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The Wolf Gift Chronicles #1
The Wolf Gift
The time is the present.
The place, the rugged coast of northern California. A bluff high above the Pacific. A grand mansion full of beauty and tantalizing history set against a towering redwood forest.
A young reporter on assignment from the San Francisco Observer. . . an older woman, welcoming him into her magnificent, historic family home that he has been sent to write about and that she must sell with some urgency . . . A chance encounter between two unlikely people . . . an idyllic night—shattered by horrific unimaginable violence. . .The young man inexplicably attacked—bitten—by a beast he cannot see in the rural darkness . . . A violent episode that sets in motion a terrifying yet seductive transformation as the young man, caught between ecstasy and horror, between embracing who he is evolving into and fearing who—what—he will become, soon experiences the thrill of the wolf gift.
As he resists the paradoxical pleasure and enthrallment of his wolfen savagery and delights in the power and (surprising) capacity for good, he is caught up in a strange and dangerous rescue and is desperately hunted as “the Man Wolf,” by authorities, the media and scientists (evidence of DNA threaten to reveal his dual existence). . . As a new and profound love enfolds him, questions emerge that propel him deeper into his mysterious new world: questions of why and how he has been given this gift; of its true nature and the curious but satisfying pull towards goodness; of the profound realization that there are others like him who may be watching—guardian creatures who have existed throughout time and may possess ancient secrets and alchemical knowledge and throughout it all, the search for salvation for a soul tormented by a new realm of temptations, and the fraught, exhilarating journey, still to come, of being and becoming, fully, both wolf and man.
The place, the rugged coast of northern California. A bluff high above the Pacific. A grand mansion full of beauty and tantalizing history set against a towering redwood forest.
A young reporter on assignment from the San Francisco Observer. . . an older woman, welcoming him into her magnificent, historic family home that he has been sent to write about and that she must sell with some urgency . . . A chance encounter between two unlikely people . . . an idyllic night—shattered by horrific unimaginable violence. . .The young man inexplicably attacked—bitten—by a beast he cannot see in the rural darkness . . . A violent episode that sets in motion a terrifying yet seductive transformation as the young man, caught between ecstasy and horror, between embracing who he is evolving into and fearing who—what—he will become, soon experiences the thrill of the wolf gift.
As he resists the paradoxical pleasure and enthrallment of his wolfen savagery and delights in the power and (surprising) capacity for good, he is caught up in a strange and dangerous rescue and is desperately hunted as “the Man Wolf,” by authorities, the media and scientists (evidence of DNA threaten to reveal his dual existence). . . As a new and profound love enfolds him, questions emerge that propel him deeper into his mysterious new world: questions of why and how he has been given this gift; of its true nature and the curious but satisfying pull towards goodness; of the profound realization that there are others like him who may be watching—guardian creatures who have existed throughout time and may possess ancient secrets and alchemical knowledge and throughout it all, the search for salvation for a soul tormented by a new realm of temptations, and the fraught, exhilarating journey, still to come, of being and becoming, fully, both wolf and man.
404 pages, Hardcover
First published February 14, 2012
2062 people are currently reading
27573 people want to read
About the author
Anne Rice
492 books27.5k followersAnne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien) was a best-selling American author of gothic, supernatural, historical, erotica, and later religious themed books. Best known for The Vampire Chronicles, her prevailing thematic focus is on love, death, immortality, existentialism, and the human condition. She was married to poet Stan Rice for 41 years until his death in 2002. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history.
Anne Rice passed on December 11, 2021 due to complications from a stroke. She was eighty years old at the time of her death.
She uses the pseudonym Anne Rampling for adult-themed fiction (i.e., erotica) and A.N. Roquelaure for fiction featuring sexually explicit sado-masochism.
Anne Rice passed on December 11, 2021 due to complications from a stroke. She was eighty years old at the time of her death.
She uses the pseudonym Anne Rampling for adult-themed fiction (i.e., erotica) and A.N. Roquelaure for fiction featuring sexually explicit sado-masochism.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,321 reviews
February 24, 2012
A young reporter narrowly escapes being mauled by a man wolf and soon finds himself changing into a man wolf by the light of the moon. He begins taking the law into his own hands and soon has a horde of police and scientists looking for him, as well as others of his kind...
Ever run into an old flame and try to rekindle the spark? For years, I was a devout Anne Rice fan, wolfing down the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witches books with reckless abandon. After a few years of that, I started seeing changes in our relationship. After a few disappointing books like Blackwood Farm, Anne and I parted ways. Late last year, Anne's path crossed with mine once again when I learned of the Wolf Gift. Could we recapture the old magic?
NO! And here's what went down.
I really wanted to like this book but there are many reasons why I didn't. First off, I didn't care about the main character at all. His name is Reuben, he's 23, and he drives a Porsche. While I'm sure there are likeable 23 year old Porsche drivers, Reuben is not one of them. He's a really bland character with no real traits other than inexplicably having sex with women who aren't his girlfriend and talking like a 45 year old philosophy major.
The rest of the characters are similarly thin. I know I'm supposed to think it's interesting that Reuben's brother is a priest or his mother is a doctor but they are pretty much definied by their jobs. The other man wolves are pretty interchangeable as characters.
The writing isn't very good either. It's clunky and chock full of infodumps. Maybe I'm looking back at Anne Rice's previous work through the rose colored glasses of nostalgia but I can't remember her earlier work being this badly written.
All that being said, I did find some things of value in The Wolf's Gift. I actually like the mythology she's created for her werewolves, the Chrism and so forth, as well as the origin of the species. I also like that Reuben was accepting of the change and started acting like a werewolf version of Batman. The rest of the book just didn't do it for me. It was obviously meant to the be the first book in a series and the climax of the story occurs way before the end.
Sorry Anne, maybe we'll try again in another ten years. 2 stars.
Ever run into an old flame and try to rekindle the spark? For years, I was a devout Anne Rice fan, wolfing down the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witches books with reckless abandon. After a few years of that, I started seeing changes in our relationship. After a few disappointing books like Blackwood Farm, Anne and I parted ways. Late last year, Anne's path crossed with mine once again when I learned of the Wolf Gift. Could we recapture the old magic?
NO! And here's what went down.
I really wanted to like this book but there are many reasons why I didn't. First off, I didn't care about the main character at all. His name is Reuben, he's 23, and he drives a Porsche. While I'm sure there are likeable 23 year old Porsche drivers, Reuben is not one of them. He's a really bland character with no real traits other than inexplicably having sex with women who aren't his girlfriend and talking like a 45 year old philosophy major.
The rest of the characters are similarly thin. I know I'm supposed to think it's interesting that Reuben's brother is a priest or his mother is a doctor but they are pretty much definied by their jobs. The other man wolves are pretty interchangeable as characters.
The writing isn't very good either. It's clunky and chock full of infodumps. Maybe I'm looking back at Anne Rice's previous work through the rose colored glasses of nostalgia but I can't remember her earlier work being this badly written.
All that being said, I did find some things of value in The Wolf's Gift. I actually like the mythology she's created for her werewolves, the Chrism and so forth, as well as the origin of the species. I also like that Reuben was accepting of the change and started acting like a werewolf version of Batman. The rest of the book just didn't do it for me. It was obviously meant to the be the first book in a series and the climax of the story occurs way before the end.
Sorry Anne, maybe we'll try again in another ten years. 2 stars.
December 13, 2022
Before I begin this review I have to mention a few things. I have read several reviews both here on Goodreads and on Amazon and I have to say people don't get it. They don't get this book, they read drivel like 50 Shades of Grey or Twilight and believe that those books are good examples of supernatural and/or erotic literature. They are not. For every person that is grossed out by "icky" Morphenkind/Human sexual relations or turned off on the whole novel because the main character starts out by cheating on his girlfriend... This book is not for you. If you cannot understand the mythological context of werewolves as primal human sexuality, this is not for you. If you are so naive to believe that good people don't find love in peculiar places. Then this book is not for you. Frankly, I don't see how anyone who has ever read an Anne Rice book would be shocked at any of these events.
I consider myself an Anne Rice fan, though I have not read all of her books. I stopped the Vampire Chronicles in the middle of Memnoch the Devil. It was clear she was having a religious epiphany and I did not want my beloved characters forced into it with her. I read the Lives of the Mayfair witches through most of Taltos. I picked up Pandora, Merrick, and Blood and Gold and longed to find out what happened when the characters met in the crossover books. I have yet to go back and find them. So, I chose the Wolf Gift to begin my new journey with Anne.
I am glad I did. While it is true that Anne's writing has changed over the years, I don't think that this change detracts from her ability to tell a great story. I am not going to go into a recap of the story here, you can find that information on a book jacket or in any number of the other reviews on this site.
What I can say is that she has drawn us into the world of the morphenkind by introducing us to Reuben Golding. A young man, who is obviously living in the wrong time, is wise beyond his years and drawn into the mystery of Nideck Point, a large property that carries with it many secrets.
Now, as someone who has not grown up privileged, like Reuben, I still found it easy to relate to him. He is intrigued by mythology and literature and by the world that came before him. It was easy to see how someone could get caught up in a mysterious house, even before the tragedy that befalls him, which ultimately changes his life forever.
I am a lover of mythology, especially supernatural mythology, and have done my own research on werewolves. I found it refreshing that she turned this genre on its head, by not including many of the recently created tropes associated with werewolf folklore. There was no lunar cycle, no silver bullet. Anne is known for her impeccable research into a topic before writing and you can tell she did it here.
The only con I found in reading this novel was that there is some echo of her vampire mythology hiding in these pages. How can there not be? You have immortal creatures, who must kill as a means of survival. There is the struggle between good and evil..as always.
I, for one, cannot wait until October 2013, when the sequel is released. I want to know more about the Morphenkind and their adventures throughout history.
I consider myself an Anne Rice fan, though I have not read all of her books. I stopped the Vampire Chronicles in the middle of Memnoch the Devil. It was clear she was having a religious epiphany and I did not want my beloved characters forced into it with her. I read the Lives of the Mayfair witches through most of Taltos. I picked up Pandora, Merrick, and Blood and Gold and longed to find out what happened when the characters met in the crossover books. I have yet to go back and find them. So, I chose the Wolf Gift to begin my new journey with Anne.
I am glad I did. While it is true that Anne's writing has changed over the years, I don't think that this change detracts from her ability to tell a great story. I am not going to go into a recap of the story here, you can find that information on a book jacket or in any number of the other reviews on this site.
What I can say is that she has drawn us into the world of the morphenkind by introducing us to Reuben Golding. A young man, who is obviously living in the wrong time, is wise beyond his years and drawn into the mystery of Nideck Point, a large property that carries with it many secrets.
Now, as someone who has not grown up privileged, like Reuben, I still found it easy to relate to him. He is intrigued by mythology and literature and by the world that came before him. It was easy to see how someone could get caught up in a mysterious house, even before the tragedy that befalls him, which ultimately changes his life forever.
I am a lover of mythology, especially supernatural mythology, and have done my own research on werewolves. I found it refreshing that she turned this genre on its head, by not including many of the recently created tropes associated with werewolf folklore. There was no lunar cycle, no silver bullet. Anne is known for her impeccable research into a topic before writing and you can tell she did it here.
The only con I found in reading this novel was that there is some echo of her vampire mythology hiding in these pages. How can there not be? You have immortal creatures, who must kill as a means of survival. There is the struggle between good and evil..as always.
I, for one, cannot wait until October 2013, when the sequel is released. I want to know more about the Morphenkind and their adventures throughout history.
July 20, 2014
Here’s a little history. I read Anne Rice when I was a teenager back in 1976. Yep, I was sixteen.
When I was twenty-five, Anne blew my mind with “The Vampire Lestat”. Hail the Brat Prince. Damn, I still think Lestat is one of the best characters ever and yes, he has influenced my writing. In fact, I raced through the novel again to prime myself for “The Wolf Gift.”
To backtrack, I thought the Mayfair Witches series was amazing. I still don’t understand how HBO hasn’t crafted a killer series from those books. “The Mummy” was also remarkable but Rice let it die. Why?
As a fan, I kept reading her books until I started wondering what the hell was going on in her universe. The books seemed more and more silly.
Then Rice made the “GOD” jump. She lost me there. I said good luck and farewell.
Then came “The Wolf Gift.” Ooo, Rice explores the supernatural realm? I bit. I read.
I read, read, read. Surely I had been duped! This couldn’t be Anne Rice. Well, wait, long rambling passages of purple prose; check; too much God stuff; check; passages in serious need of editing; check.
I lost count of how many characters “stood in the door.” Ouch. It’s never comfortable being trapped inside a door.
