In a world where travel across the Wastelands is possible only by the luxurious yet perilous Trans-Siberian Express, an enigmatic journey awaits. The train, known for both its opulence and its perilous encounters with Wastelands creatures, is about to embark on its final voyage—a journey fraught with mystery and danger.

Onboard is a diverse group of passengers:

Zhang Weiwei: A long-time steward of the train who thought she knew all its secrets until the last journey, which ended in a disaster she can’t quite recall.

Marya Petrovna: A grieving woman hiding behind a borrowed name, seeking solace or perhaps something more.

Henry Grey: A disgraced naturalist on a quest for redemption, carrying the weight of his past mistakes.

Elena: A beguiling stowaway with a deep, almost mystical connection to the Wastelands.

As the train begins its journey, Weiwei finds herself inexplicably drawn to Elena despite knowing she should report her. The train’s passengers must navigate not only their own hidden agendas and personal mysteries but also the increasingly dangerous and unpredictable environment outside the train.

The narrative unfolds at a deliberate pace, mirroring the slow and treacherous progress of the train through the Wastelands. This slow burn creates a sense of tension and anticipation, enhancing the eerie, almost surreal atmosphere. As the rules governing the Wastelands begin to shift, the passengers must grapple with their fears and suspicions, all while contending with the ever-present threat of the unknown.

In this unsettling, atmospheric journey, you are invited to experience the trippy and disorienting reality of the Wastelands and uncover what happens when the boundaries between safety and danger blur.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

A gripping dystopian adventure reminiscent of the Snowpiercer film franchise. The mysterious Wastelands between China and Russia, prove an eerie attraction for the multitude of passengers who make the cross continental journey aboard the Great Trans-Siberian Express. Each passenger has their own reason to be aboard the train as it makes it's way back to Russia after a doomed expedition. The crew aboard have no choice but to serve the passengers as they journey deep into the Wasteland territories.

But what is really lying in wait outside the brittle glass windows of the train and how can onlookers become transfixed and succumb to sickness and eventual madness just by gazing upon it. There are those aboard who love the train and the freedom that it offers and there are those who rightly fear it's ethereal power.

A gripping story that builds tension and intrigue from the outset. Beautifully written and truly beguiling.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is a very vibey novel and I think people will either love it or hate it, although saying that I come down on the fence about it! Anyone coming into this expecting an Agatha Christie-style romp on a train will probably be disappointed, and anyone expecting high fantasy will probably also find it a bit lacking. It sits on a tangential area between realism and fantasy, which is exactly what it should do given the story. I liked the strands for WeiWei and Marya, but hated Henry Grey, though I assume you're supposed to. It's a book that you probably come out of with more questions than answers, so bear that in mind before picking it up.

A dark novel that wants to evoke the strangeness of the unknown, and the void – and succeeds. We are in late Victorian times, and the Trans-Siberian Express is leaving Beijing for European Russia, but this is not the TSE we know from our world. When it leaves the city, and passes through a massive wall – and this is certainly not as wee as the Great Wall of China that we know from our world – it will not stop, haring across the plains of Siberia, until it comes to rest, is minutely checked for invasive – well, invasive anythings – and finally let through to Moscow. We quickly see a few of the key passengers and company – a nature scientist, an orphan, a stuck-up Countess, someone there under false pretences – and very slowly find out that something rather threatening and wrong happened on the eastbound journey. Many quit the railway firm, those reluctantly there are not speaking of it – and when the nastiness from the Siberian expanse can be the wrong kind of yellow in the wrong kind of place, just what issues and problems might this trip encounter?

This isn't a "Snowpiercer versus the monsters outside" book, but take away the class issues of the graphic novel and you get a similar kind of ride. Although don't think I am misremembering Snowpiercer – and yes, you're right, it is unusual for a dodgy yellow to be picked up on as a nastiness that seems to end up on the train solely from man's hubris at thinking he can cross the taiga and steppes without anything fighting back. This is dipping into the concept behind "The Forbidden Planet" with its subconscious monster, which here is a 'something' out in the sticks, the Wastelands of the title, that makes those in Beijing so wary of the train itself they'll throw any half-made tea away if they hear it, in case of it passing on a curse as it thunders by.

The other cultural reference to be made, in light of the feeling of this giant train but a matchstick in a birch forest, lakeland, living entity so much larger than it, is the first "Solaris" movie. This area called the Wastelands is no irradiated desert, however toxic people have been led to believe it is – instead there is life there, if it is not alive itself.

All this comes across wonderfully well, with an easily read and most immediate present tense taking us from character to character – and so many of them drawn to the world outside their hermetic carriages. This is definitely 'speculative fiction' as opposed to straight sci-fi, or horror, and clearly about the pull of the unknown, the fear of the unseen and the old empirical urge to conquer the untameable. But it's also about entertainment, far more than it is about conveying a theme or message, and I found it highly entertaining. The style is classily looking back as historical fiction might (this alone must have doubled my encountering of the word "whilst" for the year) but is really engaging with it, meaning this, puffed as a best-seller before it was even out, does have many of the hallmarks of being able to fit that description. An easy four stars.

I really liked the different characters, with their varying reasons for being on the train and seeking to know more about the Wastelands. The mystery as to what happened on the last journey the train made, and how it could happen, hushed up by the powerful Company who run the train, is gradually answered over the journey, and the very nature of the Wastelands becomes clearer as the train travels. It's part steam-punk exploration, part mystery, part historical fantasy, and is very well done.

This was a distinct case of too many character, too many ideas and too little plot. It's a mix of dystopian, mystery and fantasy as a strange group of characters find solice from a desolate wasteland aboard a train. A train that becomes the home, livelihood and whole world to a host of characters. It's chaotic and claustrophobic, widely inventive and strangely closed off. Most of the scenes and story take place on the train, with limited glimpses of the outside world. This made the plot very tunnel visioned in a way, restricted in what the characters could do or say. Unfortunately as a result it just got a bit dull with not much action, and a whole lot of talking amongst many, many people.

Another case of really interesting ideas, but action and execution needed some tidying up to make this stand out for me.

I absolutely adored this book, it is a mix of historical fiction, fantasy, steampunk, gothic, mystery, action and adventure book. I have seen this has gathered mixed reviews but I adored it.

Set in the 19th Century there is the Great Trans-Siberian railway that you are not permitted to leave, you are advised not to spend too long looking out of the windows and there are only two stations, Beijing and Moscow. The train is built to withstand the terrors of the wasteland that it travels. A land full of danger, unknown creatures and rumours. The wasteland is held at bay by a wall, it has huge towers that are manned and nothing gets in or out of the wasteland unless it is on the train.

This is a book that has it all for me, the mysterious and unknown, the bizarre and I adored it from the very first page to the last. I do hope there is another book to follow as there is a possibility.

This book reminded me of the film Snowpiercer but with a historical fiction setting. The train has its crew, 1st and 3rd class passengers and the important ones are gradually introduced. A passenger who is hiding a secret, a girl who was born on the train, and there is a cartographer, engineer, Captain and others who are used to creating a story. The train is run by The Company and on this train there are Company men, this adds a sense of mistrust, and also a political angle.

The author has brought together her characters and the strands of a story that she gradually embellishes and expands upon. I liked the sense of unknown and distrust of anything outside the train. The unknown is something that builds tension throughout the story, there is still an element of it there towards the end of the book as well.

When it is realised that there are some elements of the wasteland within the train, it is hushed up, but like anything this cannot last indefinitely. As the author brings more answers then things start to make a lot more sense, but there is still more to understand.

If you are looking for a book that crosses genres, is different and has a fantasy steampunk style to it then this is one you should have a look at. As I read it I was able to visualise this story from the wonderful writing of the author. Fabulous read and one I would definitely recommend.

This book sounded fascinating and, in its way, it is but I found it a very slow read and not one that I could focus on. Interleaved it with reading other books and it still took me weeks to complete.

