarah Brooks tried something complicated and interesting, even though in my view she didn't quite pull it off. Thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the ARC.
On the most recent crossing, something happened -- but what? Neither the passengers nor the crew can remember. (And we never find out.) Whatever it was, it's been blamed on the man who supplied the train's window glass; he has since died. His daughter, Marya, has assumed a fake identity and booked a trip, hoping to clear her father's name. She's one of the three principal characters, along with Weiwei Zhang, called the train child because she was born on the train and has lived on it all her life, and Henry Grey, a naturalist in the true 19th-century "catch everything in a net and put it in a glass box" mold.
Sarah Brooks gets full marks for imagination -- the descriptions of the train and of the ambiguous, terrifying and enticing Wasteland it passes through are rich in sensory detail. But setting can't carry a novel all by itself, and the characters never quite came alive for me. As a case in point, Weiwei meets a stowaway, Elena, who proves to be a Wasteland being, and when they are separated late in the book we're told how close they have grown, how much fun they've had together, and how much Weiwei will miss her. But all the things that supposedly made that relationship valuable to Weiwei have taken place off the page; mostly, we've seen Elena posing problems for Weiwei and worrying her.
Flaws also appear at the intersection of worldbuilding and plot -- the question of how many trains there are and what happened on the trip that left everyone with amnesia, for instance, as well as the question of how big the train would have to be in order to carry all the trade goods exchanged between Europe and East Asia.
Finally, the narrative is oddly slow-moving, considering that it takes place on a train and that the stakes are so high. This reflects, I think, the relatively weak characterizations: I didn't care enough about these people to feel engaged with their fates.
3.5 stars, rounded up because Sarah Brooks tried something complicated and interesting, even though in my view she didn't quite pull it off. Thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the ARC.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2024
This was delightful. A steampunk fantasy about the Trans Siberian express set in an alternative Victorian world? Yes. Yes. Yes. Where do I sign up? I loved this. Twisty, strange, magical and surprisingly tender. I absolutely loved this book. Great characters, bonkers ideas and rendered so beautifully. There was a seamless charm to the Victorian world nestled alongside a darkly troubling magical world. Splendid stuff.
July 10, 2024
The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands is one of those books that delights simply because of its originality. It has its weak moments, but the overall concept and narrative arc more than compensate for those and earn it a five-star rating.
Imagine: the book is set on a Trans-Siberian Express, but not the Trans-Siberian Express and not the Siberia we're familiar with. This Siberia started to "go wrong" in the mid-19th Century. People were going mad and disappearing in Siberia; plant and animal life was transforming at well beyond the usually stately evolutionary pace. So, wall it off, but run a train through it that begins in China and ends in Russia. Make everyone who rides on it sign a waiver indemnifying the British-East-India-like company running the train from any loss of mind or bodily injury. The only other China-Moscow route involves sea travel and takes months, so there are plenty of people willing to take their chances.
Something odd, however, happened on the last run of the train. Things went wrong in a way no one can remember exactly—a breakdown of minds as well as the train itself. The current run comes after a particularly large time gap and everyone is on edge worried that the thing-no-one-remembers will occur again.
The train's passengers and crew on this run include
• An Erasmus Darwin-like scientist hoping to capture some of the bizarre life forms in the Wastelands in order to use them to prove that the drive behind evolution is an effort to reach perfection, to become more like God.
• A young woman whose father purportedly caused the disaster (the one no one remembers) on the last run—she's determined to clear his name.
• Wealthy businessmen smuggling contraband.
• The train's mapmaker whose own body seems to be becoming an increasingly complex map itself.
• A young girl born and raised on the train who longs for a friend and for a more responsible position on the train.
The pace here is slow, which takes a bit of getting used to, but actually works well. Progress across the wastelands is slow—and time stretches out even further as minds become fixated on potential disaster.
Let yourself take the unsettling (trippy, even) ride across the Wastelands and find out for yourself what happens next.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
Imagine: the book is set on a Trans-Siberian Express, but not the Trans-Siberian Express and not the Siberia we're familiar with. This Siberia started to "go wrong" in the mid-19th Century. People were going mad and disappearing in Siberia; plant and animal life was transforming at well beyond the usually stately evolutionary pace. So, wall it off, but run a train through it that begins in China and ends in Russia. Make everyone who rides on it sign a waiver indemnifying the British-East-India-like company running the train from any loss of mind or bodily injury. The only other China-Moscow route involves sea travel and takes months, so there are plenty of people willing to take their chances.
Something odd, however, happened on the last run of the train. Things went wrong in a way no one can remember exactly—a breakdown of minds as well as the train itself. The current run comes after a particularly large time gap and everyone is on edge worried that the thing-no-one-remembers will occur again.
The train's passengers and crew on this run include
• An Erasmus Darwin-like scientist hoping to capture some of the bizarre life forms in the Wastelands in order to use them to prove that the drive behind evolution is an effort to reach perfection, to become more like God.
• A young woman whose father purportedly caused the disaster (the one no one remembers) on the last run—she's determined to clear his name.
• Wealthy businessmen smuggling contraband.
• The train's mapmaker whose own body seems to be becoming an increasingly complex map itself.
• A young girl born and raised on the train who longs for a friend and for a more responsible position on the train.
