The Wild Dead

The Bannerless Saga #2

Mysteries and murder abound in the sequel to the Philip K. Dick Award-winning Bannerless.

A century after environmental and economic collapse, the people of the Coast Road have rebuilt their own sort of civilization, striving not to make the mistakes their ancestors did. They strictly ration and manage resources, including the ability to have children. Enid of Haven is an investigator, who with her new partner Teeg is called on to mediate a dispute between households over an old building in a far-flung settlement at the edge of Coast Road territory. The investigators’ decision seems straightforward—and then the body of a young woman turns up in the nearby marshland. Almost more shocking than that: she’s not from the Coast Road, but from one of the outsider camps, belonging to the nomads and wild folk who live outside the Coast Road communities. Now one of them is dead, and Enid must find out who killed her.

In a dystopian future of isolated communities, can our moral sense survive the worst hard times?

Cover Designer: Mark Robinson
ISBN: 9780544947313
Format: Trade Paperback / Ebook
Publicity Contact: Taryn Roeder <Taryn.Roeder@hmhco.com>

About the Author

Carrie Vaughn is the bestselling author of the Kitty Norville series, as well as the superhero novels Dreams of the Golden Age and After the Golden Age, the young adult novels Voices of Dragons and Steel, and the fantasy novel Discord’s Apple. Her Hugo Award-nominated short fiction has appeared in many magazines and anthologies, from Lightspeed to Tor.com, as well as in George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards series. She lives in Boulder, Colorado. Learn more at carrievaughn.com.

Praise for The Wild Dead

Vaughn’s sequel continues the exploration of a post-apocalyptic American landscape that is at once beautiful and stark, filled with those who may be able to escape their ancestors’ mistakes but not their own arrogance. […] This thrilling post-apocalyptic mystery, which demonstrates the author’s wide range of style, will please Vaughn’s many fans.

—Library Journal (Starred Review)

Unique […] Beautifully executed.

—Booklist

These are gorgeous books… Written in spare and compelling prose, they are quiet, introspective murder mysteries, deeply invested in ethics and in kindness.

Tor.com, on Bannerless and The Wild Dead

Highly enjoyable and captivating.

Geeks of Doom

Shockingly refreshing […] The Wild Dead is a casual, almost cozy, mystery that does an enormous amount of psychological and sociological work so subtly and cleverly that you might miss it if you didn’t have me to grab you by the collar, shake you, and tell you, “Check it out!”

—Nick Mamatas, award-winning author of The People's Republic of Everything and Hexen Sabbath

An intriguing mystery made compelling by its post-apocalyptic setting. The characters are intensely human and relatable, but different enough that you know you’re not reading about the neighbors—another great read from Vaughn.

—S.M. Stirling, New York Times bestselling author of The Sky-Blue Wolves and Dies the Fire

The Wild Dead is a tightly-plotted mind-thrill, crafted by a master and set in a world that will keep you absolutely riveted in its strange plausibility. This is the feminist dystopian mystery series you didn’t know you needed.

—Meg Elison, Philip K. Dick Award-winning author of The Road to Nowhere series

[In] this mostly standalone sequel to Bannerless, [a] quest for the truth stirs up uncomfortable memories among community members before leading [Investigator Enid] into the treacherous wilds. Enid is a capable, honest, relentless seeker of answers, and her investigation is reminiscent of classic hardboiled mysteries. Despite an almost palpable air of claustrophobic foreboding, this tale still manages to convey a sense of hope and optimism.

—Publishers Weekly