This story is part of a series of books (the climate quartet) that begins with The History of Bees.

The Last Wild Horses focuses on the Przewalski species of wild horses, and how having a better understanding of them, could save them from extinction. The story has three timelines – Mikhail in Russia in the 1800s, Karin in Mongolian in the 90s, and Eva in Norway in 2064. In that way it follows the writing pattern of the quartet.

As with her first two books Maja writes with honesty, and concern for the future. By separating out the timelines she shows how each era has impact. It’s dazzling, complex, scarily realistic and thought-provoking.

A compelling story, I recommend The Last Wild Horses by Maja Lunde.

Three stories woven together to create a narrative greater than the sum of its parts. I enjoyed the triple timelines and the framing device of the wild Mongolian horses. This was beautifully written and absolutely absorbing.

As a horse lover, I just had to read this thoughtful and unusual fiction, describing the search for and restoration of the Mongolian wild horse scientifically named the Przewalski's Horse. These stout, dun horses have an upright mane and two extra chromosomes and are THE LAST WILD HORSES in that their ancestors were never domesticated.

The chapters show alternate timelines. A dystopian element runs through the novel as one segment describes life in a future Norway. This segment claims to address climate change, but the whole book portrays the accumulated human impact on the planet. The author Maja Lunde is Norwegian and previously wrote The History of Bees.

Mikhail Kovrov lives in St Petersburg, where in 1880 the Russians have heard of truly wild horses in Mongolia – thought to be extinct until an army officer sends back a hide and skull. Mikhail immediately makes plans to capture some for display at the zoological garden where he works, constantly short of funding. He sets out in 1884 with Wilhelm Wolff, a German adventurer, and wild animal dealer. We see that by capturing some horses, several horses are killed, yet the captives are later bred in zoos across Europe, ensuring the breed survives.

In 1992, a German biologist Karin flies several Takhi horses (the Mongolian name) to Ulan Bator and attempts a reintroduction project. Bred for a century away from their native Mongolia, can they survive where the original herds have been driven extinct? I have to say, I was extremely cross with Karin. She's supposed to be a biologist and she thought it was a good idea to release three wild stallions with only a few mares. What did she think would happen? She also decided that if any of these Takhis which are more valuable than Thoroughbreds, got injured, she would not give antibiotics. This character is fictional, we are assured in an author's note at the end. I hope the real project managers had more sense.

2064 shows us a Norwegian family barely coping with the impacts of climate change. Eva and her young teen daughter Isa, running a farmstead hidden away from a crumbling civilization, are not far enough away, because in Norway in 2064 marauders come after food. Louise, a traveler, turns up starving and exhausted, and Eva decides to give her shelter. The only connection is that Eva has been caring for some rare breeds, which include a Takhi mare and foal. They are partly what keeps her at the farm instead of moving on to somewhere less cold and rainy. If there is anywhere.

Diane Oatley has translated the work from Norwegian and, like many Nordic stories, THE LAST WILD HORSES feels dark and violent in places. We see death and birth as common themes. Some other topics I frankly skipped over, as they were not related and were spoiling the story for me. I came here for the horses. So, do I recommend this work to horse lovers? Yes and no. Adults only, and be prepared for distressing scenes. I am glad the Przewalski's Horse has featured in another novel, the second I've seen, and this work by Maja Lunde will help build a genre about rewilding.

Very well translated…. Mikhail lives in Russia in 1881. When a skeleton of a rare wild horse is brought to him, the zoologist plans an expedition to Mongolia to find the fabled Przewalski horse, a journey that tests not only his physicality, but his heart. In 1992, Karin, alongside her troubled son Mathias and several Przewalski horses, travels to Mongolia to re-introduce the magnificent horses to their native land. The veterinarian has dedicated her life to saving the breed from extinction, prioritizing the wild horses, even over her own son.

Europe’s future is uncertain in 2064, but Eva is willing to sacrifice nearly everything to hold onto her family’s farm. Her teenage daughter implores Eva to leave the farm and Norway, but a pregnant wild mare Eva is tending is about to foal. Then, a young woman named Louise unexpectedly arrives on the farm, with mysterious intentions that will either bring them all together, or devastate them one by one.

Spanning continents and centuries, The Last Wild Horses is a powerful tale of survival and connection—of humans, animals, and the indestructible bonds that unite us all.

The Last Wild Horses was a powerful story of our desire to know, understand and, ultimately, save a species from extinction. I enjoyed this novel quite a lot but don't rate it quite as highly as the series predecessor, The History of Bees.

The tale branches in three timelines – Mikhail in Russia in the 1800s, Karin in Mongolian in the 90s, Eva in Norway in 2064. All have the rare Mongolian takhi, Przewalski's horse, at the center of his/her individual story. Mikhail to find and collect them, Karin and Eva to reintroduce and preserve the species. Eva's story had the most punch as hers is the world we are likely to create if we carry on heedlessly plundering and wasting resources. Karin's was also a very good tale and painted Mongolia in a magical way making it a future destination of choice if we ever take up international travel again.

I applaud Maja Lunde for this series of novels. It raises awareness of the unintended, or possibly fully intended, consequences of our actions. I wonder that the closing book of this climate quartet will be? I would bet it's plastic/pollution.

Three stories, each set in a different timeframe and all focused on relationships that are to become fractured or are in some way already broken. The other connecting element is that of Mongolian wild horses (also referred to as the Przewalski’s horse or takhis), these short and stocky animals providing a background narrative in each case. The relationships we observe include newly found - and forbidden - love, a parent and child who have become separated and are now fighting to find some kind of re-connection and a complex collective who are simply struggling to survive.

In 1884 a Russian zoologist and a German explorer undertake an expedition to Mongolia where they plan to search for wild horses in the hope of capturing some and bringing them back to St Petersburg, where the Russian plans to display them in his zoological garden. In 1992, a German biologist attempts to reintroduce the horses back into their native Mongolia, the species having been whittled down to just a few that can only now be found in captivity. And in 2064 a Norwegian woman struggles with the impacts of climate change – heat, drought and lack of food – whilst caring for the few animals she has, including perhaps the last remaining wild horses.

I found the story, or perhaps I should say the history, of these wild horses to be interesting enough to prompt a little research – enough to persuade me that something along the lines of the activity described in the stories set in the 1800s and 1900s actually did take place. But it’s definitely the people who take centre stage here with the story of the horses more of a linking theme, and as a result I found that I wasn’t persuaded to fully invest in the plight of these rare beasts. As for the people, I felt the emotions and recognised the obvious pain and grief but, a bit like the horses, I found it hard to fully engage with the characters I was introduced to. The three tales are, in essence, stand alone short stories - each was able to hold my interest but none really grabbed me. The mood is throughout one of hope and lingering fear for the fate of the horses but largely of angst and disappointment with regard to their own lives. Uplifting it isn’t.

This book is the third in a promised set of four books from this author, all set around climate related issues. It won the Norwegian Bookseller’s Prize and has been translated into 40 languages.

Brilliant. Lunde's signature approach of focusing on a single element through time is a hugely powerful and effective way of illustrating climate change. As in the End of the Ocean, she selects a one area to build her stories and her characters around, this time a rare breed of wild horse native to Mongolia. We follow three related narratives

Mikhail, a Russian zoologist in the 1880s is determined to discover an ancient breed of horse, recently called the Przewalski horse. Enlisting the help of a famed German explorer he makes his way to Mongolia in the hopes of capturing specimens of the animal for his zoological garden.

Karin, a German biologist in the 1990s attempting to reintroduce the Przewalski horse back into its native habitat in Mongolia in the hope that the species, now only surviving in captivity, can rebuild its population in the wild.

