Listen free for 30 days
-
Empire of Wild
- Narrated by: Michelle St. John
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Empire of Wild
Buy Now for $27.97
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
Indigo's Number-One Best Book of 2019
National Best Seller
From the author of the YA-crossover hit The Marrow Thieves, a propulsive, stunning and sensuous novel inspired by the traditional Métis story of the Rogarou - a werewolf-like creature that haunts the roads and woods of Métis communities. A messed-up, grown-up "Little Red Riding Hood".
Broken-hearted Joan has been searching for her husband, Victor, for almost a year - ever since he went missing on the night they had their first serious argument. One terrible, hungover morning in a Walmart parking lot in a little town near Georgian Bay, she is drawn to a revival tent where the local Métis have been flocking to hear a charismatic preacher named Eugene Wolff. By the time she staggers into the tent, the service is over. But as she is about to leave, she hears an unmistakable voice.
She turns, and there Victor is. The same face, the same eyes, the same hands. But his hair is short and he's wearing a suit and he doesn't recognize her at all. No, he insists, she's the one suffering a delusion: he's the Reverend Wolff and his only mission is to bring his people to Jesus. Except that, as Joan soon discovers, that's not all the enigmatic Wolff is doing.
With only the help of Ajean, a foul-mouthed euchre shark with a knowledge of the old ways, and her odd, Johnny-Cash-loving, 12-year-old nephew Zeus, Joan has to find a way to remind the Reverend Wolff of who he really is. If he really is Victor. Her life, and the life of everyone she loves, depends upon it.
You may also enjoy...
-
Hunting by Stars
- (A Marrow Thieves Novel)
- Written by: Cherie Dimaline
- Narrated by: Meegwun Fairbrother, Michelle St. John
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
Years ago, when plagues and natural disasters killed millions of people, much of the world stopped dreaming. Without dreams, people are haunted, sick, mad, unable to rebuild. The government soon finds that the Indigenous people of North America have retained their dreams, an ability rumored to be housed in the very marrow of their bones. Soon, residential schools pop up — or are re-opened — across the land to bring in the dreamers and harvest their dreams.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
misleading
- By Leisha on 2024-06-24
Written by: Cherie Dimaline
-
Funeral Songs for Dying Girls
- Written by: Cherie Dimaline
- Narrated by: Tara Sky, Jessica Matten
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1
Winifred has lived in the apartment above the cemetery office with her father, who works in the crematorium, all her life, close to her mother's grave. With her sixteenth birthday only days away, Winifred has settled into a lazy summer schedule, lugging her obese Chihuahua around the grounds in a squeaky red wagon to visit the neglected gravesides and nursing a serious crush on her best friend, Jack.
Written by: Cherie Dimaline
-
The Marrow Thieves
- Written by: Cherie Dimaline
- Narrated by: Meegwun Fairbrother
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
Humanity has nearly destroyed its world through global warming, but now an even greater evil lurks. The indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, which carries the key to recovering something the rest of the population has lost: the ability to dream. In this dark world, Frenchie and his companions struggle to survive as they make their way up north to the old lands. For now, survival means staying hidden—but what they don't know is that one of them holds the secret to defeating the marrow thieves.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Anti Feminist and poorly written
- By Danielle on 2023-12-01
Written by: Cherie Dimaline
-
Indigenous Writes
- A Guide to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Issues in Canada
- Written by: Chelsea Vowel
- Narrated by: Brianne Tucker
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
Are you familiar with the terms listed above? In Indigenous Writes, Chelsea Vowel, legal scholar, teacher, and intellectual, opens an important dialogue about these (and more) concepts and the wider social beliefs associated with the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Canada. In 31 essays, Chelsea explores the Indigenous experience from the time of contact to the present, through five categories - Terminology of Relationships; Culture and Identity; Myth-Busting; State Violence; and Land, Learning, Law, and Treaties.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
MUCH Better as a hard copy!
