Civilization as we know it has collapsed, leaving behind
remnants of the knowledge once possessed. Various towns
have rebuilt and imposed various controls on their
population and use of resources in order to prevent another
collapse. The rules must be upheld, and investigators,
always clothed in a distinctive brown uniform, are
charged with investigating and meting out justice.
Investigator Enid of Haven is sent with a brand-new
partner, Teeg, to mediate a dispute over a home owned by
the Semperfi household in Estuary. Unfortunately, a
relatively easy case becomes much more complicated when a
dead body turns up -- and she's not from Estuary, but is one
of the wild folks who live outside the rules. Can Enid
unravel what transpired?
I absolutely love Enid! Her search for truth, even in the
face of scorn or lack of support, is admirable. However,
it is her willingness to seek out the truth for those
whom society deems outcast or not necessarily even human
(ie, the wild folks) that makes me love her so much. She
is quite the contrast to her new partner, Teeg, who is
both impetuous and quick to judge.
THE WILD DEAD is the second book in the Bannerless
Saga, but can easily be read as a standalone. There
are mentions of Enid's previous partner and a few
spoilers as to what occurred to him. However, the story
mainly focuses on Enid and an entirely different
community so it's easy to jump in and enjoy the
storyline. Teeg is also a new character so the only real
back history needed is on Enid and Carrie Vaughn fills in
enough of the details for new readers. However, I suspect
readers will be fascinated by this dystopian/post-
apocalyptic world and want to explore it further after
reading THE WILD DEAD.
THE WILD DEAD is an intriguing and sometimes quite
thought provoking dystopian/post-apocalyptic mystery. I
love how even the investigation and resolution of the
mystery serve to further the world building as we begin
to see a better picture emerge of the taboos within this
new post-civilization world. I can't wait to read future
books in the Bannerless
Saga. Carrie Vaughn has
me hooked!
Mysteries and murder abound in the sequel to the Philip
K. Dick Award–winning Bannerless
A century after environmental and economic collapse, the
people of the Coast Road have rebuilt their own sort of
civilization, striving not to make the mistakes their
ancestors did. They strictly ration and manage resources,
including the ability to have children. Enid of Haven is an
investigator, who with her new partner, Teeg, is called on
to mediate a dispute over an old building in a far-flung
settlement at the edge of Coast Road territory. The
investigators’ decision seems straightforward — and then the
body of a young woman turns up in the nearby marshland.
Almost more shocking than that, she’s not from the Coast
Road, but from one of the outsider camps belonging to the
nomads and wild folk who live outside the Coast Road
communities. Now one of them is dead, and Enid wants to find
out who killed her, even as Teeg argues that the murder
isn’t their problem. In a dystopian future of isolated
communities, can our moral sense survive the worst hard times?
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