The pace here is slow, which takes a bit of getting used to, but actually works well. Progress across the wastelands is slow—and time stretches out even further as minds become fixated on potential disaster.
Let yourself take the unsettling (trippy, even) ride across the Wastelands and find out for yourself what happens next.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
Shelved as '2024'
May 29, 2024🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
December 27, 2023
Stunning Immersion into another world. Steam Punk meets speculative fiction, and so very much more
I absolutely loved this, its wonderful cast of characters, its invention of a recognisable world from Victorian times, but one which also showed all the venal horrors of the vested interests of global capitalism, of greed run riot, of how we plunder the planet, and how, also some kind of hope might exist if we could only feel our connectivity to that planet, and to each other.
Beautifully written, it has just the right amount of satisfying weirdness, and a cast of characters all well delineated both recognisable and unique
I must say, closing the final page, I felt utterly bereft, and immediately would have liked to have been able to erase my memory of the book so that I could read it all again in the state of innocence and adventure a new book gives
We have a mythical Trans Siberian railway, linking Beijing and Moscow. The problem is though, that the landscape across which the train travels, back and forth, is by all accounts, dangerous, filled with odd lifeforms which might ‘infect us’ there are huge high walls/barriers/holding pens at start and end of journey ensure that nothing from ‘outside’ will contaminate those who live within the great connected cities. I thought of the horrible rhetoric of populism, of the Walls which get built to keep ‘them’ out of our place, whether these are actual physical structures or bureaucracy laced with horrible rhetoric and ideology behind it.
There is nothing heavy handed or over obvious in the way Brooks does this, she doesn’t smack you round the head with all of that. In fact, it is absolutely easy to read this as part of a sealed off adventure mystery – like a country house murder, or Murder on the Orient Express (those tropes are woven in) But I would say the ‘so much MORE than just that or this’ is in there for any reader who wants to find that.
I envy all future readers of this. I don’t think I’ve surrendered to a this kind of weird invented vibrant, real and coherent ‘new’ world since The Night Circus.
This is nothing like that, except in its glorious coherence in its own weird creation
Of course, the challenge is that inevitably the next book I read is likely to feel a little flat, as I’m still ‘infected’ by the seduction of this. Was there something from out the Wastelands somehow hidden in the pages?
Thank you, hugely, Sarah Brooks, for such glorious inventiveness. And the publisher. And Netgalley
I absolutely loved this, its wonderful cast of characters, its invention of a recognisable world from Victorian times, but one which also showed all the venal horrors of the vested interests of global capitalism, of greed run riot, of how we plunder the planet, and how, also some kind of hope might exist if we could only feel our connectivity to that planet, and to each other.
Beautifully written, it has just the right amount of satisfying weirdness, and a cast of characters all well delineated both recognisable and unique
I must say, closing the final page, I felt utterly bereft, and immediately would have liked to have been able to erase my memory of the book so that I could read it all again in the state of innocence and adventure a new book gives
We have a mythical Trans Siberian railway, linking Beijing and Moscow. The problem is though, that the landscape across which the train travels, back and forth, is by all accounts, dangerous, filled with odd lifeforms which might ‘infect us’ there are huge high walls/barriers/holding pens at start and end of journey ensure that nothing from ‘outside’ will contaminate those who live within the great connected cities. I thought of the horrible rhetoric of populism, of the Walls which get built to keep ‘them’ out of our place, whether these are actual physical structures or bureaucracy laced with horrible rhetoric and ideology behind it.
There is nothing heavy handed or over obvious in the way Brooks does this, she doesn’t smack you round the head with all of that. In fact, it is absolutely easy to read this as part of a sealed off adventure mystery – like a country house murder, or Murder on the Orient Express (those tropes are woven in) But I would say the ‘so much MORE than just that or this’ is in there for any reader who wants to find that.
I envy all future readers of this. I don’t think I’ve surrendered to a this kind of weird invented vibrant, real and coherent ‘new’ world since The Night Circus.
This is nothing like that, except in its glorious coherence in its own weird creation
Of course, the challenge is that inevitably the next book I read is likely to feel a little flat, as I’m still ‘infected’ by the seduction of this. Was there something from out the Wastelands somehow hidden in the pages?
Thank you, hugely, Sarah Brooks, for such glorious inventiveness. And the publisher. And Netgalley
February 24, 2024
With the comparison to Piranesi, one of my favorite fantasy novels, I'm disappointed to say this book was a miss for me. The concept of the story is quite incredible--set in the late 1800s, a train runs through the Wastelands, the space between China and Russia. However, something dangerous happened on the train's last crossing, causing operations to shut down for quite some time. Along with the train's passengers, we embark on the first journey since the hiatus, though the Trans-Siberia Company has kept all the details completely silent. Even those who were on the last crossing can't remember what happened.
I thought the book was written very well, with stunning descriptions of the train journey and atmosphere. However, I the fantasy world-building fell a bit short. I'm not sure if I would describe this as fantasy at all. It reads more like magical realism to me. Which is usually something I really enjoy, but in this case, I found the pacing too slow, and I couldn't visualize the fantastical/unnatural elements.