- By Julie Rose on 2021-08-15
Written by: Chelsea Vowel
-
Motorcycles & Sweetgrass
- Written by: Drew Hayden Taylor
- Narrated by: Drew Hayden Taylor
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Otter Lake is a sleepy Anishnawbe community where little happens. Until the day a handsome stranger pulls up astride a 1953 Indian Chief motorcycle - and turns Otter Lake completely upside down. Maggie, the Reserve’s chief, is swept off her feet, but Virgil, her teenage son, is less than enchanted. Suspicious of the stranger’s intentions, he teams up with his uncle, Wayne - a master of aboriginal martial arts - to drive the stranger from the Reserve. And it turns out that the raccoons are willing to lend a hand.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book
- By Tanya on 2023-11-15
Written by: Drew Hayden Taylor
-
The Inconvenient Indian
- A Curious Account of Native People in North America
- Written by: Thomas King
- Narrated by: Lorne Cardinal
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 914
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 797
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 791
The Inconvenient Indian is at once a “history” and the complete subversion of a history - in short, a critical and personal meditation that the remarkable Thomas King has conducted over the past 50 years about what it means to be “Indian” in North America. Rich with dark and light, pain and magic, this book distills the insights gleaned from that meditation, weaving the curiously circular tale of the relationship between non-Natives and Natives in the centuries since the two first encountered each other.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Angry, embarrassed, disgusted, horrified, nauseous, scared and so so sad, but hopeful and now informed.
- By Shantelle Lamouche on 2021-01-18
Written by: Thomas King
-
Hunting by Stars
- (A Marrow Thieves Novel)
- Written by: Cherie Dimaline
- Narrated by: Meegwun Fairbrother, Michelle St. John
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
Years ago, when plagues and natural disasters killed millions of people, much of the world stopped dreaming. Without dreams, people are haunted, sick, mad, unable to rebuild. The government soon finds that the Indigenous people of North America have retained their dreams, an ability rumored to be housed in the very marrow of their bones. Soon, residential schools pop up — or are re-opened — across the land to bring in the dreamers and harvest their dreams.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
misleading
- By Leisha on 2024-06-24
Written by: Cherie Dimaline
-
Funeral Songs for Dying Girls
- Written by: Cherie Dimaline
- Narrated by: Tara Sky, Jessica Matten
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1
Winifred has lived in the apartment above the cemetery office with her father, who works in the crematorium, all her life, close to her mother's grave. With her sixteenth birthday only days away, Winifred has settled into a lazy summer schedule, lugging her obese Chihuahua around the grounds in a squeaky red wagon to visit the neglected gravesides and nursing a serious crush on her best friend, Jack.
Written by: Cherie Dimaline
-
The Marrow Thieves
- Written by: Cherie Dimaline
- Narrated by: Meegwun Fairbrother
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
Humanity has nearly destroyed its world through global warming, but now an even greater evil lurks. The indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, which carries the key to recovering something the rest of the population has lost: the ability to dream. In this dark world, Frenchie and his companions struggle to survive as they make their way up north to the old lands. For now, survival means staying hidden—but what they don't know is that one of them holds the secret to defeating the marrow thieves.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Anti Feminist and poorly written
- By Danielle on 2023-12-01
Written by: Cherie Dimaline
-
Indigenous Writes
- A Guide to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Issues in Canada
- Written by: Chelsea Vowel
- Narrated by: Brianne Tucker
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
Are you familiar with the terms listed above? In Indigenous Writes, Chelsea Vowel, legal scholar, teacher, and intellectual, opens an important dialogue about these (and more) concepts and the wider social beliefs associated with the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Canada. In 31 essays, Chelsea explores the Indigenous experience from the time of contact to the present, through five categories - Terminology of Relationships; Culture and Identity; Myth-Busting; State Violence; and Land, Learning, Law, and Treaties.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
MUCH Better as a hard copy!
- By Julie Rose on 2021-08-15
Written by: Chelsea Vowel
-
Motorcycles & Sweetgrass
- Written by: Drew Hayden Taylor
- Narrated by: Drew Hayden Taylor
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Otter Lake is a sleepy Anishnawbe community where little happens. Until the day a handsome stranger pulls up astride a 1953 Indian Chief motorcycle - and turns Otter Lake completely upside down. Maggie, the Reserve’s chief, is swept off her feet, but Virgil, her teenage son, is less than enchanted. Suspicious of the stranger’s intentions, he teams up with his uncle, Wayne - a master of aboriginal martial arts - to drive the stranger from the Reserve. And it turns out that the raccoons are willing to lend a hand.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book
- By Tanya on 2023-11-15
Written by: Drew Hayden Taylor
-
The Inconvenient Indian
- A Curious Account of Native People in North America
- Written by: Thomas King
- Narrated by: Lorne Cardinal
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 914
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 797
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 791
The Inconvenient Indian is at once a “history” and the complete subversion of a history - in short, a critical and personal meditation that the remarkable Thomas King has conducted over the past 50 years about what it means to be “Indian” in North America. Rich with dark and light, pain and magic, this book distills the insights gleaned from that meditation, weaving the curiously circular tale of the relationship between non-Natives and Natives in the centuries since the two first encountered each other.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Angry, embarrassed, disgusted, horrified, nauseous, scared and so so sad, but hopeful and now informed.
- By Shantelle Lamouche on 2021-01-18
Written by: Thomas King
-
Firekeeper's Daughter
- Written by: Angeline Boulley
- Narrated by: Isabella Star LaBlanc
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 520
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 465
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 464
Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Trigger Warning Please!
- By Kali Bomberry on 2021-04-21
Written by: Angeline Boulley
-
Moon of the Crusted Snow
- A Novel
- Written by: Waubgeshig Rice
- Narrated by: Billy Merasty
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 417
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 351
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 354
With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Enjoyable for ALL Canadians
- By TheMer on 2020-01-31
Written by: Waubgeshig Rice
-
Unbroken
- My Fight for Survival, Hope, and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls
- Written by: Angela Sterritt
- Narrated by: Angela Sterritt
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 8
Unbroken is an extraordinary work of memoir and investigative journalism focusing on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, written by an award-winning Gitxsan journalist who survived life on the streets against all odds.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Informative and powerful
- By Robin Anderson on 2023-09-15
Written by: Angela Sterritt
-
Son of a Trickster
- Written by: Eden Robinson
- Narrated by: Jason Ryll
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 470
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 409
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 407
Everyone knows a guy like Jared: the burnout kid in high school who sells weed cookies and has a scary mom who's often wasted and wielding some kind of weapon. Jared does smoke and drink too much, and he does make the best cookies in town, and his mom is a mess, but he's also a kid who has an immense capacity for compassion and an impulse to watch over people more than twice his age, and he can't rely on anyone for consistent love and support, except for his flatulent pit bull, Baby Killer (he calls her Baby) - and now she's dead.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Story
- By sannna on 2017-12-18
Written by: Eden Robinson
-
Kiss of the Fur Queen
- Written by: Tomson Highway
- Narrated by: Patricia Cano
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 17
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
Born into a magical Cree world in snowy Northern Manitoba, Champion and Ooneemeetoo Okimasis are all too soon torn from their family and thrust into the hostile world of a Catholic residential school. Their language is forbidden, their names are changed to Jeremiah and Gabriel, and both boys are abused by priests. As young men, estranged from their own people and alienated from the culture imposed upon them, the Okimasis brothers fight to survive. Wherever they go, the Fur Queen - a wily, shape-shifting trickster - watches over them with a protective eye.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Tomson Highway is a gift!
- By Darrel Morin on 2023-03-09
Written by: Tomson Highway
-
Life in the City of Dirty Water
- A Memoir of Healing
- Written by: Clayton Thomas-Muller
- Narrated by: Clayton Thomas-Muller
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 83
There have been many Clayton Thomas-Mullers: The child who played with toy planes as an escape from domestic and sexual abuse, enduring the intergenerational trauma of Canada's residential school system; the angry youngster who defended himself with fists and sharp wit against racism and violence, at school and on the streets of Winnipeg and small-town British Columbia; the tough teenager who, at 17, managed a drug house run by members of his family, and slipped in and out of juvie, operating in a world of violence and pain.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Both insightful snd hopeful
- By Debra Ransom on 2024-10-09
Written by: Clayton Thomas-Muller
What the critics say
“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)
“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)
What listeners say about Empire of Wild
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Annemarie Bain
- 2020-07-02
100% recommend
absolutely loved the book! it really pulled me in and it's quite humourous. the writing is perfect and is very descriptive. the writing really transports you in the world of the main character, Joan. never a full moment in the book. I would totally recommend this book to my friends and family.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tonya Brake
- 2020-12-14
loved this book
once I started listening I could not stop. I finished it in one day! narrator is awesome as well. storyline loved. enjoyed everything about this book! kudos!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Travelling Crone
- 2021-10-06
Brilliant!
I almost started listening to it all over again when it ended. Really enjoyed the whole thing. Helen is such an amazingly flawed and human heroine, I wonder if Ms Dimaline could make this into a series? hint hint hint
I'm not going to tell you anything about it, better writers than I have that covered. But I sure hope you buy it cause you deserve a little magic in your life, eh?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Matthew Willox
- 2022-10-29
Didn't grab me
Overall, I think it's a good book. I enjoyed the narration, characters and the general trajectory of the story. But, the story was a bit too simplistic to sink its teeth into me.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- mavo
- 2019-10-14
Is there such a thing as 'binge listening'?
If there is, then this is a candidate for consumption in this manner. Cherie Dimaline has embraced magic realism in the style of Isabel Allende and given us a Canadian mystery/fantasy with authentic characters as well as an undertone of political commentary. It is a brilliant read/listen that flows well through multiple points of view. Her words invoke the smell and the taste of the earth and the voices of her characters ring true. The only blip in my mind, is the ending. NO SPOILERS, but we do seem set up for a sequel in a way that seems unnecessary. I, for one, would read any sequel to this, in any event. Don't miss this one!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kiley
- 2022-05-13
Best Book I’ve Ever Heard
This book is a thrill. Not a single time did I loose track of the story. It’s a clear easy to follow story that is genius. The reader was very good at expressing emotion. Only complaint I have is that it was hard to tell some of the side characters apart when listening.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Genevieve Paquette
- 2021-02-08
great
It was an exceptional book. The writing, the characters, the story. Even the fact that it was fundamentally a romance novel (albeit one about loss and grief and evil wolf men) didn’t bother me. It was plotted so well. The setting was so vivid (again, more childhood memories). High tension, high stakes, high emotions. The hamster scene made me physically ill. And the stuff with Zeuss broke my heart. But then.
The last chapter and epilogue, though admittedly masterful and (I hate to say it but) a perfect way to conclude the story, was such a huge bummer. Like, it just stopped and suddenly the Audible guy was hoping that I enjoyed this program. I had a very minor freak out. What a cliffhanger. What an epic, depressing and completely apt cliffhanger.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- LB
- 2020-10-20
Fascinating & Engaging.
Fascinating and engaging until the end. Strong characters and a realistic portrayal of Canadian life without being overly discouraging like many of this genre. I also appreciated the subtle but honest commentary of the corrosive effect of organized religion for ulterior motives. I will read this author again.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2021-12-26
Amazing book
This book was well narrated, the storyline was amazing and I would definitely recommend it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2020-05-05
Empire of Wild
Loved everything about this book. I hope Cherie Dimaline has already started a follow-up novel to this one. I can't wait to find out what happens next with these characters.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful