Published six months before the COVID-19 pandemic, this “apocalyptic alternate reality” Wanderers—powered by Chuck Wendig’s crystal ball—still resonates as realistically potent in its exploration of human relationships within the capabilities and possibilities of the immediate 21st century. That said, it is an acclaim to Wendig’s scientific research and attention to detail that allowed him to essentially predict the global pandemic and the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence’s presence and potential (here Wendig discusses this uncannery in an interview: https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/wanderers-chuck-wendig-coronavirus-pandemic).

But that is just a foot into the book, and this 800-page epic truly needs both hands held tight to the hardback. There are five different perspectives interlaced within, each with a different understanding of human nature, especially in times of crisis and collapse. Steering the narrative is disgraced epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Ray and Shana Stewart, the cynical emotional anchor and the first “shepherd”.

Wanderers begins with Shana, worried that her younger sister, Nessie, ran away from home in the middle of the night, not similar but reminiscent to their mother’s disappearance years ago. Shana finds her sleepwalking in a way that can only be described as zombie-like. Where is she headed? She hasn’t the faintest clue, but Nessie won’t wake up and trying to physically stop her made her literally look like a boiling tea kettle. Shana refuses to leave her sister's side and thus she becomes the very first “shepherd”, following and caring as her sister walks robotically to some distant destination.

Fairly quickly, a movement starts. Like a switch, the group starts to grow and soon a migration of sorts had been built with relatives trekking alongside their wandering loved ones. The sleepwalkers walk and the shepherds watch, while the outside world threw up wondrous and unholy answers to this massive event. As the flock marches across America, politics tried to steal the stage with the left embodying passivity and the right deeming the flock demons due for death or quarantine; each sat on the Adam’s apple of the other. Here enters Dr Benji Ray, unintentionally but readily leading the flock and discovering its cause—not at his past CDC post but as a partner tied to a mysterious private contractor who is deeply entrenched in artificial intelligence. Benji is always asking questions but here he stays quiet as he is more than happy to be allowed in his professional industry once again, and the head of the contractor company just so happens to be his romantic interest.

And the plot thickens further as the political friction eventually culminates in a civil war in the story’s background. Simultaneously, a pandemic wallops the world, a flu-like virus that starts harmlessly and then eventually kills mercilessly as the infected are driven to delirium and insanity. As they follow the sleepwalking herd and the world disintegrates around them, Shana transforms from an aimless teenager into an inspirational lens and a fierce protector of the humanity that resides inside us, and Benji shifts from a broken and guilt-ridden man into a pragmatic leader who finds freedom by serving humanity despite its faults, his own included.

In the foreground of the story are the characters, through which Wendig is an expert at crafting and giving exposition that propels the narrative forward through dialogue. Each character has a distinct voice and distinct thoughts and a primary sentience wherein, when the viewpoint shifts from chapter to chapter—so does the “protagonist hat”. The characters are alive like that, each, like us, focused on ourselves within our minds to the point that morality tends to be tangential. There are no heroes in this story, just people trying to survive in a cruel world of wild circumstances. Their thoughts and actions morph and grow in authentic ways. Take the other three perspectives—a run-of-the-mill priest who falls to the sin of pride, destroying his family and his faith—a closeted and aging, legendary rockstar who desperately needs attention at the cost of his personal relationships and safety—a severely disabled ex-cop who gets a new lease on life as long as she in in vicinity of the flock—each are minor characters and yet have deeply important roles within the reading of the story. Without these characters and how they develop the book would lack the substance of everyday people in an everyday world that is as morally gray as yesterday.

Now, I must tell you the challenge of this book: of course, the length. 800 pages is a big fat stack, but 80% of it is riveting and interesting and impelling. The other 20% can be a slog as Wendig takes his time (not a bad thing) to build to the end. No moments are missed or beats forgotten; each page is truly worthwhile, but it is safe to say that it took until the halfway point for Wendig to really find a writing style that stood on its own while also fitting each of these individual voices inside.

Preeminently, for me, this book continues to fill me with ideas, literary and scientific. The world is scientifically explorative, but the characters and the landscapes are so potently written it will transport you, as it transported me, to the reflection of our own world. And there, Wendig presents a groundbreaking premonition of humanity and the hope that ties us all together. I recommend Wanderers to grounded sci-fi lovers who still have lingering feelings regarding the pandemic we faced and the future we face now.