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Kalix MacRinnalch #3
The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf
Now eighteen, Scottish teenage werewolf Kalix MacRinnalch is settling in London, though she still struggles with anxiety, depression, and self-abuse. Her new friends support her � and all is fine until the Guild of Werewolf Hunters start picking off her clan, one by one.
Most of the Scottish Werewolf Clan have a very low opinion of Kalix Macrinnalch, youngest daughter of the Thane. There is little sympathy for her illiteracy, her substance abuse, her self-harming, her eating disorder, her anxiety and depression and her propensity for extreme violence. Safe from her clan in London, and living with two friendly students, she's been much calmer. If only she were allowed to live quietly, she might get on top of her problems.
Unfortunately, that's difficult for the young werewolf. She's still the number one target for the werewolf hunters, and they're stepping up their efforts to find her. And no matter how Kalix tries to make her life more normal, there will always come a time when, under threat, her insanity and battle-madness will descend on her, and the skinny young girl will again transform into the most feared and ferocious werewolf in the country.
Most of the Scottish Werewolf Clan have a very low opinion of Kalix Macrinnalch, youngest daughter of the Thane. There is little sympathy for her illiteracy, her substance abuse, her self-harming, her eating disorder, her anxiety and depression and her propensity for extreme violence. Safe from her clan in London, and living with two friendly students, she's been much calmer. If only she were allowed to live quietly, she might get on top of her problems.
Unfortunately, that's difficult for the young werewolf. She's still the number one target for the werewolf hunters, and they're stepping up their efforts to find her. And no matter how Kalix tries to make her life more normal, there will always come a time when, under threat, her insanity and battle-madness will descend on her, and the skinny young girl will again transform into the most feared and ferocious werewolf in the country.
533 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2013
13 people are currently reading
635 people want to read
About the author
Martin Millar
50 books514 followersMartin Millar is a critically acclaimed Scottish writer from Glasgow, now resident in London. He also writes the Thraxas series of fantasy novels under the pseudonym Martin Scott.
The novels he writes as Martin Millar dwell on urban decay and British sub-cultures, and the impact this has on a range of characters, both realistic and supernatural. There are elements of magical realism, and the feeling that the boundary between real life and the supernatural is not very thick. Most of them are set in Brixton, Millar's one-time place of residence. Many are at least semi-autobiographical, and Love and Peace with Melody Paradise and Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me both feature Millar himself as a character.
As Martin Scott his Thraxas novels are a fusion of traditional high fantasy and pulp noir thrillers.
In 2000, he won the World Fantasy Award for best novel for Thraxas.
The novels he writes as Martin Millar dwell on urban decay and British sub-cultures, and the impact this has on a range of characters, both realistic and supernatural. There are elements of magical realism, and the feeling that the boundary between real life and the supernatural is not very thick. Most of them are set in Brixton, Millar's one-time place of residence. Many are at least semi-autobiographical, and Love and Peace with Melody Paradise and Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me both feature Millar himself as a character.
As Martin Scott his Thraxas novels are a fusion of traditional high fantasy and pulp noir thrillers.
In 2000, he won the World Fantasy Award for best novel for Thraxas.
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October 11, 2013
"In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from somewhere else to save us from ourselves." - Carl Sagan
Daniel goes on to explain to Vex, the crushed anime fan from another dimension, that producers of shows care about other things than making a good show. I know the feeling. I feel let down by the third installment of Martin Millar's Kalix books. I can relate to Millar a lot. He often posts on his blog about some new installment of something he had been looking forward to just not being that good. I have often related to his hopelessly meandering in front of home or store shelves, or the internet, in search of something good that will occupy a place in your mind and heart, for however short lived. Something like a friend.
I looked forward to this book for three years. I loved the first two. There was something sweet about the humans who took the lonely werewolf girl into their home. More came long to their band of misfits. It was like all of the parts in favorite fantasy series when they get to have friends. Deep down I know that Labyrinth had a lot wrong with it. I didn't care. When the friends appear in the mirror to say they'll never leave her and they had a party in Sarah's (Jennifer Connely) bedroom made me happy. The books had that feeling. It was like a bittersweet smile. Daniel would listen to gloomy music and feel bad. No one had the person they wanted. It was like that episode of Buffy when Willow dated an evil demon on the internet. They realized they all had hopeless love lives (Xander almost got eaten by a praying mantis) and laughed. Their laughter was so comforting. I felt like I was one of them and okay. Millar used to do that kind of thing in his Werewolf books for social anxiety and misfitism.
