Name: The Wolves of Winter
ISBN: 9780008210151

Tyrell Johnson

‘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

The Wolves of Winter

A captivating tale of humanity pushed beyond its breaking point, of family and bonds of love forged when everything is lost, and of a heroic young woman who crosses a frozen landscape to find her destiny. This debut novel is written in a post-apocalyptic tradition that spans The Hunger Games and Station Eleven but blazes its own distinctive path. Forget the old days. Forget summer. Forget warmth. Forget anything that doesn’t help you survive in the endless white wilderness beyond the edges of a fallen world. Lynn McBride has learned much since society collapsed in the face of nuclear war and the relentless spread of disease. As the memories of her old life continue to haunt, she’s forced to forge ahead in the snow-drifted Canadian Yukon, learning how to hunt and trap and slaughter. Shadows of the world before have found her tiny community—most prominently in the enigmatic figure of Jax, who brings with him dark secrets of the past and sets in motion a chain of events that will call Lynn to a role she never imagined. Simultaneously a heartbreakingly sympathetic portrait of a young woman searching for the answer to who she is meant to be and a frightening vision of a merciless new world in which desperation rules, The Wolves of Winter is enveloping, propulsive, and poignant.

A Novel

Sonja H

Über dieses Buch bin ich zufällig gestolpert und da ich Dystopien mag, entschied ich mich zum Kauf.

Falsche Entscheidung.

In dieser Geschichte passiert zu 80% der Zeit nichts. Wir lernen die Protagonistin kennen, erfahren eine Menge über ihre Jagdkenntnisse und wie tough sie werden musste, um in der Zeit nach der Katastrophe überleben zu können. Wir begegnen dem Rest ihrer Familie und irgendwann kommt der Fremde in ihre Mitte, der offensichtlich verfolgt wird.

Hier hätte die Story gut werden können, doch wieder stockt der Spannungsbogen. Nun laufen drei Protagonisten einem Antagonisten hinterher, es kommt zu einer kurzen, seltsamen Begegnung, die mehr über die Hintergründe der Situation aufklärt, die Protagonisten schaffen es, zurückzukehren, es gibt aufklärende Gespräche und schließlich einen actionreichen Showdown.

Die Idee für diese Dystopie mag gut sein, wenn auch nicht sehr originell, aber der Aufbau der Erzählung ist dem Autor nicht gelungen. Es fehlt an Spannung, es fehlt an Emotionen und es fehlt an echten Charakteren. Hier sind die Guten die Guten und die Bösen die Bösen, ihre Handlungen sind vorhersehbar, ihr Innenleben bleibt meist im Dunkeln und die weibliche Protagonistin ist nur ein entfernter Abklatsch von Katniss aus „Die Tribute von Panem“. Ich glaube, der Autor weiß nicht viel über das andere Geschlecht…

Nicht empfehlenswert.

Sheila Goicea

Read this FULL review along with others on my blog at: shesgoingbookcrazy.com

I received this copy from the publisher via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warning! Two scenes of sexual assault (one full rape) under-aged drinking, and lots of profanity. 

Set in future, the post-world war world is decimated. Not only have nuclear weapons wiped entire countries out, the yellow flu hit the remaining population and took out almost all of the survivors. When the flu struck, people fleed from cities, traveling to more remote locations away from the populace. Gwendolynn and her family left Alaska for the desolate landscapes of the Yukon. Their small village hadn't heard from the outside world for several years after the migration, until one day when a stranger appears in their territory. The man, later known as Jax, is an untrusted and unwelcomed guest to the hunters. Jax, knowing his place to be out on the frozen tundra alone, knows that he cannot outrun his past, nor evade his future. Staying with them will only bring harm, but is it already too late?

----------------------------------------------- 
"First you survive here." He pointed to my head. "Then here." He pointed to my stomach. "Then here." He pointed to my heart. "You have to have all three."
When I was into the first 10% of this book, I immediately thought two things:
1) I want some venison steak, right now!
2) I want to go to the Yukon, right NOW!

This is the perfect read for the Winter months, especially if you like your books with a side of edginess. 

Look at me and all my food analogies.

The Wolves of Winter is as feral as it sounds. 



It's safe to say (for myself as the reader) that the atmosphere is absolutely indespensible. It makes everything more believable, not to mention tangible. This may be the most realistic post-apocalyptic read I've read to date. While these types of books fall into the Sci-Fi/Dystopia genres, it didn't feel like one to me. The overtly technological futuristic setting that I was expecting didn't exist. This book has the ability to cleanse the palate of overly-indulged dystopian consumers. When these (minor) elements did appear, they felt like an intrusion on the plot. Instead of a decimated world (which is still was in ways), wildlife adapted and flourished. It gave the illusion that everything was still alright in the far reaches of the world, untouched by humans and their corruptible ways.
What had happened to the world had made animals or monsters of us all. Survivors or murderers. Sometimes the line between the two was blurry...
Another major part of this book that I appreciated was the complex simplicity each character possessed. The survival they endured each day in the brutal landscape wasn't overdone. The characters may not have loved their situation, yet, they didn't constantly dwell on the past and wishing for it back. They too, adapted. They too looked to the future. Gwendolynn's character was exactly like this. She shares her honest feelings about the past, present, and unpredictable future, without it being overbearing. Putting myself in her situation, I felt as though I'd feel and think similar things. I appreciated how practical everyone's mentality was. It made me feel like I could really connect with most of the characters, especially Gwendolynn. 

