Into the Wastelands

Into the Wastelands by Gwynn Marssen was another longer story I read from the MM Goodreads group. I didn’t specifically choose this one–the last one I selected because I knew I liked that author, but Into the Wastelands I read because it was the first longer story my kindle presented. I’m not entirely sure what order my kindle put the stories into. I expected alphabetical, but it isn’t, so I suspect by date? or rather time-stamp for when I downloaded them, but I’m way too lazy to check if that’s the case.

And I’m sorry if I’m meandering, but my beloved pet died in my arms yesterday, so you’re lucky you’re getting a post. I am doing much better today, though, thanks, but I usually bounce back from sad things quickly–and with lots of escapism!

But I read this book before I needed to escape.

Oh right, the book.

It’s really good. A post-apocalyptic setting, with some typical stuff from that concept map (wastelands, trying to rebuild society, lots of excluding people and being judgementy). I can’t say that it really broke the genre–it had some unique elements, but it wasn’t groundbreakingly different from it’s closest peers.

But what I can say is that it fully fucking mastered its genre (subgenre?). A vibrant and dangerous, yet still believable world was created and populated with people who were neither good nor evil, but just the way that they are. A quest was begun that might involve gods or might save the world–or it might just be something new from a mangled world that no one understands yet.

So yeah, it was fantastic, and I’m hopefully going to remember to locate and devour the sequel when that exists (the author says it will, and authors never lie about sequels. …right?). And I strongly believe that all and sundry should go read this, too.