A unique melding of fantasy, mystery, and historical fiction with a bit of sci-fi, environmental horror thrown in for good measure. A mysterious cast of characters are on board this train which must travel through the Wastelands but it's Weiwei, an orphan born and raised on the train that discovered something or rather someone who could put the entire trip and the train company itself in danger.

Oh man, this was a disappointment. I was so ready to love this, but I just couldn't get into it, so I pulled the plug at 36%. The premise of this is amazing, I liked the writing and loved the setting, but this just didn't have a good pace. It also didn't have a hook, a reason for me to be engaged and continue reading. Yes, there is a bit of a mystery, but I didn't care at all about it and nothing was happening. As for characters, Weiwei was the most interesting one, but everyone else felt quite flat.

I do love cozy fantasies and mysteries, I like low stakes, but if nothing's happening, the characters and what's happening with them has to be compelling. That's what was missing here for me. I see a lot of people loving this, though, and I wanted to be one of them, so it's not a book I would skip. I think it's worth a try and see if you can get into it. I'll definitely keep my eye on this author because I think she has great ideas and even though this one wasn't for me, I'd like to give her work another chance.

5 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.

There is only one way across the Wastelands, the Trans-Siberian Express. The Wastelands are a mysterious and dangerous place. Passengers of the train are trying to get from China to Russia or back again, though they also want to have the experience of the Wastelands and its magical creatures.

Weiwei is the child of the train. Born to a dying mother on the train, she has been raised by the entire crew, from the cook to the captain. Weiwei is as much a part of the train as the engines. As the train ventures from Beijing for Russia once again, with both first and third class full, Weiwei finds a stowaway. A young girl, about Weiwei’s age, Elena seems to know more about the Wastelands than anyone. Weiwei is torn whether to report Elena to the captain or help her stay hidden away.

On the last passage, something went wrong. Neither Weiwei nor the other crew nor the frequent travelers remember what happened. Which causes Weiwei, the child who knows more about this train than anyone, to be somewhat afraid. With her stowaway friend’s help, perhaps Weiwei can solve some of the mysteries and get the train safely through the Wastelands to Russia.

Truly a magical story about a special young girl and her friend, and a quite incredible train. Each character’s piece of the story belongs. These pieces are so well interwoven to create this incredible fantasy of the wildness that can consume us all. If you’re a fantasy fan, you should love this tale of an unbelievable place and the people that cross it.

3.5 rounded up because I love the setup here and it's all about the vibes. It's much more of a historical fiction with fantasy elements in the shape of the Wasteland. One day the Wastelands just appeared, and while I'm not entirely clear on the boundaries of the Wasteland - though it is bordered by giant walls on the Russian and Chinese sides - everyone is fascinated by it. The only way to traverse it is via the train, owned and operated by the shadowy Company, and drawing passengers from all over - some just looking to take a faster route, some looking for danger and adventure, others looking to the Wasteland as an example of evolution or divinity, a new world order.

Through the various character PoVs, we start to unravel some of what is happening, both to the Wastelands and to the train (and by extension, the passengers and crew, who were aboard the disastrous last voyage, which no one remembers). There's a constant sense of creeping change, of things subtly shifting, of secrets working their way to light even as others try to bury them further.

It's mostly an atmospheric book - while there are some truly tense scenes, the majority of the draw is watching this cast of characters work their way through the turning point of this particular journey, and how each of their decisions and motivations adds another piece of kindling to the fire until it is a blaze, as unstoppable as change itself.

In this book, a luxury steam train is gradually forced to contend with the dangerous, surrealist landscape surrounding it, all while the passengers, each with their own agenda, threaten to take the trip completely off the rails (pun intended). The characters were compelling, the setting found that perfect balance between history, magic, and steampunk, and the descriptions were eerie and gorgeous.

While I can see how this book wouldn't be for everyone, since there are some passages where past and present and inside and outside the train tend to blend together, I found that these contributed to the general sense of unease that permeates the novel. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the structure of "The Night Circus" or "Piranesi," where the plot is somewhat nebulous and the atmosphere is the driving force.