The cast of characters seems diverse at first glance: Marya Petrovna, a wealthy Russian widow, Henry Grey, the English naturalist, Zhang Weiwei, the girl who grew up on the train, Suzuki, the train's Cartographer. But they all felt one-dimensional to me, and I couldn't connect with them. Their varied cultural backgrounds hardly come up at all. In the beginning of the book, we are told they speak a kind of train language that bridges between Russian and Chinese, a fascinating concept, but this linguistic diversity doesn't come across in the story. Even the economic disparity between First and Third class passengers feels like an afterthought.
I think readers of cozy fantasy would enjoy this book, though it does have some ominous/horror themes. I'm learning that I prefer fantasy that makes bolder statements. While I don't regret reading this, it unfortunately wasn't for me.
Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for providing me a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I thought the book was written very well, with stunning descriptions of the train journey and atmosphere. However, I the fantasy world-building fell a bit short. I'm not sure if I would describe this as fantasy at all. It reads more like magical realism to me. Which is usually something I really enjoy, but in this case, I found the pacing too slow, and I couldn't visualize the fantastical/unnatural elements.
The cast of characters seems diverse at first glance: Marya Petrovna, a wealthy Russian widow, Henry Grey, the English naturalist, Zhang Weiwei, the girl who grew up on the train, Suzuki, the train's Cartographer. But they all felt one-dimensional to me, and I couldn't connect with them. Their varied cultural backgrounds hardly come up at all. In the beginning of the book, we are told they speak a kind of train language that bridges between Russian and Chinese, a fascinating concept, but this linguistic diversity doesn't come across in the story. Even the economic disparity between First and Third class passengers feels like an afterthought.
I think readers of cozy fantasy would enjoy this book, though it does have some ominous/horror themes. I'm learning that I prefer fantasy that makes bolder statements. While I don't regret reading this, it unfortunately wasn't for me.
Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for providing me a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 6, 2024
This is said to be for fans of Piranesi and The Midnight Library, two books this is truly not alike at all. This is actually a character driven novel about a train travelling across a fae wilderness, and the mystery hidden by the owners of the train company. As they travel, the passengers and crew start to descend into madness and chaos.
Weiwei was the heart of the story, and the strongest character of the multiple POVs. Born on the train, and now part of the crew, she struggles with how she's been raised and the new questions she has when she finds Wilderness creature Elena hiding in the train. I also liked Marya, who is on the train to investigate her father's mysterious death.
The ending of this story is pretty wild, but I was greatful the story finally picked up some speed, as the rest of the story is fairly slow paced. While this uses real world locations, it uses them fairly loosely, similar to Oxford in The Golden Compass. It did get so chaotic it was almost difficult to keep up with, but I did feel it had a fitting ending.
Weiwei was the heart of the story, and the strongest character of the multiple POVs. Born on the train, and now part of the crew, she struggles with how she's been raised and the new questions she has when she finds Wilderness creature Elena hiding in the train. I also liked Marya, who is on the train to investigate her father's mysterious death.
The ending of this story is pretty wild, but I was greatful the story finally picked up some speed, as the rest of the story is fairly slow paced. While this uses real world locations, it uses them fairly loosely, similar to Oxford in The Golden Compass. It did get so chaotic it was almost difficult to keep up with, but I did feel it had a fitting ending.
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April 30, 2024This debut novel takes the majestic glory of the Trans-Siberian Railway and turns the journey into a horror show, a devastated land of mutated flora and fauna akin to the Strugatsky brother’s Zone and Jeff Vandermeer’s Area X.
The Greater Siberian Wastelands is inimical to human life. The only way across is via the Trans-Siberian Express, a massive feat of engineering linking Russia with China, both countries bordered by walls, keeping the denizens of the Wastelands at bay. Like the railway, the train is an extraordinary achievement, an armoured behemoth on the outside but a luxurious experience on the inside (well, for those who can afford it). The narrative centres on three of the passengers. There’s Henry Grey, a disgraced academic who believes the mysteries of the Wasteland will redeem him; there’s Marya Petrovna, a grieving widow with a secret; and there’s Zhang Weiwei, who was born on the train and has lived there ever since, and who is the first to discover a stowaway, the enigmatic Elena, unlike anyone Weiwei has encountered before.
Brook’s prose has an elegance and eye for detail. We get a real sense of the train's operations and the dangers of the Wasteland, helped along by extracts from the titular Guide. The characters are well drawn, the set pieces are suitably dramatic, and the narrative takes a couple of interesting turns that surprised me; the climax, in particular, is bold and unexpected. You can read the novel as pure escapist adventure, with monsters and invasive, tentacle-like flora. Or you can read it as a commentary on class and especially how multinationals and powerful men will sacrifice everyone and everything on the proverbial altar of profit. Whichever way you go, you will have fun with this novel.
The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wasteland is out im June.
The Greater Siberian Wastelands is inimical to human life. The only way across is via the Trans-Siberian Express, a massive feat of engineering linking Russia with China, both countries bordered by walls, keeping the denizens of the Wastelands at bay. Like the railway, the train is an extraordinary achievement, an armoured behemoth on the outside but a luxurious experience on the inside (well, for those who can afford it). The narrative centres on three of the passengers. There’s Henry Grey, a disgraced academic who believes the mysteries of the Wasteland will redeem him; there’s Marya Petrovna, a grieving widow with a secret; and there’s Zhang Weiwei, who was born on the train and has lived there ever since, and who is the first to discover a stowaway, the enigmatic Elena, unlike anyone Weiwei has encountered before.