The only thing I found in Gwendolynn's character that I didn't like were her frequent thoughts of sex, attraction, and reproduction to Jax. Sure, in this setting, it makes sense. I think it's a natural thing to consider at that point seeing how the majority of the world's population no longer existed. Even so, I thought her deliberations we a bit much, and rather brash.

For how much I appreciated certain aspects of this book, I equally disliked others. There is one scene where the main character Gwendolynn is sexually assaulted and then raped in another by the same man. His animalistic brutality is unprovoked and deterring. On top of that, the amount of profanity throughout left a bitter taste in my mouth. If my calculations are correct, I counted 208 words. I haven't seen this book being marketed as Young Adult, but if it is, know that it is not Young Adult appropriate! The amount of detailed violence, sexual content, and profanity are far too graphic and frequent for immature eyes.

I believe this will be one of those reads where the reader either loves it, or hates it. There isn't much room for middle ground. Because some of its traits are so extreme, they may make the entire plot off-putting, or, entirely engaging. While I felt strongly pulled to love this book, I couldn't due to its negative points mentioned earlier. 

My Rating: 4 stars.

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

The Wolves of Winter, by Tyrell Johnson, follows Gwendolynn and her family after the world has ended.

They live up in Alaska, somewhere, and it has been winter there for the last 6 years.

This novel was interesting, but not to my taste. It was dark and depressing, and while it did point out that there is good in the world, no matter what you are going through,

But this just reminded me far too much of the road. Of the families that would stick together. Of the kind of world they had to live in.

Of how some people had to survive.

If you enjoyed the road, and enjoy survival and post apocalyptic books, you will probably like this book.

Manon van Heumen

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, I didn't expect it to be so good!

Jeremy Cote

Note: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

I found this book to be quite enjoyable. I don't read YA fiction as much anymore, but Lynn was an enjoyable character to read about. The story was small and contained, but there were hints at a larger world that will come into play during the later books. I do think that the comparisons to books like the Hunger Games is a tiny bit over the top, but I still found the book to be easy to read. I'm rating three stars not because it was bad, but simply because I feel like there was a little bit of extra action missing in the book. I do think it makes for a fine read, though.

Francine Corry

Jordan

Alecz Hansen

Stephanie Highfield 

taryn

Annelies Van Rossen

Station Eleven meets The Hunger Games in this ruthless, captivating story of a young woman’s survival in the frozen wilderness of the Yukon after the rest of the world has collapsed. As the old world dies, we all must choose to become predators. Or become prey. The old world has been ravaged by war and disease, and as far as Lynn McBride is concerned, her family could be the last one left on earth. For seven years, the McBrides have eked out a meagre existence in the still, white wilderness of the Yukon. But this is not living. This is survival on the brink. Into this fragile community walk new threats, including the enigmatic fugitive, Jax, who holds secrets about the past and, possibly, keys to a better future. And then there’s Immunity, the pre‑war organization that was supposed to save humankind from the flu. They’re still out there, enforcing order and conducting experiments—but is their work for the good of humankind or is something much more sinister at play? In the face of almost certain extinction, Lynn and her family must learn to hunt as a pack or die alone in the cold. Breakout debut novelist Tyrell Johnson weaves a captivating tale of humanity stretched far beyond its breaking point, of family and the bonds of love forged when everything else is lost. Reminiscent of Station Eleven and The Hunger Games, this is a classic and enthralling post‑apocalyptic adventure and a celebration of the human spirit.

Kelly Gorman

Chantale

A post-apocalyptic debut novel in a tradition that includes The Hunger Games and Station Eleven, this vision of a possible future shows humanity pushed beyond its breaking point, the forging of vital bonds when everything is lost, and, most centrally, a heroic young woman who crosses a frozen landscape to find her destiny. Lynn McBride has learned much since society collapsed in the face of nuclear war and the relentless spread of disease. As the memories of her old life continue to surface, she’s forced to forge ahead in the snow-drifted Canadian Yukon, learning how to hunt and trap and slaughter. Forget the old days. Forget summer. Forget warmth. Forget anything that doesn’t help you survive in the endless white wilderness beyond the edges of a fallen world. Shadows of the world before have found her tiny community—most prominently in the enigmatic figure of Jax, who brings with him dark secrets of the past and sets in motion a chain of events that will call Lynn to a role she never imagined. “With elements of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and TV’s The Walking Dead, (Kirkus Reviews) The Wolves of Winter is both a heartbreaking, sympathetic portrait of a young woman searching for the answer to who she's meant to be and a frightening vision of a merciless new world in which desperation rules. It is enthralling, propulsive, and poignant.

The Wolves of Winter

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