Although I was really interested in this book because of the blurb, I soon discovered that this might not be for me after all. I found the story quite dry and even if at times I like character-driven books, unfortunately this was not one of those. I liked the writing style, but it didn't capture my attention enough to continue with reading it, so I decided to DNF. It's a shame, because I think that the premise had a lot of potential to become something special.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

The Cautious Traveller's Guide is nothing close to what I expected. Somehow, I got the notion that the characters would be traveling and experiencing fantastical locations. But all I got were multiple travelers stuck on a train passing cross country. If that wasn't boring enough, the writing style seemed too old fashioned, reminding me of a bygone era that was out of place for me in this particular novel.

I skimmed quite a bit of the novel, hoping for a spark that would ignite my interest. But that spark never materialized. By 34%, I was done with trying to find something interesting for me to carry on. One star DNF.

I received a DRC from Flatiron Books through NetGalley. This review is completely my own and reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.

If you want a book that has magical realism, heavy Agatha Christie vibes, with a small backdrop of fantasy/horror, then this is for you. It just, unfortunately, wasn't for me.

First and foremost, this book could not keep my attention. The plot seemed built for and around the "locked room" atmosphere of this train, with the mysterious environment outside the train as an occasional afterthought. The story consisted of a wide variety of characters talking with each other, with very little action interspersed to break up the monotony. The writing is very particular, and not in a way I can put in words at the moment, but it might work for other people. I would recommend this book to fans of historical fiction novels over fans of fantasy.

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 rounded up.
The story was very interesting, filled with mystery and wonder but it took a while to get there for me.
I think the biggest distractor for me is the POV's are not labeled, so I would spend the first chunk of a chapter trying to figure out who this is. Once I get further into the story this wasn't as big of an issue since I had learned to recognize the POV's better but it really made it hard to get into the story from the get go.
I enjoyed the original feeling of this book, it didn't really remind me of other things I have read.
Overall I enjoyed it and do recommend it, I just wish it was structured differently to avoid confusion.

What a beautiful novel! I wasn't sure what to expect, but this historical fantasy really swept me away.

This felt like a combo of Murder on the Orient Express, the Night Circus, and What Moves the Dead - very atmospheric with some genuinely creepy moments.

The author does a great job with the setting - both the train and the wastelands themselves are distinct characters within the book. Highly recommended!

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this on ebook through Netgalley to review.

Thoughts: I ended up really enjoying this. The premise is that an area of "other" that is deadly to humans has developed in the tundra between China and Russia. Walls were built to protect humanity but the only way to traverse this wilderness is the Train which is owned by The Company. However, the last journey of the train went wrong and people don't remember what happened. The Company must thrive though, so the Train must keep running.

Yes, you do spend most of the time on this mysterious train traveling through the Wastelands. However, that is the point of the story...this is a bunch of humans stuck in a very stressful situation traveling through a dangerous region with only the walls of the train to protect them.

The story does spend a lot of time dealing with the passengers and their secrets. The POV rotates between three main passengers: a young woman trying to find the truth behind her father's prosecution, a young woman known as "the child of the train" who was born on the train, and an older professor who is looking for his next big scientific finding.

The Wastelands themselves are fascinating but never fully explained. We see them mostly through the glass of the train, just like our protagonists. It is when the truth of the Wastelands and the train begins to be revealed that things get really interesting.

The story is more slow burn than action packed. However the constant tension of the danger outside the thin train walls, the mystery of the truths behind the train, and the intriguing characters on the train really kept me engaged in the story.

The story has very Lovecraftian vibes to it. You have the theme of an otherness, a darkness, a madness taking over this portion of the land. I love stories that explore this mythos.

The written is beautifully done and very lyrical. I loved the world-building, the intriguing characters, and the constant mysterious tension. I also thought the ending of the book was absolutely fantastic and completely fitting with the rest of the story.

My Summary (5/5) :Overall I thought this was fantastic. I believe this is debut novel for Brooks and I am eager to see what she comes up with next. This was incredibly creative and very engaging. It does move at more of a slow, mysterious burn. This is not an action packed adventure. However, the intriguing characters and landscape, coupled with the tension of constant danger really pulled me in to the story.

Overall, I liked this story. Unfortunately, it didn't feel like things really picked up until about 50% through. The second half of the story was definitely stronger. This is a great read for folks who love a bit of fantasy mixed in with their mystery - this gave very strong Murder on the Orient Express vibes!

I thought I would like this one. I wanted to like this one. But I found I had a hard time picking it up again after putting it down. As one reviewer mentioned, it was interesting, but I didn't really care. The premise was wonderful - an alternate Victorian era where strange magicks have taken over Siberia which has been separated from the "civilized" world by giant walls and can be traversed only by the Trans Siberian Express, a special train built to be impervious to incursion from the outside. The story follows three characters on the train on the first journey in years since the last one went mysteriously awry. And most of the story is just these three people wandering the train, talking to other passengers, and thinking. This is not exciting, or even particularly interesting. Things perk up a bit when the Outside comes into play, but all the politicking and secrets is surprisingly boring. Pretty cool ending though.

This is a most curious. beguiling book! You could almost make comparisons to Murder on the Orient Express, if the train route snaked and shuddered through an Oz-like land where the landscape becomes a sentient being, it’s intentions both intimidating and impossibly alluring. Alternate POVs abound on what really happened during the last train trip when all the passengers and crew had amnesia, and on the current journey, which is threatened by a possible ghost-like stowaway, a woman trying to investigate her father’s death, a professor trying to redeem his reputation by breeching the wilds, the menacing company representatives trying to quell rumors, and the untamed and unpredictable Wastelands, barely just beyond the windows. Should the train even be going through the Wastelands? Commerce beckons but nature seems to be responding in escalating hallucinatory events. There are also some odd happenings going on with the passengers in first and third class, as the crew tries to soldier on. At the center is 16-year old orphaned Weiwei, who has spent her life from birth, on the train. The writing is beautiful and strange and I had no idea how it was going to end.

In this speculative mystery, crew of a a Trans-Siberian train barreling through a terrifying and unforgiving wild land struggles to remember what happened on their last journey while trying to corral their current passengers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands is a unique historical fantasy that draws the reader into the struggle between the hubris of man and the unbridled resolve of nature, as the infamous The Trans-Siberian Express traverses a dangerous path across the strange and changing landscape of the Wastelands—yet there are secrets regarding the last crossing, when something went horribly wrong. Brimming with intrigue and sublime terror, this book is a twisty, breathtaking journey across a fantastical landscape perfect for fans of Annihilation.

In an alternate Victorian-era world where a vast expanse of land in Asia has been abandoned and isolated from the rest of the world after strange Changes were noticed in the land, creatures, and other lifeforms, the only way to travel from Beijing to Moscow is on the Trans-Siberian Express: an almost mythical express train that boasts luxury and impenetrable power to its many customers. The Trans-Siberian Express has made countless crossings over the decades it has been operating, but something happened on the last journey... something went wrong to the point there are questions whether the train is truly safe. Aboard the following crossing are an odd cast of characters heading for Moscow: Marya, a grieving woman with a borrowed name and a mission to uncover secrets the Trans-Siberia Company wants buried; Weiwei, a child of the train desperate to ignore the fact that everything has changed since the last crossing; and Dr. Henry Grey, a disgraced naturalist who is willing to risk it all to prove his fanatical theories about the Wastelands as a new Eden.

As they each slowly begin to unravel the mysteries surrounding the last crossing and the Wastelands, it becomes clear that something fundamental has changed and that—as much as the Company ensures that the train cannot be breached by the dangers outside—they are not alone and the Wastelands may have already begun its work on them all. Despite the slow build of this book in the first half as it lays the groundwork for the status quo of the train and the character’s motivations, the narrative kicks into high momentum once [SPOILER: the main line breaks and the Trans-Siberian Express must traverse “ghost rails” long abandoned by the Company.]