Eva, a Norwegian woman in the 2060s struggling with the effects of the climate crisis. Extremes of heat, drought and rainfall in Europe have caused massive population movement northwards in search of resources and less hostile landscapes. Eva remains on an isolated farm that was once a [...], only a few animals remain after the struggle to feed them forced Eva to release them one by one into the wild. Some of the few remaining are the Przewalskies, whom she cannot bear to send away to fend for themselves, despite the pleas of her teenage daughter Isa that they abandon the farm and follow others in the search for a better environment. When Louise, a Frenchwoman arrives in what is left of the settlement her arrival signals change and difficult decisions for Eva.

It is fascinating to contemplate the human impact on the planet through the fictionalised story of a single species. The characters are each complex, flawed, engaging, with varied priorities and different attitudes on animals and their environment. Lunde investigates the relationships between mothers and children, between partners and between families and well as the relationship between humans and animal, humans and their environment and is unflinching about the realities and failures as well as the power of love and bonds of family and friendship. It's a brilliant, absorbing story.

I absolutely loved reading The Last Wild Horses by Maja Lunde. The book is super captivating and diverse, starting from the topic – endangered animals, to the 3 narrative threads, each happening in a different location and timing – 1880s in Russia, 1990s in Mongolia, and 2060s in Norway.

A nice touch was that one character from another Climate Quartet book appeared in the story- of course I won’t tell you which one! Having a character transcend his/her own story increased a lot the feeling that the books are part of the same universe, same ecosystem. Hope to see this in the next book as well!

I definitely recommend reading The Last Wild Horses by Maja Lunde, as stand-alone book or together with the other books of the Climate Quartet. It is a fascinating story about endangered animals and climate change, human connection and fighting in dark times.

As a side note, I shared about the book in Instagram stories @readershightea.

I love Maja Lunde, her concentration on a dystopian climate-changed world, with the multiple time frames she likes to use - and the key element of this story is the last Mongolian wild horses.

The first time frame is a zoological expedition to Mongolia in the late 19th century to capture some specimen animals - the two male expeditionists are intriguing characters, and their relationship with each other becomes as important as the search for the horses.

Second, the late twentieth century where the plan is to reintroduce the horses back to their native Mongolia, with the accompanying characters experiencing family rift and reunification.

Thirdly in mid 21st century Norway, the world is falling apart, and three women find themselves strugglign to survive, alongside their horses.

Such incredible characters, well written and engaging, that unite the theme of the horses throughout the story. I'm not a horse lover, that does not matter one bit, this is a great book.

This book contains three different stories all set in three different timelines with one thing in common - wild horses. It is well written with riveting storylines and well developed characters who are all flawed and all the more believable because of that.

The Przewalski horse and its fate ties three very different stories together, and act as a cypher for human feelings and actions. Maja Lunde is such a powerful storyteller that the harsh images of the stories really burn into you.

Mikhail goes on a mission to round up and catch the wild horses in the 1880s and discovers his true passion, Karin and her son Mathias return captured horses to a wild environment in the 1990s and try to fix a failing relationship. And in the future that is familiar from Lunde's other work but still very strange and foreboding to us, in the 2060s Eva and her daughter try to continue to care for possibly the last horses of their kind in a broken world.

It's a very challenging and disturbing read, covers many different topics and prompts many thoughts about the future which are truly concerning, but it does this very well and with compassion. I found the future storyline about Eva particularly resonated, as we seem to be reaching that world sooner than you might think.

Maja Lunde is a good storyteller and the stories in this book are fascinating, three different storie with horses as a common trait.
The characters are far from perfect, not always likeable but fleshed out. There's more hope in this book and i found it a lighter read compared to the other I read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

3.5 stars

Three timelines, three very different stories, all connected by the wild horses.
I was fully invested in the outcome , not just for each of the main characters, but for the horse drama in this one.
Each timeline brings its own problems, but the bleakness of the future was my favourite.. not sure what that says about me.
Left me feeling a little bit hopeful.