The Wild

The Secret Journeys of Jack London #1

by Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon, Greg Ruth (Illustrator)

The world knows Jack London as a writer who lived his own thrilling, real-life adventures. But there are parts of his life that have remained hidden for many years, things so horrifying even he couldn’t set them down in writing. These are the Secret Journeys of Jack London.

We meet Jack at age seventeen, following thousands of men and women into the Yukon Territory in search of gold. For Jack, the journey holds the promise of another kind of fortune: challenge and adventure. But what he finds in the wild north is something far more sinister than he could ever have imagined: kidnapping and slavery, the murderous nature of desperate men, and, amidst it all, supernatural beasts of the wilderness that prey upon the weakness in men’s hearts.

Acclaimed writers Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon, along with illustrator Greg Ruth, have crafted a masterful tale both classic and contemporary, a gripping original story of the paranormal in the tradition of the great Jack London.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Adventure, Fiction, Supernatural, Horror

368 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2010

About the author

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of such novels as Road of Bones, Ararat, Snowblind, Of Saints and Shadows, and Red Hands. With Mike Mignola, he is the co-creator of the Outerverse comic book universe, including such series as Baltimore, Joe Golem: Occult Detective, and Lady Baltimore. As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies Seize the Night, Dark Cities, and The New Dead, among others, and he has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, and a network television pilot. Golden co-hosts the podcast Defenders Dialogue with horror author Brian Keene. In 2015 he founded the popular Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival. He was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His work has been nominated for the British Fantasy Award, the Eisner Award, and multiple Shirley Jackson Awards. For the Bram Stoker Awards, Golden has been nominated ten times in eight different categories. His original novels have been published in more than fifteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com

Reviews

[Whitaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really great book shows us how love is great and worth to die for

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack is 17 and definitely an adventurer. He's on his way to the Yukon in Alaska to find gold. This trip is not for the faint-at-heart, people die on the trail to the river, let alone looking for gold. Jack and his two friends, Jim and Merritt, are determined to strike it rich and depend on each other to survive the horrible first winter. Not all is what it seems. Jack sees a wolf tracking him in the forest. They get captured by slavers and "pressed" into service. Their camp is attacked by a Wendigo - a supernatural beast. Jack survives but barely, and is rescued by a forest sprite who also tries to imprison him. Jack has to use all his wits and some desperate attempts to keep his life.

The first in a series, some of the action is a little over-the-top. The characters aren't really developed, but there is definitely action. The last half really went fast. Historical, mythological, and action-packed.

[Josh]

I liked this book a lot it was slow at first and not thrilling but as the book went on it got really interesting and great characterization. As well as plenty of the expected action and adventure. this was a well written book and I enjoyed it overall. this is a really old school adventure feeling vibe when reading this and if you love that type of stuff give this a try. They dip into some eerie twists that reminded me of a lot of fantasy tropes, and staples of the northern mythology involving the Wendigo. This was good stuff and I enjoyed it.

[Cameron Hamner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this book was amazing. It was very easy to read and you could follow along with the flow of the book. I really recommend reading this book.

[Chanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I’ve aged out of the target audience.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Love reading about the adventure this young man had and mixture of old legends. The details of what it was like for people in the gold rush was great.

[Michael Whetzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable YA read. Got a little weak towards the end. Loved the part with Leysa. Will look for the rest of the series.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich hatte ein Abenteuer in der Wildnis Alaskas mit Goldgräber Stimmung erwartet. Genau das bietet die erste Hälfte: passende Naturbeschreibungen, intensive Überlebenskämpfe und eine tiefgründige Auseinandersetzung mit Identität und Natur. Die Charakterentwicklung bleibt bis zum Ende stark und nachvollziehbar, getragen von eindrucksvollen und teils brutalen Ereignissen. Doch ab der Mitte kippt die Geschichte leider in die falsche Richtung. Das Abenteuer wandelt sich in eine märchenhafte Fantasy-Erzählung, was mich aus der bis dahin fesselnden Handlung gerissen hat. Trotz der großartigen Schreibweise und starken Figuren störte mich dieser plötzliche Genre-Wechsel, der nicht zur ursprünglichen Handlung passte.

[Nataly Laysha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This got me a reading block

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give it 3&1/2 stars.

