gilda_elise | Entries tagged with chuck wendig

A small town is transformed by dark magic when a strange tree begins bearing magical apples in this new masterpiece of horror from the bestselling author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents.

It’s autumn in the town of Harrow, but something else is changing in the town besides the season.

Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusual trees. And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: Strange, beautiful, with skin so red it’s nearly black.

Take a bite of one of these apples and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing—and become darker.

This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples… and what’s the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful?

And even if buried in the orchard is something else besides the seeds of this extraordinary tree: a bloody history whose roots reach back the very origins of the town.

But now the leaves are falling. The days grow darker. And a stranger has come to town, a stranger who knows Harrow’s secrets. Because it’s harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.

I love Wendig’s writing, though most of his book that I’v read have been science fiction. But having read The Book of Accidents, I knew he could write horror, too. And, boy, can he. Who would have thought that apples could be so terrifying?

But they are, especially as some of the residents of Harrow come under their spell. But why some and not others? That question is a big part of the fight that those not taken in by the fruit must wage. It’s a bitter battle, as it’s often against people that they know and love.

There’s a fairly large cast of characters, which is something I’ve come to expect from Wendig. In that, his writing is very much like King’s and McCammon’s, two of my favorite horror writers. So no surprise that Wendig has been added to that vaunted list.

Something I found rather odd, the mentioning of two characters who play large parts in Wendig’s Wanderers and Wayward, making this book almost a prequel to those two. If so, the town’s problems aren’t over.

Mount TBR 2023 Book Links

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51. Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner
52. Jackdaw (Jackdaw #1) by K.J. Charles
53. Blightborn (Heartland #2) by Chuck Wendig
54. The Harvest (Heartland #3) by Chuck Wendig
55. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
56. Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

Goodreads 56

Black, red, or white cover
1. The Magpie Lord by K.J. Charles
2. Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

2023 Monthly Motif

OCTOBER- Spellbinding or Spooktacular
“Read a book that involves something spooky or magical or both.”
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

Blood will water the corn...

It’s been a year since the Saranyu flotilla fell from the sky, and life in the Heartland has changed. Gone are the Obligations and the Harvest Home festivals. In their place is a spate of dead towns, the former inhabitants forced into mechanical bodies to serve the Empyrean—and crush the Heartland.

When Cael awakens from a Blightborn sleep, miles away from the world he remembers, he sets out across the Heartland to gather his friends for one last mission. As the mechanicals, a war flotilla, and a pack of feral Empyrean girls begin to close in on the Heartland, there isn’t much time to make their next move. But if they can uncover a secret weapon in time, Cael and his friends might just find themselves with the power to save the world—or destroy it—resting in their hands.

I’d barely put down the second book before starting this one, I was so into the series. And it did not disappoint. I only wish there was a fourth book in the works. There’s certainly enough of a set-up in the third book to make that possible.

The characters just kept getting stronger, as they tackle yet another obstacle. Probably because they’re beginning to mature, so the book doesn’t read so much as a YA (not that I’m all that sure as to what that means.) Cael, especially, begins to see things not so much as how they will affect him but how they will affect others.

There’s a lot of action, with good and bad outcomes. But there’s characters to fall in love with, too. And such a great ending to a terrific series.

Mount TBR 2023 Book Links

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46. The Passage (The Passage #1) by Justin Cronin
47. Kallocain by Karin Boye, Gustaf Lannestock (Translator), Richard B. Vowles (Introduction)
48. The Book of Koli (Rampart Trilogy #1) by M.R. Carey
49. Different Seasons by Stephen King
50. In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune
51. Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner
52. Jackdaw (Jackdaw #1) by K.J. Charles
53. Blightborn (Heartland #2) by Chuck Wendig
54. The Harvest (Heartland #3) by Chuck Wendig

Goodreads 54

Cael McAvoy is on the run. He’s heading toward the Empyrean to rescue his sister, Merelda, and to find Gwennie before she’s lost to Cael forever. With his pals, Lane and Rigo, Cael journeys across the Heartland to catch a ride into the sky. But with Boyland and others after them, Cael and his friends won’t make it through unchanged.

Gwennie’s living the life of a Lottery winner, but it’s not what she expected. Separated from her family, Gwennie makes a bold move—one that catches the attention of the Empyrean and changes the course of an Empyrean man’s life.

The crew from Boxelder aren’t the only folks willing to sacrifice everything to see the Empyrean fall. The question is: Can the others be trusted?

They’d all better hurry. Because the Empyrean has plans that could ensure that the Heartland never fights back again.

Chuck Wendig’s riveting sequel to Under the Empyrean Sky plunges readers into an unsettling world of inequality and destruction, and fleshes out a cast of ragtag characters all fighting for survival and, ultimately, change.

The book takes a running start, as it picks up the saga of Cael McAvoy and friends, his family, and those hunting them down.The action ratchets up as the threats multiply against those from Boxelder, while, at the same time, they’re looking to hitch a ride into the sky.

I found all the characters compelling, not an easy task considering their number. There are those we met in the first book, now greatly filled out, and some new friends. I fell in love with more than a couple, especially of the feathered variety and their companion. There’s also a particularly nasty enemy added to the mix.

Again, there are a lot of mistakes made by Cael and his friends. More than once I had to remind myself that this is essentially a YA book, and that most of the characters are teenagers. It takes a bit from the enjoyment of reading the book, but not enough for me to stop. Because behind all this is a tale of ecological destruction, and the greed that encourages it.

