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The Wolves of Winter

By: Tyrell Johnson
Narrated by: Jayme Mattler
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Summary

‘A cracking futuristic adventure, told with pace and panache and packed with vivid, shiver-inducing description’ Daily Mail

‘Read this in one sitting. DEEPLY satisfying.’ Lucy Mangan

Forget the old days. Forget summer. Forget warmth.
Forget anything that doesn’t help you survive

Lynn McBride has learned much since society collapsed in the face of nuclear war and the relentless spread of disease. As memories of her old life haunt her, she has been forced to forge ahead in the snow-covered Canadian Yukon, learning how to hunt and trap to survive.

But her fragile existence is about to be shattered. Shadows of the world before have found her tiny community—most prominently in the enigmatic figure of Jax, who sets in motion a chain of events that will force Lynn to fulfill a destiny she never imagined.

Station Eleven meets The Girl With All The Gifts in a powerful speculative book club listen.

©2018 Tyrell Johnson (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

‘Lynn is an intriguing heroine in a compelling environment. When the novel sends her off into the wilderness, it sings…’ Sci-Fi Now

‘With elements of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and TV's ‘The Walking Dead,’ the book gets off to a gripping start, blending visceral thrills with existential reflections….A stylishly written debut by a novelist to keep an eye on…..’ Kirkus Reviews

‘An exciting, fast-paced tale…Johnson is an excellent storyteller; the novel is full of action, suspense, and plot twists as the resilient characters fight for survival in a harsh winter wilderness.’ Publishers Weekly

‘If Jack London had written a post-apocalyptic, coming-of-age thriller, it might read something like this. Curl up with The Wolves of Winter by a warm fire, and set aside a day, because this is great, absorbing fiction, with one of the most appealing protagonists I’ve ever encountered. It deserves the widest possible audience.’ Blake Crouch, author of the New York Times bestselling Dark Matter and the internationally bestselling Wayward Pines Trilogy

‘This is fiction at its best: a gripping plot, imagery that arrests and illuminates, and characters that will haunt you well beyond the closing of the book…’Jill Alexander Essbaum, New York Times bestselling author of Hausfrau

‘I read The Wolves of Winter in one sitting because I couldn't stand to put it down. Gripping, fierce, and a sobering ‘what if’ for our unsure times, this fast-moving debut allies a Katniss Everdeen with a Jason Bourne, lands them in a post-apocalyptic nuclear winter, sets some serious bad guys on their tails, and never lets up.’ Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, New York Times bestselling author of Bittersweet and June

‘With The Wolves of Winter, Johnson has created a stark, brutal and all too believable new world.…A brilliant book, I loved it.’ Beth Lewis, author of The Wolf Road

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It's The Empty Spaces Between

Tyrell Johnson's debut novel The Wolves of Winter is an impressively smooth aftermath survivalist tale set in the cold and remote Yukon wilderness. This stark yet beautiful background is brought to us by Lynne, a semi-tough 23 year old surviving with the remnants of her family after a catastrophic war and subsequent flu pandemic killed her father and most of the world's population. It's a tough but steady life they eke out for themselves until a young man brings trouble to their door.

Johnson's prose is smooth and simple and yet at times quite poetic, qualities that I found drew me into the story. It's a style and lead character that would suit a young adult audience in some ways as Lynne comes off the page as younger than her years due to her sheltered upbringing and isolation. That said, this is no soft tale, there are scenes of sexual and extreme physical violence so it is not a light-hearted option any more than trying to survive in the harsh beauty of the Yukon territory is.

Jayme Mattler seems to be a relatively new narrator to Audible and I'd say we're likely to hear a lot more from her in the future. She captures the wistful and youthful nature of Lynne expertly while doing the other characters full justice. She perhaps speaks at a slower rhythm than most with decent pauses at the right moments - a skill I think few narrators actually master. I really like it but of course if you do find it a bit slow the Audible app has a control for that.

I don't often include quotes but a couple from the goodreads site will give you an idea of the style of the prose:-

Grief never goes away. It just changes. At first it's like molten-hot lava dripping from your heart and hollowing you from the inside. Over time, it settles into your bones, your skin, so that you live with it, walk with it every day. Grief isn't the footprints in the snow. It's the empty spaces between.

Arrows are like snow or sorrow or secrets--they seem small and light, but their weight adds up.

I really enjoyed it even if the ending seemed just a little bit too neat for my ideal tastes. You'll see what I mean if you go for it. The good news is that a sequel is being considered though apparently it's really little more than a concept at this stage. Whether it comes or not this one stands on its own two feet and is well worth considering.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Poor

Shame the narrator tried to make it better than it is very dissapointing such a opportunity .
Good to fall asleep to
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