[CJ L Hastings · Rating 4 out of 5]

No suelo leer este tipo de libros, pero me gustó mucho. La descripción de las diferentes situaciones en las que se encontraba el protagonista esta bien hecha. Son varias aventuras dentro de una y te deja con ganas de más.

[Hazel West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughts on the Overall Book: This was one of those books for me that has such a unique premise that I had to read it.. This series is about a young Jack London, before he really became famous, and his supposed 'secret journeys' that are written down, as we see in the preface, by a companion of his who he meets in the book. It was truly nothing like I thought it was going to be when I picked it up, in fact, about a third of the way through, I really had no idea which direction it was going and I liked that. There are so many predictable books out there, but this one really caught me by surprise in every chapter and I could never guess what I would find on the next page. It was very strange, but in a good way, and the kind of way I like. But I'll talk more about that later.

Cover--Yae or Nay: I LOVE the covers for these books and the illustrations inside. I love the weathered look of the picture and how Jack and the wolf are both on it and you can only see a back profile of Jack. Still some of my favorite covers.

Characters: I liked how Jack was portrayed. I don't know too much about the real Jack London, but I really liked how this teenage version of him was portrayed. And from what the authors said in their authors' note, his character is pretty accurate. I liked his two friends, Jim and Merrit and the boy Hal who he rescues from getting taken by slavers up in the Yukon. The slavers were appropriately nasty, and they really were vile. Lesya was appropriately mysterious and exotic, but I won't say more about that for fear of spoilers.

Writing Style: The writing style is partly why I gave the book five stars. This was a very well written book, and the style fit the story perfectly and felt reminiscent of Jack London's writing. It was vivid, and visual and I could totally see all the scenes playing out in front of me which was great because some of the strange scenes could have been very vague. I am a fan of books that portray fantasy and supernatural happenings realistically, if that makes any sense, and this book really did. I liked the setting of the Yukon because it's such a deserted place, that you could actually believe the happenings of this book could happen. I liked how they brought in the story of the Wendigo which came from that area, and the Wendigo was portrayed to be very frightening. There's also some Russain lore in the book too, dealing with the forest spirit, Leshii. That part of the book for me was almost creepier than the Wendigo. This is more of a narrative book, and there's long chunks without dialogue, but it's hardly noticeable if you're not a fan of narrative writing. I go either way depending on who writes it, but this one you will not notice the difference at all.

Problems/What bothered me: I didn't have anything to complain about, truthfully, this book was just so odd that I just kind of went along for the ride and didn't really think about it too much. It kept my attention though, and I cared for the characters, so I must have enjoyed it! Upon re-reading, I actually liked it better than the first time, since I knew what to expect and just sat back and enjoyed the story.

Conclusion: 5 stars. Very unique read, awesome series, one of my favs.

Recommended Audience: Older teens, a guy book. There's a bit of language and lots of gore. This is definitely a realistic book so if you're squeamish of blood, don't read it. Also, it really is kind of creepy. If you want something kind of a cross between Louis L'Amour and Supernatural then this is as close as you are going to get!

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mix of historical fiction and fantasy, The Secret Journey of Jack London reimagines the writer's life, beginning with his adventures in the Klondike. Jack is 17 (a few years younger than the real Jack) and journeying with his aging brother-in-law in an attempt to strike it rich. While Jack is seeking gold in order to save his mother's home, his true purpose is to learn more about himself. The brother-in-law is quickly written out of the story and Jack instead teams up with two other young men. They navigate the Chilkoot Trail and White Horse Rapids and spend the winter snowed in an abandoned cabin. This would be the high point of their trip. When they do finally make it to Dawson, they are kidnapped and forced to pan for gold as slaves.

We've reached the halfway point of the book and you might be wondering where the fantasy comes in. So far, the story has stuck mostly to the facts, with minor tweaking here and there. But midway through, the story shifts, and Jack's camp is suddenly attacked by the Wendigo, a flesh-eating monster. He escapes with the aid of a wolf, Jack's mysterious guide that appears throughout the book, and a young woman named Lesya, daughter of a forest spirit. At this point, we've wandered into a bit of a supernatural romance, with Lesya teaching Jack about the "call of the wild" but also trying to keep him close to her.