Brook’s prose has an elegance and eye for detail. We get a real sense of the train's operations and the dangers of the Wasteland, helped along by extracts from the titular Guide. The characters are well drawn, the set pieces are suitably dramatic, and the narrative takes a couple of interesting turns that surprised me; the climax, in particular, is bold and unexpected. You can read the novel as pure escapist adventure, with monsters and invasive, tentacle-like flora. Or you can read it as a commentary on class and especially how multinationals and powerful men will sacrifice everyone and everything on the proverbial altar of profit. Whichever way you go, you will have fun with this novel.
The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wasteland is out im June.
June 8, 2024
The Cautious Traveller's Guide is nothing close to what I expected. Somehow, I got the notion that the characters would be traveling and experiencing fantastical locations. But all I got were multiple travelers stuck on a train passing cross country. If that wasn't boring enough, the writing style seemed too old fashioned, reminding me of a bygone era that was out of place for me in this particular novel.
I skimmed quite a bit of the novel, hoping for a spark that would ignite my interest. But that spark never materialized. By 34%, I was done with trying to find something interesting for me to carry on. One star DNF.
I received a DRC from Flatiron Books through NetGalley. This review is completely my own and reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.
I skimmed quite a bit of the novel, hoping for a spark that would ignite my interest. But that spark never materialized. By 34%, I was done with trying to find something interesting for me to carry on. One star DNF.
I received a DRC from Flatiron Books through NetGalley. This review is completely my own and reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.
June 25, 2024
This book is a mix of genres. I would describe it as a steampunk fantasy with some sci-fi elements. It has a unique premise and I love the setting of a train journeying through a mysterious land. The wastelands reminded me a lot of Area X from Jeff VanderMeer’s fantastic novel Annihilation. Unfortunately, this book was quite boring and it only improved slightly in the second half.
The story features a variety of people, with the focus being on three characters. Ultimately, though, the characters felt flat and I couldn’t get invested in the story. It’s not a bad story, but it wasn’t dynamic enough for me.
The story features a variety of people, with the focus being on three characters. Ultimately, though, the characters felt flat and I couldn’t get invested in the story. It’s not a bad story, but it wasn’t dynamic enough for me.
June 21, 2024
2.5
I was looking forward to this one, but it wasn't for me. The premise initially caught my eye - a Trans-Siberian train that is the only means of travel through the Wasteland- the abandoned wilderness between countries that's inhabited by strange creatures, the air thought to be deadly. Our main cast on board are Marya, a woman undercover, looking to find more information on the last crossing in relation to her father's death; Weiwei, a teenager who was born on the train and has spent her whole life there; and Henry Gray... A Guy.
There were many brief moments while listening to this that I thought it could be something really special, but I feel the different plot points and overall storytelling created a lot of lows and not enough highs. There was a huge missed opportunity in how little Marya and Weiwei interacted, I feel like a sense of kinship between the two of them may have been able to tie the different storylines together. The Wasteland itself was a missed opportunity, so much could've been expanded upon. Henry Gray was an annoyance that should have been a side character, there was not one singular time when I was like "omg I wonder what Henry is going to do". I wish The Professor could've been the other main character. Overall I couldn't get invested in the story, there was never a "peak" so to speak, and I was just wishing it would end. Very ambitious debut that could've been so much better.
It is said there is a price that every passenger must pay. A price beyond the cost of a ticket.
My price was mind-numbing boredom.
(All that said, the narration was very well done. There were some inconsistencies but I'll chalk that up to it being an ARC.)
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this audiobook, now available as of June 18th.
I was looking forward to this one, but it wasn't for me. The premise initially caught my eye - a Trans-Siberian train that is the only means of travel through the Wasteland- the abandoned wilderness between countries that's inhabited by strange creatures, the air thought to be deadly. Our main cast on board are Marya, a woman undercover, looking to find more information on the last crossing in relation to her father's death; Weiwei, a teenager who was born on the train and has spent her whole life there; and Henry Gray... A Guy.
There were many brief moments while listening to this that I thought it could be something really special, but I feel the different plot points and overall storytelling created a lot of lows and not enough highs. There was a huge missed opportunity in how little Marya and Weiwei interacted, I feel like a sense of kinship between the two of them may have been able to tie the different storylines together. The Wasteland itself was a missed opportunity, so much could've been expanded upon. Henry Gray was an annoyance that should have been a side character, there was not one singular time when I was like "omg I wonder what Henry is going to do". I wish The Professor could've been the other main character. Overall I couldn't get invested in the story, there was never a "peak" so to speak, and I was just wishing it would end. Very ambitious debut that could've been so much better.
It is said there is a price that every passenger must pay. A price beyond the cost of a ticket.
My price was mind-numbing boredom.
(All that said, the narration was very well done. There were some inconsistencies but I'll chalk that up to it being an ARC.)
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this audiobook, now available as of June 18th.
July 4, 2024
This was just not my jam. I was expecting this great big adventuring train-travel fantasy - well, I got a train and a lot of tedium [seriously, nothing happens for much of the book, so that when something does happen, its so anticlimactic and meh, you just don't care] instead, along with very one dimensional characters that just stay out of reach of one ever caring much about [and I won't even go into that ending ::eyeroll:: ]. Its just been such a huge disappointment for me.
