I don’t think any review I could write will do this book justice. Just like the gears turning and keeping the Wanderlands alive, Benjamin Liar’s writing moves like a cog in a machine, churning out one of my new favorite reads. The world is strange and so much fun to explore and learn about. The way the past and the present are woven together in the grand tapestry of this book, is incredible and hauntingly beautiful.

Sophie Vesachai is bitter, broken, and overall traumatized after being essentially the kid hero that saved the world. Now that she is older she drinks a lot with her “killers,” a band of friends that follow her lead on most things. I always wonder how these characters will act many years after being the heroes and this seems perfect. She does not want to be dragged back into the saving-the-world business and will do anything to prevent that from happening until she is forced into it. I love all of The Killers and how their band works together.

With the winding and mixing of two (or more) timelines, I love how certain characters in the past are revealed to be other characters in the present. Some of the reveals I guessed, but others blew me away. I am so impressed by how good this book is and how it blends genres and that this is a debut!

If you love a blend of epic fantasy, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic/apocalyptic, and mystery, you NEED this book in your life.

I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.

About 10% in and I had already decided this was going to be one of my favorite books of the year. The writing is great, the characters and setting were incredibly interesting, and it had this strangeness and dreamlike quality that made it feel familiar yet unique at the same time. I can’t wait to see what this author does next!

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was quite a ride, several storylines that sometimes seem almost unconnected until pretty far into the book. The author reveals the setting (and some of the characters' backstories) in pieces that are just the right size and lets the reader fit them together, and there is some well done crazy action and some powerful magic too. Looking forward to the next one.

5 stars isn't a rating I give to many books, but here we are. I was deeply impressed with the intricacy and complexity of the worlbuilding, the sharpness of the prose and the vivid character creation and development. and ALL THIS in a debut!? I'm shocked almost as much as I am eager to read more from the author.

the Wanderlands unveiled their secrets hesitantly, one by one, never quite allowing the reader to see the whole picture, letting them catch glimpses of the labyrinth of connections. the ever-present air of mystery, paired with the quick pace of the plot, kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I had so much fun theorising about characters' secret identities and the ways different storylines were related to each other! (and I am proud to report I got practically all of them correct:))

Benjamin Liar is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing new authors that I've had the honour of reading books from. thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the e-ARC! I can't wait to read the second installment of the series!

When I first started reading this novel I wasn't sure I would enjoy it. Boy was I wrong. This novel defies genre. It is a mix of fantasy, sci-fi and steampunk. It contains a wide range of characters and a cyclical story style that leaves you piecing together the timeline of the story as you go. The characters are so well written and thought out that each one leaves a mark on you. They are deep and compelling. The world itself is ornate, detailed and fascinating. It's hard to say who the main characters are, Is it the Killers? The brothers? The Wise? or the Cold? A mad god has sent dreams to the fools and children of the wanderlands. She wants items and has a goal in sight. To bring back the sun her goals must be realized. But other forces in the worlds are against her. Are they working for the Dark? or trying to save civilization as it exists, barely clinging to the sides and inner halls of the Mountain. Who will win? Who will fail? What does failing mean in this world and who really wants what is best for the survivors of the Fall? Damn this book has everything.

Fools on the mountain

Benjamin Liar's (a pseudonym, of course) debut novel The Failures is a big book, the first novel in the planned Wanderlands Trilogy. It has been a long time in the making. In the author's note "A Round of Applause, A Round of Shots", he tells us

"I started writing— not this book, exactly, but exploring the place that I would eventually name The Wanderlands— over thirty years ago."*

The Wanderlands are a dark and broken world without a sky. Most of the story concerns the actions of five people or groups of people:

The Lost Boys
The Convox/Cabal
The Monsters
The Deadsmith
The Killers

Most chapters have two titles. The first is one of the five above, telling you who the chapter will be about. Then there is a second title that refers to the events about to be recounted. In addition to these chapters, there are five chapters named "An Aside: ..." -- these are (very welcome) brief infodumps about the history of the Wanderlands.

<spoiler>The chapters are not in temporal order. Events separated by many years often occur in adjacent chapters. The order in which I have listed them is roughly their temporal order, as well as I could work it out.</spoiler>

The title is nowhere explained. You will, however, quickly guess where it comes from. These people are losers. They're losers in different ways. Some are kids who never grew up, some will remind you of Bruce Springsteen's song "Glory Days", and some -- these are the most pathetic -- believe themselves to be gods and puppeteers, directing the fates of all the lesser beings who surround them. The events take place on top of, around, and under a huge mountain. Aside from the mountain we see only a little of the Wanderlands.

The Failures is a world-building story. By the time you reach the end, you will have some grasp of what the Wanderlands are, how a part of them works, and what is likely to come. There is more than a hint that one day some of the Failures may be Glorious. I will certainly read the whole trilogy.

Thanks to NetGalley and DAW for an advance reader copy of The Failures. Release date 2-Jul-2024.

*Quotes are from an advance reader copy and may change before publication. This review will be corrected if necessary on the release date.