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Welcome to Wayward Pines, where paradise is home and nothing is what it seems.
The scene has been set and the seemingly idillic town, a modern day Eden, if you ignore the 24/7 surveilience and 25 foot electric fence, is poised on the brink of humanities extinction .
As with the first installment, “Wayward” is inspired Crouch’s love of “Twin Peaks” and “The X-Files”. “Wayward” is the tale of the continuing struggle of Ethan Burke, as well as the other 460 residents of Wayward Pines. Be forewarned: as I stated in my review of “Pines”, it’s impossible to adequately review this book without some spoilers but I’ll do my best to keep them at bay.
Wayward Pines, the last bastion of humanity, a town on the edge of revolution and extinction, built by enigmatic billionaire David Pilcher to preserve the human race. Having discovered that Wayward Pines is a town inhabited by people suspended in animation for 1,800 years, Ethan Burke attempts to escape, survives, and is made sheriff by Pilcher – a job which Ethan reluctantly takes to ensure the safety of his family. In a town in which every resident secretly wishes and dreams of leaving; Ethan Burke has seen the aweful truth beyond the walls and knows the horrible truth.
Residents of Wayward Pines live a semingly perfect life. It is well constructed so that residents want for nothing and ask for nothing. Everything is as is should be, unless you want to seek what is behind the electric fences or discuss your past life. Where Pines concludes with questions, Wayward begins with answers. Ethan uncovers more information about the development of Wayward Pines and is forced to work for those who watch over the town’s public and private matters. Sometimes is best just to accept the world as is appears, never questioning what lies just below the surface. For the most part, Ethan’s job is quiet, that is until an anonymous young woman turns up dead on the outskirts of town. With an assignment to prevent rebellion, Ethan instead begins to uncover the secrets and deceptions that continue to plague the inhabitants of Wayward Pines, putting not only himself in danger, but also every last citizen of this outwardly peaceful town.
Wayward strives to give the reader a better over arching view of what is left of the world, the human world. Delving into the inner workings of the would be god, David Pilcher and his inner circle. It continues the world building and character development of the first book. Blending mystery and Science fiction with a dash of horror, Crouch again takes readers on a fast paced, bumpy trip into the wonderfully terrible future.
As it was in the first book, questions will dog readers at every turn as they travel with Ethan on his quest to free the residents of Wayward Pines. Ethan’s character embodies anyone who has ever sought explanation beyond what lies at surface levels. He is a strong protagonist using pragmatism in his fight against an all too real and convincing antagonist. David Pilcher, who at one time in his life had a utopian vison of saving humanity, but has succumbed to a God fantasy, seeing himself as the only one fit to decide the fate of the last of a species. As if the jarring switches of the first book weren’t enough, “Wayward” adds a new subplot, which centers on a mysterious “Nomad” exploring the vast expanse of death outside the secure walls of Wayward Pines. Many readers will feel the shifts from main to subplot are random at first, but as the suspense rises in both arcs, “Wayward” comes to a close just in time for readers to turn that final page only to find that they have arrived solidly in the grip of a classic cliffhanger, with no clear cut ending in sight.
I came away from this book feeling drained and aching for answers. Dystopianism is a major, dominant, and overarching theme in “Wayward”. David Pilcher assumes the role of benevolent dictator from his perch high in the mountain superstructure. 160+ “true believers” work for him as crew and an inner circle. He dictates everything that goes on in town; who people marry, what they do for work, what they can discuss, and how they die. Crouch gives us a view into the mind of a mad genius and it’s effect on those below him. Like the first installment this novel is done in third person, limited-omniscient perspective. This gives the reader a common voice; a unifying thread; to tie together different characters and different aspects of the plot, making the plot easier to understand. By employing the limited-omniscient perspective, Wayward allows the reader to know only as much as the characters in the novel themselves know. Allowing the reader to learn things as the characters learn them. This adds to the mystery and suspense in the story, which is a sci-fi/mystery/horror/thriller after all.
“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift, that’s why ot’s called the present. Work hard, be happy, and enjoy your life in Wayward Pines!” – notice to all residents of Wayward Pines.
Continue on to the third and final book in the series – “The Last Town”
The Wayward Pines book series informs the exciting new FOX Summer Series. “Wayward Pines” stars Matt Dillon, Carla Gugino, and Toby Jones and airs Thursday nights on FOX. Read our review of the TV Series HERE