Jack must escape the beautiful Lesya, avoid her insane father, and somehow defeat the Wendigo, before returning to civilization.

Expect a lot of action in this survival story, as well as beautiful descriptions of the wilderness surrounding Jack and his friends. The writing is good and I enjoyed Jack's sense of searching and the way the author played with the idea of people becoming feral in the wilderness.

Fans of books like The Monstrumologist may enjoy this. I'm not sure, however, that fans of London's works would pick it up. While there's a connection to his stories, I wonder if they would be put off by the monsters and spirits. The historical fiction and the fantasy elements don't mix well, making this feel like you're reading two different stories.

With more planned for this series, I would say that this isn't a must-have. However, if you have teens clamoring for more books that feature survival, adventure, or even looking for an Alaska-fix, this would be a good buy. Grades 7 and up.

[Alec Hernandez]

The book was a bit of a challenge to read but had a good plot, characters, and settings. It was hard to understand at first and it was going very slow, but ended with me understanding and feeling like I was right there with Jack as he went through is thrilling adventure for gold. The Secret Journeys of Jack London is a fantastic book and I suggest you read it.

[Alex Telander · Rating 3 out of 5]

We all know of the incredible writings of Jack London, who brought the wild world of nature to life with such unforgettable books as White Fang and Call of the Wild. He was a man who embraced nature and respected everything it had to offer, but how did he become this man?

The dynamic writing duo of Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon – who have brought us the entertaining “Hidden Cities” series with The Map of Moments and Mind the Gap – seek to answer this question now with a new series: The Secret Journeys of Jack London. How did Jack London become the great writer he was? Through unforgettable experiences, but these stories are the ones he could never quite explain; the ones he could never write about.

In the first book, The Wild, Jack London is a seventeen year-old boy traveling to the frozen wilds of Canada via Alaska, venturing into the dangerous Yukon Territory to play a part in the gold rush. London quickly makes some new friends who struggle to travel along a wild river with raging rapids and the onset of an early winter, spend their time starving in an isolated cabin, and discover the existence of a gold-planning slave trade. Then things take a turn for the supernatural and London finds himself on a number of occasions face to face with the fearful Wendigo.

Golden and Lebbon start out a little slow, keeping things normal and adventurous, but then things take a turn for the outright fantastic, with uses folklore and myth. Readers of any age will be able to identify with this fun-loving, adventurous character who – fantasy elements aside – could well be telling true tales of his possible life.

Originally written on April 10, 2011 ©Alex C. Telander.

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[Vovka-Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
"Sauvage" (en version française) est un vrai roman d'aventures, mais à mon avis il convient plus aux ados qu'aux adultes.
C'est l'histoire romancée de Jack London, son départ à la recherche d'or dans le grand Nord. J'aime beaucoup le concept de raconter la vie d'un auteur via un roman, et au fur et à mesure que j'avançais je regrettais de ne pas avoir lu L'appel de la forêt récemment. Je suis sûre d'avoir raté plein de références!
Ceci dit, ça n'empêche pas du tout d'apprécier le livre, il n'est même pas la peine de connaître Jack London pour se laisser emporter dans le froid du Nord. C'est vraiment le côté positif de ce roman, le côté "aventures". Au milieu de tous les romans actuels plus portés sur les vampires ou la dystopie, c'est une vraie bouffée d'air frais de lire de l'aventure (avec un peu de surnaturel tout de même) ! On ne s'ennuie pas une minute car il arrive toujours quelque chose à Jack, que ce soit en bien ou en mal. Le style des 2 auteurs est vraiment simple, c'est pour cela que je disais que ça conviendrait plus aux ados. Mais l'avantage c'est que le roman se lit d'une traite, très facilement.
Le second point négatif pour moi c'est le personnage de Jack London. A cause de sa prétention et de sa sauvagerie, j'ai un peu eut du mal à l'apprécier, c'est dommage car il est plein de potentiel ce jeune homme! Il est en pleine recherche de qui il est vraiment, ce qui est super intéressant, mais des fois il est tellement superficiel... Les personnages secondaires sont quant à eux plus intéressants et attachants, heureusement!

