I enjoyed reading Cherie Dimaline’s VenCo so much that I decided to read another one of her novels (I am sure I will eventually work my way through all of them). I do not like Empire of Wild as much as I like VenCo, but it is still an interesting novel inspired by the Métis traditional story of the Rogarou, a werewolf-like creature that is used to inspire fear in disobedient people.

Empire of Wild is about a Métis woman named Joan whose husband, Victor, goes missing after they have a fight and he storms out of the house. Joan’s family thinks that he has abandoned her, but Joan thinks something worse has happened to Victor and she has spent the past year looking for him. One morning, in a Walmart parking lot, Joan comes across a church revival tent where the local Métis are congregating to listen to a charismatic preacher – who happens to be Joan’s husband, Victor. Except his name isn’t Victor, it is Eugene Wolff, and he has no idea who Joan is.

Eugene Wolff is working for a stereotypical rich white CEO named Thomas Heiser who is using the travelling ministry to bring the Métis over to his side so that he can build a pipeline on their lands. Joan thinks that Heiser is actually a Rogarou who has enslaved her husband and made him forget who he is. With the help of her twelve-year-old nephew, Zeus, and Ajean, one of the town elders who is knowledgeable in the old ways (and thankfully not annoying like Stella from VenCo), Joan goes after the travelling ministry with the intention of defeating the Rogarou and reclaiming her husband.

Empire of Wild is not entertaining in the same sense that VenCo is, but Joan is a strong and brave woman like Lucky St. James and a compelling enough protagonist that I wanted to follow her story to the end. Empire of Wild is not merely a supernatural story about Métis tradition, it is also a commentary on how white religion is used to erase Indigenous culture. Joan is not only going up against a big, bad werewolf, she is also going up against an insidious Christian institution that is responsible for the disconnect between Indigenous peoples and their land. Empire of Wild is also a love story because at its core it is about a woman on a journey to remind her man of their love for each other, and as dim of a view that Joan’s family has of Victor, I found myself in suspense as Joan tries to outsmart Heiser so she can get her husband back. I definitely recommend this novel.