Wayward Audiobook By Chuck Wendig cover art

Wayward

Wanderers, Book 2

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Wayward

By: Chuck Wendig
Narrated by: Xe Sands, Dominic Hoffman
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About this listen

“If King had written a sequel to The Stand, it might look something like this monumental epic of a story.”—James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Kingdom of Bones

“As great as Wanderers was, Wayward is better.”—Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones

Five years ago, ordinary Americans fell under the grip of a strange new malady that caused them to sleepwalk across the country to a destination only they knew. They were followed on their quest by the shepherds: friends and family who gave up everything to protect them.

Their secret destination: Ouray, a small town in Colorado that would become one of the last outposts of civilization. Because the sleepwalking epidemic was only the first in a chain of events that led to the end of the world—and the birth of a new one.

The survivors, sleepwalkers and shepherds alike, have a dream of rebuilding human society. Among them are Benji, the scientist struggling through grief to lead the town; Marcy, the former police officer who wants only to look after the people she loves; and Shana, the teenage girl who became the first shepherd—and an unlikely hero whose courage will be needed again.

Because the people of Ouray are not the only survivors, and the world they are building is fragile. The forces of cruelty and brutality are amassing under the leadership of self-proclaimed president Ed Creel. And in the very heart of Ouray, the most powerful survivor of all is plotting its own vision for the new world: Black Swan, the AI who imagined the apocalypse.

Against these threats, Benji, Marcy, Shana, and the rest have only one hope: one another. Because the only way to survive the end of the world is together.

©2022 Chuck Wendig (P)2022 Random House Audio
Action & Adventure Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Scary
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Compelling Characters • Emotional Rollercoaster • Exceptional Voice Acting • Epic Storyline • Immersive Worldbuilding
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A little on the long side , but characters that weren’t in Wanderers get a filled in nicely. The main thing I could have lived without is long drawn out chapters with people talking to AI. Overall it was a well written well crafted book that I won’t soon forget like many others that I’ve read. Keep up the good work Chuck, I’d love read another sequel about how Shanna, Nessi and Benji survive, thrive, or don’t in this new world. Anyways this book is def worth a credit and a listen. Enjoy

Awesome follow up

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It was so lovely to go back to this world - even though this world is bleak. The characters are well designed and I couldn’t put it down, I wanted to know what was next!

So good to be back

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still not a fan of narrator xe sands but overall a great listen. geez I wonder who President Creel is supposed to be...

better than first!

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AI rum amuck is frightening. AI run amuck in a pandemic in a time of political upheaval is a nightmare. I loved these books even more than I loved his book Zeroes. I have read in the reviews that some readers found this series too political. I would encourage readers to fight the urge to place this in our political reality and instead to examine the behaviors of all the participants and what those choices wrought. It’s not easy being human, but in life there’s hope.

No one writes AI like Chuck

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Wayward is a stunning sequel to Wanderers. I listened to this book on Audible and enjoyed every minute. The story is really wild crazy scenes and thoughtful interludes. The characters are well developed and the dialog is fantastic. Well done Wendig and narrators!

Fantastic Sequel to Wanderers!

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What a story dude. I originally thought it was starting a bit slow but once my memory of the characters was refreshed I was just as captivated as when Wanderers took me hostage a few years ago. Definitely recommend.

P.S. Pete Corley is the best GD character since Stephen King wrote Eddie Dean in The Dark Tower series.

Wayward has everything that made me love Wanderers and then some

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i will never emotionally recover from this series in the best way possible. thank you chuck.

wow

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Well written, well read. Compelling, thought provoking, interesting and entertaining about AI and human beings in a post apocalyptic era. Creative and clever.
Loved it as much as I did Wanderers.

Awesome!

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The story continues in a way that both fascinates and horrifies. We love and hate these characters, and the bittersweet finale is very earned, by the time we get there. The dual narrators are very good, even if it sometimes gets a bit strange when we hear the characters sounding differently through both of their voices - overall it’s a nice and entertaining way to separate the narrators.

In all, a great listen and a fitting end to the story.

Great story and narration

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I was riveted the entire two books. Excellent story and excellent narrators. Long books but so worth the time.

Fascinating story

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