I have to be frank: I adored the writing style of this book. Brooks manages to create a world flooding with life and breath and sound and color in a way that inspires a similar sublime terror and awe at the Wastelands as the characters aboard the Trans-Siberian Express.
Its unique environmental horror of a strange, changed landscape removed from the influence of man and with its own natural laws was deeply evocative and reminiscent of Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation, which I also love. The various imagery of mimicry, mutual observation, and a hivemind landscape felt strangely haunting, like peeling back the layers of skin and sinew on an animal carcass only to find it still alive and thrashing against its constraints.

Expertly blending fantasy, mystery, horror, and science fiction, The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands is a thrilling debut novel that will take you on a mesmerizing adventure that you won’t want to disembark after reading.

This is the story of one particular running of the Trans-Siberian train and the wild and wonderful things that happen along the way. Everyone believes that Siberia, or the Wastelands as it is commonly known, is full of danger - from the air, the water, flora and fauna and everything in between. Something unfortunate happened on the last crossing, but all the crew members cannot remember anything of what happened. What proceeds in this tale is a story of friendship, bravery, some cowardice, and a little bit of a rule breaking. All in the name of discovery and survival.

Overall, this book was ok, hence the 3 stars. But it got to be really slow and long. I may have enjoyed it a little more as an audiobook so I could be otherwise occupied doing something else during the slow parts.

I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for my review from NetGalley.

If you like a majorly character driven story, similar to Piranesi but also somehow more so, then you'll likely enjoy this. It wasn't exciting exactly and I could definitely see some feeling as if it were anticlimactic - because it kind of is - the in-depth time that we spend with our MC was interesting and I'd definitely read more form the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for my copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a…well, it was something.

I was excited by the cool idea behind the book, but it didn't deliver like I hoped. Picture this: a huge chunk of land from Moscow to Beijing suddenly turns into a bizarre, alien place, and there's this special train that travels through it, risking everything. Sounds awesome, right?

But then, the story didn't quite live up to the hype. The characters felt like they were straight out of an old mystery novel, without much depth or character. Only Weiwei and Suzuki's stories kept me interested, and even then, it was a STRUGGLE. And instead of being full of suspense, it felt slow and repetitive. Plus, there wasn't enough description to really imagine what was going on.

Even though the writing was good, the fear of the wasteland just didn't hit me. And the ending felt rushed and left a lot of questions unanswered. Other books have nailed this kind of concept, like "Annihilation," but this one fell really short.

4.25 ⭐️

The Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands has been described as Piranesi meets The Midnight Library, neither of which I have read, but hopefully that gives anyone who has read them a feel for what they’re getting into.

This story of a 20-day-long journey from Beijing to Moscow via the Trans-Siberian Railways is moved along with snippets from the fictitious guide written by a passenger towards the beginning of the Railway’s operation: The Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands. In it, we learn what to expect from our passengers as they traverse the wastelands: the area between what is assumed to be The Great Wall of China and a similar wall built by Russia. These wastelands are filled with mysterious plants and fauna that defy the norm and bend reality.

The books is multi-POV with each point of view having its own separate side story being unveiled. Though slow to start, things begin to ramp up through Weiwei’s storyline and her discovery. The book really has an unnatural creepiness to it, though I definitely wouldn’t classify it as horror or fantasy. Possibly literary/historical fiction with a bit of magical realism.

I really enjoyed that the wastelands and the train themselves were portrayed as their own characters, the commentary on classism, the impacts of society (technology + industrialization) on the environment, and the government vs the people.

I did find my own mind trying to make sense of the events that unfolded, but that’s also part of traveling through the wastelands: what occurs is unnatural only to those who refuse to embrace the change.

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an advanced copy of this book!