Wanderer by Victor Kelleher

I loved this! It is a wonderful adventure in a world that is damaged. Wanderer is a compelling tale, scary and often thought-provoking. Animals have become extra-violent toward humans; humanity has turned on itself and become soulless, unpredictable, tribal and primitive in their behaviour. And in the middle of this world beyond the present time, a young, lone wanderer and kayaker, Dane, travels to regions unknown with his late mother’s treasured book in a waterproof pouch. In his journeys he encounters another book protector and his unsighted granddaughter, Lana. Dane continues his journey with Lana’s company, each bringing their own hardships and grief to their wandering, and the challenge to protect books continues. The struggle involves escaping the rampaging marauders who make the coastline a dangerous place, and seeking out the few remaining humans who express humanity with caring and a desire to share stories and protect knowledge. Lana especially demonstrates exceptional talents to survive in her new role as a wanderer, but her friendship with Dane must first grow through extreme hardships.

This book is powerfully written, there is tension and drama all the way through the wandering, and moments of violence are ever present and pervasive. In some ways I reflected that this book is like a strange mating of the Brotherband series by John Flanagan and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. It explores the adventure of a quest, with the drama of a world that has lost its connection to literature. Along the way there are references to other ‘stories’ and other books, with a reference to Golding’s Lord of the Flies as a notable connection to the thematic exploration of brutality in society, and The Hobbit as a literature example of a quest to protect something precious. As an example of speculative fiction, it postulates that something awful has happened in the world to lead to the destruction of the ‘Golden years’, this too gives much room to consider the direction of our world and even older readers will find value in reading this book and musing over the ideas that are explored within it. This is an awesome book, but not for the faint-hearted as there is violence at every turn. But the consideration of the idea of the value of literature, even when reading is hard, is worthwhile. This is a book to recommend to mature readers aged 12-adult, they will not want to put it down.

Themes: Adventure, Speculative fiction, Sea travel, Survival, Books.

Carolyn Hull