The Cautious Traveller's Guide to The Wastelands

The instant bestseller and one of the biggest debuts of 2024, now in a new paperback edition

Brooks's vivid, impressive debut is a turn-of-the-last-century steampunk fantasy set aboard the Great Trans-Siberian Express

I was completely transported by this book, lost in its world and mysteries, astounded by its beauty, and full of admiration for its humanity. I loved every second I spent with it, and urge everybody to pick up a copy. It's an astonishing journey

A journey both unnerving and powerful, which thunders along at breathtaking speed, abounding with mysteries and marvels. Be warned - once you step into The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands , you'll never want to disembark

This is a wild and wonderful journey; gloriously imaginative and completely captivating. Rich in allure, intrigue and suspense, it's a ride that readers will never want to end

The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wasteland is mysterious and clever and brilliant

Exceptional. Strange, addictive, immersive, it's a steampunk Piranesi meets His Dark Materials

I hugely enjoyed The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands ; it's like a steampunk Solaris

Asks us to reconsider our place within the natural world amid a backdrop of capitalism and empire. . . thrilling and transcendent

Richly imaginative, profoundly allegorical, and utterly propulsive, I loved THE CAUTIOUS TRAVELLER'S GUIDE TO THE WASTELANDS. With impeccable pacing and elegant storytelling, this novel is pure delight. Though all on the same train, each character takes a different journey and it is most marvellous to join in as they travel the Wastelands to reach their final destinations. Bravo! All aboard for a captivating and transformative adventure!

A spellbindingly original and totally engrossing book; I so much want to ride that train!

I loved this book . . . deserves to become an instant classic

Exciting . . . Imagine a crossover between Murder on the Orient Express, Game of Thrones and Paradise Lost . . . Brooks has serious talent

If you haven't got it at the top of your pile yet, we suggest you move it on up. You'll be thinking about this one long after you've put it down

With its light handling of serious themes, this is a vivid and imaginative trip rather than a weighty one. But then inessential journeys are often the most fun

The very best of speculative fiction

Beautifully imagined . . . there are philosophical parables and scientific parallels to unpick, but meanings are deliciously elusive and dance away, just out of reach. Sit back and enjoy the ride

A ride worth taking

Brooks's crisp style and striking visual imagination make the Wastelands a hypnotic blend of menace and beauty, and she builds tension with a light touch

This is pitched as historical fantasy, but it is also being compared to a steampunk Solaris and a steampunk Piranesi by early readers, so I think there will be plenty here for sci-fi fans to enjoy

Sarah Brooks won the Lucy Cavendish Prize in 2019. She works in East Asian Studies at the University of Leeds where she also helps run the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing. She has a PhD on monsters in classical Chinese ghost stories and is also co-editor of Samovar , a bilingual online magazine for translated speculative fiction. Originally from Lancashire, she now lives in Leeds.