Okay, I’ll stop rambling. Let’s get down to basics. This book never engaged me. The characters were distant and stiff. If Rice had dropped a nuclear bomb on them, I would have shrugged and closed the book. All the characters speak in the same, stilted cadences. They all sound like boring history professors. The good guys give “soft” glances and understanding expressions. The bad guys smell like malice; two evil doctors sound like Boris and Natasha from “Rocky and Bullwinkle.” “Man Wolf and Boy Wolf must die.” Ouch.
Plus the scene between Ruben and “faux” Felix with the lawyers is pure Monty Python comedy. I started laughing.
I finished because I wondered if Rice intended to keep this series going. I smell a sequel. Have fun! I won’t follow her into her mumbo-jumbo-God-werewolf nonsense world.
I’ll end with a quote from Rice: “There was never a perfect joy in writing about Lestat: Lestat suffers too much and does too many bad things with relish.”
Really? Rice trashes her best character. Bye!
When I was twenty-five, Anne blew my mind with “The Vampire Lestat”. Hail the Brat Prince. Damn, I still think Lestat is one of the best characters ever and yes, he has influenced my writing. In fact, I raced through the novel again to prime myself for “The Wolf Gift.”
To backtrack, I thought the Mayfair Witches series was amazing. I still don’t understand how HBO hasn’t crafted a killer series from those books. “The Mummy” was also remarkable but Rice let it die. Why?
As a fan, I kept reading her books until I started wondering what the hell was going on in her universe. The books seemed more and more silly.
Then Rice made the “GOD” jump. She lost me there. I said good luck and farewell.
Then came “The Wolf Gift.” Ooo, Rice explores the supernatural realm? I bit. I read.
I read, read, read. Surely I had been duped! This couldn’t be Anne Rice. Well, wait, long rambling passages of purple prose; check; too much God stuff; check; passages in serious need of editing; check.
I lost count of how many characters “stood in the door.” Ouch. It’s never comfortable being trapped inside a door.
Okay, I’ll stop rambling. Let’s get down to basics. This book never engaged me. The characters were distant and stiff. If Rice had dropped a nuclear bomb on them, I would have shrugged and closed the book. All the characters speak in the same, stilted cadences. They all sound like boring history professors. The good guys give “soft” glances and understanding expressions. The bad guys smell like malice; two evil doctors sound like Boris and Natasha from “Rocky and Bullwinkle.” “Man Wolf and Boy Wolf must die.” Ouch.
Plus the scene between Ruben and “faux” Felix with the lawyers is pure Monty Python comedy. I started laughing.
I finished because I wondered if Rice intended to keep this series going. I smell a sequel. Have fun! I won’t follow her into her mumbo-jumbo-God-werewolf nonsense world.
I’ll end with a quote from Rice: “There was never a perfect joy in writing about Lestat: Lestat suffers too much and does too many bad things with relish.”
Really? Rice trashes her best character. Bye!
November 27, 2019
I feel like there was a good book in here, somewhere. She had a plot with a beginning, middle, and end. Well, the plot arch ended and the antagonist was resolved and then the book went on for another 100+ pages just talking about the history of this wolf gift. It was so long. Anne put a lot, and I mean a lot of theology discussion in here that wasn't very relevant to the story. It simply bogged it down. Where was her editor?
The middle part of the book that had the actual story was a decent story. Anne's books always had a streak of theology in them, but I don't remember them bogging down the story so much. It seems to me that since she did her Jesus series, the theology in her stories got out of control.
The story is about the wolf gift, or Anne's story of a werewolf. The change is not tied to the moon and of course, they only like to kill evil people. She has upped their power to god-like status like she did in the Vampire chronicles and she has tried to make them very sexy. It did NOT land sexy with me. It became bestiality and it just grossed me out. I didn't find the wolf people sexy in any way, but Anne tried to make them that way. These Man-wolves were having sex with people and it bothered me. I was thinking it felt so pointless. I don't think they needed to be so overpowered. They can heal most any wound and run too fast to see basically.
I have read most of Anne's works and maybe she was an author I needed in my 20s, but the last few stories I have read, I haven't been the biggest fan of. This book became somewhat of a slog for me at times. I enjoyed the beginning to middle and then I just couldn't wait for the thing to end.
The middle part of the book that had the actual story was a decent story. Anne's books always had a streak of theology in them, but I don't remember them bogging down the story so much. It seems to me that since she did her Jesus series, the theology in her stories got out of control.
The story is about the wolf gift, or Anne's story of a werewolf. The change is not tied to the moon and of course, they only like to kill evil people. She has upped their power to god-like status like she did in the Vampire chronicles and she has tried to make them very sexy. It did NOT land sexy with me. It became bestiality and it just grossed me out. I didn't find the wolf people sexy in any way, but Anne tried to make them that way. These Man-wolves were having sex with people and it bothered me. I was thinking it felt so pointless. I don't think they needed to be so overpowered. They can heal most any wound and run too fast to see basically.
I have read most of Anne's works and maybe she was an author I needed in my 20s, but the last few stories I have read, I haven't been the biggest fan of. This book became somewhat of a slog for me at times. I enjoyed the beginning to middle and then I just couldn't wait for the thing to end.
July 17, 2012
[Stopped reading for good]: I don't stop reading a book very often, but I hated the writing, especially the inconsistency of the narrator's tone. Hated. I didn't expect to dislike it so much.
February 19, 2012
So, the Wolf Gift.
What can I say? It could only have been written by Anne Rice. I’m actually stumped as to how someone who hasn’t read any of Anne Rice’s books before would feel about this novel.
I get the feeling that the world of Anne Rice’s books and the actual world have grown farther and farther apart as the years go by. No one dresses the way they do in her books. No one speaks the way they do in her books. Certainly she had no concept of age – The hero, Reuben already has his Masters at 23, for example.
I feel like she writes her historical books and her contemporary books in much the same way. But her writing works for historical fiction, or for example, for the vampires who were mostly born in another time, who often act older than they look. It sounds natural when Lestat says, “My god!”, but not so much when a 16 year old boy from California says it.
However, her writing has a rhythm to it, the essence hasn’t changed at all. It’s her language, her themes, her character types, her dialogue, the catchphrases I recognize from so many other books (‘Dear God’, ‘Lord God’, ‘For the love of hell’, etc. ‘Powerfully excited’ was used at least ten times.) If you had told me that this was a lost manuscript from the 80s, I would have believed you, if not for the fact that everyone had an iPhone.
In that way, although I’d never read the book before, the reading experience was almost similar to that of reading a comfort read for me. And I found the characters likable enough, because none of them were the old characters I loved being rendered utterly unrecognizable, as happened with the last books in the Vampire Chronicles. So I enjoyed it, It wasn't a hard read at all for me. I read it in a day. I reminded me a lot of The Mummy, for example.
The only two aspects of this book that I felt set it apart from her earlier writing was: 1) It was much more Catholic. That aspect was much more overt. 2) It was less gay, or should I say, less bi-sexual. There was a gay character, but he was very clearly marked as such, unlike the general love and affection between men in her earlier book where every male character including the hero fell in love with another man or mentioned having been in love with another man despite never being identified as gay or bisexual.
Also, I can only end with 3 points.
1. The phrase ‘Man Wolf’ never stopped being funny.
2. There was WAY too much werewolf/human sex.
3. The most hilarious line in the book: “Well, you’re one splendid boy wolf I’ll tell you that.”
What can I say? It could only have been written by Anne Rice. I’m actually stumped as to how someone who hasn’t read any of Anne Rice’s books before would feel about this novel.
I get the feeling that the world of Anne Rice’s books and the actual world have grown farther and farther apart as the years go by. No one dresses the way they do in her books. No one speaks the way they do in her books. Certainly she had no concept of age – The hero, Reuben already has his Masters at 23, for example.
I feel like she writes her historical books and her contemporary books in much the same way. But her writing works for historical fiction, or for example, for the vampires who were mostly born in another time, who often act older than they look. It sounds natural when Lestat says, “My god!”, but not so much when a 16 year old boy from California says it.
However, her writing has a rhythm to it, the essence hasn’t changed at all. It’s her language, her themes, her character types, her dialogue, the catchphrases I recognize from so many other books (‘Dear God’, ‘Lord God’, ‘For the love of hell’, etc. ‘Powerfully excited’ was used at least ten times.) If you had told me that this was a lost manuscript from the 80s, I would have believed you, if not for the fact that everyone had an iPhone.
In that way, although I’d never read the book before, the reading experience was almost similar to that of reading a comfort read for me. And I found the characters likable enough, because none of them were the old characters I loved being rendered utterly unrecognizable, as happened with the last books in the Vampire Chronicles. So I enjoyed it, It wasn't a hard read at all for me. I read it in a day. I reminded me a lot of The Mummy, for example.
The only two aspects of this book that I felt set it apart from her earlier writing was: 1) It was much more Catholic. That aspect was much more overt. 2) It was less gay, or should I say, less bi-sexual. There was a gay character, but he was very clearly marked as such, unlike the general love and affection between men in her earlier book where every male character including the hero fell in love with another man or mentioned having been in love with another man despite never being identified as gay or bisexual.
Also, I can only end with 3 points.
1. The phrase ‘Man Wolf’ never stopped being funny.
2. There was WAY too much werewolf/human sex.
3. The most hilarious line in the book: “Well, you’re one splendid boy wolf I’ll tell you that.”
March 2, 2012
Wow. Just wow. I had no idea Anne Rice had fallen so far. I used to really like her. Scratch that, I *loved* the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witches. I stopped reading her after Blackwood Farm, and when she was in her God-phase, I disowned her completely. So, when I learned she was "back", and with a supernatural-themed book to boot, I was so excited. Yeah, not so fast.
This book was terrible. Simply terrible. I dragged through reading it for weeks, just because I felt I owed it to her from past love of her writing, but it was painful. The characters were so boring, they had zero substance, and weren't all that likeable. And seriously, we're supposed to believe that Reuben was just magically okay with the fact he turned into a Man-Wolf? And he magically and immediately has an understanding of this gift, and races off to be a 4-footed Batman every night? Without ever getting caught? LAME.
And we're supposed to believe he was able to just jump into the sack with Marchent within 2 hours of meeting her? Oh, and within 5 minutes of meeting Laura in the woods -- a Man-Wolf, in his 'wolf form'? She just has no fear of this man/wolf hybrid and is willing to have woman/wolf sex with him? Seriously?? And after sleeping with him twice, she's willing to move in with him and risk her life with him? Ugh.
Oh yeah, and all the nasty talk about his 'man parts' in wolf form, or all the disgusting descriptions of him eating a bobcat and a mountain lion (YUCK) and how 'orgasmic' everything always is. It was just stupid.
I thought the whole supernatural part was slighly interesting -- with the chrism and such, but it was carried out so poorly. I really have never seen such terrible writing from Anne Rice. It was painful.
I will not be recommending this book to anyone. I can't wait to get it off my shelf.
This book was terrible. Simply terrible. I dragged through reading it for weeks, just because I felt I owed it to her from past love of her writing, but it was painful. The characters were so boring, they had zero substance, and weren't all that likeable. And seriously, we're supposed to believe that Reuben was just magically okay with the fact he turned into a Man-Wolf? And he magically and immediately has an understanding of this gift, and races off to be a 4-footed Batman every night? Without ever getting caught? LAME.
And we're supposed to believe he was able to just jump into the sack with Marchent within 2 hours of meeting her? Oh, and within 5 minutes of meeting Laura in the woods -- a Man-Wolf, in his 'wolf form'? She just has no fear of this man/wolf hybrid and is willing to have woman/wolf sex with him? Seriously?? And after sleeping with him twice, she's willing to move in with him and risk her life with him? Ugh.
Oh yeah, and all the nasty talk about his 'man parts' in wolf form, or all the disgusting descriptions of him eating a bobcat and a mountain lion (YUCK) and how 'orgasmic' everything always is. It was just stupid.
I thought the whole supernatural part was slighly interesting -- with the chrism and such, but it was carried out so poorly. I really have never seen such terrible writing from Anne Rice. It was painful.
I will not be recommending this book to anyone. I can't wait to get it off my shelf.
March 11, 2019
En cuanto escuché que Anne planeaba contar una historia de hombres lobo me emocioné y no fue para menos.
Desde las primeras páginas tiene ese toque muy característico que me hizo recordar a las crónicas vampírcas, con personajes sufridos, con una belleza impresionante y en esa atmósfera repleta de oscuridad y misticismo, elementos que me hicieron recordar los viejos tiempos en lo que descubrí sus libros por primera vez.
Podría dividir el libro en dos partes, la primera fue un regreso al pasado que me gustó, pero la segunda no fue tan interesante.
El proceso de su transformación fue algo que nunca antes había leído de esa manera, fue algo muy poético que le dio un sentido diferente a lo que significa ser más un animal que humano.
El uso de la metáfora fue sublime, sobre todo al elegir cambiarse el nombre a Lobo-Hombre, muy humano, muy sentimental, y sin dudas algo muy nuevo que aportar a una idea tan milenaria como lo es este concepto.
Lo malo fue que al avanzar cayó en lo mismo de la saga de vampiros, los personajes se volvieron cada vez más similares, tanto en cualidades como en lo que tuvieron que vivir, lo mismo pero en criaturas distintas.
Por ello ya no quise continuar con su segunda parte.
Desde las primeras páginas tiene ese toque muy característico que me hizo recordar a las crónicas vampírcas, con personajes sufridos, con una belleza impresionante y en esa atmósfera repleta de oscuridad y misticismo, elementos que me hicieron recordar los viejos tiempos en lo que descubrí sus libros por primera vez.
Podría dividir el libro en dos partes, la primera fue un regreso al pasado que me gustó, pero la segunda no fue tan interesante.
El proceso de su transformación fue algo que nunca antes había leído de esa manera, fue algo muy poético que le dio un sentido diferente a lo que significa ser más un animal que humano.
El uso de la metáfora fue sublime, sobre todo al elegir cambiarse el nombre a Lobo-Hombre, muy humano, muy sentimental, y sin dudas algo muy nuevo que aportar a una idea tan milenaria como lo es este concepto.
Lo malo fue que al avanzar cayó en lo mismo de la saga de vampiros, los personajes se volvieron cada vez más similares, tanto en cualidades como en lo que tuvieron que vivir, lo mismo pero en criaturas distintas.
Por ello ya no quise continuar con su segunda parte.
June 28, 2012
At the end of this book my first thoughts were....now to begin an amazing series of chronicles, and I hope that this is Rice's intention. In my eyes not as good as her greats like Cry to Heaven, The Feast of All Saints or the earlier Vampire Chronicles, but definitely back to her original style. And I weep with relief!!! Gone is that evil demon who replaced Anne in Christian clothing for so long, replaced once again with the witty, intelligent woman who encompasses her tales around the great arguments of theology and human spirit in a well rounded, true to debate styley!
For the woman who made the Vampire real (not some Twihard idiot) it should only be correct that she be allowed to take the baton forward into the dark and nightly world of the werewolf. The story was somewhat erratic for me in places and, although I loved not knowing where it was going, I felt disjointed from her direction at times. However, overall I think this a job well done and definitely loved the later end of the book and where it looks to go in the future. I also prefered the historical characters within this tale and felt more connected to them in the brief memories and meetings than I did to Reuben or Laura. In fact I would go far as to say that I did not really like Reuben, Laura or any of the female characters that much at all, but I'm hoping that their future development would prove otherwise. This was not because their characters held any great flaws, but simply that I couldn't connect with them. Reuben seemed to fall in love with any willowy woman at the drop of a hat and Laura had no true depth for me, therefore being only annoying in her presence.
Here's to welcoming back my favourite author with open arms and asking her to please never ever strive to the light side again :)
For the woman who made the Vampire real (not some Twihard idiot) it should only be correct that she be allowed to take the baton forward into the dark and nightly world of the werewolf. The story was somewhat erratic for me in places and, although I loved not knowing where it was going, I felt disjointed from her direction at times. However, overall I think this a job well done and definitely loved the later end of the book and where it looks to go in the future. I also prefered the historical characters within this tale and felt more connected to them in the brief memories and meetings than I did to Reuben or Laura. In fact I would go far as to say that I did not really like Reuben, Laura or any of the female characters that much at all, but I'm hoping that their future development would prove otherwise. This was not because their characters held any great flaws, but simply that I couldn't connect with them. Reuben seemed to fall in love with any willowy woman at the drop of a hat and Laura had no true depth for me, therefore being only annoying in her presence.
Here's to welcoming back my favourite author with open arms and asking her to please never ever strive to the light side again :)
March 8, 2014
I love werewolf stories, incluidng The Pack by Jason Starr, Bitten by Kelly Armstrong, Carrie Vaughn's Kitty series, even the were creatures in the Sookie Stackhouse books. I liked Interview With A Vampire and The Vampire Lestat. I've sampled from some of Anne Rice's other series as well because I keep hoping one of them will grab me the way those first two books did. So far no luck.
I was really disappointed with the way The Wolf Gift was written. The information dumps near the beginning brought the action to a standstill before it had begun, and I wasn't as captivated with the house or its owner as the reviewers were.
I've worked for newspapers before, so I found it pretty unbelievable that the main character would land a job as a writer at a metropolitan daily newspaper with no newspaper experience. It also seemed very unlikely that he would have so much time to work on a single story and that he would be assigned big murder stories and features right off the bat.
Sounds silly, but I found the werewolf part kind of unbelieveable too. No guilt, no evidence, and no worries? I finally just gave up.
I was really disappointed with the way The Wolf Gift was written. The information dumps near the beginning brought the action to a standstill before it had begun, and I wasn't as captivated with the house or its owner as the reviewers were.
I've worked for newspapers before, so I found it pretty unbelievable that the main character would land a job as a writer at a metropolitan daily newspaper with no newspaper experience. It also seemed very unlikely that he would have so much time to work on a single story and that he would be assigned big murder stories and features right off the bat.
Sounds silly, but I found the werewolf part kind of unbelieveable too. No guilt, no evidence, and no worries? I finally just gave up.
May 6, 2018
My thoughts:
I've been a fan of Anne Rice's writing since I read Interview with the Vampire, which is not to say that I've liked everything she's written. So it was with great curiosity and a bit of hope that I began to read The Wolf Gift. I was not disappointed.
The Wolf Gift struck me as a gentle story in many ways. I know - werewolves and gentle don't necessarily go together. Yes, there is some violence, but mostly this book is an exploration of what it is to become a werewolf, of good versus evil. It's a journey that the main character, Reuben, takes. And it is fascinating. Reuben struggles with the moral issues of his dilemma. Can something that is supposedly evil be good? Is there a purpose to his new life? Will he lose his humanity? Be more wolf than man?
Ms. Rice's descriptive powers are at full force in The Wolf Gift. I had a clear sense of place throughout the novel. I fell in love with the big coastal mansion with its secrets as much as any of the characters. I saw the forest and the old growth trees. I heard the waves crash, the rain fall, the animals prowl the woods, the sounds of the city. All of this combined to provide a lovely Gothic feel to the novel.
Reuben's family, the people he loves and comes to love were wonderfully drawn. Even the villains of the story, though not a major focus, are well done. These villains as well as some of the good guys infuse the backdrop of the story for a large part of the novel until they are brought front and center. The story moves at a fast pace even through the ruminations on good and evil. While the concepts may be abstract, they are brought to life in a concrete manner without overshadowing the story. I enjoyed watching Reuben come to grips with what was happening, to wonder about his situation, and to learn about his gift.
Ms. Rice's werewolves are the stuff of legend but not the legend you may know or expect. There is something new here. Something more than a bit wonderful.
I give The Wolf Gift 4 1/2 Qwills
I've been a fan of Anne Rice's writing since I read Interview with the Vampire, which is not to say that I've liked everything she's written. So it was with great curiosity and a bit of hope that I began to read The Wolf Gift. I was not disappointed.
The Wolf Gift struck me as a gentle story in many ways. I know - werewolves and gentle don't necessarily go together. Yes, there is some violence, but mostly this book is an exploration of what it is to become a werewolf, of good versus evil. It's a journey that the main character, Reuben, takes. And it is fascinating. Reuben struggles with the moral issues of his dilemma. Can something that is supposedly evil be good? Is there a purpose to his new life? Will he lose his humanity? Be more wolf than man?
Ms. Rice's descriptive powers are at full force in The Wolf Gift. I had a clear sense of place throughout the novel. I fell in love with the big coastal mansion with its secrets as much as any of the characters. I saw the forest and the old growth trees. I heard the waves crash, the rain fall, the animals prowl the woods, the sounds of the city. All of this combined to provide a lovely Gothic feel to the novel.
Reuben's family, the people he loves and comes to love were wonderfully drawn. Even the villains of the story, though not a major focus, are well done. These villains as well as some of the good guys infuse the backdrop of the story for a large part of the novel until they are brought front and center. The story moves at a fast pace even through the ruminations on good and evil. While the concepts may be abstract, they are brought to life in a concrete manner without overshadowing the story. I enjoyed watching Reuben come to grips with what was happening, to wonder about his situation, and to learn about his gift.
Ms. Rice's werewolves are the stuff of legend but not the legend you may know or expect. There is something new here. Something more than a bit wonderful.
I give The Wolf Gift 4 1/2 Qwills
October 26, 2016
4.25 stars
so much of this story I loved. almost but not quite a perfect novel in my eyes
so much of this story I loved. almost but not quite a perfect novel in my eyes
April 19, 2012
Just started it, but so far it feels as if it were a talented amateur doing her best imitation of Anne Rice's style.
***
A week later and I'm done.
Has my early impression of the book changed, now that I'm done? Unfortunately, no.
It's sad to say, but this novel is but a pale shadow of what Anne Rice used to deliver when creating one of her supernatural tales. If you are a Rice fan, or a werewolf fan then by all means, give this novel a spin, you may enjoy it more than I did. If it's your first taste of Anne Rice, don't start here.
The entire first half of the book just plods on and while it certainly should be interesting to witness the transformation of the main character in a "Man-wolf" (Rice does explain in the book why her character decided to eschew the werewolf label), there are just too many implausible characterizations and scenes for any of it to remain very interesting.
About half way through the novel things begin to pick up. There is some conflict to whet our appetites, and we get the first hints of the elaborate histories Rice is famous for creating. This hint of the larger, stranger world is what kept me from walking away from this novel.
Unfortunately, again, this glimmer of a deeper supernatural conflict is barely explored, at least at first. Instead we are drawn into the climatic conclusion of the fairly meh-inducing conflict of the novel, three-quarters of the way through. And it's not much of a conclusion. The conflict just kind of peters out...
The final quarter of the book is dedicated to the history, but even this is fairly boring and doesn't particularly draw you in. It just happens and then you're done. And you wonder where the rest of the book is.
If, as I suspect, this is the first book in a series, Anne Rice has her work cut out for her. There is only room for improvement. Unfortunately (for the third time) this meandering, at-times boring, world won't be drawing me back into it's clutches. I've got better ways to waste my time.
***
A week later and I'm done.
Has my early impression of the book changed, now that I'm done? Unfortunately, no.
It's sad to say, but this novel is but a pale shadow of what Anne Rice used to deliver when creating one of her supernatural tales. If you are a Rice fan, or a werewolf fan then by all means, give this novel a spin, you may enjoy it more than I did. If it's your first taste of Anne Rice, don't start here.
The entire first half of the book just plods on and while it certainly should be interesting to witness the transformation of the main character in a "Man-wolf" (Rice does explain in the book why her character decided to eschew the werewolf label), there are just too many implausible characterizations and scenes for any of it to remain very interesting.
About half way through the novel things begin to pick up. There is some conflict to whet our appetites, and we get the first hints of the elaborate histories Rice is famous for creating. This hint of the larger, stranger world is what kept me from walking away from this novel.
Unfortunately, again, this glimmer of a deeper supernatural conflict is barely explored, at least at first. Instead we are drawn into the climatic conclusion of the fairly meh-inducing conflict of the novel, three-quarters of the way through. And it's not much of a conclusion. The conflict just kind of peters out...
The final quarter of the book is dedicated to the history, but even this is fairly boring and doesn't particularly draw you in. It just happens and then you're done. And you wonder where the rest of the book is.
If, as I suspect, this is the first book in a series, Anne Rice has her work cut out for her. There is only room for improvement. Unfortunately (for the third time) this meandering, at-times boring, world won't be drawing me back into it's clutches. I've got better ways to waste my time.
March 25, 2012
To my knowledge this is only my second one star rating of a book I finished...yeah, it's that bad. Years ago Anne Rice was one of my favorite writers. Her prose was so rich, so picturesque. Or maybe it's false memory. I don't know. One of us has changed.
The Wolf Gift starts off as a rather typical modern day wolf man story but then quickly becomes Spiderman. Yes. I kid you not. A reporter gets bit by a mutated animal hereby giving him super powers. Powers he uses to fit evil and rescue the innocent. Really, Rice?
Okay. After about the half way point the Spiderman ripoff changes gears a little. (Although still humming, man wolf, man wolf, does whatever a wolf can....)
It's Anne Rice so you know you'll get lots of sexual content and general depravity. Anne Rice + werewolf = some "hot" beast action. It doesn't come as a surprise. But it falls flat. There's no passion. Imo. No connection to the characters. It didn't even have any shock factor. I mean, picture Belle jumping all over the Beast...weird right? I mean if you're into it okay...but it's just treated so regular by Rice.
I was intrigued by the "distinguished gentlemen". A group of men wolves (don't call the wolf men, they're men first) who turned before our lead and come near the end to offer guidance and advice. This is where I found glimpses of the Anne Rice I used to love. But something of her old style is still missing.
And the end? Full of plot holes and confusion. Oh, and gag on his eating habits. Not only did I feel bad for the animals he killed but...would you feel like kissing someone who just went all national geographic feeding on a mountain lion? Yuck. Yuck. Yuck!
Interview with a Vampire and The Witching Hour are two of my absolutely favorite books. (Although I suspect rereads might be due). When I was a teen I read Vampire as many times as girls today read Twilight. (Maybe I shouldn't admit that...is it strange?) So this is coming from a former Anne Rice fanatic fan...DON'T BUY THIS BOOK.
I really can't recommend it.
The Wolf Gift starts off as a rather typical modern day wolf man story but then quickly becomes Spiderman. Yes. I kid you not. A reporter gets bit by a mutated animal hereby giving him super powers. Powers he uses to fit evil and rescue the innocent. Really, Rice?
Okay. After about the half way point the Spiderman ripoff changes gears a little. (Although still humming, man wolf, man wolf, does whatever a wolf can....)
It's Anne Rice so you know you'll get lots of sexual content and general depravity. Anne Rice + werewolf = some "hot" beast action. It doesn't come as a surprise. But it falls flat. There's no passion. Imo. No connection to the characters. It didn't even have any shock factor. I mean, picture Belle jumping all over the Beast...weird right? I mean if you're into it okay...but it's just treated so regular by Rice.
I was intrigued by the "distinguished gentlemen". A group of men wolves (don't call the wolf men, they're men first) who turned before our lead and come near the end to offer guidance and advice. This is where I found glimpses of the Anne Rice I used to love. But something of her old style is still missing.
And the end? Full of plot holes and confusion. Oh, and gag on his eating habits. Not only did I feel bad for the animals he killed but...would you feel like kissing someone who just went all national geographic feeding on a mountain lion? Yuck. Yuck. Yuck!
Interview with a Vampire and The Witching Hour are two of my absolutely favorite books. (Although I suspect rereads might be due). When I was a teen I read Vampire as many times as girls today read Twilight. (Maybe I shouldn't admit that...is it strange?) So this is coming from a former Anne Rice fanatic fan...DON'T BUY THIS BOOK.
I really can't recommend it.
May 14, 2015
The below review will contain more spoilers than I usually have in my book reviews, but I really felt it necessary to cite specific events in order to truly make my points. Read with caution.
The first thing I'd like to say before we get into the meat of this review is that I have been a fan of Anne Rice since I first picked up Queen of the Damned in high school. I think her writing is elegant, incorporating larger ideas into a well-told story. Through her works, I met a lot of the close friends that I do today - we would sit down and analyze, dissect and do our best to look deeply into each character and their stories. If a character was left without explanation, we attempted to fill in the gaps ourselves; her works were rich with historical settings, which was something that I absolutely adored. It took all of us out of our hum-drum lives of high school and its ensuing homework.
I personally like to think that we hold the things we love to high standards. We have expectations for them -- or at least I do. I have a deep, abiding respect for Mrs. Rice, so it's with mixed feelings that I write this review. During my time at San Francisco State University, where I studied Creative Writing, in many of my writing workshops we were often told that a first draft is not going to be the end product. More often than not, you might throw out the entire first draft, after finding a particular piece within the whole that you think could be the seed for a greater story. And that's precisely what I think happened here, with Wolf Gift.
The main character is Reuben Golding, essentially a golden boy who's had everything he's ever wanted in life, except for the respect and acceptance of everyone around him. Since he's the youngest of the family, no one honestly believes that he can care for himself -- he's often referred to as Baby Boy, Sunshine Boy, and anything else that can include 'boy' in the nickname, though this it's meant in an affectionate if slightly deprecating tone. Despite being unable to finish medical school, Reuben has had no issues otherwise. His father is a college professor and his mother is an amazing surgeon. His girlfriend, Celeste, is an aggressive lawyer; what does Reuben do? Why, he's a columnist for the local paper, having gotten the job through his mother asking a favor of the editor in chief, with whom she is a close friend.
While visiting a house in a remote location of Mendocino County, named Nideck Point, Reuben meets and almost immediately falls for Marchent Nideck, who is in the process of reconciling the estate of her late Uncle Felix. Reuben and Marchent spend a passionate night together, before Marchent then leaves the house and all of its belongings to Reuben - and then is horribly murdered. In the ensuing chaos of intruders in the house, Reuben is attacked by what is presumed to be a dog. Paramedics somehow show up on the scene just in time to cart Reuben off to the hospital, where his mother moves heaven and earth to ensure that her baby boy receives the best medicine that the Western world has to offer.
It's right about then that things start getting a little strange. Reuben heals with amazing celerity, and even has a growth spurt. His eye color alters, and his hair starts growing in thicker, longer. His health bounces back nearly better than it had previously been - and even more odd, every time Reuben's mother has lab technicians attempt to run tests on cells or other things, the results come back as unbelievable, but then the specimens disappear without a trace. Eventually this all culminates in Reuben learning that he is, as he calls himself, a Man Wolf; that whatever attacked Marchent's house that night bit him and gave him the ability to transform not into a wolf, but into an amalgamation of both animal and man, with the man's superior mental intellect at the forefront.
In the majority of werewolf stories and mythologies, the receiver of the 'werewolf curse' is generally unhappy about this occurrence. Not so with Reuben -- rather, he ends up using his 'power' for good, which in the end actually turns out to be biologically programmed into him (which I took as a sidling in of the moral argument between atheists and those of the faith, but I could just be reading too much into it). He actually can smell out and is drawn to evil people, in order to entirely rend them apart through the most violent means possible. The story goes on to follow him through his attempt to learn about and control his nature, all of which is par for the course when it comes to a story about the creation of a supernatural creature. My issue with the story is that there is no conflict - as soon as a potential obstacle raises its head, it's dealt with usually by the end of the same or next page. Any time Reuben needs something, it's given to him, as though some omnipotent force (or, ahem, the author) sees fit that he should not be bothered with solving the issue. Cursed with a terrible gift? No worries, he's not overpowered with a lust to kill or anything. He can control it. Horribly lonely because of his condition? It's all right, there's a woman in that cabin over there that will accept him without explanation.
That was one particular thing that truly made me flabbergasted. Laura, a woman who is severely traumatized by the horrible deaths of her husband and children, accepts Reuben in his Man Wolf form without question. Whatsoever. He literally walks up to her cabin in the middle of the night (and quite honestly, dealing with the death of your immediate family by sealing yourself up in a cabin in a remote section of the woods smacks of deep and untreated depression to me, which makes this next part all the more awkward because it edges on abusing someone with PTSD or other mental issues), picks her up and carries her inside in order to have sex. Sorry for that spoiler, but I just saved you twenty five dollars. I understand that some people have fetishes, but when combined with the fact that Laura is quite obviously suffering from the loss of her family, and just instantly is put at ease by Reuben in his Man Wolf form: it just sets off all the red flags in my head. It's not romantic; if you found it to be so, please get your head checked. The sexual aspect of their relationship continues in a similar, absolutely bizarre vein, even to the point where Laura asks if she will ever have the boy behind the wolf; Reuben replies, why would you want him when you can have me? Yes, why would you want an assumedly level headed young man when you can have a beast that delights in controlling you under the pretext that it's protection? I can't imagine why.
Mrs. Rice is not especially known for her female characters, and it's always something that I've been disappointed about with her books. In the Vampire Chronicles, the female characters are always cold, distant figures, damsels in distress, or severely reprimanded for attempting to be feministic at all. In Wolf Gift, this pattern continues with all of the characters fitting into their particular niches. Laura is damaged goods, a damsel in distress who relies on Reuben (or maybe not, we're never really given her thoughts on the matter -- Reuben just handles her like a doll, constantly moving her around to where he needs or wants her to be); his girlfriend Celeste is an unfeeling, abrasive individual who cheats on him, and for some reason is all right with the fact that he cheats on her with Laura (their break up is the most unfeeling, odd one that I have ever seen, equating their relationship to nothing more than a week-long high school fling); even Grace, Reuben's mother, is a controlling and domineering woman who is slowly put in her place as Reuben comes into his own through the mastering of his new abilities.
The main issues I had with the book are twofold (aside from what I've described above): firstly, the fact that any DNA from the werewolves instantly dissolves of its own volition, either after being detached from the body of the werewolf or upon death of the werewolf. There is no scientific way to track these animals/creatures/men; all evidence of them will promptly disappear. This plot device was such a cop out that I was left asking why. What was wrong with the authorities discovering that there's some kind of man animal out there? Why couldn't it have been part of the plot for Reuben to fix his mistakes, and retrieve the samples taken from him, or destroy them? There's nothing wrong with giving a character some kind of problem to overcome - that's what makes a story. The fact that this neatly and so easily fixes what could have been a major problem for the characters just reeks of laziness. Especially since Mrs. Rice goes the distance to firmly root her werewolves in scientific terms, even explaining with medical terms the part of the body that is responsible for the change. It's like running a mile and only doing two laps, believing yourself to be done when you've really only gone halfway.
And secondly, the last half to the ending of the book was so mired in nothing by philosophical musings and tell-rather-than-show writing that it was like eating glass to just finish the damned thing. There's name dropping of theologians, poets, and musicians, as though these things are going to prove to us that this book is the high brow material that it presumes itself to be. At the very end, all of the characters literally gather around a table and express their thoughts over the past events, but mainly the older werewolves explain their doings(which were off screen) while Reuben was running amuck in his super hero persona. My issue with this was that their scantly described stories were far more interesting than what had happened to Reuben - why couldn't we have learned about Margon the Godless and how he ended up contracting the Chrism, the word that the older werewolves use in place of Reuben's own coined 'Wolf Gift'? Why not describe the story of how Felix and the group were captured by Russian scientists who were intent on taking the Chrism for their own purposes? Why was I, the reader, just subjected to four hundred pages of drivel on how a golden boy was given the best thing in his life, when he'd never really known any sort of hardship at all? The characters say time and time again how they could tell the story in more depth, but they don't feel like it. It's essentially as though a minimum page count had been reached, and thus no more work was required.
Overall, I was highly disappointed with Mrs. Rice's reentry into the realm of supernatural fiction. I have adored her Vampire Chronicles books for years, and will continue to do so since they are rich tapestries of writing. But Wolf Gift does not and will not join that ranking, at least not in my mind. I sincerely feel like this was a book in the rough draft stages, something that needed a lot more work and perhaps a lot more guidance from the hand of a more skilled editor. Wolf Gift sincerely feels like a half-attempted try at a creature who is riding high in popular culture at the moment, with aspirations of bringing the author back into the limelight after a long hiatus. That, or perhaps Mrs. Rice's writing days are over, if this is what she considers a finished product. Where is the rich historical passages that I'm so used to? I don't need a text that's mired in today's world -- the constant talk of iPods was like a commercial for the stupid Apple product -- I'm looking for something to escape into, like Interview With The Vampire, or my particular favorite, Blood and Gold. The writing is still full of Mrs. Rice's beautiful descriptions, and the parts where Reuben hunts both animals and evil doers certainly is vivid and visceral, perhaps the one thing that I enjoyed in the book. But that in no way was able to make up for the lack of plot, the sluggish pace, and the poor character development.
It's a shame.
The first thing I'd like to say before we get into the meat of this review is that I have been a fan of Anne Rice since I first picked up Queen of the Damned in high school. I think her writing is elegant, incorporating larger ideas into a well-told story. Through her works, I met a lot of the close friends that I do today - we would sit down and analyze, dissect and do our best to look deeply into each character and their stories. If a character was left without explanation, we attempted to fill in the gaps ourselves; her works were rich with historical settings, which was something that I absolutely adored. It took all of us out of our hum-drum lives of high school and its ensuing homework.
I personally like to think that we hold the things we love to high standards. We have expectations for them -- or at least I do. I have a deep, abiding respect for Mrs. Rice, so it's with mixed feelings that I write this review. During my time at San Francisco State University, where I studied Creative Writing, in many of my writing workshops we were often told that a first draft is not going to be the end product. More often than not, you might throw out the entire first draft, after finding a particular piece within the whole that you think could be the seed for a greater story. And that's precisely what I think happened here, with Wolf Gift.
The main character is Reuben Golding, essentially a golden boy who's had everything he's ever wanted in life, except for the respect and acceptance of everyone around him. Since he's the youngest of the family, no one honestly believes that he can care for himself -- he's often referred to as Baby Boy, Sunshine Boy, and anything else that can include 'boy' in the nickname, though this it's meant in an affectionate if slightly deprecating tone. Despite being unable to finish medical school, Reuben has had no issues otherwise. His father is a college professor and his mother is an amazing surgeon. His girlfriend, Celeste, is an aggressive lawyer; what does Reuben do? Why, he's a columnist for the local paper, having gotten the job through his mother asking a favor of the editor in chief, with whom she is a close friend.
While visiting a house in a remote location of Mendocino County, named Nideck Point, Reuben meets and almost immediately falls for Marchent Nideck, who is in the process of reconciling the estate of her late Uncle Felix. Reuben and Marchent spend a passionate night together, before Marchent then leaves the house and all of its belongings to Reuben - and then is horribly murdered. In the ensuing chaos of intruders in the house, Reuben is attacked by what is presumed to be a dog. Paramedics somehow show up on the scene just in time to cart Reuben off to the hospital, where his mother moves heaven and earth to ensure that her baby boy receives the best medicine that the Western world has to offer.
It's right about then that things start getting a little strange. Reuben heals with amazing celerity, and even has a growth spurt. His eye color alters, and his hair starts growing in thicker, longer. His health bounces back nearly better than it had previously been - and even more odd, every time Reuben's mother has lab technicians attempt to run tests on cells or other things, the results come back as unbelievable, but then the specimens disappear without a trace. Eventually this all culminates in Reuben learning that he is, as he calls himself, a Man Wolf; that whatever attacked Marchent's house that night bit him and gave him the ability to transform not into a wolf, but into an amalgamation of both animal and man, with the man's superior mental intellect at the forefront.
In the majority of werewolf stories and mythologies, the receiver of the 'werewolf curse' is generally unhappy about this occurrence. Not so with Reuben -- rather, he ends up using his 'power' for good, which in the end actually turns out to be biologically programmed into him (which I took as a sidling in of the moral argument between atheists and those of the faith, but I could just be reading too much into it). He actually can smell out and is drawn to evil people, in order to entirely rend them apart through the most violent means possible. The story goes on to follow him through his attempt to learn about and control his nature, all of which is par for the course when it comes to a story about the creation of a supernatural creature. My issue with the story is that there is no conflict - as soon as a potential obstacle raises its head, it's dealt with usually by the end of the same or next page. Any time Reuben needs something, it's given to him, as though some omnipotent force (or, ahem, the author) sees fit that he should not be bothered with solving the issue. Cursed with a terrible gift? No worries, he's not overpowered with a lust to kill or anything. He can control it. Horribly lonely because of his condition? It's all right, there's a woman in that cabin over there that will accept him without explanation.
That was one particular thing that truly made me flabbergasted. Laura, a woman who is severely traumatized by the horrible deaths of her husband and children, accepts Reuben in his Man Wolf form without question. Whatsoever. He literally walks up to her cabin in the middle of the night (and quite honestly, dealing with the death of your immediate family by sealing yourself up in a cabin in a remote section of the woods smacks of deep and untreated depression to me, which makes this next part all the more awkward because it edges on abusing someone with PTSD or other mental issues), picks her up and carries her inside in order to have sex. Sorry for that spoiler, but I just saved you twenty five dollars. I understand that some people have fetishes, but when combined with the fact that Laura is quite obviously suffering from the loss of her family, and just instantly is put at ease by Reuben in his Man Wolf form: it just sets off all the red flags in my head. It's not romantic; if you found it to be so, please get your head checked. The sexual aspect of their relationship continues in a similar, absolutely bizarre vein, even to the point where Laura asks if she will ever have the boy behind the wolf; Reuben replies, why would you want him when you can have me? Yes, why would you want an assumedly level headed young man when you can have a beast that delights in controlling you under the pretext that it's protection? I can't imagine why.
Mrs. Rice is not especially known for her female characters, and it's always something that I've been disappointed about with her books. In the Vampire Chronicles, the female characters are always cold, distant figures, damsels in distress, or severely reprimanded for attempting to be feministic at all. In Wolf Gift, this pattern continues with all of the characters fitting into their particular niches. Laura is damaged goods, a damsel in distress who relies on Reuben (or maybe not, we're never really given her thoughts on the matter -- Reuben just handles her like a doll, constantly moving her around to where he needs or wants her to be); his girlfriend Celeste is an unfeeling, abrasive individual who cheats on him, and for some reason is all right with the fact that he cheats on her with Laura (their break up is the most unfeeling, odd one that I have ever seen, equating their relationship to nothing more than a week-long high school fling); even Grace, Reuben's mother, is a controlling and domineering woman who is slowly put in her place as Reuben comes into his own through the mastering of his new abilities.
The main issues I had with the book are twofold (aside from what I've described above): firstly, the fact that any DNA from the werewolves instantly dissolves of its own volition, either after being detached from the body of the werewolf or upon death of the werewolf. There is no scientific way to track these animals/creatures/men; all evidence of them will promptly disappear. This plot device was such a cop out that I was left asking why. What was wrong with the authorities discovering that there's some kind of man animal out there? Why couldn't it have been part of the plot for Reuben to fix his mistakes, and retrieve the samples taken from him, or destroy them? There's nothing wrong with giving a character some kind of problem to overcome - that's what makes a story. The fact that this neatly and so easily fixes what could have been a major problem for the characters just reeks of laziness. Especially since Mrs. Rice goes the distance to firmly root her werewolves in scientific terms, even explaining with medical terms the part of the body that is responsible for the change. It's like running a mile and only doing two laps, believing yourself to be done when you've really only gone halfway.
And secondly, the last half to the ending of the book was so mired in nothing by philosophical musings and tell-rather-than-show writing that it was like eating glass to just finish the damned thing. There's name dropping of theologians, poets, and musicians, as though these things are going to prove to us that this book is the high brow material that it presumes itself to be. At the very end, all of the characters literally gather around a table and express their thoughts over the past events, but mainly the older werewolves explain their doings(which were off screen) while Reuben was running amuck in his super hero persona. My issue with this was that their scantly described stories were far more interesting than what had happened to Reuben - why couldn't we have learned about Margon the Godless and how he ended up contracting the Chrism, the word that the older werewolves use in place of Reuben's own coined 'Wolf Gift'? Why not describe the story of how Felix and the group were captured by Russian scientists who were intent on taking the Chrism for their own purposes? Why was I, the reader, just subjected to four hundred pages of drivel on how a golden boy was given the best thing in his life, when he'd never really known any sort of hardship at all? The characters say time and time again how they could tell the story in more depth, but they don't feel like it. It's essentially as though a minimum page count had been reached, and thus no more work was required.
Overall, I was highly disappointed with Mrs. Rice's reentry into the realm of supernatural fiction. I have adored her Vampire Chronicles books for years, and will continue to do so since they are rich tapestries of writing. But Wolf Gift does not and will not join that ranking, at least not in my mind. I sincerely feel like this was a book in the rough draft stages, something that needed a lot more work and perhaps a lot more guidance from the hand of a more skilled editor. Wolf Gift sincerely feels like a half-attempted try at a creature who is riding high in popular culture at the moment, with aspirations of bringing the author back into the limelight after a long hiatus. That, or perhaps Mrs. Rice's writing days are over, if this is what she considers a finished product. Where is the rich historical passages that I'm so used to? I don't need a text that's mired in today's world -- the constant talk of iPods was like a commercial for the stupid Apple product -- I'm looking for something to escape into, like Interview With The Vampire, or my particular favorite, Blood and Gold. The writing is still full of Mrs. Rice's beautiful descriptions, and the parts where Reuben hunts both animals and evil doers certainly is vivid and visceral, perhaps the one thing that I enjoyed in the book. But that in no way was able to make up for the lack of plot, the sluggish pace, and the poor character development.
It's a shame.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2022
The Wolf Gift was soooo not what I expected, but that helped make it an awesome audiobook.
Auntie Anne has written some of my favorite literature. Most of us know her for the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Trilogy. This book was her foray, as I can see it, into the world of the other tripartite member of the typical urban fantasy involving supernatural creatures—werewolves.
This book was not what I expected. It wasn’t grabbing me at first but then as it unfolded I found myself liking it so much more. The werewolf here becomes like a “costumed” superhero, preying only on bad guys, those evil ones who perpetuate suffering and misery and harm. Newly made werewolf Reuben ends up navigating his new powers, which he integrates with his detective skills and instincts that he had already been using as a “cub” reporter (you see what I did with that? Sure your did. LOL!), to become a vigilante in northern California.
I was quite intrigued as I listened to this, thinking about how Rice’s life, then in SFO when this was written around 2012 (I believe, but am not sure of), had affected her storytelling in this book. Auntie Anne brings to life the setting, San Francisco, with the same rich detail and emotional feel that the Vampire Chronicles gave to NOLA. And speaking of emotional content, Rice does passion combined with gothic and supernatural elements so well. Even when those relationships are … well … otherwise uncomfortable. Enough said on that. Also, the book offers an interesting dichotomy of the were’s savage nature and frighteningly vicious skills with violence vs. the heroic acts, intelligence, and usage of the “wolf gift.”
The last 15% or so was a LOT of origin exposition and dialogue giving a history of the weres. All in all, I like the vampire and witch content much better, but this was far better than I expected.
Auntie Anne has written some of my favorite literature. Most of us know her for the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Trilogy. This book was her foray, as I can see it, into the world of the other tripartite member of the typical urban fantasy involving supernatural creatures—werewolves.
This book was not what I expected. It wasn’t grabbing me at first but then as it unfolded I found myself liking it so much more. The werewolf here becomes like a “costumed” superhero, preying only on bad guys, those evil ones who perpetuate suffering and misery and harm. Newly made werewolf Reuben ends up navigating his new powers, which he integrates with his detective skills and instincts that he had already been using as a “cub” reporter (you see what I did with that? Sure your did. LOL!), to become a vigilante in northern California.
I was quite intrigued as I listened to this, thinking about how Rice’s life, then in SFO when this was written around 2012 (I believe, but am not sure of), had affected her storytelling in this book. Auntie Anne brings to life the setting, San Francisco, with the same rich detail and emotional feel that the Vampire Chronicles gave to NOLA. And speaking of emotional content, Rice does passion combined with gothic and supernatural elements so well. Even when those relationships are … well … otherwise uncomfortable. Enough said on that. Also, the book offers an interesting dichotomy of the were’s savage nature and frighteningly vicious skills with violence vs. the heroic acts, intelligence, and usage of the “wolf gift.”
The last 15% or so was a LOT of origin exposition and dialogue giving a history of the weres. All in all, I like the vampire and witch content much better, but this was far better than I expected.
December 14, 2012
Sometimes I’d enjoy a book simply for its clever and action-packed storyline. Sometimes I’d enjoy a book because of its ingenious and fascinating characters. Sometimes I’d enjoy a book due to its philosophical offerings and thought-provoking details. Often it’d be a combination of all of these things.
Unfortunately, The Wolf Gift was none of the above.
It was rather disappointing, because believe it or not, this was my first ever Anne Rice book. I knew about her popular Vampire Chronicles series but never really tried it out. So when this book became available to me, I decided to give it a try. It’d be suffice to say, it was so absurdly boring and non-sensical that I forced myself to suffer through half of the book before I decided it was too painful to continue.
The thing that really bothered me the most was the writing. The overall prose was choppy and the flow was “rough”, for lack of a better term. The story was told from the view of the protagonist, Reuben, but it was written in the third-person form. However, the style would often switch midstream to I when Reuben was having inner thoughts. It was very confusing at first and it became very awkward very quickly because the passages would often switch from “he” to “I” depending on the circumstances.
- Strike One
Call me opinionated, but I normally would form an impression or liking for a character very early on in a book. I could very openly say that by page 37 (end of Chapter 2), I already knew that I hated Reuben as a protagonist. He was self-centered, unfaithful, naive, and unrealistic. Yes, he came from a rich family and had an easy life and whatnot. But did I really care? Not so much. As the story progressed, it became more evident that this was a character that lacked depth, was flat and failed to develop over the course of the story. I did not feel in any way connected to him nor did I care much whether he was a “man wolf” or not.
- Strike Two.
One thing that I would give the author credit for was her portrayal of the werewolf transformation and extraordinary/unusual senses that the “man wolf” would experience. The notion was interesting and on a few select pages, it was just barely good enough to capture my attention so I would actually bother to read the words more slowly. Otherwise, most times I would just skim the passages to make myself read faster.
Plot-wise, it was okay. It actually tried to tell a story, but the author tended to go into frivolous and non-essential details about everything and anything that it became mind-numbingly boring. Here’s a randomly chosen example, whereby Reuben was home and his brother, Jim, sought him out because he wished to talk to him (pg. 56):
Holy geezus molly!!! I literally groaned out loud upon reading this stupid passage. Did I care much about whether the roof deck was too cold for them to have a conversation? Did I care where they sat and what clothes they wore? NO, a resounding NO!!!! It was so pathetically extraneous I would have cut it out, if not completely at least mostly, if I were the editor.
This was just one example. Imagine that this book was filled with frivolous environmental details as such.
Yeah, it became boring very quickly and my interest, whatever little that I had, dwindled even further.
- Strike Three.
Before I finish my ramblings about this book, I’ve got to add that there were some really non-sensical bits about Reuben’s romantic encounters.
Firstly, he “fell in love” with a woman whom he had just met for a few hours and had sex with her that same night despite the fact that he already had a girlfriend. He even tried to justify it by saying that his girlfriend had previously cheated on him before. Really? So now it was okay for him to be unfaithful to her? Then later on, when Reuben became a werewolf and met a woman out in the woods in who-knows-where and within minutes of landing eyes on her, he grabbed her and had sex because he felt an unexplainable attraction to her. And guess what? This woman also appeared to be wholly willing and equally thrilled by a werewolf showing up at her door, picking her up and had sex with her in his wolf form. Oh, and Reuben found himself falling in love with this woman very shortly thereafter as well.
Oh. My. God. Could it be any more ridiculous than this? It was so overwhelmingly stupid that I was dumbfounded.
Let’s just say that I stopped inflicting more torture to myself by giving up at about the midpoint of the book. It also goes without saying that my review herein was only based upon the first half of the book that I did read/skim.
To sum all this up, this was a very disappointing read by a proclaimed and celebrated author.
Unfortunately, The Wolf Gift was none of the above.
It was rather disappointing, because believe it or not, this was my first ever Anne Rice book. I knew about her popular Vampire Chronicles series but never really tried it out. So when this book became available to me, I decided to give it a try. It’d be suffice to say, it was so absurdly boring and non-sensical that I forced myself to suffer through half of the book before I decided it was too painful to continue.
The thing that really bothered me the most was the writing. The overall prose was choppy and the flow was “rough”, for lack of a better term. The story was told from the view of the protagonist, Reuben, but it was written in the third-person form. However, the style would often switch midstream to I when Reuben was having inner thoughts. It was very confusing at first and it became very awkward very quickly because the passages would often switch from “he” to “I” depending on the circumstances.
- Strike One
Call me opinionated, but I normally would form an impression or liking for a character very early on in a book. I could very openly say that by page 37 (end of Chapter 2), I already knew that I hated Reuben as a protagonist. He was self-centered, unfaithful, naive, and unrealistic. Yes, he came from a rich family and had an easy life and whatnot. But did I really care? Not so much. As the story progressed, it became more evident that this was a character that lacked depth, was flat and failed to develop over the course of the story. I did not feel in any way connected to him nor did I care much whether he was a “man wolf” or not.
- Strike Two.
One thing that I would give the author credit for was her portrayal of the werewolf transformation and extraordinary/unusual senses that the “man wolf” would experience. The notion was interesting and on a few select pages, it was just barely good enough to capture my attention so I would actually bother to read the words more slowly. Otherwise, most times I would just skim the passages to make myself read faster.
Plot-wise, it was okay. It actually tried to tell a story, but the author tended to go into frivolous and non-essential details about everything and anything that it became mind-numbingly boring. Here’s a randomly chosen example, whereby Reuben was home and his brother, Jim, sought him out because he wished to talk to him (pg. 56):
He went to his room, fell across his bed, and slept.
After dinner the next night, his brother sought him out and asked if they could talk alone together.
They went up to the roof deck, but it was just too cold. After a few minutes, they settled in the living room before the fireplace. The room was small, like all the rooms in the Russian Hill house, but beautifully appointed and cozy. Reuben was in his father’s leather chair, and Jim was sitting on the couch. Jim wore his “clerics,” as he called them, meaning his black shirtfront and white Roman collar with the usual black coat and pants. He was never one for going around in regular clothes.
Holy geezus molly!!! I literally groaned out loud upon reading this stupid passage. Did I care much about whether the roof deck was too cold for them to have a conversation? Did I care where they sat and what clothes they wore? NO, a resounding NO!!!! It was so pathetically extraneous I would have cut it out, if not completely at least mostly, if I were the editor.
This was just one example. Imagine that this book was filled with frivolous environmental details as such.
Yeah, it became boring very quickly and my interest, whatever little that I had, dwindled even further.
- Strike Three.
Before I finish my ramblings about this book, I’ve got to add that there were some really non-sensical bits about Reuben’s romantic encounters.
Firstly, he “fell in love” with a woman whom he had just met for a few hours and had sex with her that same night despite the fact that he already had a girlfriend. He even tried to justify it by saying that his girlfriend had previously cheated on him before. Really? So now it was okay for him to be unfaithful to her? Then later on, when Reuben became a werewolf and met a woman out in the woods in who-knows-where and within minutes of landing eyes on her, he grabbed her and had sex because he felt an unexplainable attraction to her. And guess what? This woman also appeared to be wholly willing and equally thrilled by a werewolf showing up at her door, picking her up and had sex with her in his wolf form. Oh, and Reuben found himself falling in love with this woman very shortly thereafter as well.
Oh. My. God. Could it be any more ridiculous than this? It was so overwhelmingly stupid that I was dumbfounded.
Let’s just say that I stopped inflicting more torture to myself by giving up at about the midpoint of the book. It also goes without saying that my review herein was only based upon the first half of the book that I did read/skim.
To sum all this up, this was a very disappointing read by a proclaimed and celebrated author.
September 24, 2013
Anne Rice is one of my all time favorite authors. I consider her to be the godmomther of paranormal writing. I have devoured her past paranormal books and waiting anxiously for her to get back into this gene. When I saw she had written a Werewolf book I was jumping with joy. It had been a long time since I had enjoyed her work. I've been reading urban fantasy novels with quick pacing and dramatic events almost constantly. I jumped into this novel expecting the Pow of the current writers in this gene. I was disappointed by the slow, melodic pace she had set. I wanted the rush. I kept reading and found myself falling into the story. I was hooked deeply, living it along with the characters. It read like non-fiction historical, so real. That is the genius that is Anne Rice, she makes you believe.
We follow a journalist Rueben as he interviews a young vivacious women about the estate she has decided to sell. They are attacked and he is bitten, causing changes. He is very introspective, noticing his body, his outlook and his abilities, all so different. He can feel evil, it calls to him, undeniable, he must answer. After there is a rush of immense joy that this conquering gives him. He can not shed innocent blood, it revolts him. This power to eradicate evil, is it from the gods ? His family and friends struggle with his changes, he must get tested, hospitalized. He can not be tested, something goes wrong with the samples.
We follow a journalist Rueben as he interviews a young vivacious women about the estate she has decided to sell. They are attacked and he is bitten, causing changes. He is very introspective, noticing his body, his outlook and his abilities, all so different. He can feel evil, it calls to him, undeniable, he must answer. After there is a rush of immense joy that this conquering gives him. He can not shed innocent blood, it revolts him. This power to eradicate evil, is it from the gods ? His family and friends struggle with his changes, he must get tested, hospitalized. He can not be tested, something goes wrong with the samples.
September 7, 2019
2.5
Con cada libro que pasa le pierdo más la fe a Anne Rice. Y lo lamento. Sus libros anteriores realmente me gustaban, pero últimamente está... perdiendo el rumbo.
Basta de vampiros, le ha tocado el turno a los lobos.
Hacía mucho que no leía una novela que empezara directamente describiendo al protagonista. Sigo sin saber si lo hizo así para evocar un estilo más clásico... o a falta de un inicio mejor. Dejémoslo ahí.
Reuben es un periodista de 23 años, rico, atractivo, que maneja un Porsche, que parecería que es perfecto en casi todo, que está muy controlado por su madre y su novia, y que está harto de que no lo tomen en serio por ser lindo y rico. Él va a recibir 'el don del lobo' (Anne Rice realmente necesita buscar una alternativa a 'el don', usa 'el don' para todo) y se volverá un lobo-hombre. No hombre-lobo. Lobo-hombre.
Todo comienza con Reuben llegando a una mansión (que parece salida de otros libros de Rice) sobre la que tiene que escribir un artículo. La dueña actual, Marchent, es una mujer con aire misterioso que está muy muy apurada por vender la casa. Ella y Reuben tiene un extremadamente instantáneo enamoramiento a primera vista, y no perdamos tiempo porque el protagonista hace que a las mujeres se le caigan las... medias.
¿Novia? ¿qué novia? A Reuben ahora le gusta Marchent.
El amorío de todos modos va a durar pocas páginas, porque muy sorpresivamente y salido de ningún lado (cosa que me gustó) van a entrar ladrones que matarán a Marchent y junto con ellos un animal que muerde a Reuben y lo deja medio desangrado.
Empezando el capítulo 2 (porque todo eso pasó en el primero) estaba muy enganchada, si bien el libro no era lo que se dice espectacular. Tenía teorías, tenía esperanza, tenía que disfrutar el momento porque no iba a durar mucho.
Reuben, ahora hospitalizado, comienza a recuperarse a una velocidad atípica. Tiene el oído y el olfato amplificados, y se lo ve demasiado sano y robusto para lo que acaba de vivir.
Y será a partir de este punto que Reuben, además de encontrarse con su Sócrates interno y empezar a filosofar sobre el bien y el mal, va a recordar obsesivamente a Marchent, quien ahora parece ser el amor de su vida... la mujer ideal... aquella que se fue... esa de la que va a hablar casi constantemente, como si hubiese sido su novia durante años a pesar de que sólo la trató durante menos de ocho horas .
Pero vamos a lo importante: el don del lobo.
Cuando Reuben se transforma por primera vez creí que había leído mal. Anne Rice decidió ser original, y en vez de hacer que el cambio de forma sea doloroso lo volvió placentero. Extremadamente placentero. La expresión exacta que usa es: sensación orgásmica. Sinceramente me sentí bastante sucia al leerlo, es perturbador.
Y acá nos reencontramos con la formulitagastada tradicional de Rice: un ser sobrenatural que, además de amar la música clásica, sólo ataca a los malvados. La diferencia ahora es que no necesita verlos haciendo malvadosidades para encontrarlos porque los detecta por el olor a mal que emanan, cosa que lo desquicia. Así, su nueva actividad ahora va a ser la de justiciero.
Extrañamente, desde que se convierte en lobo perdí el interés. La historia se pone muy repetitiva, y todo empieza a ser muy conveniente para el protagonista. Él siempre llega cuando están hablando lo que necesita saber... y la historia se acomoda para que le salgan siempre las cosas bien.
Y está faltando un ingrediente más: el romance.
En una de las excusiones delhombre lobo lobo-hombre por el bosque conocerá a una mujer, Laura, con quien tendrá otro amor a primera vista. Laura está literalmente parada en la oscuridad y Reuben la ve, y a tu juego te llamaron. Nos hemos enamorado.
La historia con Laura tiene cierta ternura de todos modos, y por alguna razón me gustaron juntos (aunque no me quedó claro si él se separó de su novia a esta altura). Mi problema es cómo empezó. No da la sensación de que sea por amor, o porque ella ve el alma de él, o alguna razón dulce, sino que de algún modo parece que todo inició por un fetiche espotáneo (ella lo conoce comohombre lobo lobo-hombre) y después se volvió amor.
Algo que no me gustó en absoluto es que Laura no aporta nada más que sexo, compañía silenciosa y hacer ensaladas. Ningún personaje secundario es realmente simpático o destacable, es más, parece que sus personalidades están definidas por sus profesiones y nada más. Eso sí, es notable el conocimiento de biología celular que tiene toda esta gente como cultura general, además de lo terriblemente lentos que son todos para atar cabos.
A pesar de los altibajos que tiene la narración, que por momentos atrapa y por otros aburre, no deja de ser un enfoque original, y la historia del origen de la especie me gustó mucho... aunque se hizo desear durante casi todo el libro.
El don del lobo tiene una visión bastante romántica delhombre lobo lobo-hombre, la transformación es... agradable..., las sensaciones que sobrevienen son placenteras y atrayentes. Reuben se vuelve un "monstruo" pero no deja de ser él, aunque ahora se suma un mega sentido justiciero. Su conciencia será su hermano, sacerdote él, con quien tendrá interminables debates religiosos/filosóficos que se vuelven muy cansadores. ¿Adivinen quién se había empezado a pelear con la iglesia y estaba obsesionada con la muerte? Si! Anne Rice!
Ya me estoy imaginando un crossover entre Lestat y Reuben, con el vampiro enamorándose delhombre lobo lobo-hombre y creando un híbrido vampiro-hombre, con gran sentido del dramatismo y múltiple capacidad hiper-placentera al convertirse en lobo y beber sangre.
Si lo hace voy a reclamar derechos.
Reseña de Libros junto al mar
Con cada libro que pasa le pierdo más la fe a Anne Rice. Y lo lamento. Sus libros anteriores realmente me gustaban, pero últimamente está... perdiendo el rumbo.
Basta de vampiros, le ha tocado el turno a los lobos.
Hacía mucho que no leía una novela que empezara directamente describiendo al protagonista. Sigo sin saber si lo hizo así para evocar un estilo más clásico... o a falta de un inicio mejor. Dejémoslo ahí.
Reuben es un periodista de 23 años, rico, atractivo, que maneja un Porsche, que parecería que es perfecto en casi todo, que está muy controlado por su madre y su novia, y que está harto de que no lo tomen en serio por ser lindo y rico. Él va a recibir 'el don del lobo' (Anne Rice realmente necesita buscar una alternativa a 'el don', usa 'el don' para todo) y se volverá un lobo-hombre. No hombre-lobo. Lobo-hombre.
Todo comienza con Reuben llegando a una mansión (que parece salida de otros libros de Rice) sobre la que tiene que escribir un artículo. La dueña actual, Marchent, es una mujer con aire misterioso que está muy muy apurada por vender la casa. Ella y Reuben tiene un extremadamente instantáneo enamoramiento a primera vista, y no perdamos tiempo porque el protagonista hace que a las mujeres se le caigan las... medias.
¿Novia? ¿qué novia? A Reuben ahora le gusta Marchent.
El amorío de todos modos va a durar pocas páginas, porque muy sorpresivamente y salido de ningún lado (cosa que me gustó) van a entrar ladrones que matarán a Marchent y junto con ellos un animal que muerde a Reuben y lo deja medio desangrado.
Empezando el capítulo 2 (porque todo eso pasó en el primero) estaba muy enganchada, si bien el libro no era lo que se dice espectacular. Tenía teorías, tenía esperanza, tenía que disfrutar el momento porque no iba a durar mucho.
Reuben, ahora hospitalizado, comienza a recuperarse a una velocidad atípica. Tiene el oído y el olfato amplificados, y se lo ve demasiado sano y robusto para lo que acaba de vivir.
Y será a partir de este punto que Reuben, además de encontrarse con su Sócrates interno y empezar a filosofar sobre el bien y el mal, va a recordar obsesivamente a Marchent, quien ahora parece ser el amor de su vida... la mujer ideal... aquella que se fue... esa de la que va a hablar casi constantemente, como si hubiese sido su novia durante años a pesar de que sólo la trató durante menos de ocho horas .
Pero vamos a lo importante: el don del lobo.
Cuando Reuben se transforma por primera vez creí que había leído mal. Anne Rice decidió ser original, y en vez de hacer que el cambio de forma sea doloroso lo volvió placentero. Extremadamente placentero. La expresión exacta que usa es: sensación orgásmica. Sinceramente me sentí bastante sucia al leerlo, es perturbador.
Y acá nos reencontramos con la formulita
Extrañamente, desde que se convierte en lobo perdí el interés. La historia se pone muy repetitiva, y todo empieza a ser muy conveniente para el protagonista. Él siempre llega cuando están hablando lo que necesita saber... y la historia se acomoda para que le salgan siempre las cosas bien.
Y está faltando un ingrediente más: el romance.
En una de las excusiones del
La historia con Laura tiene cierta ternura de todos modos, y por alguna razón me gustaron juntos (aunque no me quedó claro si él se separó de su novia a esta altura). Mi problema es cómo empezó. No da la sensación de que sea por amor, o porque ella ve el alma de él, o alguna razón dulce, sino que de algún modo parece que todo inició por un fetiche espotáneo (ella lo conoce como
Algo que no me gustó en absoluto es que Laura no aporta nada más que sexo, compañía silenciosa y hacer ensaladas. Ningún personaje secundario es realmente simpático o destacable, es más, parece que sus personalidades están definidas por sus profesiones y nada más. Eso sí, es notable el conocimiento de biología celular que tiene toda esta gente como cultura general, además de lo terriblemente lentos que son todos para atar cabos.
A pesar de los altibajos que tiene la narración, que por momentos atrapa y por otros aburre, no deja de ser un enfoque original, y la historia del origen de la especie me gustó mucho... aunque se hizo desear durante casi todo el libro.
El don del lobo tiene una visión bastante romántica del
Ya me estoy imaginando un crossover entre Lestat y Reuben, con el vampiro enamorándose del
Si lo hace voy a reclamar derechos.
Reseña de Libros junto al mar
March 18, 2012
Anne Rice seems to have finally gotten back on her stride. She took a break for a while from writing paranormal novels to create a few works tied to a certain portion of the life of Jesus and a pair of novels connected with the guardian angel of an assassin. Thankfully, she has returned to the style of book that she has always excelled at. She does so with a whole new paranormal creature ... at least for her.
Readers quickly get to know Reuben, a young man living in Southern California who seems to be a turning point in his life. He has started a successful career writing for the San Francisco Observer, and he has a beautiful fiancee that he is looking forward to settling down with.
That all ends when he is sent on assignment to cover the announcement of a major estate that is being placed on the market. He arrives to find Marchant, an older woman, who had inherited the family estate from her uncle. The uncle, who was one of those gentlemen who traveled the world seeking adventure and relics, had gone missing years earlier. Marchant had no desire to stay in the home. It held too many precious memories.
After an amazing weekend together exploring the property (and a bit of surprising romance), the two find themselves in danger. Marchant's brothers arrive hoping to stake a claim on the property only to be interrupted by the arrival of monstrous Man-Wolf. After they had slain their sister, the two brothers are killed by the creature, and Reuben finds himself injured.
All of this quickly turns Reuben's life around as he learns that the injuries he received connect him to some ancient powers, which are not unlike those of the werewolf. What is interesting, is that he finds that not only has he gained physical powers, but he also seems to have a new sense of when people nearby are being hurt. He can sense the evil in these attackers, and he feels compelled to protect the innocent and destroy the evil. It brings about an ethical complication for him ... is murder ever justified?
Rice has always had a talent for creating rich and interesting characters, and she succeeds nicely in that area once again. She also provides rich description to help set the tone of each and every scene while also exploring the paranormal in a way that humanizes the so-called monsters and exploring the dark sides of humanity. She has done it with mummies, vampires, witches, demons, and now werewolves. It is a shame that she seemed exempt from the recent flush of books in the area since she is the writer, more than anyone else, who set this genre up with the forgivable and sympathetic monster.
This book does slow a bit as Reuben first explores his situation, but it picks up quite a bit after he helps confront a situation where a teen is being gay-bashed. I am already looking forward to the sequel! Thanks to Anne Rice for a great return!
Readers quickly get to know Reuben, a young man living in Southern California who seems to be a turning point in his life. He has started a successful career writing for the San Francisco Observer, and he has a beautiful fiancee that he is looking forward to settling down with.
That all ends when he is sent on assignment to cover the announcement of a major estate that is being placed on the market. He arrives to find Marchant, an older woman, who had inherited the family estate from her uncle. The uncle, who was one of those gentlemen who traveled the world seeking adventure and relics, had gone missing years earlier. Marchant had no desire to stay in the home. It held too many precious memories.
After an amazing weekend together exploring the property (and a bit of surprising romance), the two find themselves in danger. Marchant's brothers arrive hoping to stake a claim on the property only to be interrupted by the arrival of monstrous Man-Wolf. After they had slain their sister, the two brothers are killed by the creature, and Reuben finds himself injured.
All of this quickly turns Reuben's life around as he learns that the injuries he received connect him to some ancient powers, which are not unlike those of the werewolf. What is interesting, is that he finds that not only has he gained physical powers, but he also seems to have a new sense of when people nearby are being hurt. He can sense the evil in these attackers, and he feels compelled to protect the innocent and destroy the evil. It brings about an ethical complication for him ... is murder ever justified?
Rice has always had a talent for creating rich and interesting characters, and she succeeds nicely in that area once again. She also provides rich description to help set the tone of each and every scene while also exploring the paranormal in a way that humanizes the so-called monsters and exploring the dark sides of humanity. She has done it with mummies, vampires, witches, demons, and now werewolves. It is a shame that she seemed exempt from the recent flush of books in the area since she is the writer, more than anyone else, who set this genre up with the forgivable and sympathetic monster.
This book does slow a bit as Reuben first explores his situation, but it picks up quite a bit after he helps confront a situation where a teen is being gay-bashed. I am already looking forward to the sequel! Thanks to Anne Rice for a great return!
March 13, 2023
Well, that was really terrible. The experience was very like watching porn where the sex is bad and cringey, the story is silly and the characters are not very well fleshed out (ha!) There was not one redeemable thing about this book and I have no idea why I didn’t dnf.
The sex scenes with the ‘man wolf’ were so weird and awkward and I legitimately would be asking myself why would any sane woman be ok having sex with a big hairy non human? Like why? And why does this 23 year old guy start sounding all pompous and old worldly? It was really terrible on audio. Why did I keep reading?
Well, because it was Anne Rice. I loved Anne Rice. Interview With a Vampire, the Witching series were rich reading experiences where I was engaged fully with her prose, her characters and her stories but none of that worked here. It was just really awful in every way for me and that makes me sad because I was planning to reread some of her work and I’m a little afraid the time to appreciate her work was back when I first discovered it and that perhaps it’s best to leave well enough alone.
The sex scenes with the ‘man wolf’ were so weird and awkward and I legitimately would be asking myself why would any sane woman be ok having sex with a big hairy non human? Like why? And why does this 23 year old guy start sounding all pompous and old worldly? It was really terrible on audio. Why did I keep reading?
Well, because it was Anne Rice. I loved Anne Rice. Interview With a Vampire, the Witching series were rich reading experiences where I was engaged fully with her prose, her characters and her stories but none of that worked here. It was just really awful in every way for me and that makes me sad because I was planning to reread some of her work and I’m a little afraid the time to appreciate her work was back when I first discovered it and that perhaps it’s best to leave well enough alone.
April 29, 2012
I couldn't even finish this book, which is rare for me. I never got into it and hated the main character. I found very little I liked about him. The prose is forced, none of the characters are developed, and the entire story was constrained. I got the impression Rice felt obligated to write a new book and pounded it out just to get it out of the way.
The story went from dull to completely ridiculous. I've read almost all of Anne Rice's books, so I had high hopes for this. She has completely lost her touch. It was disappointing that an author I previously really enjoyed fell so flat.
I know she is known for some of the racy scenes in her books, but the ones in The Wolf Gift were absurd. Without ruining the story, Rice lost me after the second laughable "love scene". The main character is in werewolf form, comes across a cabin in the woods where he sees a woman on the porch, decides he has to have her, goes onto the porch, says 2 sentences to her, sweeps her off to bed and not only does she go willingly, she has the night of her life. Please. I only made it a few chapters after that when I just couldn't stomach it any more.
I normally enjoy these types of books and really liked some of Anne Rice's earlier works. There are so many other books that are much better written and have much better stories. Even if you like Anne Rice, I suggest you stay away from The Wolf Gift or borrow it so you're not out of pocket.
The story went from dull to completely ridiculous. I've read almost all of Anne Rice's books, so I had high hopes for this. She has completely lost her touch. It was disappointing that an author I previously really enjoyed fell so flat.
I know she is known for some of the racy scenes in her books, but the ones in The Wolf Gift were absurd. Without ruining the story, Rice lost me after the second laughable "love scene". The main character is in werewolf form, comes across a cabin in the woods where he sees a woman on the porch, decides he has to have her, goes onto the porch, says 2 sentences to her, sweeps her off to bed and not only does she go willingly, she has the night of her life. Please. I only made it a few chapters after that when I just couldn't stomach it any more.
I normally enjoy these types of books and really liked some of Anne Rice's earlier works. There are so many other books that are much better written and have much better stories. Even if you like Anne Rice, I suggest you stay away from The Wolf Gift or borrow it so you're not out of pocket.
March 7, 2012
I expected more, much more, when Anne Rice tackled the werewolf genre. It was strangely unrewarding to find that, according to Ms. Rice, werewolves are not only able to control their changes, distinguish between right and wrong, but in fact are genetically programed to attack only irredeemably evil human beings. What fun is that? And it turns out that there's no anguish to being a werewolf; actually, it's the next thing to heaven. As Ms. Rice envisions the curse, I mean, the Gift, who wouldn't want to be one? There's no down side.
The concept of werewolf-as-enforcer gives Ms. Rice opportunity to meditate two-dimensionally on the moral conflict of the murderous werewolf who uncontrollably acts as executioner without benefit of trial, a theme explored better by others elsewhere and certainly not worth the time she devotes to it.
I thought the beginning of the book, setting up the first attack, was particularly labored, as was the conclusion. There's just no moodiness here; a big loss, since that's what Ms. Rice did so well in the early vampire books.
Still waiting for the definitive werewolf novel.
The concept of werewolf-as-enforcer gives Ms. Rice opportunity to meditate two-dimensionally on the moral conflict of the murderous werewolf who uncontrollably acts as executioner without benefit of trial, a theme explored better by others elsewhere and certainly not worth the time she devotes to it.
I thought the beginning of the book, setting up the first attack, was particularly labored, as was the conclusion. There's just no moodiness here; a big loss, since that's what Ms. Rice did so well in the early vampire books.
Still waiting for the definitive werewolf novel.
March 10, 2016
The first few discs of this 14 discs tale was engaging as the main character was drawn into his "illness". But then, it became like a lot of other "man-wolf" tales with introspections that didn't really lead anywhere and lots of sexual details. I expected those things in a Rice story but the main story lost its drive so by disc 9 I shelved this one.
The narrator, Ron McLarty, had a good grasp on the voices with the exception of the deep werewolf voices. Something was off there at times.
OVERALL GRADE: C to C plus.
The narrator, Ron McLarty, had a good grasp on the voices with the exception of the deep werewolf voices. Something was off there at times.
OVERALL GRADE: C to C plus.
October 21, 2014
I was a little concerned when I first bought this book and then read some of the reviews of it on here. People were really ripping into it! Well...I hate to say it.....but they weren't entirely wrong about this book.
Okay, Before I go on any further, I want to say that I love Anne Rice. I think she's a great storyteller. and her other books that I read were awesome! I mean Interview With the Vampire and her other vampire books were great! I had wanted to read a werewolf novel for a long time and when I heard that Anne Rice was doing one I was really psyched.The Wolf Gift ,however, was a major disappointment.
Where to start? Well it was a little fucking weird. I'll get to that. Okay, I gave this book two stars because it wasn't truly horrible. Atleast Anne Rice tried. I don't know, it's very sad, perhaps she's slipping in her old age. Well, there you have it. That's what I think.
Okay, Before I go on any further, I want to say that I love Anne Rice. I think she's a great storyteller. and her other books that I read were awesome! I mean Interview With the Vampire and her other vampire books were great! I had wanted to read a werewolf novel for a long time and when I heard that Anne Rice was doing one I was really psyched.The Wolf Gift ,however, was a major disappointment.
Where to start? Well it was a little fucking weird. I'll get to that. Okay, I gave this book two stars because it wasn't truly horrible. Atleast Anne Rice tried. I don't know, it's very sad, perhaps she's slipping in her old age. Well, there you have it. That's what I think.
September 7, 2012
What a tremendous disappointment it is to read my first Anne Rice novel. The first 200 pages were stilted and lifeless without depth of character. It lacked passion. It became mildly interesting during the 2nd half of the book, but it was bogged down by philosophical meanderings ad nauseaum that were too poetic to be considered entertaining or enriching. If only more time had been given to plot and character development and less on the authors ethereal wanderings. In the end, it was if I was sitting in the back of a church at a revival meeting where everyone is nodding and saying "Amen", but no one is really listening to the lackluster sermon anymore.
Perhaps I should explain that as a mother of a severe and profoundly disabled child I have long ago given up the need to make reason of the universe. I have little patience for people who can't accept ideopathic as a reason. I believe that today is to be celebrated and lived. I'm not a fan of worry and philosophical ramblings. I do enjoy entertainment and the gift of a good storyteller. This was simply not the book for me.
Perhaps I should explain that as a mother of a severe and profoundly disabled child I have long ago given up the need to make reason of the universe. I have little patience for people who can't accept ideopathic as a reason. I believe that today is to be celebrated and lived. I'm not a fan of worry and philosophical ramblings. I do enjoy entertainment and the gift of a good storyteller. This was simply not the book for me.
December 26, 2011
I read an advance reader's copy of this on the plane, courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley. It was sort of disappointing, but it did keep me fairly engrossed. It starts off beautifully, with a journalist, a poetic and handsome young man named Reuben, meeting an older woman at her gorgeous spooky old mansion in the isolated redwoods of Northern California, inherited from an exotic uncle who mysteriously disappeared. Bites, wolfishness, philosophical and religious ponderings, and the more interesting pursuit of evildoers and mayhem ensue. Then it devolves into more philosophy lite and overly deliberate explications, around the wolfman dining table, of wolfman origins.
It's been years since I read the first 3 Interview with a Vampire books, but I think they had more verve than this novel. It had all the elements of a good Anne Rice novel, but put together it lacked a certain passion and liveliness. There is a love story too, but i fail to see the appeal of wolfman nooky, it was kind of odd. I think Reuben needed to be more of a tortured hero instead of a pleasant young nice guy who was basically perfectly fine with his fate. On the other hand, I have zero interest in religion, so it's quite possible others with more will enjoy this book a good deal more than I did.
It's been years since I read the first 3 Interview with a Vampire books, but I think they had more verve than this novel. It had all the elements of a good Anne Rice novel, but put together it lacked a certain passion and liveliness. There is a love story too, but i fail to see the appeal of wolfman nooky, it was kind of odd. I think Reuben needed to be more of a tortured hero instead of a pleasant young nice guy who was basically perfectly fine with his fate. On the other hand, I have zero interest in religion, so it's quite possible others with more will enjoy this book a good deal more than I did.
October 18, 2022
I hate to call this book silly, because it seems dismissive of the horrifically violent scenes of human and wildlife carnage … and believe me, this book is not for the squeamish (as an aside, why are people so much more horrified when mountain lions and elk are savagely attacked than human beings?) …
Reuben Golding is a young journalist writing an article about the selling of an eccentric millionaire’s home in Northern California when he is attacked at the house by two murderers and a mysterious beast who comes to his rescue … as he is recuperating in the hospital, he quickly realizes that his body is metamorphosing into that of a vicious wolf creature, and he begins his descent (but I think Anne Rice would disagree and say ascent) into a werewolf … oh, but it’s okay to like the savage beast, because he only kills evil people … it’s okay to rip out a person’s throat and decapitate him if he’s evil, you know …
The millionaire’s home is bequeathed to Reuben in the will of the woman who was selling it, and he moves up there to come to terms with werewolfocity and murder beautiful mountain lions and bobcats and elk, along with the evil people … I could never tell if I was supposed to be horrified at how thrilled and ecstatic Reuben felt when killing, or if I was supposed to be just as delirious with orgasmic bloodlust … but in the end I just sort of giggled because the description was so over the top …
There’s a pallid little love interest, the anemic and lackluster Laura, who for some reason falls madly in love with werewolf Reuben … Reuben reveals his perplexing fetish for white flannel nightgowns, and he especially loves it when Laura rubs her fingers down his werewolf chest and plays with his nipples while she sits on his lap …
And that’s where the whole werewolf appeal is lost on me … Reuben kinda lounges around the house in his werewolf get up, a bipedal pseudo-Wookie who sits with Laura (again, in her white flannel nightgown) and waxes philosophical about the sophistication of the modern werewolf …
But, you know, the sad part is, I finished the book in a little less than a day … because despite the inanity of some of her descriptions, Anne Rice knows how to entertain … and this book is a pageturner … but beware, you might hyperventilate with giggles at some aspects of this book …
I much prefer WOLF! From The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub … right here right now!
Reuben Golding is a young journalist writing an article about the selling of an eccentric millionaire’s home in Northern California when he is attacked at the house by two murderers and a mysterious beast who comes to his rescue … as he is recuperating in the hospital, he quickly realizes that his body is metamorphosing into that of a vicious wolf creature, and he begins his descent (but I think Anne Rice would disagree and say ascent) into a werewolf … oh, but it’s okay to like the savage beast, because he only kills evil people … it’s okay to rip out a person’s throat and decapitate him if he’s evil, you know …
The millionaire’s home is bequeathed to Reuben in the will of the woman who was selling it, and he moves up there to come to terms with werewolfocity and murder beautiful mountain lions and bobcats and elk, along with the evil people … I could never tell if I was supposed to be horrified at how thrilled and ecstatic Reuben felt when killing, or if I was supposed to be just as delirious with orgasmic bloodlust … but in the end I just sort of giggled because the description was so over the top …
There’s a pallid little love interest, the anemic and lackluster Laura, who for some reason falls madly in love with werewolf Reuben … Reuben reveals his perplexing fetish for white flannel nightgowns, and he especially loves it when Laura rubs her fingers down his werewolf chest and plays with his nipples while she sits on his lap …
And that’s where the whole werewolf appeal is lost on me … Reuben kinda lounges around the house in his werewolf get up, a bipedal pseudo-Wookie who sits with Laura (again, in her white flannel nightgown) and waxes philosophical about the sophistication of the modern werewolf …
But, you know, the sad part is, I finished the book in a little less than a day … because despite the inanity of some of her descriptions, Anne Rice knows how to entertain … and this book is a pageturner … but beware, you might hyperventilate with giggles at some aspects of this book …
I much prefer WOLF! From The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub … right here right now!
September 2, 2013
I expect better from Anne Rice, and give this book fewer stars than I would if it were written by a lesser writer. Ms Rice has turned her towering talents in many directions over the course of her career, but I thought in this turn her purpose undermined her storytelling. At times the writing is so fluid and the technical aspects so smooth that you have to stand back and admire it. In my case, I literally took notes. But then... the disappointment. The story loses momentum, and it becomes apparent that the novel is mostly an excuse for a series of essays On What I Believe. This way propaganda lies.
Some would say that her previous two books, Christ the Lord and The Road to Cana she did the same. I disagree. I found those projects intriguing and artistically hugely challenging: writing a real novel that was fully adherent to both the Gospels and to Catholic oral traditions, making Jesus both fully human and fully God, as realized within a very specific historical setting? Nearly an impossible task! But an honest one. One knew exactly what one was reading when one started.
This book seemed heralded as 'Anne Rice gets back to writing lush novels with amazing characters and great detail' and it was not that. There's a difference between having characters wrestle with the metaphysical consequences of their actions, and writing a book about metaphysics illustrated with characters for the purpose of proving your points. For this reader, this book fell on the wrong side of that divide, and the work suffered for it.
Some would say that her previous two books, Christ the Lord and The Road to Cana she did the same. I disagree. I found those projects intriguing and artistically hugely challenging: writing a real novel that was fully adherent to both the Gospels and to Catholic oral traditions, making Jesus both fully human and fully God, as realized within a very specific historical setting? Nearly an impossible task! But an honest one. One knew exactly what one was reading when one started.
This book seemed heralded as 'Anne Rice gets back to writing lush novels with amazing characters and great detail' and it was not that. There's a difference between having characters wrestle with the metaphysical consequences of their actions, and writing a book about metaphysics illustrated with characters for the purpose of proving your points. For this reader, this book fell on the wrong side of that divide, and the work suffered for it.
March 5, 2012
I fell in love with Anne Rice’s Vampire books over 20 years ago. We parted ways when she was heavy into her religion thing, so I was curious what this book would bring to the table. Reuben is a 23 year old guy who is beautiful, wealthy, intelligent, drives a Porsche and has a fabulous job as a reporter at a newspaper. All just a little too much to be able to relate to. Reuben’s troubles start when he interviews a wealthy woman in a beautiful, remote mansion. After sleeping with her (of course), he is attacked by an animal and the woman is murdered. While he heals remarkably fast, Reuben starts to notice animal traits developing, gradually becoming a wolf man in the evenings. He is compelled to hunt at night, but for only the dregs of humanity; murderers, rapists and kidnappers.
Rice didn’t leave her biblical musings behind, in this book Reuben’s scientist mother and his priestly brother have many discussions on what is evil, did god make all creatures, who has a soul, etc. etc. Overall, I was disappointed in my long wait for this novel and will pass on the sequel.
Rice didn’t leave her biblical musings behind, in this book Reuben’s scientist mother and his priestly brother have many discussions on what is evil, did god make all creatures, who has a soul, etc. etc. Overall, I was disappointed in my long wait for this novel and will pass on the sequel.
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