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A Land So Wild Kindle Edition

4.3 out of 5 stars 106 ratings

In 1845, the HMS Vanguard, under the command of Captain William Caulderson, departed England on a voyage of discovery to find a Northwest Passage through the perilous arctic waters separating the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It was never heard from again.

Five years later, Captain David Maxwell of the Serapis sets sail to attempt to recover the Vanguard and determine the fate of his former commander.

Naturalist Embleton Hall is running from demons of his own. He doesn’t expect to find himself drawn to Captain Maxwell--but the two men form a bond that will become essential to their survival.

Together, they'll brave the elements on a long and harrowing voyage to discover the fate of the lost ship Vanguard. But they'll also learn that some secrets are best left frozen in ice.


Winner, Best Historical Detail, 2018 Best of LGBTQIA+ Historical Romances.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07KJV87CR
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Carnation Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 14, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 630 KB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 327 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1948272124
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 106 ratings

About the author

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Elyssa Warkentin
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Elyssa Warkentin is a Canadian writer, researcher, and editor. She holds a doctorate in Victorian literature, and has lived and taught in Turkey, England, and Qatar. She now resides in her hometown of Winnipeg with her two sons. She's particularly fond of the nineteenth century, women's writing, queer literature, and crime fiction.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
106 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise this historical fiction novel for its vivid storytelling and breathtaking use of the epistolary form, with one review highlighting its beautiful passages describing life on the ship. Moreover, the book features vibrant characters and brilliant research, with one customer noting how it brings readers right onto the ice with the explorers. Additionally, customers appreciate the emotional depth, with one review mentioning how the inner life of the characters is conveyed.

13 customers mention "Story quality"13 positive0 negative

Customers praise the vivid storytelling of this historical fiction, with one customer highlighting the beautiful passages describing life on the ship and another noting the attention to detail in the historical setting.

"...be the book for you, but if you are looking for a natural, heart-wrenchingly beautiful and realistic romance to slowly bloom between two men who are..." Read more

"...: its rich detail and the author's obvious level of research, the exciting plot and the way it pulls in women and non-European characters to give a..." Read more

"...There are beautiful passages describing life on the ship, days’-long storms, the creeping formation of the ice, the lights, the darkness...." Read more

"...The many lives that intertwine, the historical detail, and the exploration of queer characters in such a natural and engaging way make this a unique..." Read more

10 customers mention "Readability"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be a compelling debut novel.

"Okay, let me start by saying that this book is so good, my review is not going to be able to do it justice...." Read more

"This book is just SO compelling and amazing! This entire work is in epistolary form, and it’s really impressively done!..." Read more

"...in such a natural and engaging way make this a unique and FABULOUS read. Do check it out!" Read more

"I loved every page of this...." Read more

9 customers mention "Character development"9 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, finding them vibrant, with one customer highlighting the exploration of queer characters and another noting the book's heart.

"...but instead it makes you feel like you're there, reading over the characters' shoulders...." Read more

"...research, the exciting plot and the way it pulls in women and non-European characters to give a much more varied cross-section of society than you..." Read more

"...the two beautifully-drawn leading men, there are a plethora of other fascinating characters. The Inuits, both as observed and in their own voices...." Read more

"...lives that intertwine, the historical detail, and the exploration of queer characters in such a natural and engaging way make this a unique and..." Read more

9 customers mention "Writing quality"9 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, particularly its breathtaking use of the epistolary form.

"...Finally, I am always, always, a big fan of beautiful, lyrical, poetic writing, writing that touches something inside of me and that feels like..." Read more

"This was a breathtaking use of the epistolary form...." Read more

"...The attention to detail in the historical setting, the epistolary format..." Read more

"This is an excellent book, very well-written and well-researched. It's not just a good m/m novel, it's a good historical novel...." Read more

4 customers mention "Research quality"4 positive0 negative

Customers praise the research quality of the book, with one noting its depth.

"...on what I loved about the book: its rich detail and the author's obvious level of research, the exciting plot and the way it pulls in women and non-..." Read more

"This is an excellent book, very well-written and well-researched. It's not just a good m/m novel, it's a good historical novel...." Read more

"Elyssa Warkentin’s debut novel is outstanding. It is brilliantly researched and beautifully written...." Read more

"I thoroughly enjoyed this epistolary novel written with so much depth and human-ness!..." Read more

4 customers mention "Storytelling"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the storytelling of the book, finding it engaging and delightful, with one customer noting how the characters' inner lives are effectively conveyed.

"...this book, fiction though it may be, perfectly captures the emotion, excitement, and adventure of a real arctic expedition, I want you to know I..." Read more

"...brief, but at the same time, so very much emotion and inner life are somehow conveyed...." Read more

"...detail, and the exploration of queer characters in such a natural and engaging way make this a unique and FABULOUS read. Do check it out!" Read more

"a visceral and engaging adventure..." Read more

3 customers mention "Arctic setting"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the Arctic setting of the book, with one customer describing it as an adventure of a real arctic expedition, while another notes how it brings readers right onto the ice with the explorers.

"...be, perfectly captures the emotion, excitement, and adventure of a real arctic expedition, I want you to know I mean it...." Read more

"...This story is vivid and rich, bringing you right onto the ice with the explorers, shaking snow out of your boots, and hoping to catch a hare for..." Read more

"...I loved the stories told by the Arctic natives that rounded out the Europeans own stories. It was a nice touch...." Read more

3 customers mention "Emotion"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the emotional depth of the book, with one noting that the feelings are never forced.

"...that when I say that this book, fiction though it may be, perfectly captures the emotion, excitement, and adventure of a real arctic expedition, I..." Read more

"...period–aloof, correct, fairly brief, but at the same time, so very much emotion and inner life are somehow conveyed...." Read more

"a visceral and engaging adventure..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Okay, let me start by saying that this book is so good, my review is not going to be able to do it justice. Stop reading this review now and go download the sample immediately.

    While you're waiting for it to download, let me just say, in a fortunate reader's life, you occasionally stumble across a book that fits all your interests at that moment, that just clicks with who you are at a certain point in time. For me, this book was like that, but for my entire life. When I was in third grade I bought the book "Buried in Ice" about the Franklin Expedition from the Scholastic book fair, and have been obsessed with tales of polar exploration ever since. I have read possibly every non-fiction book about every expedition ever written, I was overwhelmed when meeting the grandson of a man who voyaged with Shackleton, I cried with joy when they finally located the Erebus, then did it again when the Terror was found.

    I tell you all this for context, because I want you to understand that when I say that this book, fiction though it may be, perfectly captures the emotion, excitement, and adventure of a real arctic expedition, I want you to know I mean it. The level of research and love put into this book is phenomenal, but never feels forced, or like the autor is trying to show off. Rather, it builds on the details of the world until you can almost hear the wind in the rigging, or the cracking of the ice.

    I was wary at first of the epistolary style, because I have seen it used poorly by lesser authors, but instead it makes you feel like you're there, reading over the characters' shoulders. It also provides some delightful moments when the reliability of a narrator or account can called into question. What I loved most about this format though, is the way in which it was used to weave in accounts of the people usually overlooked in discovery literature--both the women left behind, and the native people whose land is being "discovered". Warkentin is especially deft in her handling of the Inuit perspective and storytelling especially in the moments where their stories overlapped with the English accounts.

    "But what about the romance?" I hear you asking. I will say that if you're looking for something explicit and steamy, this may not be the book for you, but if you are looking for a natural, heart-wrenchingly beautiful and realistic romance to slowly bloom between two men who are as fascinating, flawed and REAL as you could ever hope to find... then the sample should be downloaded by now. Start reading.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    JazztheCat and J Davis have already touched on what I loved about the book: its rich detail and the author's obvious level of research, the exciting plot and the way it pulls in women and non-European characters to give a much more varied cross-section of society than you often see in historical fiction that makes it all the more accessible to contemporary readers without making the characters seem like moderns themselves. I heartily second them on these points.

    Let me just highlight another aspect they haven't really commented on: the way Warkentin uses the epistolary format to develop her characters in a way that feels organic and akin to how actual people get to know each other. That sounds a bit high-brow but it's actually pretty straightforward (and effective). We the readers are given a series of short letters, log entries, and the like telling us about a certain character, each from a definite author with their own biases. And it works pretty much like how we get to know actual people in our "real" lives: we hear some account of the person, corrected later by our observations of them in a certain context or some *other* person's impressions of them, and bit by bit the pieces fit together into a fuller (but never quite perfect) vision of who they Really Are. Warkentin does that so well here!

    A favorite example: At one point the naturalist, Embleton Hall, does some experiments on animal-corpses that basically amount to him carving up the carcasses and examining the half-digested contents of their stomach. There's really no need for this beyond blind curiosity. Hall is uncharacteristically excited about his experiments, and that bleeds through into his sparse account of the "experiment"; the captain takes a more practical tack, recording how he forced the man to bathe before going below decks and concluding in a minimalist way how he ordered double-spirits rations for the whole crew that night. It's quite funny, but it also gets across how badly they all needed a drink after all the gore, and how willfully ignorant Hall is of the social niceties. Much more effective than if the author had simply *told* us this about him, and the little snippets the epistolary genre affords us lets us get to know him (them, really) gradually, sorting the bits of information into place as we get to know her characters.

    Give this story a read. I doubt you'll be disappointed; I certainly wasn't.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Randall Epp
    5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting read
    Reviewed in Canada on December 3, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    It’s hard to believe this book wasn’t written by a 19th century sea captain. The attention to detail and extensive research is evident throughout. By telling the story through a sequence of ship’s logs, diaries, and Inuit story telling, the author exposes the terrible clashing of three different worlds: the world of the affluent 19th century English, the self-contained world of the Inuit, and the torturous world of the ship’s crew where the other two worlds collide under the harshest climatic conditions on the planet. The characters are sometimes lovable, sometimes despicable and sometimes both. In the end I think it’s about endurance. The endurance of hope when life is unbearable, the endurance of love and relationships that the world tries to quash, and the endurance of women’s fight for equality. That’s a lot of different things to pack into one book, but the author does it admirably. I’m no literary critic and I hope my review doesn’t do an injustice to the book by missing the point. So ignore my review and just read the book.
    I also want to thank the author for including an element of M/M romance in such a real and understanding way. (It seems Every time I pick up an LGBT2 book, it turns out to be a Harlequin Romance or unimaginative porn. This book was a very welcome change in that regard.) I hope to see more books from this author.
  • a_different_equation
    5.0 out of 5 stars You'll rec it to everyone you know
    Reviewed in Germany on April 7, 2019
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The history novel, "A Land So Wild", is something all-different. Told in letters, diary entries, and retellings of natives, the author creates a universe that feels "real"; it's recreating history, in a way, and reclaiming it as "A Land So Wild" focusses on prior mostly unheard stories, i.e. queer relationships. Actually, not sure if it's intended or not, I found it quite neat and elegant that a story that is about (re)discovery of a lost ship and its crew, mirrors tales of (re)discovery of (queer) identity.
    What my rambling already highlights is that "A Land So Wild" will resonates with you a long time. I bought it almost immediately as a paperback, and I cannot count the times I have picked it up to re-read ever since. One time, you will re-read the major lovestory about the captain and his naturalist; one time, your heart will go out to the star-crossed lovers who were women out of their time, and time was not kind to them; one time, you will look up all the historical details, be in awe of the native tales, or test your language abilities.
    Buy it, read it, love it forever.
  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic story told entirely through logs and letters - I was swept away!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 8, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    A story about arctic explorers told entirely through letters and log entries and featuring gay characters, told by an author who also writes for my fandom?

    This book might as well have been written for me specifically!

    I am an absolute sucker for epistolary fiction if well done and this was absolutely brilliant.

    Also: science! Man against nature! Exploration! Queer romance!

    There wasn't a thing I didn't love about this. I adore the characters a lot (though I wanted to shout at poor Hannah a lot in the end) and I would happily read a companion book going into more detail about Addie's life while her husband is away and from then onwards. In fact, I'd love the story of their entire marriage and how it came to be. I'm very invested in all these characters.

    Embleton Hall is my fave and no one is surprised.

    Thank you for this splendidly written story, I raced through it in a little over a day and enjoyed myself tremendously along the way.
  • C Clarke
    5.0 out of 5 stars GOD, SO GOOD
    Reviewed in Canada on July 23, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This story is heartbreaking and beautiful! I don't always like historical fiction, but this is a sheer delight. And the relationships in it are so finely drawn. This is a terrific story.
  • Renee Ward
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Historical Fiction!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 14, 2018
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The author does a fabulous job of weaving the oral history of the Inuit into two further narrative strands that focus on male and female characters. This is one of its strengths -- showing different perspectives or lived experiences of those impacted by the actions depicted (rather than just focusing on male protagonists). I also love how she's used the Franklin Expedition as the inspiration for the story. The epistolary style reinforces the period element of the novel as this style appears in Gothic and 19th C texts such as Frankenstein or The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Everything is thoroughly researched and the story is, at times, quite chilling. Loved every minute of this book and highly recommend it.

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