Wayward Pines - 02 Wayward

Welcome to Wayward Pines, population 461. Nestled amidst picture-perfect mountains, the idyllic town is a modern-day Eden...except for the electrified fence and razor wire, snipers scoping everything 24/7, and the relentless surveillance tracking each word and gesture.

None of the residents know how they got here. They are told where to work, how to live, and who to marry. Some believe they are dead. Others think they’re trapped in an unfathomable experiment. Everyone secretly dreams of leaving, but those who dare face a terrifying surprise.

Ethan Burke has seen the world beyond. He’s sheriff, and one of the few who knows the truth—Wayward Pines isn’t just a town. And what lies on the other side of the fence is a nightmare beyond anyone’s imagining.

**

In Pines (2012), Crouch introduced Wayward Pines, a town that fictional futurist David Pilcher created to preserve humankind, in danger of extinction in the face of devolved human “Abnormals” overrunning the planet. In 2013, Pilcher kidnapped the town’s residents and placed them in suspension pods, releasing them 1,800 years later. Behind a picket-fenced facade, Wayward Pines is surrounded by an electrified fence, and Pilcher controls townies with microchips and zero-tolerance regulations. Sheriff Ethan Burke is attempting to protect the townies from horrors on both sides of the fence by cooperating with Pilcher, but in the course of investigating a murder—the victim turns out to be Pilcher’s daughter—Burke’s veneer of cooperation cracks, and he struggles to execute a plan that will grant townies liberty without sacrificing their safety. Crouch successfully embeds political philosophy and a spot-on murder investigation into this dystopian blend of fantasy and thriller. While the novel lacks some of Pines’ stomach-churning suspense, its cliff-hanger ending promises truckloads of terrifying moments to come. --Christine Tran

"The rare sequel that improves on the original. The stakes are higher. And you never know where Blake is going to take you next." —Hugh Howey, bestselling author of Wool, and the newest in the Silo Saga, Dust.

“Blake Crouch creates a realistically terrifying world in Wayward.” —Suspense Magazine

“Wayward has something for everyone. There is a murder mystery, lots of action, and a science fiction premise that should have fanboys and girls at every con chanting “Blake! Blake! Blake!” This series is so good, vivid and wonderfully told that as the word spreads and its fame grows, its fans will take on a life unto themselves.” —Bookreporter

“[In Wayward] you have a book that will have you cursing Blake Crouch’s name for not having book three out right this second…There may be no such thing as a perfect novel, but this comes damn close for me.” —Top of the Heap Reviews

“Like some, I spent of much of Pines wondering if the mysterious plot was going to pay off. But Crouch not only ended Pines with a cliffhanger keen enough to make Stephen King blush in shame, he carried that self-same confidence right into the first chapters of Wayward. Make no mistake—this is an author who knows exactly what he‘s doing. Fans of Pines (of which I consider myself a proud member) will blaze through this riveting sequel like a forest fire. Just prep yourself for another borderline-cruel cliffhanger going into book three.” —Bloody Disgusting