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The Wastelanders #1-2
The Wastelanders
Welcome to the Wasteland, a post-apocalyptic world where lawlessness reigns, and around every bend is another pack of bloodthirsty raiders.
This omnibus edition contains K. S. Merbeth's two novels Bite and Raid.
Bite Hungry, thirsty, alone, and out of options, a young girl joins up with outlaws who have big reputations and bigger guns. But as they set out on their journey, she discovers that her new gang may not be the heroes she was hoping for.
Raid A bounty hunter wakes up bound and gagged in the passenger seat of her own car, and sitting next to her is the most revered and reviled raider king in the eastern wastes. Unable to let him out of her sight, they cross the wasteworld, but a tyrant worse than they could imagine is vying to claim the land as his own.
How do you survive in a world gone mad?
This omnibus edition contains K. S. Merbeth's two novels Bite and Raid.
Bite Hungry, thirsty, alone, and out of options, a young girl joins up with outlaws who have big reputations and bigger guns. But as they set out on their journey, she discovers that her new gang may not be the heroes she was hoping for.
Raid A bounty hunter wakes up bound and gagged in the passenger seat of her own car, and sitting next to her is the most revered and reviled raider king in the eastern wastes. Unable to let him out of her sight, they cross the wasteworld, but a tyrant worse than they could imagine is vying to claim the land as his own.
How do you survive in a world gone mad?
608 pages, Paperback
First published October 16, 2018
12 people are currently reading
227 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 3, 2019
Bite Review - 3.5 Stars
Video Review: https://youtu.be/4LiFyq-GaW0
I originally heard this book described as Mad Max mixed with Borderlands. Since I love both the movie and the video game, I was immediately wanted to read this book. I am now happy to report that these comparisons are entirely accurate.
Bite is a fast-paced adventure story that jumps right into the middle of the action. From the first page, the story takes off at a lightning-fast paced and barely gives the reader a moment to breath. This book would be ideal for a reading slump or an airplane trip as it has the page-turner qualities necessary to keep even the most distracted reader engaged.
With this fast-paced narrative style, there is very little world-building in this novel. Instead, the reader is dropped into the world, forced to figure it out as the story goes. Personally, I prefer more background in my dystopian/post-apocalyptic fiction because I love to know how the world got to the current state. Towards the end of the novel, there is some explanation as to the cause of the wasteland, but world-building is not the primary focus of the story.
This novel has some crossover appeal for readers of young adult novels who are looking to pick up more adult fiction. The fast-paced narrative felt reminiscent of many popular YA dystopians, where the story is primarily carried through action and adventure. Yet, Bite is a decidedly adult book with unobscured violence and other mature scenes.
Given the subject matter, it should not be surprising that this book deals with some gross imagery I love that the author wrote unapologetically gruesome and violent action, pushing her storytelling to the limit. Understandably, this story might not be for everyone, particularly those who are sensitive to violence and gore in their media. Yet, I have to admit that I personally loved the sickening plot and was engaged in this cutthroat and ruthless narrative.
I was impressed that the author was able to make the reader feel empathetic towards a rag-tag group of cannibals. I enjoyed the entire cast of characters and particularly appreciated their moral ambiguity. I could never fully trust any of their loyalties, which made the story quite unpredictable and fun. At times, the main character was frustratingly naive and incapable. She constantly tried to act tough, but actually leaned heavily on the rest of the group for protection. However, she did grow as a character and became much stronger as the story progressed. There is a potential love interest, which is not something I typically enjoy in adventure stories. However, I appreciated the way the author turned the trope around with a refreshing twist to this exhaustive trope.
I would recommend this novel to those who enjoy fast-paced, entertaining reads and aren't afraid of some good ol' blood, gore and cannibalism!
I requested this novel from Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review. As always, my opinions are my own.
3.5 Stars
Video Review: https://youtu.be/4MT01RhHD-U
This super entertaining page-turner that reads like an action-adventure movie in the vein of Mad Max.
Raid is the follow up or companion to the author`s debut novel, Bite, which I also read and loved. This is set in the same world, but has an entirely separate story with a different set of characters. If you previously read Bite, you will catch up fun Easter-eggs in Raid. However, readers can pick up the books in either order without being spoiled or confused in any way.
The main character in this novel is exactly the kind of female lead I wanted to read in post-apocalyptic world of anarchy. Clementine is strong, kick-butt and wonderfully unapologetic. Living by her own personal code, she is a morally grey character. While she is tough as nails, she is still capable of feeling emotions, from loneliness to betrayal, although she does her best to outwardly suppress these feelings.
Finally, I want to clarify the genre so readers pick up this novel with the right expectations. This certainly not a piece literary dystopian, but rather an addicting action story that takes place within the dangerous of wastelands of some ominous future. There are enough elements of world-building to provide the story with the necessary context. Yet, the novel itself is primarily focused on telling the story surrounding our main characters and crazy events that ensue. The chapters are quite short with cliffhangers to keep the reader engaged, turning pages as quickly as possible. This is a perfect book to pick in a reading slump because the it reads so easily.
This is fast paced action driven story full of twist and turns and plenty of bloodshed. With plenty of language and violence, the author is not afraid to write the darker aspects of a world that has fallen into anarchy.
I would recommend this to anyone looking to go along for a thrill-ride with a fun, bloody story.
I requested this from Orbit Books.
Video Review: https://youtu.be/4LiFyq-GaW0
I originally heard this book described as Mad Max mixed with Borderlands. Since I love both the movie and the video game, I was immediately wanted to read this book. I am now happy to report that these comparisons are entirely accurate.
Bite is a fast-paced adventure story that jumps right into the middle of the action. From the first page, the story takes off at a lightning-fast paced and barely gives the reader a moment to breath. This book would be ideal for a reading slump or an airplane trip as it has the page-turner qualities necessary to keep even the most distracted reader engaged.
With this fast-paced narrative style, there is very little world-building in this novel. Instead, the reader is dropped into the world, forced to figure it out as the story goes. Personally, I prefer more background in my dystopian/post-apocalyptic fiction because I love to know how the world got to the current state. Towards the end of the novel, there is some explanation as to the cause of the wasteland, but world-building is not the primary focus of the story.
This novel has some crossover appeal for readers of young adult novels who are looking to pick up more adult fiction. The fast-paced narrative felt reminiscent of many popular YA dystopians, where the story is primarily carried through action and adventure. Yet, Bite is a decidedly adult book with unobscured violence and other mature scenes.
Given the subject matter, it should not be surprising that this book deals with some gross imagery I love that the author wrote unapologetically gruesome and violent action, pushing her storytelling to the limit. Understandably, this story might not be for everyone, particularly those who are sensitive to violence and gore in their media. Yet, I have to admit that I personally loved the sickening plot and was engaged in this cutthroat and ruthless narrative.
I was impressed that the author was able to make the reader feel empathetic towards a rag-tag group of cannibals. I enjoyed the entire cast of characters and particularly appreciated their moral ambiguity. I could never fully trust any of their loyalties, which made the story quite unpredictable and fun. At times, the main character was frustratingly naive and incapable. She constantly tried to act tough, but actually leaned heavily on the rest of the group for protection. However, she did grow as a character and became much stronger as the story progressed. There is a potential love interest, which is not something I typically enjoy in adventure stories. However, I appreciated the way the author turned the trope around with a refreshing twist to this exhaustive trope.
I would recommend this novel to those who enjoy fast-paced, entertaining reads and aren't afraid of some good ol' blood, gore and cannibalism!
I requested this novel from Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review. As always, my opinions are my own.
3.5 Stars
Video Review: https://youtu.be/4MT01RhHD-U
This super entertaining page-turner that reads like an action-adventure movie in the vein of Mad Max.
Raid is the follow up or companion to the author`s debut novel, Bite, which I also read and loved. This is set in the same world, but has an entirely separate story with a different set of characters. If you previously read Bite, you will catch up fun Easter-eggs in Raid. However, readers can pick up the books in either order without being spoiled or confused in any way.
The main character in this novel is exactly the kind of female lead I wanted to read in post-apocalyptic world of anarchy. Clementine is strong, kick-butt and wonderfully unapologetic. Living by her own personal code, she is a morally grey character. While she is tough as nails, she is still capable of feeling emotions, from loneliness to betrayal, although she does her best to outwardly suppress these feelings.
Finally, I want to clarify the genre so readers pick up this novel with the right expectations. This certainly not a piece literary dystopian, but rather an addicting action story that takes place within the dangerous of wastelands of some ominous future. There are enough elements of world-building to provide the story with the necessary context. Yet, the novel itself is primarily focused on telling the story surrounding our main characters and crazy events that ensue. The chapters are quite short with cliffhangers to keep the reader engaged, turning pages as quickly as possible. This is a perfect book to pick in a reading slump because the it reads so easily.
This is fast paced action driven story full of twist and turns and plenty of bloodshed. With plenty of language and violence, the author is not afraid to write the darker aspects of a world that has fallen into anarchy.
I would recommend this to anyone looking to go along for a thrill-ride with a fun, bloody story.
I requested this from Orbit Books.
October 14, 2019
So I read this omnibus edition and it was a lot of fun. I've got two separate reviews down below for the two books included.
Bite: In all my life, I have never ever rooted for cannibals, and then this book happened. It was a madcap, post-apocalyptic wasteland adventure. It was bloody, gross, violent, and a whole lot of fun. Wolf, Tank, Pretty Boy, Dolly, and Kid are a ragtag team that I'm rooting for, even when they are killing literally everyone in their path just because. They aren't really the good guys, but in a way, I want them to win.
Bite is written in such a fun, strange way. It's got a very dark sense of humor to it. It is a strange story. It is violent and crazy. It was quite a ride.
I really did enjoy the band of characters. The reader never gets to really know that much about them. We get some backstory for Kid, Dolly, Pretty Boy, and Tank, but Wolf remains a mystery. We never even get to learn their real names. I enjoyed their camaraderie. I loved how wherever they went, there was really no plan. It was just run straight in and shoot stuff.
I enjoyed the ambience of the story. The setting of this post-apocalyptic desert that just goes on and on for miles. It nailed it on that desolate feeling.
I had a lot of fun reading Bite. I can't say that I enjoyed the cannibalism because that's just disgusting, but everything else was a lot of fun. I'm planning to jump right in to the next book Raid, and I fully intend on checking more stuff out by K.S. Merbeth.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5
Whoa Nelly!!
Raid: Clementine is a Bounty Hunter whose main goal is to catch Jedediah Johnson, the man who ruined her life and killed her family. This is the second book in The Wastelanders Series, it follows different characters than the first gang.
Clementine is a more serious character than the gang from Bite. She's not as much fun, if I'm being honest. Raid is not as much fun as Bite. They both take place during the same time period, which I appreciated. Characters from Bite do make an appearance in Raid, which I loved.
I did enjoy Raid. I don't want to make out like I hated it, because I didn't. Bite was just so over the top and fun, while Raid introduced a character that believed more in law and order. As a bounty hunter, she's kind of one of the good guys, and it was so different after we'd been following bad guys in Bite. Clementine is a more reserved character too, there's something about that screams the possibility for danger. She and Dolly kind of have some things in common.
Raid did have those moments of craziness, violence, and dark humor for sure.
The character of Jed, I don't know how to feel about him. He's definitely the more fun one of the bunch, he added a lot of levity to the story, but he's so complicated. My feelings are so complicated.
I also don't know how I feel about the ending. Like where is Clementine going to go from here? Does her future end with her becoming something she once hated? I just don't know.
I definitely enjoyed the whole Wastelanders Series. It's crazytown. It's fun! I'd definitely recommend it and I'm gonna read more by K.S. Merbeth
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5
I'm so conflicted
February 13, 2020
One of the best post apocalyptic books i have read.
January 29, 2020
K.S. Merbeth’s WASTELANDERS, which puts her novels BITE and RAID in a single volume, tells the story of Kid, a young girl struggling to survive another day in a post-apocalyptic American wasteland until teaming up with a band of misfit marauders straight out of the Frankenstein child of THE ROAD WARRIOR and the game BORDERLANDS.
The stories are packed with post-apocalyptic tropes and adventures with Kid finding her way in a marauding tribe, where morality has little survival benefit but where she does discover a personal code. Along the way, she toughens up to become a raider herself, as the gang plows through one problem and enemy after another. The fun is in the fact this gang are the bad guys, a mini version of Lord Humongous’s army, and they’re in it to survive and have a good time doing it. Merbeth does a good job making these raiders sympathetic if morally gray, prone to betrayal, and occasionally cannibalistic, largely by showing how worse everybody else is in this insane post-apocalyptic world.
While WASTELANDERS might have benefited with an overarching plot where by unlocking a dormant morality or through naked self-interest they make the world a better place, the stories offer plenty of fun romping around this Mad Max world trashing enemies and surviving by the skin of your teeth, with plenty of action. Overall, WASTELANDERS is just good fun.
The stories are packed with post-apocalyptic tropes and adventures with Kid finding her way in a marauding tribe, where morality has little survival benefit but where she does discover a personal code. Along the way, she toughens up to become a raider herself, as the gang plows through one problem and enemy after another. The fun is in the fact this gang are the bad guys, a mini version of Lord Humongous’s army, and they’re in it to survive and have a good time doing it. Merbeth does a good job making these raiders sympathetic if morally gray, prone to betrayal, and occasionally cannibalistic, largely by showing how worse everybody else is in this insane post-apocalyptic world.
While WASTELANDERS might have benefited with an overarching plot where by unlocking a dormant morality or through naked self-interest they make the world a better place, the stories offer plenty of fun romping around this Mad Max world trashing enemies and surviving by the skin of your teeth, with plenty of action. Overall, WASTELANDERS is just good fun.
February 25, 2019
Oh what a ghoulishly wonderful book! Cannibals, mayhem, villains who accidentally become the good guys, moral crises - the apocalypse was never bloodier or more fun than the Wastelanders.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 26, 2020
Loved this book. It’s a book version of Mad Max but with more depth and more twists and turns.
September 2, 2020
I don't think it's possible to overstate how much I love this book! I read Bite, the first book in Merbeth's series when it first came out but I was new to Raid and it did not disappoint! If you love post apocalyptic stories definitely pick this one up. They are some of the best I've read!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews