Books › Empire of Wild
Empire of Wild
320 pages
A fierce, folklore-infused thriller where ancient monsters wear modern faces and love is a weapon forged in grief.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into the dense, shadowy woods of a modern myth. It is a brisk, fiercely atmospheric thriller that seamlessly weaves ancient Métis folklore into the gritty reality of contemporary life. The mood is earthy and tense, steeped in the dread of the unknown but anchored by a darkly humorous, unapologetic narrative voice. You can feel the damp soil and hear the rustle of something monstrous just out of sight. The prose is visceral and sharp, capturing both the hollow ache of ambiguous loss and the adrenaline of a desperate fight for survival. It will deeply satisfy readers who crave dark, culturally rich supernatural suspense, where the monsters are real, the stakes are deeply personal, and the heroine is fueled by a love too stubborn to die.
- Mood
- eerie
- earthy
- tense
- dread-tinged
- Tone
- gritty
- fierce
- darkly humorous
- urgent
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- ambiguous loss · cultural exploitation · power of folklore · fierce devotion · community resilience
- The writing
- Visceral and darkly lyrical, grounding ancient myth in sharp, contemporary grit.
- The arc
- Moves from the hollow ache of ambiguous loss into a fierce, adrenaline-fueled fight for survival and reclamation.
- Who it's for
- Fans of Indigenous horror and dark fantasy who crave fierce heroines, biting humor, and monsters drawn from real folklore.
Content notes
- grief and loss
- violence
- religious manipulation
- animal death
About the book
"Joan has been searching for her missing husband, Victor, for nearly a year--ever since that terrible night they'd had their first serious argument hours before he mysteriously vanished. Her Me tis family has lived in their tightly knit rural community for generations, but no one keeps the old ways...until they have to. That moment has arrived for Joan. Joan turns to Ajean, an elderly foul-mouthed card shark who is one of the few among her community steeped in the traditions of her people and knowledgeable about their ancient enemies. With the help of the old Me tis and her peculiar Johnny-Cash-loving, twelve-year-old nephew Zeus, Joan must find a way to uncover the truth...Her life, and those of everyone she loves, depends upon it."--
Description from Open Library.
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