So, yes, I would have to highly recommend the trilogy. It’s certainly got me hooked, so much so that I’m almost finished with the third book. If that isn’t a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is.

Mount TBR 2023 Book Links

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41. The Power by Naomi Alderman
42. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
43. Day Zero (Sea of Rust #0) by C. Robert Cargill
44. Dog Days by Ericka Waller
45. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
46. The Passage (The Passage #1) by Justin Cronin
47. Kallocain by Karin Boye, Gustaf Lannestock (Translator), Richard B. Vowles (Introduction)
48. The Book of Koli (Rampart Trilogy #1) by M.R. Carey
49. Different Seasons by Stephen King
50. In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune
51. Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner
52. Jackdaw (Jackdaw #1) by K.J. Charles
53. Blightborn (Heartland #2) by Chuck Wendig

Goodreads 53

Shana wakes up one morning to discover her little sister in the grip of a strange malady. She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that only she knows. But Shana and her sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey. And like Shana, there are other "shepherds" who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road ahead.

For as the sleepwalking phenomenon awakens terror and violence in America, the real danger may not be the epidemic but the fear of it. With society collapsing all around them--and an ultraviolent militia threatening to exterminate them--the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart--or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world.

A truly amazing end-of-the-world novel. One I’d put up there with Stephen King’s The Stand, Robert McCammon’s Swan Song, and Jack McDevitt’s Eternity Road.

With the same catalyst as The Last of Us, (though published before the series premiered,) Wanderers lives up to its name. A fungal plague is spreading fast, and no one is safe. Except, perhaps for those you have inexplicably began a journey while seeming asleep. We follow those who are sleepwalking across the country but, more so, those who have made it their mission to protect them while everything falls apart around them.

I especially liked how we get to see the collapse of civilization from several people’s perspective. There are, of course, the sleepwalkers and their protectors. But there’s also a rock star who’s looking for a new way into the spotlight; an ex-cop, whose brain injury seems to connect her to the flock, and a preacher taken in by the twisted logic of an extreme right militia leader.

It’s a story which grabbed me from the beginning and never let go.

( Mount TBR 2023 Book Links 1-20 )

21. The Magpie Lord (Charm of Magpies 1) by K.J. Charles
22. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated by Eric H. Cline
23. Wanderers (Wanderers #1) by Chuck Wendig

Goodreads 23

APRIL- I Like Big Books

“Read a book over 400 pages long or listen to an audiobook over 14 hrs long.”

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig (780 pages)

Corn is king in the Heartland, and Cael McAvoy has had enough of it. It's the only crop the Empyrean government allows the people of the Heartland to grow. And the genetically modified strain is so aggressive that it takes everything the Heartlanders have just to control it. As captain of the Big Sky Scavengers, Cael and his crew sail their rickety ship over the corn day after day, scavenging for valuables, trying to earn much-needed ace notes for their families. But Cael's tired of surviving life on the ground while the Empyrean elite drift by above in their extravagant sky flotillas. He's sick of the mayor's son besting Cael's crew in the scavenging game. And he's worried about losing Gwennie, his first mate and the love of his life, forever when their government-chosen spouses are revealed. But most of all, Cael is angry, angry that their lot in life will never get better and that his father doesn't seem upset about any of it. Cael's ready to make his own luck . . . even if it means bringing down the wrath of the Empyrean elite and changing life in the Heartland forever.

It’s not often where I run across a writer who writes teenagers in a way where I can tolerate them (King comes to mind.) Truthfully, I wouldn’t have started the book if I’d known it was YA. But I loved Wendig’s The Book of Accidents, so hoped for the best. Wendig came through, presenting the characters in a way where I could enjoy reading about them. Most of the time.

Cael makes some huge mistakes, and can be unlikable at times, but you can’t help loving his perseverance. He lives in a dystopian future, but wants a better life, and is willing to do just about anything to get it. Unfortunately, things don’t always work out the way he planned.

There’s some surprises in store for him here. More in the second book if we’re lucky.

Mount TBR 2023 Book Links

Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

1. Alexander's Tomb: The Two-Thousand Year Obsession to Find the Lost Conquerer by Nicholas J. Saunders
2. Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
3. Under the Empyrean Sky (Heartland Trilogy #1) by Chuck Wendig

Goodreads 3

Science Fiction - Under the Empyrean Sky

A family returns to their hometown—and to the dark past that haunts them still—in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers

Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there.

Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.

Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.

Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.

And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic.

This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another.

Well, going by this book, here’s another author whose books I’ll be adding to my to-be-read pile.

Part science fiction, but really absolutely horror, the book’s focus is on how the past and future can meet, and how one person’s actions can destroy a world. Or many worlds. It took awhile to figure out what was good on, which was a good thing, as it ratcheted up the suspense. Even then, there were some real surprises.

The characters were compelling, especially Nate. As we learn how their pasts come together, and what it means for their futures, the best part of Nate, and Maddie and Oliver, come through.

My only complaint, and in the scheme of things it’s a small one, was how the characters kept doing things that they felt weren’t the smartest things to be doing. Once or twice, okay, but this kept happening. They were think to themselves, “My gut tells me not to do this,” but they’d do it anyway. Overlooking that, it’s a suspenseful and compelling read that can’t help but pull you in.

Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

1. The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
2. The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

Goodreads 2