The Wilding

The Wilding follows a small group of teenagers on a school excursion with teachers and guides on a wild camping experience in an area of bogland and forest being rewilded. It is set in an area that was once used for commercial peat extraction and that is now being allowed to return to a wild state.

Ian McDonald always excels at describing the surroundings in his stories and this skill is used to great effect in describing the boglands and wooded areas in the story. His prose are excellent at capturing the unnerving experience of finding yourself in a wood, being totally disoriented, and starting to imagine all sorts of things happening around you. Every little sound triggers thoughts of beasts and spirits plotting your demise. I have show more been in that situation. I know what it's like. Ian captured it perfectly.

This was a book that I was creating opportunities to read. I did not want to put it down when I was reading and I wanted to get back to it when I was not reading. It was only events beyond my control that stopped my finishing it in one day. show less