Wonderblood, Julia Whicker
Wonderblood, Julia Whicker
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Wonderblood
A Novel

Author: Julia Whicker

Narrator: Caitlin Davies

Unabridged: 10 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/03/2018

Synopsis

Set 500 years in the future, a mad cow-like disease called “Bent Head” has killed off most of the U.S. population. Those remaining turn to magic and sacrifice to cleanse the Earth.

Wonderblood is Julia Whicker's fascinating literary debut audiobook, set in a barren United States, an apocalyptic wasteland where warring factions compete for control of the land in strange and dangerous carnivals. A mad cow-like disease called "Bent Head" has killed off millions. Those who remain worship the ruins of NASA's space shuttles, and Cape Canaveral is their Mecca. Medicine and science have been rejected in favor of magic, prophecy, and blood sacrifice.

When traveling marauders led by the bloodthirsty Mr. Capulatio invade her camp, a young girl named Aurora is taken captive as his bride and forced to join his band on their journey to Cape Canaveral. As war nears, she must decide if she is willing to become her captor's queen. But then other queens emerge, some grotesque and others aggrieved, and not all are pleased with the girl's ascent.

Politics and survival are at the centre of this ravishing audiobook

Praise for Wonderblood:

"Julia Whicker's Wonderblood...plunges the readers into a marvelous and brutal world of pseudo-magic, religion and astronomy...The political machinations of the carnivals are thrilling, and the narration lush and wild." -- Washington Post

About Julia Whicker

Julia Whicker received her MFA at the Iowa Writers Workshop in 2006, where she won both the prestigious Capote Fellowship and the Teaching-Writing Fellowship. She’s had her poetry published in the Iowa Review, Word Riot, and The Millions, among others, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. A version of the first chapter of Wonderblood was published in the literary journal, Unstuck.

About Caitlin Davies

Caitlin Davies is a New York City-based actor and audiobook narrator. Davies specializes in audiobooks for teens and young adults, including the House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast. She has performed in New York and regional theaters and is a member of the WorkShop Theater Company in New York City. She has a bachelor's degree from Vassar College, and has studied acting at the Eugene O'Neill National Institute, the British American Drama Academy, the Barrow Group, and Brown University/ Trinity Rep.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Fabian on September 01, 2020

This novel is a dystopian panorama--literally like a painting that encompasses bloodlines and locations, all within a sturdy frame. The colors of blood, moonlight, books, candles... It's like a Spanish paining wherein everyone is mid-grimace (Velasquez?), everyone has personality & biography by prox......more

Goodreads review by Carrie on April 01, 2018

Wonderblood by Julia Whicker is a dystopian fantasy read set in the distant future where a disease has wiped out most of the population. Those left on Earth fight to survive as they await the return of the space shuttles at Cape Canaveral that will signal the cleansing of the planet. I have to say th......more

Goodreads review by Mel (Epic Reading) on June 19, 2019

Added June 19, 2019 - Just bought a print copy of Wonderblood for my bookshelf and thought to myself what a great book it is. I can even still remember what happens and many of the characters and scenarios. I cannot say that for many books a year after I read them. Re-reading my review below I canno......more

Goodreads review by Brooke — brooklynnnnereads on May 05, 2018

This was one weird and unusual read that I didn't see coming. Prior to reading, I thought this book may have been one part dystopian and one part space odyssey. Man, was I wrong on that account. First, before I get into my thoughts I have to say that although I'm giving it a 3 star rating, it's a 2.......more

Goodreads review by Briar's Reviews on September 01, 2020

Wonderblood by Julia Whicker is beautifully written, but the story feels very confusing to me. Honestly, I tried to love this book. I was blown away with Julia's writing style and was absolutely memorized. While I read the first couple of chapters, my mind was utterly blown. I was so pumped to contin......more

Quotes

"In a novel marked with heart-stopping violence, brutal ritual, surreal courtly intrigue, and moments of piercing beauty, Julia Whicker imagines a clash of religions in a broken future. The characters, and their world, are unforgettable."—Vivien Shotwell, author of Vienna Nocturne

"Visceral and intense... a fully built-out world, rich with color and detail." —Charles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional World

"Wonderblood is a richly imagined, otherworldly tale about the power - and danger - of faith and belief. I loved this book's beautiful prose and its startling, brutal, and poetic images; I loved its unique premise and masterful worldbuilding; I loved its complicated, passionate, and mesmerizing characters. Julia Whicker is a genius. This is a strange, daring, and masterful first novel." —Eden Lepucki, New York Times bestselling author of California

"A richly imagined broken world, one whose land, customs, history, and people are so sharply conveyed that they seem almost to have been incised into the page. I admire Wonderblood for its absorbing and unsettling story, for the uncanny beauty of its prose, but above all else for the daring of its tone, which begins in pitch darkness and brightens not to white but to a more lustrous black." — Kevin Brockmeier, New York Times bestselling author

"In fiercely glittering prose Julia Whicker evokes an apocalyptic America where medicine is illegal, everyone is searching for portents and only a severed head can offer protection. I love how richly imagined this novel is and I love how relentlessly it moves towards its amazing climax. Wonderblood is a stunning debut." —Margot Livesy, New York Times bestselling author

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