The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands is one of those books that delights simply because of its originality. It has its weak moments, but the overall concept and narrative arc more than compensate for those and earn it a five-star rating.

Thanks to Flatiron and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

This was a fascinating story of a train going from China to Russia, through an area called the Wastelands, where clearly something mysterious has happened. The trip is considered dangerous but is the danger onboard or off? I liked a lot of aspects of this story: the different characters on the train, the heightened suspense, the way you sort of knew what was outside the train but not really? It reminded me a bit of a historical snowpiercer maybe? Either way, I appreciated the prose and how this author created tension.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars--

As a Russianist who has traveled on the Trans-Siberian, I was very excited about this book. While this book wasn't entirely my cup of tea, The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands did turn out to be a unique read. The writing is very atmospheric and vivid. I enjoyed getting lost in the descriptions of the lands beyond the train, a feeling approximating the trance-like state passengers could be lulled into if they weren't ever-vigilant. I also enjoyed many of the characters, notably Zhang Weiwei--a child whose whole life has been spent on the train, the professor--an elderly academic researching the Wastelands, and Marya Petrovna--a secretive woman with an unraveling backstory and hidden agenda about the nefarious company that runs the train. The entire cast of characters and their quirks reminded me of a Wes Anderson film.

All that said, I had a hard time getting through this book. The plot seemed to plod along without much urgency. The surrealism of it all made it hard for me to grab onto the stakes of it all for the characters.

Many thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was delightful. A steampunk fantasy about the Trans Siberian express set in an alternative Victorian world? Yes.
Yes. Yes. Where do I sign up? I loved this. Twisty, strange, magical and surprisingly tender. I absolutely loved this book. Great characters, bonkers ideas and rendered so beautifully. There was a seamless charm to the Victorian world nestled alongside a darkly troubling magical world. Super cozy & exciting!!

This was a very interesting r Book . It was interesting how everybody had a story in this book. Everybody had problems and you were all trying to solve this mystery.And this person on the train. There was a mystery Child on a train wyou seem to float through the air. M.A I was on the train because my father was trying to build it when he said it was evil. He died so she wanted to find out why this happened. When they got to the wasteland In It's not very weird.Things begin to Happen. Henry was naturalist and things began to go wrong for him. This man was murdered and things were l Start to sound real fast. They were trying to figure out how He was murdered. It was a very interesting.How this author took a different chapters and tied it together with the people on the train

“The Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands” might be the most unique book I’ve read this year. Featuring a luxurious, locked, and armored train traversing a mysterious and dangerous wasteland while the passengers on board try to solve several mysterious incidents. Sounds just up my alley and I was very excited to be granted an ARC of this book!

I really appreciate when writers bend and blend genre classifications and Sarah Brooks’ debut delivers. I loved the mashup of genres that Brooks used: magic realism, fantasy, mystery, and even a hint of romance. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect going into this book and which, if any, genre would be predominant. I’m glad that I had little prior knowledge because guessing how the mashup would all work out helped me keep momentum through the middle part of this book. I have to admit that I struggled, a lot, with the pacing of “Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands”. I expected more of a mystery and instead the narrative was a slow travelogue.

I also struggled with the characters. The narrative follows Marya who is trying to solve the mystery of her father’s death, Elena who was born on the train and now works for the Company, and Henry Gray, disgraced naturalist, who wants to study the wastelands to salvage his reputation. While the characters are great on paper they came across flat and one dimensional. I also would have loved for the 3rd Class passengers to be more fleshed out and for one of them -the Professor perhaps?- to have been one of the main characters.

Finally, the writing is lush, descriptive, and beautiful but somehow I’m still confused as to what exactly the wastelands are and what happened in the end. Spoilers: I understand that the train was changing the wastelands and that the wastelands in turn were also changing the train. But how? And why? And are the wastelands actually dangerous or something that needed to be learned to live with? I feel like I was left with more questions than answers after finishing the book.I enjoyed the journey but I’m not sure what message I was supposed to take away from it.

Despite these issues I still really enjoyed “Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands” and am very much looking forward to reading the next book by Sarah Brooks.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I usually enjoy historical fantasy, but this one was a big letdown. It was so slow to start, and I had a hard time connecting to the characters. It did pick up towards the end, but by then, it was too late, and I'm not sure I even liked the ending.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I loved this book mostly for the atmosphere and the writing. I liked the multiple POV and the sense of adventure as well. I had a hard time connecting with some of the characters but liked this book overall for the vibes/atmosphere.

I'm categorizing this book as "Area X meets Murder on The Orient Express (without the murder)." Sometime in the vague, recent-ish past of this book, Siberia mutates into what becomes known as "The Wasteland" (no reason known or given in-story) and The Company, a mysterious but ever-present company, has monopolized on an exclusive train between Beijing and Moscow.

The story centers on the latest train trip between the two cities after a mysterious breach of The Wasteland onto the previous train temporarily stopped the train service as The Company worked hard to save face and scapegoat Marya Petrovna's father, the previous glassworker who manufactured the windows for the train and discovered a secret that threatens the company. Marya takes this train and meets a pretty standard cast of characters - upper-class Europeans and Chinese elitists, a train car of pretty anonymous third-class travelers, and members of the train, including Zhang Weiwei, who was born and raised on the train.

As an adventure story and vague mystery, this book was fun! I liked it even as I wanted more - more weirdness from The Wastelands (even though they were already pretty weird) and more depth from the characters. Marya's on the train to clear her father's name... and that's it. The rest of the characters are there to progress the plot but are pretty one-dimensional, except for Weiwei, whose actions drive a great deal of the plot. There's no great character studies or class criticisms in this book but it's a fun ride across mutated Siberia.

I was excited to read this one but I think my expectations were too high. I just couldn't really connect to the story; I never felt invested in the characters. There was a huge potential with the Wastelands and especially with Marya. I was expecting an adventure to be honest. But I just found the book too dull; it was extremely boring. Nothing happened.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

Overall, I did enjoy this book but I did have some issues with it. I thought the beginning was the best part, getting to know the train and how Siberia has changed in this world. The plot was a little too slow-moving for me, but I did like being able to see events from the different POVs. The writing describing the wasteland was the best part of the book for me and I enjoyed the lush, descriptive sections towards the end. 3.5/5 Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the atmosphere of this story. It was interesting and different from anything else I’ve read. I enjoyed the setting and characters.

Using the word ‘vibey’ feels like such a gen-z cop out, but having finished this book, my first thought was that truly, the vibes here were impeccable.

The novel unfolds slowly, as you become more familiar with the train, the Wastelands, and the magic connecting the two, and by its (rather unconventional) end, I was completely entranced.

If Emily Wilde took place on Snowpiercer and they travelled through Area X, you'll end up with the Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands. It was beautifully mysterious and spooky in all the best ways. It seems to be one of those books that you either love or hate, and I absolutely loved it. The setting is both incredibly limited and immensely vast. You get used to the lay out of the train, but there's also this incredible longing to know what's beyond it and the ever present question of if you'll ever really get to go outside. The characters ride the train for any number of reasons - curiosity, necessity, family ties, a search for answers. I would love more books in this world, but the way it was left, this appears to be a standalone. This book was absolutely unique and I recommend it to anyone who likes their books just a little bit confusing. If you're the type of reader who wants solid answers by the end, you won't get that here. If you're the type of reader who likes to draw your own conclusions and are okay with not fully knowing everything, absolutely pick this up!

Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron books for my eARC to review.

I really enjoyed most of this book. I loved the mix of historical fiction and fantasy alongside the mystery/thriller vibe; it was such a wonderful blend of genres. I enjoyed the senses of adventure and tension and thought Brooks did a great job of weaving elements of the story and foreshadowing throughout the novel.

