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reflectiverambling_nalana's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
"The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands" is an engrossing atmospheric novel that's reminiscent of a classical area both in time and narrative. A turn of the century alternative history tale, it takes place in a time where science and innovation are making common place wonders with rapidity that surround people with new curiosities. Yet at the same time, there is enough lingering in nature and the unknown mixed with tradition and folklore where things that go bump in the night might have a dozen explanations.
Take this mindset and place those rattlings in a 'closed room' type of setting breeds a delicious foreboding that made some of the most memorable fantastical-horror and gothic tales that have survived to entrance readers today so chilling. There is just enough space when given these considerations where the reader can wonder for a great deal of the narrative if maybe, just maybe, the big bad company isn't being quite as self serving as they seem. Maybe the precautions and strange happenings are psychological. Maybe the outside has more traditional dangers. And yet... and yeeeeet...
Filled with some traditional character types that might be found in traditional elite circles, the nosy old noble widow, the rich newlyweds, the scholars, along with a multiracial cast that spans as broad as the trail line itself, creates an interesting variety of experiences and viewpoints. There are also the comparisons between workers and passengers, with a sprinkling of the 'third classers'.
Beyond the vibes and rhythms of the people and the train itself that are so beautifully painted is the vivid outer world. There are times where the writing is close to poetic to the point where things seem visceral. The concepts that are explored bring up classic themes but in a way that seems both apparent but still worth consideration. How do our motivations shape nature? What happens when nature adapts? Is it embracing what is enforced on it? Does it fight back? Where is the line between science, discovery, creation, and the mystical? What does it mean to see? And who has the right to impose one's will and desires? What happens when you hop back and forth between worlds and wishes?
On top of this, the narration for the audiobook while I personally may have made a few different choices in some scenes is absolutely spot on when it comes to 'the girl of the train' and a stowaway. There is a haunting, lingering quality that adds that little extra weight to the unknown happenings. The dialogue/character work is also exceptionally solid.
All in all this was absolutely a read you can sink into. More hypnotic than engaging at times, but if you're in the right mood, it can be a heck of a ride.
Take this mindset and place those rattlings in a 'closed room' type of setting breeds a delicious foreboding that made some of the most memorable fantastical-horror and gothic tales that have survived to entrance readers today so chilling. There is just enough space when given these considerations where the reader can wonder for a great deal of the narrative if maybe, just maybe, the big bad company isn't being quite as self serving as they seem. Maybe the precautions and strange happenings are psychological. Maybe the outside has more traditional dangers. And yet... and yeeeeet...
Filled with some traditional character types that might be found in traditional elite circles, the nosy old noble widow, the rich newlyweds, the scholars, along with a multiracial cast that spans as broad as the trail line itself, creates an interesting variety of experiences and viewpoints. There are also the comparisons between workers and passengers, with a sprinkling of the 'third classers'.
Beyond the vibes and rhythms of the people and the train itself that are so beautifully painted is the vivid outer world. There are times where the writing is close to poetic to the point where things seem visceral. The concepts that are explored bring up classic themes but in a way that seems both apparent but still worth consideration. How do our motivations shape nature? What happens when nature adapts? Is it embracing what is enforced on it? Does it fight back? Where is the line between science, discovery, creation, and the mystical? What does it mean to see? And who has the right to impose one's will and desires? What happens when you hop back and forth between worlds and wishes?
On top of this, the narration for the audiobook while I personally may have made a few different choices in some scenes is absolutely spot on when it comes to 'the girl of the train' and a stowaway. There is a haunting, lingering quality that adds that little extra weight to the unknown happenings. The dialogue/character work is also exceptionally solid.
All in all this was absolutely a read you can sink into. More hypnotic than engaging at times, but if you're in the right mood, it can be a heck of a ride.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Classism, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Death, Chronic illness, Misogyny, and Grief
kerriah's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Sexism
Minor: Grief, Racism, Death of parent, and Violence
books_by_your_bedside's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
readwithdesiree's review against another edition
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 Railways 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 books 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, 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!
This story of a 20-day-long journey from Beijing to Moscow via the Trans-Siberian Railways 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 books 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, 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!
lbwritesdrivel's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
bookaneer808's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Imagine Shadow & Bone written with the weirdness of China Miéville and you have a little of the flavour of this tale.
In the early 19th century, a wasteland has appeared between the great powers of China and Russia, haunted by terrifying, unearthly creatures. Massive walls are built on either side to keep the Wasteland out; the only direct connection between these nations is the mighty train, created and run by the Company.
Weiwei is a child of the train, born on board and kept as a talisman.
Marya Petrovna is a young passenger with a secret, seeking answers.
Henry Grey is a natural philosopher, keen to make fresh discoveries in this strange place and erase his recent humiliation.
All of their certainties will be washed away in this journey, because as people stare out at the Wastelands from the powerful, impregnable train, something stares back...
Adventurous, beautiful and unnerving story that swerves from rhe expected.
In the early 19th century, a wasteland has appeared between the great powers of China and Russia, haunted by terrifying, unearthly creatures. Massive walls are built on either side to keep the Wasteland out; the only direct connection between these nations is the mighty train, created and run by the Company.
Weiwei is a child of the train, born on board and kept as a talisman.
Marya Petrovna is a young passenger with a secret, seeking answers.
Henry Grey is a natural philosopher, keen to make fresh discoveries in this strange place and erase his recent humiliation.
All of their certainties will be washed away in this journey, because as people stare out at the Wastelands from the powerful, impregnable train, something stares back...
Adventurous, beautiful and unnerving story that swerves from rhe expected.
niallharrison's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
bluemoons's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75