My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4 stars)
Publisher: Del Rey
When I'd heard about this one, I knew I wanted to read it. Would I like a little humankind on the cusp of the apocalypse owing to some mystery illness that's "zombified" a segment of the population and a contentious political season in America? Yes, please. Few things I'd rather read more on a sunny day with hours to wend away. It was an easy sell for me so as soon as it came out, I bought it. Then I realized it was an 800+ tome. No problem, that just moved it over to my vacation read list.
This did not disappoint and I toted this everywhere (beach, pool, lunch). The characters were a bit better than stock but with a large enough cast, it reminded me of Justin Cronin's The Passage and also Peng Shepherd's The Book of M . I had a couple of favourite characters in former police officer, Marcy Reyes and CDC scientist, Cassie. Pretty much the entire thread of the scientists working to figure out what was going on epidemiologically was what most propelled me. The pace was quite good and I zipped right along, wanting to get right back to it when I'd had to put it down. There are some seriously dark turns here that I wasn't expecting but points for unpredictability. I was skeeved. Also, if like me you've been forever scarred by Seanan McGuire's stories about viral outbreaks with spores, molds & fruiting bodies, steel yourself. I'm a woman of science but the cringe is real on that one. I don't even want to talk about it here, but there's your warning. There is plenty of hope and humans at their best too. I highlit a fair number of passages and even had a few laughs. It's not perfect (some of the political times captured herein, could wear on some) but I found it darn near unputdownable. This was my first by Wendig and I'd definitely read another. This is one of my favourites for 2019.
Recommended (in ebook form, because 800+ pages, people!).
Summary: 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 are 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 on their journey, they will discover an America convulsed with terror and violence, where this apocalyptic epidemic proves less dangerous than the fear of it. As the rest of society collapses all around them–and an ultraviolent militia threatens 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.For on their journey, they will discover an America convulsed with terror and violence, where this apocalyptic epidemic proves less dangerous than the fear of it. As the rest of society collapses all around them–and an ultraviolent militia threatens 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.