I think this book struggles a little from some classic problems that are almost bound to arise with certain framing choices. The split perspective chapters were interesting, but I found some to be compelling and others to drag, which unbalanced the pacing of the story for me. I thought the first quarter of the book was very fast-paced and exciting, but that feeling dropped off around the halfway point and became a much slower story, in my eyes. I wish we had gotten more of a chance to connect and grow with some of the more interesting characters like Marya in lieu of Elena, who I didn't care about as much.

At the end of the day, though, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to see what Brooks comes out with next.

I was really into the first third or so of this but then lost interest. Perhaps one day I will pick it back up.

The description of The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands sounded very interesting. Curious characters, magic, mystery and secrets among the Great Trans-Siberian Express. Definitely a book worth picking up.

Unfortunately, I found this book extremely slow moving. I had to put it down and come back to it and it still did not work for me. I’m not sure if I read this book at the wrong time or if it was just too slow for my liking. Either way, I found that I was not as invested in the characters or story as I would have liked to have been.

The writing is excellent and I would definitely give this author another try.

Thank you to NetGalley, Flatiron Books and the author, Sarah Brooks for an advanced digital reviewer copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I absolutely loved *The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands*!

Let’s not rehash the synopsis you *just* read. In short, *The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands* follows the Trans-Siberian Express during its first journey through the wastelands between Beijing and Moscow since the last, ill-fated crossing. Among its passengers are a handful of interesting characters ranging from first- to third-class to members of the crew, all with believable motivations.

This book has the best vibes. The writing is lush and dreamy at times but every word feels important to the story, giving me the ability to envision *exactly* how things looked and moved. And underneath it all a note of tension starts early and is held until the very end.
Another strong point, the pacing works perfectly for this kind of story: a slower introduction to set the tone and introduce the main players and a punchy medium pace when the adventure really begins! At one point I wrote, “I *am still not sure if this is going to be an awesome book or a boring book..*” (lol) and then at the 55% mark, “*this book has become unputdownable!*”

Additionally, the audiobook performance was extremely well done! I’d really like to listen to more from both Katie Leung and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, the latter of which is the narrator for the Rivers of London series which I’ve always wanted to read. 👀
I have a copy of both the print and audio version of this book but if I had to choose one format I would *highly* recommend you pick up the audiobook—despite the gorgeous artwork on the hardcover!

With that said, this book will not be for everyone but you should consider picking it up if a well crafted historical fiction with fantastical/paranormal undertones sounds intriguing and/or you appreciated:
- the sense of wonder *The Girl with all the Gifts* by M.R. Carey left you with,
- the feral nature of Jeff VanderMeer’s *Annihilation*’s Area X, or
- the setting and slightly magical elements of *The Lost Apothecary* by Sarah Penner.

*Thank you to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, and libro.fm for providing me an e-ARC and ALC of this book.*

Thank you NetGalley, Flatiron, and Macmillan Audio for an eARC and advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

I typically enjoy historical fantasy and steampunk, and I think books with settings in motion (like, say, a train or boat) are super fun, so while I was eager to read this I also wasn’t quite sure what to expect. This was especially true because of the comps—Piranesi is a book of all time for me, but I loathe The Midnight Library. So I was extremely pleased to find that The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands worked well for me. It did have a sort of slow start for me and it took me a little bit to get into it, but once I found my groove it was easy to sink into the story. I think Brooks did a good job at balancing the POVs, and I enjoyed her writing as a whole. I did find the fantasy aspects to be a little lighter than I’d been anticipating, and at some points it almost felt too ambitious in scope. The atmosphere was maybe a little claustrophobic, but I do mean this in the most positive way I can (I mean! You’re on a train! And the train has Secrets!).

I liked the audiobook a lot. Having two narrators was fun, and I liked that it did the thing where one narrator would voice the dialogue for their characters when it was the other POV. It also definitely helped keep me engaged at the beginning where I was still struggling to find my footing.

This book really does have an incredible cast of characters that are flowing together in an incredibly beautiful fantasy steampunk setting. I was in fractured by the mystery and couldn’t put this down.