I was excited about Katie Leung [of Harry Potter fame] being the narrator [I remember her having a lovely lilting voice in the movies] for this, but unfortinately, that also didn't work for me. She speaks very quickly [with little regard for pausing, periods, or even a breath here or there it felt like at times], pauses little, and at times seemed more monotone than anything else. Even during dramatic times there seemed to be little emotion and the whole experience [for me] was very underwhelming, and my disappointment was pretty high in this regard as well.
Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Brooks, and Macmillan Audio for providing the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was excited about Katie Leung [of Harry Potter fame] being the narrator [I remember her having a lovely lilting voice in the movies] for this, but unfortinately, that also didn't work for me. She speaks very quickly [with little regard for pausing, periods, or even a breath here or there it felt like at times], pauses little, and at times seemed more monotone than anything else. Even during dramatic times there seemed to be little emotion and the whole experience [for me] was very underwhelming, and my disappointment was pretty high in this regard as well.
Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Brooks, and Macmillan Audio for providing the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 9, 2024
I tore through this book like a train speeding through the Wastelands. Lots to think about here.
The only critique I have of it is that the cover was not a train made of vines, moss and flowers.
The only critique I have of it is that the cover was not a train made of vines, moss and flowers.
July 11, 2024
4.5 stars
RTC
RTC
June 24, 2024
Por la premisa del libro parece que fuéramos a encontrar un libro a caballo entre algo de fantasía y Agatha Christie, pero nada más lejos de la realidad.
Pasajeros viajando en un tren durante más de 20 días y cada vez que parecía que iba a pasar algo que lo cambiase todo... más nada.
Bastante aburrido, mucho texto.
Pasajeros viajando en un tren durante más de 20 días y cada vez que parecía que iba a pasar algo que lo cambiase todo... más nada.
Bastante aburrido, mucho texto.
June 18, 2024
4.25 ⭐️
The Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands has been described as Piranesi meets The Midnight Library, neither of which I have read, but hopefully that gives anyone who has read them a feel for what they’re getting into.
This story of a 20-day-long journey from Beijing to Moscow via the Trans-Siberian Railway is moved along with snippets from the fictitious guide written by a passenger towards the beginning of the Railway’s operation: The Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands. In it, we learn what to expect from our passengers as they traverse the wastelands: the area between what is assumed to be The Great Wall of China and a similar wall built by Russia. These wastelands are filled with mysterious plants and fauna that defy the norm and bend reality.
The book is multi-POV with each point of view having its own separate side story being unveiled. Though slow to start, things begin to ramp up through Weiwei’s storyline and her discovery. The book really has an unnatural creepiness to it, though I definitely wouldn’t classify it as horror or fantasy. Possibly literary/historical fiction with a bit of magical realism.
I really enjoyed that the wastelands and the train themselves were portrayed as their own characters as well as the commentary on classism, the impacts of society (technology + industrialization) on the environment, and the government vs the people.
I did find my own mind trying to make sense of the events that unfolded, but that’s also part of traveling through the wastelands: what occurs is unnatural only to those who refuse to embrace the change.
Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an advanced copy of this book!
The Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands has been described as Piranesi meets The Midnight Library, neither of which I have read, but hopefully that gives anyone who has read them a feel for what they’re getting into.
This story of a 20-day-long journey from Beijing to Moscow via the Trans-Siberian Railway is moved along with snippets from the fictitious guide written by a passenger towards the beginning of the Railway’s operation: The Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands. In it, we learn what to expect from our passengers as they traverse the wastelands: the area between what is assumed to be The Great Wall of China and a similar wall built by Russia. These wastelands are filled with mysterious plants and fauna that defy the norm and bend reality.
The book is multi-POV with each point of view having its own separate side story being unveiled. Though slow to start, things begin to ramp up through Weiwei’s storyline and her discovery. The book really has an unnatural creepiness to it, though I definitely wouldn’t classify it as horror or fantasy. Possibly literary/historical fiction with a bit of magical realism.
I really enjoyed that the wastelands and the train themselves were portrayed as their own characters as well as the commentary on classism, the impacts of society (technology + industrialization) on the environment, and the government vs the people.
I did find my own mind trying to make sense of the events that unfolded, but that’s also part of traveling through the wastelands: what occurs is unnatural only to those who refuse to embrace the change.
Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an advanced copy of this book!
May 9, 2024
I don’t know what to say about this book…
I went in to the book with zero expectations and I can comfortably say I still have no expectations.
I thought the book would be an interesting concept and the storyline would be intriguing(I guess these are expectations). But it was anything but…
I really struggled to get into this book and found myself avoiding reading because of it.
I did find the different point of views interesting and how each person had a different purpose with multiple moral backgrounds. But, I still couldn’t tell you exactly what happened in the book. The plot was boring to me and the conflict wasn’t demanding my attention.
Maybe this genre of book just wasn’t for me😬
I went in to the book with zero expectations and I can comfortably say I still have no expectations.
I thought the book would be an interesting concept and the storyline would be intriguing(I guess these are expectations). But it was anything but…
I really struggled to get into this book and found myself avoiding reading because of it.
