Wranglestone
Darren Charlton
Subjects
- Spinetinglers - shivers up the spine time
- Friends & Family - tears and laughter, and happy ever after
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 COSTA BOOK AWARD SELECTED BY THE TIMES AND OBSERVER AS ONE OF THEIR BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Winter was the only season every Lake-Lander feared. In a post-apocalyptic America, a community survives in a national park, surrounded by water that keeps the Dead at bay. But when winter comes, there's nothing to stop them from crossing the ice. Then homebody Peter puts the camp in danger by naively allowing a stranger to come ashore and he's forced to leave the community of Wranglestone. Now he must help rancher Cooper, the boy he's always watched from afar, herd the Dead from their shores before the lake freezes over. But as love blossoms, a dark discovery reveals the sanctuary's secret past. One that forces the pair to question everything they've ever known. An action-packed and thought-provoking debut, for fans of Patrick Ness, Marcus Sedgwick, DREAD NATION and The Walking Dead. 'Fresh and compelling and totally immersive.' - Sunday Irish Independent 'A bucolic, intimate twist on the zombie/post-apocalyptic story... It's impressive how Darren has combined the pace, thrills, and gore you expect from zombie fiction with a genuinely tender romance.' - David Owen, author of GRIEF ANGELS 'Thrilling zombie epic meets gorgeous gay love story. The world-building is deft, the writing poetic . this is very special! Properly scary and properly heart-warming.' - William Hussey, author of HIDEOUS BEAUTY 'A complete treasure of a book - page-turning, stunning writing, an extraordinary setting and with a gorgeous love story at its heart.' - Lisa Heathfield, author of I AM NOT A NUMBER
Reviews
This is an excellent take on the zombie apocalypse and a lovely LGBTQ+ romance. A real page turner. I have immediately picked up the sequel.
purple8383
This is an LGBTQ+ thriller set several years after a zombie apocalypse. It's fascinating to read about the different ways that humans are getting used to living in the new world. The group of survivors we meet are living on houses on stilts on small islands dotted around a lake using the water to stay safe from the dead. Winter is close though, which means the lake will freeze and the dead can walk across. The main character, Peter, is trying to figure out not only how to survive in this world and whether he is strong enough to, but also who he is as an individual. He is forced into his journey of self-discovery after making a mistake that risks everyone's lives and having to leave the community. There’s a very unexpected twist that takes the story in a completely different direction than I was expecting, creating a mystery to solve which has the ability to change many lives within this new world. It has many exciting and violent scenes, but it is also a very emotional tale with lots of internal struggle as Peter tries to find his place and handle his own feelings and insecurities. The romance element of this book is adorably sweet, and makes you root for them to make it!
kate.humby
This book is amazing! I absolutely adored it. It was pacey and exciting with elements of horror but also a fantastic romance storyline. This book falls under the LGBQT+ category but that isn't the central focus of the story. It was so refreshing to read a story where the character's sexuality was so normalised. I would highly recommend this book to any of my Year 9 and above classes.
I almost feel that I need to write two separate reviews for this book. It started off so well. It was past paced, emotional, and extremely tense. The setting is brilliant, I enjoyed the characters, and combining a post apocalyptic zombie infested with a queer first love story was a stroke of genius. I do feel that it dropped off a little towards the end and that it felt quite rushed. There were a few plot holes that I think were overlooked, and I think it would have been much more effective if the conclusion had been more drawn out or it had been split into perhaps another book. But overall, I have given it 4 stars because I really enjoyed it.
abblackbird
This book has some amazing description and an unusual story line makes you want to carry on reading until the gripping end.
MrsRao
If I had to sum up 'Wranglestone' in a sentence, it would probably be something like: Brokeback Mountain with Zombies. Quite a sweet gay love story set against the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse. The generation before, something unspecified happened and suddenly the dead start turning into zombies. In traditional zombie movie fashion, if you get bitten, you die and turn into a zombie. So by the time of this novel, there are whole herds of Dead roaming across America. Peter lives in a small refuge called Wranglestone on a lake in one of the national parks, not too far from Yellowstone. Peter is sweet, trusting, and madly in love with Cooper, who he watches from afar, convinced Cooper would never be interested in him. However, when Peter's trusting nature threatens the refuge, Cooper's father forces him into a dangerous situation - and from this point on the action basically never stops as Peter and Cooper stumble from one situation to the next. There are some really interesting ideas here. I do feel, however, that it got a little muddled towards the end. There was almost too much going on and too many plot twists and I was starting to lose track towards the end of what was actually happening. There is going to be a sequel, I believe, though, and that might resolve some of the confusion.
SVann
I LOVE a good Zombie survival story and this one does not dissapoint! With a gay love story thrown into the mix, it shows life after the event with survivors forming a strong community on a nest of islands on a lake in the North West of America. Everyone knows thier roles, the rules of living at Wranglestone and the importance of keeping to those... One thing I particularly admired in this was the twist to the classic zombies themselves. I will not give it away, but it brings all of the previous events in the novel into a different light when you discover what has been going on... Brilliant read!
purpleflump