En résumé un bon roman d'aventures avec un peu de surnaturel et de légendes mais qui manque d'un peu de complexité et de style pour être un coup de coeur.

merci beaucoup à Castelmore pour ce roman!

[Karen Ball · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part historical fiction of the Yukon Gold Rush and Jack London's early experiences, and part dark fairytale fantasy, this is one wild tale. Jack and his older brother-in-law James leave San Francisco for the Yukon territory of Alaska, where they plan to search for the gold they've heard so much about. Alaska is a feral, vicious place, though,and Jack discovers quickly how little civil behavior means there. James bails out on the trip early on, realizing his health problems will be the death of him there. Jack continues on, gaining friends who trek through the mountains and raft the raging rivers to get to the gold fields with him. Trapped in a cabin when they can travel no further, they face starvation, blizzards and wolves, and later they are kidnapped by slavers -- forced at gunpoint to pan for gold during the day and chained together in a wretched camp at night. When the monstrous cannibal Wendigo appears, Jack barely escapes, aided by his oversize wolf spirit guide and protector, and the human-spirit hybrid woman who both protects and imprisons Jack. A great mix of myth and history, violent and bloody at times: Jack battles men, spirits, Nature, and his own self doubts. Great for anyone who enjoyed Call of the Wild, or anyone who loves adventure! 7th grade and up.

[Libby Ames · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I picked up this book, I expected a Jack London-like outdoor adventure featuring a boy, wolves, and survival. However, this book is more hints of The Call of the Wild with a supernatural, ghost story twist. Authors Golden and Lebbon place a young Jack London in the Yukon searching for gold, but they draw from the myths and legends of that area and time period to add to their story. Jack’s story has wilderness adventures with a spooky, surreal tinge to them.

Although it was different than I expected, The Wild is a good read for teen boys who enjoy frightening, but not too gory stories. The story is fast-paced and intriguing, but doesn’t rely on detailed descriptions of blood and gore for its spine chilling aspects. Jack is a strong character with a good head on his shoulders, a sense of loyalty and a desire to see justice done. This is an interesting and different kind of read for adventure lovers.

The writing is not great from a literature perspective. They use tons of sentences stuck together with hyphens and commas. However, the story is well-paced for the intended audience and the characters are believable in an unbelievable story.

[Loren · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really excited about this book. I'm a fan of London's science fiction. I love the state historical park where he lived and have visited his grave several times.

Unfortunately, after 100 pages, I'm giving up on this novel. It didn't bode well when the authors' chose to have Jack and his companions trapped in a conveniently located cabin for 7 months in the dead of winter. That pretty much meant the story ground to a halt four chapters in. I knew Jack was never in any real jeopardy, since I knew he was going to survive to be 40. As it turned out, his companions weren't in any danger either.

Usually I give a book 50 pages before I give up. I forced myself a little farther into this one, but I realized I still wasn't invested in the story.

It's a shame. Jack London was a fascinating person. He should have made a fascinating character.

[Math le maudit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Je ne sais pas trop quoi penser de ce roman. sans être mauvais, il peine à convaincre pleinement.

L'idée de départ est bonne : prendre comme personnage central Jack London et lui construire une biographie fictive et occulte à travers ses voyages.

Donc pour ce tome 1, le grand Nord. Au niveau du récit, on retrouve bien l'ambiance d'un Jack London, on en retrouve les codes, et même le décor nous semble familier (entre la lecture de ses livres et les adaptations au cinéma...), et c'est presque trop par moment.

Pourtant il y a aussi de bonnes idées, avec l'exploitation du folklore du Grand Nord (et pas que), mais le roman pêche par son rythme. Trop lent par moments, trop rapide à d'autres, il manque aussi un je ne sais-quoi pour qu'on rentre pleinement dans le récit et dans le personnage.

Sans être transcendant, ce roman se laisse lire, mais sans plus.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

We meet Jack at age seventeen, following thousands of men and women into the Yukon Territory in search of gold. For Jack, the journey holds the promise of another kind of fortune:challenge and adventure. But what he finds in the wild north is something far more sinister than he could have ever imagined: kidnapping and slavery, the murderous nature of desperate men, and, amidst it all, supernatural beasts of the wilderness that prey upon the weakness in men’s hearts. Jack’s survival will depend on his ability to quell the demons within himself as much as those without.
Acclaimed authors Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon, along with illustrator Greg Ruth, have crafted a masterful tale both classic and contemporary, a gripping original story of the paranormal in the tradition of the great Jack London.

