The Wolves of Winter

October 16, 2017
Johnson’s debut novel is an exciting, fast-paced tale of a postapocalyptic world in which nuclear wars and a deadly flu pandemic have nearly wiped out humanity. Twenty-three-year-old Lynn McBride and her family fled the disease, setting up a family compound in the Canadian Yukon, “the vast wilderness of nothing,” a wintry landscape where they barely survive. When a bearded stranger named Jax arrives, the McBrides are wary, suspicious of a man who possesses unique and deadly skills, including an intimidating proficiency with weapons. More men appear, claiming to be traders, but a bloody fight erupts and Jax reveals he is running from Immunity, a shadowy group that claims to be developing a cure for the flu pandemic, but whose real purpose is sinister. Immunity wants to capture Jax alive, and now Lynn and her family are in danger, too. In a bitterly cold, snowy winter, they confront Immunity in a vicious climactic battle. Johnson is an excellent storyteller; the novel is full of action, suspense, and plot twists as the resilient characters fight for survival in a harsh winter wilderness. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM Partners.

October 15, 2017
In the aftermath of nuclear wars and a devastating Asian flu pandemic, feisty 23-year-old Gwendolynn McBride--call her Lynn--faces life-and-death challenges in the Canadian wilds. Originally from Chicago, where her father was a university biologist, Lynn and her family fled the apocalypse to small-town Alaska when she was 12. Four years later, threatened by the arrival of men suspiciously claiming to be government disease agents, they snuck across the Canadian border into the Yukon. Now living in extreme isolation in log cabins, they hunt whatever animals are available (Lynn is great with a bow) and read Walt Whitman. Seven years pass before they encounter anyone from the outside world. That would be Jax, a taciturn man with a dog named Wolf and a mess of secrets. After he violently dispatches a pack of men who have come after him with the knife-throwing skills of a superhero, Lynn is left wondering whether he's friend or foe--and what the attraction she feels to him is all about. With elements of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and TV's The Walking Dead, the book gets off to a gripping start, blending visceral thrills with existential reflections. For Lynn, who "wanted to escape, to get out and see what was left of the world," snow can be an oppressive force that "smothers the world into submission." At about the midway point, when the young heroine is forced to deal with adversity on her own, the novel loses some of the edge and sense of risk that make it stand out from the genre. A science fiction-ish element seems forced. But this is still a stylishly written debut by a novelist to keep an eye on. A strong addition to the literature of dystopia, Johnson's outdoor adventure novel is lifted by his command of natural settings and his understanding of family bonding under extreme duress.

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December 15, 2017
In an unspecified but presumably very near future, about a decade after the world was devastated by the double whammy of nuclear war and an exceptionally virulent flu, Lynn McBride lives with her family in a community in the Yukon. It's a difficult existence, but peaceful (apart from irritations like a nasty neighbor who requires a little convincing to stop poaching other people's kills). But then a man named Jax arrives who threatens to throw the community into turmoil and who will force Lynn to make some very hard choices. As postapocalyptic novels go, this one is quite good. It's a little familiar in places (character design, especially), but that's more than offset by the vividly evoked, bitterly cold setting; the equally chilling claustrophobic story; and the author's graceful and visually evocative writing style.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)