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Battle for the Wastelands #1
Battle for the Wastelands
“A rip-roaring post-apocalyptic adventure that will have you racing through the pages!"
-Jack Conner, New York Times best-selling author of The Atomic Sea.
In a desolate world where dirigibles rule the skies and blood soaks the dry earth, a young man joins the fight against a tyrant who has problems of his own.
Andrew Sutter returns home from a hunting expedition to find drought-wracked Carroll Town under the thumb of a tax collector from the cannibalistic Flesh-Eating Legion. A riot becomes a battle that leaves Carroll Town in ruins and Andrew alone in the merciless Iron Desert. Saved from certain death by the riders of rebel chieftain Alonzo Merrill, Andrew finds himself fighting for their doomed cause.
Meanwhile, Grendel, first lord of the Northlands and the Flesh-Eaters’ ultimate master, finds his peace of conquest disintegrating as the warlords under his thumb begin battling one another. He plots a new war to reunite them as the starving Merrills launch their last, desperate offensive.
And Andrew may be the one holding the key to victory…
Fans of Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, L.E. Modesitt Jr., Joe Abercrombie, S.M. Stirling, and Into the Badlands will thrill to this fast-paced first volume of a saga of war and intrigue on a continental scale.
"Battle for the Wastelands is a gritty, fast-paced war story centering on the powerful concepts of revenge and leadership."
--Jason Sizemore, editor of Do Not Go Quietly
-Jack Conner, New York Times best-selling author of The Atomic Sea.
In a desolate world where dirigibles rule the skies and blood soaks the dry earth, a young man joins the fight against a tyrant who has problems of his own.
Andrew Sutter returns home from a hunting expedition to find drought-wracked Carroll Town under the thumb of a tax collector from the cannibalistic Flesh-Eating Legion. A riot becomes a battle that leaves Carroll Town in ruins and Andrew alone in the merciless Iron Desert. Saved from certain death by the riders of rebel chieftain Alonzo Merrill, Andrew finds himself fighting for their doomed cause.
Meanwhile, Grendel, first lord of the Northlands and the Flesh-Eaters’ ultimate master, finds his peace of conquest disintegrating as the warlords under his thumb begin battling one another. He plots a new war to reunite them as the starving Merrills launch their last, desperate offensive.
And Andrew may be the one holding the key to victory…
Fans of Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, L.E. Modesitt Jr., Joe Abercrombie, S.M. Stirling, and Into the Badlands will thrill to this fast-paced first volume of a saga of war and intrigue on a continental scale.
"Battle for the Wastelands is a gritty, fast-paced war story centering on the powerful concepts of revenge and leadership."
--Jason Sizemore, editor of Do Not Go Quietly
- GenresPost Apocalyptic
286 pages, Paperback
Published December 26, 2019
30 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 9, 2022
In Matthew W. Quinn's first installment of this post apocalyptic steam punk series the main character Andrew Sutter is living under the thumb of a tyrant, Grendel. Grendel leads an army of zealots and flesh eaters. He also has superior weapons and dirigible airships at his disposal. Andrew joins the Merrill's, a group of rebels. Will this rebel army be able to overcome Grendel's seemingly unstoppable army?
Chapters devoted to the point of view of Grendel offer the antagonist's perspective as he struggles to keep his empire intact. It was fascinating to get these glimpses behind enemy lines. Fast paced plotting and amazing battle scenes create a story that will keep you flipping the pages.
I recommend this novel to anyone looking for fast paced steam punk war story with underdogs to route for set in a desolate wasteland.
Chapters devoted to the point of view of Grendel offer the antagonist's perspective as he struggles to keep his empire intact. It was fascinating to get these glimpses behind enemy lines. Fast paced plotting and amazing battle scenes create a story that will keep you flipping the pages.
I recommend this novel to anyone looking for fast paced steam punk war story with underdogs to route for set in a desolate wasteland.
January 20, 2020
The Dark Tower meets Game of Thrones indeed! This is a novel I have actually anticipated for quite a while from author and blogger Matthew W. Quinn. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where warlords reign supreme, we find Andrew Sutter toiling under the oppressive heel of the Flesh Eating Legion, who themselves are merely pawns of the first lord of the Northlands, Grendel. When his home is destroyed by the tyrant, young Andrew must flee into the Iron Desert, seeking the cast down Merrill's who may be his only hope at revenge.
Of course, ruling a fragile coalition of warlords isn't easy, and from Grendel's perspective we get some excellent intrigue. He has to not only curb the ambitions of his underlings, manage his various sons from various concubines, but also navigate a way to keeping his empire stable enough for one son to even inherit it! It makes for an interesting flip of perspectives.
With loads of steam punk action, clever fight scenes, and a truly unique villain perspective, I heartily recommend it. I think some of my favorite plots actually came from the villains as they not only had to react to what the good guys were doing, but also what their own underlings might do to really screw things up! I honestly haven't rooted for a villain this much in a while.
Some have said steampunk is no longer profitable, but this definitely isn't true in this case!
Of course, ruling a fragile coalition of warlords isn't easy, and from Grendel's perspective we get some excellent intrigue. He has to not only curb the ambitions of his underlings, manage his various sons from various concubines, but also navigate a way to keeping his empire stable enough for one son to even inherit it! It makes for an interesting flip of perspectives.
With loads of steam punk action, clever fight scenes, and a truly unique villain perspective, I heartily recommend it. I think some of my favorite plots actually came from the villains as they not only had to react to what the good guys were doing, but also what their own underlings might do to really screw things up! I honestly haven't rooted for a villain this much in a while.
Some have said steampunk is no longer profitable, but this definitely isn't true in this case!
July 16, 2023
Wow what a ride!
In a post apocalyptic world the lord of the Northlands reigns. Dirigibles patrol the skies. Unfortunately for him, the citizens of Carroll Town have now had enough. The Battle for the Wastelands begins.
Absolutely riveting action, brutality & terror. So great!
In a post apocalyptic world the lord of the Northlands reigns. Dirigibles patrol the skies. Unfortunately for him, the citizens of Carroll Town have now had enough. The Battle for the Wastelands begins.
Absolutely riveting action, brutality & terror. So great!
July 6, 2020
Post-apocalypstic book. It shows both sides of the the battle that is breaking out. This really helps the reader understand why both sides are fighting. It shows a journey of friendship, adventure, and people doing everything they can for what they believe in!
April 28, 2022
I happily admit that I’m a sucker for post-apoc stories. Battle for the Wastelands is right up my alley. The worldbuilding has just enough backstory to set up how the Old World became overrun with violent dictators. The author also added an element of horror by introducing hyper-religious flesh-eating legions into an already bloody dictatorship. Huzzah!
Andrew Sutter was a guy I could completely identify with. His journey takes him away from his devastated home and into the Merrill army camp as a soldier. He’s angry at himself, mourning his family, and hoping that his sweetheart is alive. For me, this is where the story really took off. The day-to-day life of a common soldier was fantastic, like buying corn meal when they could so they didn’t have to eat hard tack. These characters felt like good ol’ boys from the south, using words and phrases that some readers might need to look up if they’re not from here. I was engrossed by the military action and I’m glad the author didn’t shy away from the bloody realities of the battleground.
The author did a great job of showing the battle from of Andrew’s perspective. We also get to follow Alonzo Merrill as he leads the army into hellish battles. The airship battles were intense, and the scene is richly described. When they search for Old World weapons, it implies that the downfall of civilization happened in the course of a generation or two, if even that long. I imagine the battles with that old technology were along the lines of what WWI was like.
I particularly liked the villain, Grendel. He’s an evil SOB, but he’s brilliant when it comes to playing his underlings, sons, and wives against each other. It seems he’s built his empire by subtly encouraging the different factions into killing each other instead of him. Grendel’s scenes where tactics were being hashed out (both overt and covert) really made the man.
Overall, a highly entertaining read.
Andrew Sutter was a guy I could completely identify with. His journey takes him away from his devastated home and into the Merrill army camp as a soldier. He’s angry at himself, mourning his family, and hoping that his sweetheart is alive. For me, this is where the story really took off. The day-to-day life of a common soldier was fantastic, like buying corn meal when they could so they didn’t have to eat hard tack. These characters felt like good ol’ boys from the south, using words and phrases that some readers might need to look up if they’re not from here. I was engrossed by the military action and I’m glad the author didn’t shy away from the bloody realities of the battleground.
The author did a great job of showing the battle from of Andrew’s perspective. We also get to follow Alonzo Merrill as he leads the army into hellish battles. The airship battles were intense, and the scene is richly described. When they search for Old World weapons, it implies that the downfall of civilization happened in the course of a generation or two, if even that long. I imagine the battles with that old technology were along the lines of what WWI was like.
I particularly liked the villain, Grendel. He’s an evil SOB, but he’s brilliant when it comes to playing his underlings, sons, and wives against each other. It seems he’s built his empire by subtly encouraging the different factions into killing each other instead of him. Grendel’s scenes where tactics were being hashed out (both overt and covert) really made the man.
Overall, a highly entertaining read.
August 28, 2024
This is a 3-star review which is a good estimate of my experience.
In a post-apocalyptic world, two opposing forces fight for dominance. One is an outright dictatorship that uses a variety of factions including one made up of cannibals and one that breeds genetic monsters.
The other is made up of people who seem to just want to be left alone. They are led by the remnants of a family, the Merrills. This side seems to be still a sort of monarchy rather than any sort of reconstituted democracy.
The common folks have to kneel to someone. Or so it seems.
The story is presented in a workmanlike fashion. Good spelling and grammar. Decent if somewhat pedestrian characters and plotting.
Several unexplained elements. It is inferred that the genetic monsters are related to some sort of nuclear radioactive location. There also seem to be several species of dinosaurs in the story - again, no explanation. And the cannibals are following some sort of "religion" for which there are no details.
I was reminded of the TV character Radar from MASH. In one episode, Radar begins correspondence courses to learn to write like Hemmingway and some other, allegedly, notable authors. In this case, it was Ethel Hemmingway.
The prose in this book similarly runs into the purple range.
Also, the guts of many characters clench on a regular basis. They must all have 6-pack abs.
Not a bad story, but I won't be continuing anything new in this series.
In a post-apocalyptic world, two opposing forces fight for dominance. One is an outright dictatorship that uses a variety of factions including one made up of cannibals and one that breeds genetic monsters.
The other is made up of people who seem to just want to be left alone. They are led by the remnants of a family, the Merrills. This side seems to be still a sort of monarchy rather than any sort of reconstituted democracy.
The common folks have to kneel to someone. Or so it seems.
The story is presented in a workmanlike fashion. Good spelling and grammar. Decent if somewhat pedestrian characters and plotting.
Several unexplained elements. It is inferred that the genetic monsters are related to some sort of nuclear radioactive location. There also seem to be several species of dinosaurs in the story - again, no explanation. And the cannibals are following some sort of "religion" for which there are no details.
I was reminded of the TV character Radar from MASH. In one episode, Radar begins correspondence courses to learn to write like Hemmingway and some other, allegedly, notable authors. In this case, it was Ethel Hemmingway.
The prose in this book similarly runs into the purple range.
Also, the guts of many characters clench on a regular basis. They must all have 6-pack abs.
Not a bad story, but I won't be continuing anything new in this series.
May 7, 2020
Good character development. Good story line. Take a twist-and-turn, a teaspoon of backstabbing and intrigue, a big dash of blood-and-guts, and a final pinch of romance, blend together, let it rise, and you have a good beginning to a series pretty-much guaranteed to gather an audience. The end of the book sets up for the next in the series.
Will the seeming main protagonist survive battle? Will he get together with a sort-of, sometimes maybe, girlfriend? Or swept off his feet by a maybe-hussy with possibly nefarious intents? Will the new superweapon developed by the Dwarves wipe out the alien invaders? OOPS! Wrong story!
I'm rather sparse in my praise, in general, so 4 stars is pretty high up in my ranking. I give a do-buy recommendation.
Will the seeming main protagonist survive battle? Will he get together with a sort-of, sometimes maybe, girlfriend? Or swept off his feet by a maybe-hussy with possibly nefarious intents? Will the new superweapon developed by the Dwarves wipe out the alien invaders? OOPS! Wrong story!
I'm rather sparse in my praise, in general, so 4 stars is pretty high up in my ranking. I give a do-buy recommendation.
March 16, 2020
I can't wait for the next book in this series. I was so invested in the characters that I was getting worried as the pages left shrunk and I knew there was more story to tell. This book is a great read and a good combination of action and emotion as the characters develop and move through this crazy world they are forced to survive in. I highly recommend!
April 4, 2020
Bloody fun
Tight worldbuilding and intricate plotting will captivate those who love military post-apocalyptic sci-fi. This story is full of gore and battle, with much scheming between factions. If you love Fallout New Vegas you will likely enjoy this book. I loved the pterosaurs.
Tight worldbuilding and intricate plotting will captivate those who love military post-apocalyptic sci-fi. This story is full of gore and battle, with much scheming between factions. If you love Fallout New Vegas you will likely enjoy this book. I loved the pterosaurs.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews