Shoalts is a historian and adventurer as well as a successful Canadian author. His previous books include "Beyond the Trees" and "Alone against the North". This new book is another tale of adventure, blended with history and myth. Shoalts is joined by a friend and together they canoe and hike in the Mealy Mountains area of Labrador, a wild and uninhabited place. There used to be a small settlement called Traverspine in the area and journals and documents from the time tell of eye-witness accounts of a mysterious and terrifying creature. Shoalts hopes the journey will finally solve the mystery. The tale of the difficult adventure is interspersed with quotes from the various historical documents that Shoalts has been studying. While the quotes became a little repetative at times, I enjoyed the story. 3.5/5

What a powerhouse author! I am thrilled he is doing so many events. Adam Shoalts' backlist titles are always wonderful gift suggestions for those customers who shop primarily for holiday, for non-fiction readers that only have time to read at holiday time. Great gift for Dads, nature lovers and fans of Canadian history. I have handsold a few as Halloween reads!
Thank you for the early access.

4.5 stars. I wish to thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this entertaining, gripping, true wilderness adventure. It should interest anyone interested in backwoods hiking, wilderness exploration, or involve the armchair reader in exciting, arduous journeys, the history of remote Canadian settlements, and appeal to those fascinated by cryptozoology and folklore.

Adam Shoalts is considered the greatest of modern-day Canadian explorers for his observations of our remote northern forests and rivers. He is also a naturalist, historian, archaeologist, sharing his outdoor adventures with the reader through his well-written, compelling, informative, and witty accounts. He evokes an atmospheric and vivid sense of place. One feels they are hiking and canoeing beside him without the flies, biting insects, chills, dampness, dangerous cliffs, treacherous river currents, and marshy ground.

He sets out on this exciting journey (or ordeal to some) with a friend from schooldays who turns out to be an exceptional travel companion. Their destination is the long-deserted settlement of Traverspene, now a ghost town swallowed by the forest. It was situated at the foothills of the remote Mealy Mountains in the wilds of Labrador.

In the early 1900s, the isolated settlement was said to be haunted by large unidentified creatures. Their eerie cries at night frightened the inhabitants, followed their children, and drove off their working dogs. People slept uneasily with the doors barred and guns and axes at the ready. Three medical doctors and a wildlife biologist were among those interviewing the frightened settlers, reporting statements of witnesses, and observing the creature's footprints but came to no firm conclusion as to what this monster could be.

Because of the strenuous, exhausting journey ahead, they brought only a canoe, a minimum of survival gear, and a night camera. Shoalts also brings along printouts about the early days in the area, copies of accounts, and speculation of what sort of creature was frightening the inhabitants. Shoalts studied these accounts in his tent and speculates whether the unknown creature actually existed deep in the forests. He also discusses how stories about cryptids (creatures yet undiscovered and unproven) came to be and developed over the years ( the yeti, Sasquatch, Loch Ness monster, bunyip). He does not totally dismiss some of the stories and mentions previously unknown mammals and reptiles that have been discovered very recently. He also looks into the origins of longtime folklore legends such as werewolves and the windigo and how these stories became more elaborate and changed over the centuries.

It is little wonder that with these discussions, the men became overalert to eerie sounds of the wind rustling in the trees, echos from the churning river, and known animals wandering near their tents at night. They do come up with a reasonable and believable hypothesis for what was lurking about Traverspene and scaring people a century before.

I had not read previous books by Adam Shoalts based on his previous explorations, but I am now anxious to add these to my reading list. He impresses one with the importance of leaving large stretches of wilderness undeveloped and in their natural state.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Penguin Random House Canada for an advanced copy of this new outdoor adventure book.

Adam Shoalts, historian, archeologist, explorer and outdoors writer, has in his latest book, The Whisper on the Night Wind: The True History of a Wilderness Legend written a fascinating and unsettling account of his travels through the forests of Labrador in Canada. Seeking to find answers to a mystery that he read about from over one hundred years ago. In the early 1900's strange tracks, odd noises and numerous weird sightings of unknown creatures, along with missing sled dogs scared the members of this isolated community, causing doors to be bolted at night, with axes and rifles at the ready to protect them from danger. Mr. Shoalts and a high school acquaintance enter the woods to see what they can discover.

The story is a mix of travel log, folklore and history of the area, with nature and animal discussions and a little cryptozoology mixed in. The writing is crisp and interesting going from simple canoe ride to creature accounts from the past and back to birdwatching without losing the reader or dragging any of the narrative down. The trip is cold and wet and while the men find themselves tested physically, they are also mentally tested with as odd things seem to happen, strange tracks appear in their camp and noises make a good night sleep very difficult. Together the two men come to a very strong hypotheses to what might have happened, to have that hypotheses tested at the very end.

A very fun and different outdoor tale, with a good mix of spookiness and travel mixed together. I've not read other books by Mr. Shoalts, and I will have to amend that. This was a really well written book that will please outdoors people, travel readers and people who love a little mystery in their lives.

As a fellow Canadian, I am enamoured by the immensity of our forests and millions of lakes but have never been to Labrador. Adventurer and author Adam Shoalts read and heard about fascinating legends and folklore surrounding haunting sounds, unidentifiable creatures and unusual tracks in the Mealy Mountain forests going back hundreds of years. Some of the most detailed eyewitness accounts were recorded in the early 1900s. But in his view what set this apart from Sasquatch sightings, for example, was the credibility of these accounts. As it was September with winter on the horizon, Shoalts had little time to plan a trip to explore the possibilities. He contacted an old acquaintance and adventurer Zach and off they went to seek out creatures some legends called werewolves, others Carcajou and windigos. Were they animals which existed or something undiscovered? The latter is possible in vast forests which are explored very little.

The Traverstine area was the goal. Adam took printouts of accounts of haunting sounds, unidentifiable creatures and unusual tracks along with his small canoe and survival gear. He and Zach tented on rugged and difficult terrain and had to sometimes scale cliffs for fresh water. Adam describes seeing whisky jacks, bear tracks, spongy sphagnum moss, pintails and eating lingonberries and cowberries. But what got me in particular...aside from nature which I love...are the descriptions of the eerie night sounds after Zach and the author disappeared into their tents for the night and Adam read his printouts. When I used to wilderness tent every screech and branch scratch and leaf dropping had me on high alert so I can relate to a point. But I wasn't searching for monsters! The dark atmosphere gave me goosebumps. The author is a great storyteller...he kept me riveted and on edge. And that ending!

If you have an adventurous spirit or wish you did, this book is for you. It is spine tingling, in a good way, and mesmerizing. I hung onto every word, anxious to read about what happened next. And the thing is, this adventure is real. The quotes at the beginning of the chapters are so apt and add to the atmosphere.

My sincere thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this wonderful, wonderful book! It truly ignites wanderlust.