[Wyatt Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wild is a good book, its about a boy named Jack London, he goes on a long adventure with some older people to go gold mining. They take a boat to get to the place they want to go to, on the way he gets lost, Then they found him and went to a town called Dawson. They heard this story about these people who were hiking and they got lost, then they had to start cannibalism, one man survived and he turned into a hairy beast and was called the Wendigo. Later in the book Jack gets lost and gets chased by the Wendigo, then this girl helps him thought out the book.
He only went to go gold mining but it turned out to be an adventure. He didn't believe the Wendigo was real but when he was chased by it he did.
I would recommend you to read this book if your into adventurous books. This book is a good book. It is a intense book. Although you should read it.

[Mohammed Nizami · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually surprisingly liked this book even though the concept was something you would think of when you are high it was very similar to the movie Abraham Lincoln:Vampire hunter, They both had extremely weird concepts yet the content ended up being pretty good. They both had very similar plot progression,It started out slow and boring but it slowly got fast and overwhelming but it was a good over whelming.As for the characters the took a unique spin on a real life person and they even added parts that were historically accurate which was insane. One complaint I would have for this book would be that other than jack London there were not many interesting characters.I think that they focused too much on making Jack London seem cool and forgot about the other characters.

[Corey Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, reading this book as an adult I would give it about 1, maybe two stars. But as a young boy in 8th or 9th grade who struggles with reading I'll give it a 3, maybe even a 4. There is plenty of adventure and action and blood to attract a reluctant readers attention, but sometimes those aforementioned aspects take too long to appear (like the part where Jack is stuck in the magical evil forest). Plus, Jack London just doesn't matter to any of the students who I have taught so they will be lost on those allusions, but you don't need them to make meaning from the book. I promise I will add stars if a kid reads it and loves it.

[Kath Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this to a point. It did capture my attention as I have always been fascinated with the Gold Rush in Alaska and have traveled through some of the areas. The adventure was captivating and Jack's ties to the wolf and some of the legends were interesting. But it got a little out there for me when some of the 'supernatural legends' came to life. I wanted to believe this story and recount more of the history of the adventure. Throwing in the encounter with the Wendigo and Leysa's magical forest were a bit much for me. Still it was engrossing, as unbelievable as some of it was.

[Angelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is an amazing adventure book because of a lot of reasons. One reason is because it shows how much Jack wanted to find out about what happened in his past. Also how much detail was put in it by the authors (Tim Lebbon and Christopher Golden), for example when Jack was climbing up that steep mountain by the side of the ravine, they said "he clawed his way up the side of the ravine, his fingers digging the soft band and his feet pushing. Overall, i think this was a very intense and adventures book.

[Travis Hartsoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a thrilling historical fiction about Jack London's secret journey going around the Klondike in the time period of the gold rush. A entertainment book that had a good story behind it but was a poor example of professional writing work.This book had several grammatical writing errors that confused me at times. The book itself had a nice plot but overall didn't quite have a professional level publishing touch."Its a fool's game" (Golden, Lebbon 312). If you can get past some errors here and there then I think I would recommend this to a friend.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spiritual look at the call to adventure in the Alaskan wilderness geared for middle grade to lower high school ages boys or girls. This book includes searching for gold, being kidnapped, facing mythical creatures, and learning about the connection to the wilderness. It is not non-stop action but has enough to appeal to most readers while also exploring some deeper issues. There is some violence when the Wendigo (mythical creature) attacks.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me longer than I care to admit to finally finish this one. While I really liked the modern treatment of Jack London as a 18 yr old making it on his own in the wilds of Alaska, I thought it went on a bit too long, and the romantic subplot while intriguing enough for this middle-aged YA librarian, may be too icky (or just plan uninteresting) for the intended middle grade boy audience.

[Eva Strong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woah! This was an amazing book! I read it in one sitting--couldn't put it down. It explores such a dark side of humanity, and the battle against it. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves adventure or mind-jangling stories. Actually, I'd probably recommend it to anyone who would listen! A really, really great read.