I did find the different point of views interesting and how each person had a different purpose with multiple moral backgrounds. But, I still couldn’t tell you exactly what happened in the book. The plot was boring to me and the conflict wasn’t demanding my attention.
Maybe this genre of book just wasn’t for me😬
May 12, 2024
Enjoyed the unexpected surreal magic of this. Slow build up and break down of train conspiracy and superstition. The three key perspectives were very different and I particularly enjoyed that of WeiWei who has lived her whole life on the train and befriends a mysterious stowaway.
The book felt like it was doing a few too many things. It only brushed the surface of the political backdrop, the consciousness in the wastelands, Marya's family, the cast on board the train, the story of the captain, what is seen through the scope (disappointed by the unveil of this). It was a bit slow and dissatisfying at times.
Enjoyed most WeiWei's connection with Elena, the lichen infestation, the strange creatures, the fear of Wasteland sickness, the steampunk style, the death of the 'crows', the questioning of landscape-scale consciousness. Lots of good in here, even if it didn't quite work for me.
3.5
The book felt like it was doing a few too many things. It only brushed the surface of the political backdrop, the consciousness in the wastelands, Marya's family, the cast on board the train, the story of the captain, what is seen through the scope (disappointed by the unveil of this). It was a bit slow and dissatisfying at times.
Enjoyed most WeiWei's connection with Elena, the lichen infestation, the strange creatures, the fear of Wasteland sickness, the steampunk style, the death of the 'crows', the questioning of landscape-scale consciousness. Lots of good in here, even if it didn't quite work for me.
3.5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2024
A little bit of Murder on the Orient Express + a good amount of Snowpiercer, plus there be monsters in the wasteland. I felt like it blended its different flavors very well, and created a unique singular world that I'd definitely be interested in revisiting at some point.
May 11, 2024
ARC. 3.5 stars, rounded up. I very much enjoyed the first 2/3, but the ending didn’t quite gel for me. I’ve seen others make comparisons to Jeff Vandermeer’s “Annihilation,” and I agree.
May 17, 2024
I really liked the cover which initially drew me to the book, then the blurb caught and held my interest. I thought it held the promise of a possibly amazing read. Maybe my expectations were too high, I was expecting something like Hotel Magnifique by Emily J Taylor & The Theatre of Glass and Shadows by Anne Corlett, both of which I really adored.......but.....I attempted reading this one 3 times and got no further than 26% The pace is so slow, the plot feels like you are trying to 'read it through a fog or mist' the answer to your questions are constantly just out of reach and it's really irritating.
So unfortunately it's a 'did not finish' situation from me, which is disappointing as I honestly had high expectations. I so wanted to finish this one, I had so many questions I wanted answering but the pace and style it was written really put me off.
So unfortunately it's a 'did not finish' situation from me, which is disappointing as I honestly had high expectations. I so wanted to finish this one, I had so many questions I wanted answering but the pace and style it was written really put me off.
March 12, 2024
First off I want to say thank you to the author for writing a book without excess swearing and sexual content, the book was appropriate and I did appreciate that. However this book was not for me. I found it highly confusing, there seemed to be no consistent rising of tension, it felt like random things kept happening and none of it seemed to fit together with the other random things that were happening. I’m still not sure if I understand what the point was and why I should care.
I do think this author has potential and I hope she writes more books that are clean and less confusing.
I do think this author has potential and I hope she writes more books that are clean and less confusing.
June 15, 2024
Let me start this review by saying that I don’t think I was the right audience for 'The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands'. This was most definitely a case of “it’s me, not the book”.
In fact, there are quite a few things to like about this story. First of all, there is the array of different genres that the author manages to weave together seamlessly. Part historical fiction, part mystery, part steampunk and fantasy, with some magic to finish things off. Maybe it sounds a tad messy, but it really isn’t. There is the Victorian feel to the train journey, slightly reminiscent of the Orient Express. And then there is the mystery of this vast and mysterious land the train travels through.
The year is 1899. A train is travelling from Beijing to Moscow. The route takes the passengers through the Wastelands. For many, it is the journey of a lifetime. On board is a young woman with a fake name who is on a mission to find the truth, a young child who calls the train home, and a man who desperately wants to restore his standing in the scientific community. It is through these three that the reader will uncover the secrets of the Wastelands, and the ruthlessness of the Company that runs the train.
This is where my issues with this book began. I found it remarkably hard to warm to these characters. None of them were able to pull me into the story, to become invested in what was going on, or to throw my support behind them. In fact, one of them irked me no end. The relentless pursuit of knowledge, not out of curiosity but out of a longing for recognition, blinds this character to everything and everyone else around them. Even if it puts them all in danger. This also goes for the Company. Their influence reaches far and wide. Greed and money is all that matters to them, and those who come too close to whatever it is they’re trying to hide, should most definitely watch their backs.
It is the simple beginning of a rather beautiful friendship that will set events in motion. A connection between different worlds that shows sometimes it’s nicer to be curious instead of cautious. Fear of the unknown makes people do questionable things sometimes. But if you open your eyes and your mind, who knows what amazing discoveries you will make. Maybe, behind the difference in first and third class, standing, colour, whatnot, we aren't so different after all.
Aside from the characters not being able to convince me, and despite not quite being able to picture the magical fantasy phenomena, and despite the pace in the first half of the book being way too slow for me, The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wasterlands' is not at all a bad book. For fans of the (many?) genres, I’m sure there will be something to like. I enjoyed some of it, even found some bits unnerving in a good way. There is even a delightful sense of doom. But I must admit there were quite a few times where I considered not finishing. I’m glad I kept going and I thought the ending was really well done, but all in all, like I said at the start, I wasn’t quite the right audience for this one.
In fact, there are quite a few things to like about this story. First of all, there is the array of different genres that the author manages to weave together seamlessly. Part historical fiction, part mystery, part steampunk and fantasy, with some magic to finish things off. Maybe it sounds a tad messy, but it really isn’t. There is the Victorian feel to the train journey, slightly reminiscent of the Orient Express. And then there is the mystery of this vast and mysterious land the train travels through.
The year is 1899. A train is travelling from Beijing to Moscow. The route takes the passengers through the Wastelands. For many, it is the journey of a lifetime. On board is a young woman with a fake name who is on a mission to find the truth, a young child who calls the train home, and a man who desperately wants to restore his standing in the scientific community. It is through these three that the reader will uncover the secrets of the Wastelands, and the ruthlessness of the Company that runs the train.
This is where my issues with this book began. I found it remarkably hard to warm to these characters. None of them were able to pull me into the story, to become invested in what was going on, or to throw my support behind them. In fact, one of them irked me no end. The relentless pursuit of knowledge, not out of curiosity but out of a longing for recognition, blinds this character to everything and everyone else around them. Even if it puts them all in danger. This also goes for the Company. Their influence reaches far and wide. Greed and money is all that matters to them, and those who come too close to whatever it is they’re trying to hide, should most definitely watch their backs.
It is the simple beginning of a rather beautiful friendship that will set events in motion. A connection between different worlds that shows sometimes it’s nicer to be curious instead of cautious. Fear of the unknown makes people do questionable things sometimes. But if you open your eyes and your mind, who knows what amazing discoveries you will make. Maybe, behind the difference in first and third class, standing, colour, whatnot, we aren't so different after all.
Aside from the characters not being able to convince me, and despite not quite being able to picture the magical fantasy phenomena, and despite the pace in the first half of the book being way too slow for me, The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wasterlands' is not at all a bad book. For fans of the (many?) genres, I’m sure there will be something to like. I enjoyed some of it, even found some bits unnerving in a good way. There is even a delightful sense of doom. But I must admit there were quite a few times where I considered not finishing. I’m glad I kept going and I thought the ending was really well done, but all in all, like I said at the start, I wasn’t quite the right audience for this one.
June 24, 2024
It’s 1899 and passengers are boarding the Trans-Siberian Express, a twenty-carriage luxury train which will take them from Beijing to Moscow in time to attend the Great Exhibition. The four thousand mile journey will travel through the Wastelands, an abandoned wilderness where the landscape and wildlife seem to be undergoing strange changes and mutations. Since the changes were first recorded several decades earlier, Walls have been built to separate the Wastelands from the rest of Russia and China and passengers are not allowed to leave the train in the area between the Walls. On the previous journey, something went wrong: the glass in the windows cracked, exposing the train to the dangers of the Wastelands. The Trans-Siberian Company blamed the glassmaker and have assured passengers that the train is now safe, but doubts still remain.
The story of the 1899 Trans-Siberian crossing is told from the perspectives of several of the passengers. First, there’s Marya Petrovna, who has boarded the train under a false name and disguised as a mourning widow. At first we don’t know who Marya is or why she is hiding her identity, but we do know that she believes an injustice has been done and has come on this journey in search of answers. Then there’s Dr Henry Grey, an English naturalist whose latest theories have been disproved and who hopes to restore his reputation by studying the Wastelands. Finally, Zhang Weiwei is a sixteen-year-old girl known as ‘the child of the train’ because she was born in the Third Class sleeping car and has spent her whole life travelling backwards and forwards on the train. There are many other people onboard the train, but these are the central three around whom the novel revolves.
The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands is an unusual, imaginative novel and there were many things I enjoyed about it. I’ve read several other books set on trains, but usually, even in Murder on the Orient Express, the train simply provides a way of bringing a group of people together in close confines or of getting them from one destination to another. In this book, the train itself is an important part of the story and could even almost be viewed as another character. Sarah Brooks’ worldbuilding is very impressive; the novel has been compared to Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi and Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus and it did make me think of the latter in particular. So much attention to detail goes into describing the various carriages and compartments, the history of the train and its earlier crossings, and the fictional travel guide which gives the novel its name. The Wastelands themselves are less clearly described and although it’s suggested that life there has become tainted in some way, we don’t really know how or why, and much of the mystery still remains at the end of the book, which I’m sure was deliberate – but quite frustrating!
However, I felt that the setting and atmosphere came at the expense of the plot. The pace was very slow, with more than half of the novel devoted to setting the scene and introducing the characters, and it seemed to end just as things were starting to happen. I also would have preferred an explanation for what was happening in the Wastelands and was left wondering what we were intended to take away from the book. Was there a message in there about climate change and the environment – or migration, with walls being built to keep people out (or in)? I think we’re definitely supposed to question whether it’s best to travel cautiously or curiously, embracing change or turning away from it.
