A new audiobook edition of Ian McDonald‘s acclaimed THE WILDING is out in two weeks! Due to be published by Tantor Media, on June 2nd, it’s read by Jade Yourell. Here’s the synopsis…
Five kids are on a sleepover in a restored wilderness project in Ireland. With them, three teachers and one Ranger: Lisa. She is twenty-six, longing to leave her job, out of her depth and soon to find herself mired in a nightmare.
Strange things have been happening at Lough Carrow, a vast rewilding project on the site of a former commercial peat-bog. Livestock mutilations. Rumors, myths from the neighboring villages. Strange, unidentifiable tracks. On the trek in to the sleepover site they sight animals that have not yet been introduced to the park—wolves, wolverines, things older. Things thought long extinct.
As they near the center of the wilding a boy realizes he’s forgotten his meds. A teacher volunteers to take him back to the visitor center. Sure, what could go wrong?
That night the camp is attacked. A teacher is dragged away. Lisa’s group is marooned in the wild. It is night, the four remaining kids are terrified, they need to get back to the ARK, but the wilderness seems to be playing with time and distance and something is out there. Something hungry and hunting…
The novel is published in paperback and eBook by Gollancz, and is out now!
Here are just a few of the great reviews THE WILDING has received since it was first published…
‘[A] sharp thriller with a healthy dose of folk horror… With strong characterisation, a deep sense of place and real wit… entertaining and often surprising.’ — Irish Times
‘The latest from one of Britain’s best writers of speculative fiction… Vividly written, this is perfect scary fare for the Halloween season.’ — Guardian
‘McDonald is brilliant at evoking a sense of claustrophobia and, in particular, in exploring what the wild brings out in his characters… beautifully written… melds the urban and rural to take folk horror somewhere unexpected, spooky and, rather paradoxically, new.’ — SFX
‘Undeniably powerful… told with beauty and grace’ — Locus
‘Personal backstories and mythical Irish creatures jostle for attention in the foetid landscape. As a group of ill-prepared teenagers and their guide battle their way through the bog, there’s suspense, gore, death and revelation. While monsters do what monsters do, you’ll be sucked down, held and left spluttering for breath. Brilliant stuff.’ — Daily Mail
‘… an ideal bit of science fiction-infused horror for an autumn night… After a long, teasing set-up, the action suddenly explodes and the last two-thirds of the novel move at speed from one danger to another.’ — Morning Star