Some of the concepts were great, especially the way the train interacted with the outside world and that made me sad that reading said book took as long as the train's journey!

A complete cover but that kept me hooked with a captivating and mysterious atmosphere and thrills aplenty.

Wasn't sure what to expect of this book but I really enjoyed it! I've seen it described as a steampunk eco-fantasy which gives an indication of the inventiveness of this read. I liked the way that it blended the realities of the trans-siberian railway with hints of mystery so the reader is never sure what is just a product of the travellers' nervous imagination and what actually lurks beyond the windows.

In some ways it was reminiscent of The Night Circus with its cast of mysterious characters but it had much stronger internal cohesion and clarity of denouement. I would definitely recommend this to readers who like travel, fantasy and a little twist into the bargain!

Really wanted to love this book. The description sounded perfect for me but it's very slow going & didn't really get into the characters.
Great idea but too slow for me.

The land between Moscow and Beijing is an untameable wilderness, known as the Wastelands. The only way to cross this deadly terrain is via the Great Trans-Siberian Express, an impenetrable train originally built to carry cargo, but which now transports anyone brave enough to make the crossing. Among the travellers preparing to make the latest crossing are a grieving woman using a false name, a disgraced scientist determined to save his reputation, and the famous child born on the train, who has never known any other life. But there are whispers that this journey is being made too soon after the last, that the train isn’t safe, and that this current clutch of passengers might not make it to the other side.

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style. The story follows a few different characters, but not too many so it’s easy enough to follow without getting muddled. The setting is magical, with a fantastic premise, and it felt like quite a unique reading experience (though I’d struggle to really explain why).

However, it’s quite a long book with very little that actually happens. 60-70% of the book is mainly characters walking around the train, having conversations of seemingly little importance. I struggled to see where the plot was going, and then, when it reached it’s destination, I wasn’t entirely sure how we got there. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, but it could have been better.

The premise for this book sounded great - set at the end of the nineteenth century on the Trans-Siberian railway where we meet a cast of characters joined together for a long journey. However, it was a lot stranger than that - the 'Company' running the railway have had a previous disaster they refuse to acknowledge and have placed 'men in black' on the train to ensure staff and passengers do not discuss anything they should not.

The female train manager is never seen, and a girl who was born on the train and lived there all her life is scurring around working and hiding and spying. In first class we have a countess (of course!), a naturalist, and a young widow with her own secrets. We don't really get to meet anyone of interest in third class, other than the Professor.

So still there are the elements of an interesting set of vignettes and mysteries. But somehow the wasteland the train drives through are filled with danger, miasmas, fantastical creatures and the ability to ensnare the mind of unwary passengers. For me was totally unbelievable fantasy, bordering on the ridiculous.

I persevered to the end. Parts were well written and described, but the overall story just stretched credulity for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was set on a train and it was awesome! I really like reading about people from the 19th century on boats and trains and just public transport. There’s something so right about it. I love this sort of time period to begin with, so adding in a train just made it so great.

I also loved the idea of the Wastelands, an horror style environment where if you stare too long you might never come back to yourself. I loved learning every new part of the wastelands and Elena and Weiwei’s relationship. I loved the wildness of the wastelands and the mystery of the previous trip through the wastelands. There was a magic to it that I was really excited by.

And the writing style was just enchanting. Like the Wastelands, it drew me in and relaxed and excited me in equal measures.

I really want to see more of this world and these characters, but I will settle for more from the writer if this ends up being a standalone.

Sadly I couldn't get into this one, the premise was great but nothing in the first few chapters really gripped me.

This was a super fun creepy ish book!

It started off a little slow but I could see the author was trying to building the world on the train and the characters before getting into the meat of the story

This is a personal preference but I would have loved the creep factor to be rocked up 1000%. But it by no means took away from the story.

The characters were all a dream to read from, the way they were told and appeared on the page I felt like I was in the book with them.

The world, the wastelands were the best part. So well done, the ways the prose (which is beautifully written!) just emulated the world making me feel a part of the story and not just consuming it.

The aspect of the wastelands I loved. The not quite sure what it is, the I’m not sure if what the characters believe is true. It was so compelling.

The later half of the book is my best when we got into the heart of the story. I loved each character decision, how the tension ranked up and consequences were had. Loved it!

Overall it’s one I recommend. A solid book especially for a debut.

This story is set on the Trans-Siberian Express in an alternative Victorian 19th-century world which is a mix of steampunk, gothic, dystopian and teetering on the brink of futuristic change in many ways, with industrialism spreading. Swathes of the world have become Wasteland, where people dare not enter. To travel across these areas, enter the Trans-Siberian Express. The train can make the crossing, while full of risks, those who need to make the journey, or who want to experience the thrill of it, do so.

The train is built to carry cargo, both people and goods across continents and has been built to be impenetrable. But something happened on its last journey. This is its first journey since then, so the crew have some nerves. As they travel from Bejing to the Great Exhibition Moscow they have a complement of passengers, from a seemingly grieving widow with something to hide, to a disgraced naturalist trying to redeem his name with a secret mission on this trip, through to the famous train child, born on the train, and now a part of it, working as crew.

As the train makes its journey it starts to unravel. The whispers begin, the train is not safe. The Wastelands begin to invade. Can the passengers survive the invasion, and the incoming wave of change?

This book was a mix of steampunk, magic, mystery and fiction. The story is a slow burner, and not at all what I expected. It is full of unexpected twists, crazy spins off into the world that is being unveiled to us, and a lot of emotional turmoil to sift through. It is a book about people, and change, and the world we live in. The impact we have on it, and our willingness to look at ourselves and the impact we have on the world. There is a lot to take on in this story, with a very varied cast of characters, each bringing something to the table. Each is superbly written and offers a lot to the story.
The final ending is poignant, meaning full and full of emotion. I did feel like I wanted more, something bigger, however, after all the anticipation and build-up. However, the story builds up the tension very well, with the train rolling along the tracks fast to the point of no return, where we anticipate the final unveiling of the creeping dread that has been gripping us from almost the beginning. A slow-burning read, which you may get frustrated with at times, wishing the pace could pick up. Nonetheless, a fantastically well-written read, offering something different from the norm for sure!

*I received this book from NetGalley for review, but all opinions are my own.

3.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2024/06/27/the-cautious-travellers-guide-to-the-wastelands-by-sarah-brooks-review/
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Liked not Loved This One

TCTGttW is undoubtedly a well written and interesting story that offers readers a historic, gothic style  setting with a fascinating mystery.  It's a good read, if a little slow, but, I think my expectations had misled me a little  - which is totally on me because the description isn't misleading at all.  

As the story begins we meet a number of passengers as they ready themselves before embarking on what is undoubtedly a dangerous journey. The Trans-Siberian Express travels from Beijing to Moscow.
I loved the setup to be honest. The introduction to a number of passengers, some of them with very personal reasons for making the journey, who are keeping secrets. We particularly follow a grieving young woman travelling under a false name and a young girl who was born on the train and has been adopted into the hearts of the train and crew. On top of this we have a couple of characters known as The Crows who seem to stalk the train and passengers keeping everything under tight control.

As the journey begins you become immediately aware of the dangers faced. The wastelands are an ever changing and adapting unknown entity that seem to drive people crazy.

I don't really want to say too much more about the plot because of spoilers.

My feelings whilst reading went from loving the writing, the characters and set up with all the anticipation that was initially created to one of feeling that very little was really happening and eventually becoming a bit frustrated.

I think I wanted more from the wastelands really. This is an element of the story that felt under explored for me. I was expecting goosebumps and a few chills. Instead this feels a little like a gentle warning about the price of progress and the effects such progress can have on the natural environment. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t feel like a story that is trying to preach, but, at the same time it felt a little tentative, like it was on the precipice of throwing caution to the wind and bringing to us something quite fantastical or remaining a bit more calm. I think I was hoping for a bit of chaos and some dark psychological goings on as the passengers started to lose control. Also there was a certain passenger who for me was just a huge ‘spoiler alert’. I can’t say more though without being a big spoiler alert myself.