The Cautious Traveller’s Guide… is a fascinating alternate history novel, then, with lots to think about and debate. I didn’t find it completely satisfying, but I’m sure the right reader will love it.
The story of the 1899 Trans-Siberian crossing is told from the perspectives of several of the passengers. First, there’s Marya Petrovna, who has boarded the train under a false name and disguised as a mourning widow. At first we don’t know who Marya is or why she is hiding her identity, but we do know that she believes an injustice has been done and has come on this journey in search of answers. Then there’s Dr Henry Grey, an English naturalist whose latest theories have been disproved and who hopes to restore his reputation by studying the Wastelands. Finally, Zhang Weiwei is a sixteen-year-old girl known as ‘the child of the train’ because she was born in the Third Class sleeping car and has spent her whole life travelling backwards and forwards on the train. There are many other people onboard the train, but these are the central three around whom the novel revolves.
The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands is an unusual, imaginative novel and there were many things I enjoyed about it. I’ve read several other books set on trains, but usually, even in Murder on the Orient Express, the train simply provides a way of bringing a group of people together in close confines or of getting them from one destination to another. In this book, the train itself is an important part of the story and could even almost be viewed as another character. Sarah Brooks’ worldbuilding is very impressive; the novel has been compared to Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi and Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus and it did make me think of the latter in particular. So much attention to detail goes into describing the various carriages and compartments, the history of the train and its earlier crossings, and the fictional travel guide which gives the novel its name. The Wastelands themselves are less clearly described and although it’s suggested that life there has become tainted in some way, we don’t really know how or why, and much of the mystery still remains at the end of the book, which I’m sure was deliberate – but quite frustrating!
However, I felt that the setting and atmosphere came at the expense of the plot. The pace was very slow, with more than half of the novel devoted to setting the scene and introducing the characters, and it seemed to end just as things were starting to happen. I also would have preferred an explanation for what was happening in the Wastelands and was left wondering what we were intended to take away from the book. Was there a message in there about climate change and the environment – or migration, with walls being built to keep people out (or in)? I think we’re definitely supposed to question whether it’s best to travel cautiously or curiously, embracing change or turning away from it.
The Cautious Traveller’s Guide… is a fascinating alternate history novel, then, with lots to think about and debate. I didn’t find it completely satisfying, but I’m sure the right reader will love it.
May 31, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for the advanced copy of the audiobook.
Not what I was expected but still a fun and unique journey. You'll see a lot of influences in this one, from authors like Agatha Christie, Jeff VanderMeer, and Leigh Bardugo, but Brooks makes her world unique.
Brooks weaves in the recent popular idea of a "green apocalypse" in her book, that is, wildlife and nature growing wild, with some truly evocative and unnerving descriptions of the wastelands wild flora and fauna. There's one particular scene with where the train is followed by "trains" that decently freaked me out. There's also a layer of cosmic horror to the idea of these forms of life that is unsettling, especially as the story goes on.
The narration by Katie Leung was wonderful as well. I'm literally only familiar with her as Cho Chang from the Harry Potter movies, so I was very impressed with her narration. She does voices and accents and puts in the appropriate emotion - the former is frosting but the latter I find most important, especially after having recently listened to some audiobooks with awkward or lack of tone and inflection and it was... not pleasant. So having such a wonderful narrator now was welcomed, and Leung has a very nice voice for audiobooks as well.
Rating this is difficult for me, though, even as much as I enjoyed it, because it wasn't what I expected. It reminds me of something by Alix E. Harrow, a fantastical horror-adjacent historical fiction. I also was hoping it'd be like a new favorite I read recently, The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. It definitely has similar vibes, if you also enjoyed that story.
I think I'm giving this a 4 for now, because I know I'll be thinking about this story and it's world for a while and would happily check out a sequel if there was one.
Not what I was expected but still a fun and unique journey. You'll see a lot of influences in this one, from authors like Agatha Christie, Jeff VanderMeer, and Leigh Bardugo, but Brooks makes her world unique.
Brooks weaves in the recent popular idea of a "green apocalypse" in her book, that is, wildlife and nature growing wild, with some truly evocative and unnerving descriptions of the wastelands wild flora and fauna. There's one particular scene with where the train is followed by "trains" that decently freaked me out. There's also a layer of cosmic horror to the idea of these forms of life that is unsettling, especially as the story goes on.
The narration by Katie Leung was wonderful as well. I'm literally only familiar with her as Cho Chang from the Harry Potter movies, so I was very impressed with her narration. She does voices and accents and puts in the appropriate emotion - the former is frosting but the latter I find most important, especially after having recently listened to some audiobooks with awkward or lack of tone and inflection and it was... not pleasant. So having such a wonderful narrator now was welcomed, and Leung has a very nice voice for audiobooks as well.
Rating this is difficult for me, though, even as much as I enjoyed it, because it wasn't what I expected. It reminds me of something by Alix E. Harrow, a fantastical horror-adjacent historical fiction. I also was hoping it'd be like a new favorite I read recently, The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. It definitely has similar vibes, if you also enjoyed that story.
I think I'm giving this a 4 for now, because I know I'll be thinking about this story and it's world for a while and would happily check out a sequel if there was one.
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