Wasteland Heart

by Al Hess

In order to escape being a worker drone in a dismal dictatorship, Sasha joins a group of people seeking asylum on the continent of Galvlohi. Once a world power, deadly nanobots wiped out much of Galvlohi's population. A century later, cities have given way to wilderness, and descendants of the surivors live insulated and harmonious lives with the land, only opening their borders for refugees like Sasha. It's the perfect place to start over, to get clean, and to figure out who he is.

But his fellowship is strict about not wandering off, and it’s willing to use violence to get the point across. It’s far from the adventure and freedom Sasha expected to find, and worse, his new life threatens to end before it’s even begun when he’s afflicted with continent’s deadly nanobots. A Galvloan woman saves his life by sharing the anti-malware in her blood, but his heart is irreparably damaged.

He wants to repay the woman’s kindness, and she wants someone to find her missing brother, Corvin, which seems like the perfect job for a novice adventurer. Escaping his fellowship with a debilitating heart arrhythmia might be the easy part. Because no matter how far he travels, he can’t outrun his own problems, and the world is full of people who could be friend or foe and terrifying animals he was sure were extinct.

Then there’s Corvin. And there’s nothing easy about Corvin.

Book 1 in a brand new post-apocalyptic series.

Bisexual, gay, queer, trans, and non-binary characters; M/M, M/F, and poly romance; ADHD main character with medical disability; main character with anxiety and past trauma

past drug addiction, on page murder of a (bad) character, profanity, attempted suicide, mention of past self-harm, mentions of past domestic abuse, mild sexual elements, anxiety, mentions of child labor, mentions of child trafficking, discussion of a past pandemic

300 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 22, 2025

About the author

Author of World Running Down, Key Lime Sky, Yours Celestially, and the award-winning Hep Cats of Boise series.

Reviews

[OldBird]

I'm not leaving a star rating here as I am a long time fan of Al's now unpublished book Chromeheart, of which this is a reworking. I think it'd be unfair for me to make comparisons considering just how much Sasha's journey meant to me. You don't need to know any of that to enjoy the book.

Here, his journey is similar but different. It's a book of two neuro-divergent perspectives written in Hess' trademark queer and cozy gentle apocalypse style; if you loved World Running Down then this has similar vibes with less of a defined romance plot. I would call it an introspective road trip of self discovery for our two characters as they meet people who make them question themselves and take in every weird and wonderful thing the land of Galvlohi has to offer. It was a little whirlwind for me in terms of plot, and there were elements I missed such as how characters met and grew to become who they are to each other. But it's the main characters who kept my attention.

Sasha is a former addict running away to a new life beyond the reach of his oppressive government, but it's not all freedom and paradise in a land ravaged by nanotech. Corvin is a disturbed soul, running from his past by throwing himself wholeheartedly into his creativity, yet even this can't stop his shadows from surfacing. The two go on a journey to discover just who they could be, if they'd just give themselves a chance.

Sasha and Corvin's inner monologues really captured me. I felt I could know them. They are both brittle and flawed, yet self-aware characters. They understand their weaknesses, and so do we as their past is revealed. Corvin's in particular can get very dark. His character is never easy no matter what world he's written in.

It was interesting to revisit these cozy dystopian wastelands, and it's clear there's a lot more than could happen with such a wide and varied cast of outsiders just looking to find a place to call home.

[Pepper_Mind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sasha escapes dictatorship by joining a group on Galvlohi. But nothing is as he expected and soon he has to flee again. This time with a lif threatening heart condition and little help. All the odds are against him and I was so rooting for this character!

But first of all: I've never read the travelers series (the world this book is based in). So if you are in the same position, let me lif some confusion. Yours Celestially and Wasteland Heart share most characters, but they do not exist on the same timeline. Consider your Celestially the hopeful fluffy parallel universe while Wasteland Heart lives up to all it dystopian darkness.

This dystopian roadtrip had it all: nanobot pandemic, weird cults, robot drones and mutanted feral anymals.

And it got dark very fast while being quite bit slower tham Hess' standalones (pretty normal as a first in a series, but I know need the rest? Please!! 🙈). I want more of it an dig deeper into this raw and dangerous world, thank you very much.

You will love Wasteland Heart...
- if you love dystopian roadtrips with morally gray characters with soft hearts
- probably if you've enjoyed Travelers and want more of the world
- if you like gritty action, funny moments and great rep beside serious themes.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars bumped up to 4 for Goodreads.

As always with Al Hess books, I loved the characters. Especially as a big fan of Yours Celestially. The plot is so darn fast, though! I didn’t feel like I could quite settle into the pages before being whisked off to the next scene. Still an enjoyable read, though.

[Vanessa Ricci-Thode · Rating 5 out of 5]

This weird, delightful book is full of weird, delightful characters trying their best with their broken lives in a broken world. It's heartfelt and endearing, comforting without coddling, and has an excellent, if wry, sense of humour.