Anyway. This probably sounds a bit more critical than I intended so to back up a little. The story is really well written, there’s a great sense of intrigue and a creeping dread of what might actually happen. And, who doesn’t love a story set on a train? 

Just, if you’re planning on picking this up be aware that it is a slow burn and don’t make my mistake and start hoping for all sorts of creepy critters in the dark.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 3.5 beautifully written stars.

A captivating journey that blends vivid world-building with a deeply engrossing narrative.

I was thoroughly enchanted by the vivid descriptions and the richly imaginative world that Brooks has crafted. The narrative is both fulfilling and leaves you longing to uncover more about the Wastelands and its inhabitants. The sense of longing and discovery is palpable, making the journey both emotionally and intellectually satisfying.

I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did, but it completely exceeded my expectations. It’s a spellbinding blend of intrigue, suspense, and profound storytelling that fans of speculative fiction will adore. If you enjoy stories that transport you to another world and keep you hooked from start to finish, then The Cautious Traveller's Guide to The Wastelands is a must-read.

It’s 1899 and passengers are boarding the Trans-Siberian Express, a twenty-carriage luxury train which will take them from Beijing to Moscow in time to attend the Great Exhibition. The four thousand mile journey will travel through the Wastelands, an abandoned wilderness where the landscape and wildlife seem to be undergoing strange changes and mutations. Since the changes were first recorded several decades earlier, Walls have been built to separate the Wastelands from the rest of Russia and China and passengers are not allowed to leave the train in the area between the Walls. On the previous journey, something went wrong: the glass in the windows cracked, exposing the train to the dangers of the Wastelands. The Trans-Siberian Company blamed the glassmaker and have assured passengers that the train is now safe, but doubts still remain.

The story of the 1899 Trans-Siberian crossing is told from the perspectives of several of the passengers. First, there’s Marya Petrovna, who has boarded the train under a false name and disguised as a mourning widow. At first we don’t know who Marya is or why she is hiding her identity, but we do know that she believes an injustice has been done and has come on this journey in search of answers. Then there’s Dr Henry Grey, an English naturalist whose latest theories have been disproved and who hopes to restore his reputation by studying the Wastelands. Finally, Zhang Weiwei is a sixteen-year-old girl known as ‘the child of the train’ because she was born in the Third-Class sleeping car and has spent her whole life travelling backwards and forwards on the train. There are many other people onboard the train, but these are the central three around whom the novel revolves.

The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands is an unusual, imaginative novel and there were many things I enjoyed about it. I’ve read several other books set on trains, but usually, even in Murder on the Orient Express, the train simply provides a way of bringing a group of people together in close confines or of getting them from one destination to another. In this book, the train itself is an important part of the story and could even almost be viewed as another character. Sarah Brooks’ worldbuilding is very impressive; the novel has been compared to Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi and Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus and it did make me think of the latter in particular. So much attention to detail goes into describing the various carriages and compartments, the history of the train and its earlier crossings, and the fictional travel guide which gives the novel its name. The Wastelands themselves are less clearly described and although it’s suggested that life there has become tainted in some way, we don’t really know how or why, and much of the mystery still remains at the end of the book, which I’m sure was deliberate – but quite frustrating!

However, I felt that the setting and atmosphere came at the expense of the plot. The pace was very slow, with more than half of the novel devoted to setting the scene and introducing the characters, and it seemed to end just as things were starting to happen. I also would have preferred an explanation for what was happening in the Wastelands and was left wondering what we were intended to take away from the book. Was there a message in there about climate change and the environment – or migration, with walls being built to keep people out (or in)? I think we’re definitely supposed to question whether it’s best to travel cautiously or curiously, embracing change or turning away from it.

The Cautious Traveller’s Guide… is a fascinating alternate history novel, then, with lots to think about and debate. I didn’t find it completely satisfying, but I’m sure the right reader will love it.