The Wolves of Winter

First off, I love this cover. Second, I am somewhat amused that Canadian dystopias always blame the US for the end of the world. It's always, always, because the US decided to be stupid. I can't blame them. It's perfectly realistic. But it is slightly amusing. In the case of The Wolves of Winter, the US carried its War on Terror too far and started nuclear war. It's unclear how widespread the nuclear winter is; the book is based in the Canadian Yukon where it's already cold. There's a brief mention of farmers farther south, so there is still some warmth somewhere. What really did humanity in, though, was the Asian flu. There's rumor that it was a biological weapon deployed by the US, that then escaped their control, but no one's really sure.

Lynn - Gwendolynn - lives in a small compound in the Yukon with her mother, brother, uncle, and uncle's ward. (The son of his best friend - I'm inclined to believe he's actually the son of the uncle's lover, but nothing was actually verified.) The only other human they've seen in years is their scumbag neighbor who occasionally steals deer out of Lynn's traps.

Until one day, while out hunting, Lynn comes across the mysterious Jax and his husky, Wolf. She brings him home for food and to tend his wound, and while her family is initially very wary of him, he starts to fit in. And then, of course, the brown stuff hits the fan.

I really enjoyed Lynn and her family. In flashbacks we see them before the flu, before they had to be survivors. I got the feeling her father always saw this coming, and was preparing her for it long before it actually happened. Lynn's memories of her father are particularly vivid and help to explain exactly how she's become who she is now.

I really enjoyed this book and read it in a single sitting, but I really like dystopias and winter settings. Ultimately, it's a pretty average nuclear winter dystopia.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.