It has been ten years since the Merging, since the Woods began taking over the world, since ghosts returned to haunt their loved ones. Liz Raleigh has hidden in the New England wilderness with Hank, his daughter, Evie, and their small group, trying to eke out a small but normal life. Though Liz longs to forget the time she spent attached to her best friend and lover, Brody’s ghost, she finds herself pursued by a shadow of his former self and dreams of a life they could have lived together had he not died.
The Woods and the wolves that live inside them continue to threaten the group’s existence, looming closer every day. Liz feels drawn to them, to the feeling that deep inside the trees is a way to end the reign the Woods have over the world. What’s worse is that they seem different inside, darker and emptier than when she visited them years before.
Hope comes in the discovery of a self-sustained community, Onyx River: a place run by wind and solar power where other colonies have supposedly fled to with the opportunity to live life the way they used to. Upon arrival, however, they find the place abandoned and, after tragedy strikes, they realize this place might not be as promising as they once believed.
Both Liz and Evie will face not only their worst fears but the ones they couldn’t even imagine were lurking in the woodland oblivion.
The Wild Fall is the second book in the Wild Oblivion series and equally as atmospheric and suspenseful as the first book, The Wild Dark. The story picks up ten years later, and a lot has changed for the characters. The book is told from the perspectives of Liz, the protagonist from book 1, and teenager Evie, the child that Liz helped save in book 1. The book reveals how the world has changed since the hellish purgatory forest and corrupted departed ghosts were unleashed. The perplexing apocalyptic event, now referred to as the “merging,” is also further explained in this book. It should be noted that this book cannot easily be read as a standalone—readers will need to know the backstory of the characters and what transpired to create the dystopian hellish society from book 1. This book is a shorter read with relatively short cliffhanger chapters, so both books can quickly be devoured consecutively!
Silva’s vivid prose depicts a hauntingly barren world where demonic wolves and new faceless monsters are lurking in the shadows. The story has a slow-burn start that expands upon the dystopian world-building and establishes the band of characters that make up Liz’s found family. The story follows the characters looking for a home as the dark forest is encroaching faster than ever toward their cabin. Silva gives readers great insight into how the characters have become accustomed to their dystopian “survival” lifestyles, constantly scrounging out food and supplies and on the lookout for predators. The characters are also more developed in this story— even the minor side characters are given compelling backstories. After Evie’s father Hank is viciously killed by one of the demonic wolves, Liz becomes increasingly withdrawn. In her isolation she begins to notice a dark presence watching her that she eventually recognizes as Brody, her former police partner turned corrupted ghost that Liz believed she destroyed in book 1. From here, the book takes on a number of unexpected twists and turns as the band of survivors faces unexpected enemies and harrowing circumstances.
In contrast to the first book, which began and ended with strong elements of horror, the tone of this story is more atmospheric and foreboding. The story has a slow-burn start, but the second half is full of action and high intensity. For pure horror lovers, there are some gruesome horror scenes towards the end that are absolutely terrifying. A lot of plot points occur in the last few chapters, so readers/listeners will have to pay close attention to absorb everything. After a major climactic scene, the story quickly ends, and readers may feel unsatisfied. The final events are quite complex and convoluted, as the explanation of the merging and the antidote to reversing the apocalyptic events are explained. It almost feels like all the answers and information that readers have been waiting for are given all at once, followed by a few thrilling scenes before the story abruptly ends. It would have been more effective to have spread out these plot points over a few more scenes and added an epilogue for further resolution, especially with regards to Liz, who is the life force of the series.
In summary, this atmospheric and suspenseful dystopian thriller is a worthy sequel to its brilliantly written predecessor, The Wild Dark. Both books explore dystopian societies and various subgenres of horror. Despite the timeframe gap between the stories, the characters feel consistent from one book to the next, and the overall ominous atmospheric vibe is similar. Narrator Lisa Romain returns to deliver another spectacular performance of Liz and all the characters using a myriad of distinct voices and accents and an enormous amount of emotional intensity for maximum effect. For this reason, the audiobook is the highly recommended format for enjoying this series. If you enjoy horror, atmospheric thrillers, dystopian societies, and complex, flawed characters, you’ll definitely enjoy The Wild Oblivion series, and you’ll probably want to check out more of Silva’s work!
