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Walking: Five Short Stories From the Sands
The old world is gone. Perished in flame and radiation. What's left is an eternal desert, and a world of walking.
Egress, the last of the great city arks, leads humankind across a ravaged world followed always by the Walking Caravan. The tattered refugees of a war fought and forgotten millennia ago.
This selection of short stories details the lives of the people existing past the end of the world. The Rider faces a harrowing decision, and wrestles with his own morality. The Cultist does unspeakable things to save her sister. The Walker teaches his apprentice the complexities of crafting a boot. The Chaperone finds herself injured and stranded in the frontier with a cruel enemy stalking her. The Shuffler has been sentenced to walk, and no one is as convinced of his guilt as he.
Egress, the last of the great city arks, leads humankind across a ravaged world followed always by the Walking Caravan. The tattered refugees of a war fought and forgotten millennia ago.
This selection of short stories details the lives of the people existing past the end of the world. The Rider faces a harrowing decision, and wrestles with his own morality. The Cultist does unspeakable things to save her sister. The Walker teaches his apprentice the complexities of crafting a boot. The Chaperone finds herself injured and stranded in the frontier with a cruel enemy stalking her. The Shuffler has been sentenced to walk, and no one is as convinced of his guilt as he.
62 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 30, 2015
4 people want to read
About the author
W.G. White
11 books21 followersW. G. White (known to friends, family, colleagues, strangers, monsters, and other non-human entities as ‘Will’) is arguably a human with ten fingers and just as many toes. He uses these limbs to craft odd fables concerning monster-catering hairdressers, magic mushy peas, puppet-hating puppeteers, and other such enjoyable nonsense.
He lives on Earth (for now) with his human fiancée and non-human dog. He is not an alien.
He lives on Earth (for now) with his human fiancée and non-human dog. He is not an alien.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 17, 2015
First of all this is actually a 3.5 star book rating. I actually quite enjoyed this book! It reminded me of 'The Walking Dead' just without zombies. Some of these stories I absolutely loved and will be re-reading over. Each story has something different. Some stories will absolutely break your heart, then there are others where you as a reader are feeling there pain, making you cringe at the horror, screaming at some of the characters, or just wanting to go into the book and hug the character. However some of the stories just didn't hook me. Honestly overall it was an enjoyable read and it has a story for everyone! I just thought some of the stories were quite slow or I just got a little lost. So some of the stories will be just a one-time read. Otherwise I would have enjoyed it a lot more. I would recommend anyone to read it!
May 20, 2015
It’s a challenge with 100,000 words or more. But with Walking: Five Short Stories from the Sands, White has created depth. Introducing a new protagonist with each story, each bringing a new perspective and trudging through poles-apart circumstances — this is despite the Walkers and Riders living practically on top of each other and highlights the distrust between them — White has crafted a full world with limited page space. More little touches, such as differences in speech even among the Walkers, help flesh out the life going on around the stories and make this book fulfilling on more levels than only the surface plots.
I’m a fan of dystopian stories and was attracted to this uniquely-imagined rover future. The people here still manage to be selfish and bigoted despite having lost everything — somehow I’m not surprised. But there’s still good, and it shines through in each story in different ways, both blatant and quiet. A literary boost now and then, reassurance there’s no need to give up on our race just yet, is always welcome.
As with many indie books I’ve read, there are some grammatical issues here. As well, there were a few words that seemed out of place, a few sentences that were confused and briefly confused me. However, White’s style is generally engaging, and there are multiple examples of quite powerful descriptive writing.
The Rider and The Shuffler stood out in my mind, the former painfully close to the bone and the latter a solid redemption story. The Cultist was violent and sad, always a poignant combination. The Walker manages to be both twisted and touching, a feat I respect, while The Chaperone covers twisted and twisted, if that’s your thing — White should be proud of the creature of horror he’s created here.
Walking imagines a bleak, evocative world through appealing characters we can get behind, even if we don’t agree with what they’ve done. Three and a half stars from me; I’d recommend this book to those who like satisfying, visceral reads in one sitting.
I’m a fan of dystopian stories and was attracted to this uniquely-imagined rover future. The people here still manage to be selfish and bigoted despite having lost everything — somehow I’m not surprised. But there’s still good, and it shines through in each story in different ways, both blatant and quiet. A literary boost now and then, reassurance there’s no need to give up on our race just yet, is always welcome.
As with many indie books I’ve read, there are some grammatical issues here. As well, there were a few words that seemed out of place, a few sentences that were confused and briefly confused me. However, White’s style is generally engaging, and there are multiple examples of quite powerful descriptive writing.
The Rider and The Shuffler stood out in my mind, the former painfully close to the bone and the latter a solid redemption story. The Cultist was violent and sad, always a poignant combination. The Walker manages to be both twisted and touching, a feat I respect, while The Chaperone covers twisted and twisted, if that’s your thing — White should be proud of the creature of horror he’s created here.
Walking imagines a bleak, evocative world through appealing characters we can get behind, even if we don’t agree with what they’ve done. Three and a half stars from me; I’d recommend this book to those who like satisfying, visceral reads in one sitting.
May 12, 2015
Intriguing stories and characters
Each of the short stories in this collection take place in the same dystopian world--a world that is as memorable as it is intriguing. The author does a fantastic job with the setting, painting a vivid picture of Egress and the Walking Caravan as humanity marches across the sands of the ruined world. But it is the characters that make the stories truly memorable. They spring to life on the page, and I admired the author's ability to make them feel so real in such few words. The first story, "The Rider," was by far my favorite. "The Cultist" and "The Shuffler" were also especially enjoyable.
My only complaint about these stories is that I felt they needed some more thorough editing. I spotted several typos that were a bit distracting. For the most part, however, the writing is solid and enjoyable to read. I would definitely recommend these stories to anyone interested in the genre.
Each of the short stories in this collection take place in the same dystopian world--a world that is as memorable as it is intriguing. The author does a fantastic job with the setting, painting a vivid picture of Egress and the Walking Caravan as humanity marches across the sands of the ruined world. But it is the characters that make the stories truly memorable. They spring to life on the page, and I admired the author's ability to make them feel so real in such few words. The first story, "The Rider," was by far my favorite. "The Cultist" and "The Shuffler" were also especially enjoyable.
My only complaint about these stories is that I felt they needed some more thorough editing. I spotted several typos that were a bit distracting. For the most part, however, the writing is solid and enjoyable to read. I would definitely recommend these stories to anyone interested in the genre.
July 12, 2015
A great collection of brutal tales from the sand-covered wastes. I really enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews