Empire of Wild

Reviews

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

“Wildly entertaining and profound and essential.” —Tommy Orange, author of There, There (recommended in The New York Times)

“Empire of Wild will not let you go. Mix werewolves unlike you’ve ever read before with the mythos-expanding struggles of American Gods and blend with Cherie Dimaline’s newest heroine, the complex and wonderful Joan of Arcand, and the result is inventive, engrossing, poetic and thrilling. Empire is Dimaline’s most accomplished book yet.” —Eden Robinson, author of Monkey Beach and the Trickster trilogy

“Cherie Dimaline has written a wondrous and deeply felt novel about hypocrisy, power imbalance and the strange, dangerous space between reality and belief. Dimaline is one of the most honest and fearless writers of her generation, and Empire of Wild is an honest and fearless book.” —Omar El Akkad, Scotiabank Giller Prize–winning author of This Side of Paradise and American War

“To those captivated by Dimaline’s unchained imagination in the YA novel The Marrow Thieves: wait until you see what she does after the kids are in bed. The sexy, spookyEmpire of Wildcasts the Métis tales of the Rogarou—a manlike wolf—against the backdrop of the ongoing colonization of Indigenous people by religious and corporate interests. The result is a page-turner of a supernatural thriller that imbues ancient lore with contemporary relevance.” —Quill & Quire

“[A] powerful and inventive novel. . . . Empire of Wild seamlessly mixes realistic characters with the spiritual and supernatural. As much a literary thriller as a testament to Indigenous female empowerment and strength, Empire of Wild will excite readers with its rapid plot and move them with its dedication to the truths of the Métis community.” —BookPage

“A thrilling and politically pointed supernatural folk tale.” —Toronto Star

“Dimaline’s brilliant, award-winning YA-crossover debut, The Marrow Thieves, spent more than a year on the Canadian bestseller list and has a TV adaptation in the works. For her follow-up, she takes inspiration from the traditional story of the werewolf-like rougarou, who haunts the roads and woods of small Métis communities. Dimaline’s blunt writing style makes for a tense reading experience, and the Georgian Bay–set novel renders Ontario as much a character as the rougarou itself.” —The Globe and Mail

“Dimaline’s novel is able to take the plot to some unexpectedly phantasmagorical places without losing sight of its emotional core. . . . [Empire of Wild] turns an old story into something newly haunting and resonant.” —The New York Times

“[E]lectrifying.” —Harper’s Bazaar

“A magical, electric novel that merges our modern urban world with the mythology of an uncolonized landscape. Dimaline’s descriptions are vivid and sordid and so, so alive. She creates a whole world of hope and hatred in the figure of a hot man in a ’79 Impala, and then takes you into the woods where a wolf dressed in a fine suit threatens to swallow you whole in disturbingly erudite language. The wonders of Indigenous values and their struggle to survive against insidious Western ideology and culture are framed in a wild adventure that cements Dimaline’s talents as a magical realist provocatrice.” —Heather O’Neill, author of The Lonely Hearts Hotel

“Empire of Wild is doing everything I love in a contemporary novel and more. It is tough, funny, beautiful, honest and propulsive—all the while telling a story that needs to be told by a person who needs to be telling it. The book feels like now, and we need more stories from Native communities to feel that way. She knows this community and this community will know she knows it when they read her, but it will resonate with so many more. Cherie Dimaline is a voice that feels both inevitable and necessary.” —Tommy Orange, author of There There

“Smartly written with believable characters, a tight plot, and breathtaking sentences, this is a must-read literary thriller.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)   

PRAISE FOR CHERIE DIMALINE AND HER PREVIOUS BOOKS:

“Dimaline creates a character of tremendous emotional depth and tenderness, connecting readers with the complexity and compassion of Indigenous people.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“There’s a quality in Dimaline’s writing that reached from the page, into my being.” —Debbie Reese, American Indians in Children’s Literature

“Dimaline’s novel reminds us of the power of storytelling and the importance of community, reinforced for the disenfranchised children by the wisdom of the heroic elder, Miigwans. The writing is painful yet beautiful, bleak but ultimately hopeful.” —Sunburst Award jury citation

“Dimaline’s ability to render [the dystopic formula] through warm, expressive writing makes it so much stronger.” —Citizens’ Press Expand reviews