Welcome to the Wasteland, a post-apocalyptic world where lawlessness reigns, and around every bend is another pack of bloodthirsty raiders. 

This omnibus edition contains K. S. Merbeth’s two novels Bite and Raid.

Bite Hungry, thirsty, alone, and out of options, a young girl joins up with outlaws who have big reputations and bigger guns. But as they set out on their journey, she discovers that her new gang may not be the heroes she was hoping for.

Raid A bounty hunter wakes up bound and gagged in the passenger seat of her own car, and sitting next to her is the most revered and reviled raider king in the eastern wastes. Unable to let him out of her sight, they cross the wasteworld, but a tyrant worse than they could imagine is vying to claim the land as his own.

How do you survive in a world gone mad?

Let’s talk about post-apocalyptic shit. There’s just something about books & movies & shows & even records (Brainless God by Direct Hit! is basically a punk concept album about an impending apocalypse) that take place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland that I just fucking love. The Road, The Stand, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Book of Eli, Children of Men…the list goes on.

K.S. Merbeth’s The Wastelanders is an omnibus edition of her two novels, Bite and Raid. They take place in the same decimated world, and there is some overlap between the two novels. That said, you could read one without the other, or you could read both in either order. I’m going to review them separately…kind of. I don’t know, we’ll see what happens.

Bite

Bite is the story of Kid. When we meet her, she’s alone, and wandering this bombed-out hellscape that humans now call home. She’s almost immediately picked up by a crew of strangers & taken in. None of them go by their real names, so…Wolf, Tank, Pretty Boy, and Dolly. Every time Kid tries telling them her name, they cut her off. And so she becomes Kid. The story is…kinda thin. The plot could basically be boiled down to “Heard you were talkin’ shit”, as Wolf (the de facto leader) and co. hear some rumors going around that they don’t like. Rumors about people like them. Sharks, as they are known.

Cannibals.

Ahhh, yes, cannibalism. Such fun. So tasty.

There’s a number of different groups someone might belong to in this world. There’s townies & raiders & bounty hunters & crazies & sharks. And sharks are not terribly well looked upon. As Wolf reminds us time & time again, they are the bad guys.

If I could describe Bite in a word, it would be…fluffy. It’s an easy read, not terribly impactful, but kinda fun in its way. There were aspects of this book that truly frustrated me. Kid is prone to adding an endless amount of “Uhhh” & “um” & “eh” to the conversation, and it just grated on me. She’s young & not experienced with much in the way of violence, but those additions to her dialogue seemed clumsy to me.

Additionally, there’s a pretty creepy & problematic element to the book, with Kid’s slight infatuation with Pretty Boy, even after he assaults her. I’m not sure what the intent was with this, but it felt gross to me.

Raid

Ok, for real…within 10-15 pages of Raid, it honestly felt like it had been written by a different author. The writing was so much sharper, the characters way more three-dimensional, and a plot that hooks you in pretty damn fast. Raid is HUGE improvement over Bite!

This is the story of Clementine, a super badass bounty hunter. She’s got a brutally dark past, which has segued into this life of violence she leads. But she also has this overwhelming desire to just fit in somewhere. To be part of a community, to have people in her life, instead of just marks.

But when she gets an opportunity to settle a personal score & grab the biggest bounty of her career, she can’t resist.

Jedediah Johnson is the legendary & ruthless king of the raiders in the east. And now…he’s in the trunk of Clementine’s piece-of-shit car, heading west. These two are an unlikely pair to navigate the wastelands together, but the dynamic between them is pretty fucking great.

Raid was just a fucking blast! It was bloody & violent & gross, and also really character driven & occasionally gut-punchy. Merbeth does great work in this book describing the way this wasteland feels, smells, and tastes. It is a brutal environment, and seeing it through the eyes of a gritty protagonist like Clementine makes it feel that much harsher. There was also a distinct Western vibe to Raid that I adored!

So, here’s what I would say about The Wastelanders as a series/duology: Raid is vastly superior to Bite. You could 100% read Raid & never bother with Bite (I think you can still find these as separate books). Or if you want this omnibus edition with the WICKED badass cover & hot pink spine…go for it! Like I said, Bite is kinda fluffy & forgettable (but certainly not awful or unreadable), whereas Raid feels like that brutal & grimy post-apocalyptic adventure I was craving. It was really cool to see such an improvement from one book to the next, and it makes me really excited to see what K.S. Merbeth has in store for us with her future works!

This was a buddy read with my friend Holly from Holly Hearts Books! Among other places, find her on BookTube & Bookstagram!