I don't know what happened. It reads like fanfic. Nothing happens other than a trip to the movies (and they actually liked the abysmal The Runaways film) in the first 100 pages. It was like the part in a series that reminds you of what else happened lasted forever. You could recognize the events and waited for the awkwardness to end. When you haven't seen someone in a long time and are as awkward as you are with new people. It never goes away, this nothing happens reminders. I got to 400 pages and despaired of ever meeting any kind of a story. Have you ever known people who preferred the fanfic to the real thing? I always thought they were weird and in need of a good shake. With the Mary-Sues and author inserts and crushes on the character that comes with tons of pointless descriptions of how hot all the characters are. Millar wrote a fanfic. I triple double dare him to ever write a book and NOT constantly mention how gorgeous, pretty, beautiful, hot, etc the characters are. The other books did that too, but without the sweet parts it felt gross. If anime was nothing but underwear shots of little girls and not the weird funny parts. It is hard to believe, maybe, that readers are capable of not forgetting that Dominil has white hair (and Beauty and Delicious have pink and blue hair. I know, I'm going to have to take notes on this). I googled Martin Millar + My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic because I had a feeling (nothing but it doesn't mean it isn't true). I had to tell myself not to expect depth beyond that of the blindingly pink party animal Pinkie Pie to keep reading. She's insane and cute and very cartoonish. So are these characters, now. Do you remember how on Friends the Joey character started out a little dim? It was played for laughs. By the end of the show he was so mentally defective it wasn't possible he could function. Vex becomes that stupid. The stupidity scenes will be repeated a couple of pages later almost identically. She was my favorite character before. Monica on Friends becomes so hysterically anal that no one likes her. It isn't funny. It feels like someone is badly copying something else and exaggerating all of the details.
Kalix always identified with Joan Jett from The Runaways (ripping off his earlier book The Good Fairies of New York with appearances from Johnny Thunders, Kalix will meet Jett while jogging in "Anxiety"). Kalix is Cherie, not Joan, whatever she thinks. Spoiled, entitled, not that likable prima donna. Not a bad ass. If I wasn't sold on her as a bad ass it might be less annoying. Just admit she's Cherie if you're going to talk about it that much. I used to identify with her as a sufferer from anxiety myself. But why would anyone want to put up with a person who cannot treat anyone else with decency unless they are the boyfriend of the week? (More like thinks how she should treat them with decency more than actually does it.) As a model of junkie behavior I guess they are realistic. A hollow beginning and ending of "Great, my family of Scottish werewolf royalty are loaded so I never have to do anything to solve my own problems" and then a middle section of "I hate everyone. Everyone else sucks" self pity. Rinse, repeat. A world of heartbreak for anyone who tries to help. The burden is on them and it is never going to get better any other way. If you are in it you are in it for forever. This feels like that. It ends with the feeling that there's going to be a fourth book exactly like this one. Hey, Kalix why don't you go to art school! Be a fashion model! Suggests Moonglow, because Kalix has no spine. Yawns. Trust me, I am not rooting for a hollow happy ending here. If she had a "werewolf improvement plan" then it is missing the important parts. Be real, be human.
I lost it with Millar for good, though, when the humans Moonglow and Daniel are bullied into being expendable and donating their life forces to save the life of another stupid werewolf. No, they are not expendable! I hate that about urban fantasy. I triple double dare any urban fantasy author to not write the human characters as expendable for the characters with special powers.
Kalix also resents Moonglow for being connected to Kalix's rich mother for the rent money. So, Moonglow, the poor student, is supposed to support her, or something? She has a werewolf improvement plan in this book. She should add "I'm not the center of the universe" to it. I have a bad feeling the reason Millar keeps pointing out how gorgeous she is (unrealistic as it is that a violent laudanum addicted anorexic is gorgeous) so that the readers will be reminded to care about her. Because that's all anyone has to offer is how pretty they are. What is it with the need for pedestals? Can't they be people? You don't need tons of pointless scenes of Vex being happy about anime to get that. Or how hot her legs look in tiny skirts (this is why fanfic sucks). (And I am sure that I am one of the few who understood the Absolute Boyfriend reference, unneeded as it was. Did the book need to be nearly 700 pages long? NO! It really didn't. I understood Vex wanted a boyfriend without it being mentioned over and over.) I just didn't like it or care about what I was reading. I wish I hadn't looked forward to it. I have wasted many hours of my life on bad books and tv. I even read the pretty excretable Absolute Boyfriend when I had a subscription to a Shojo manga (and none of it was good). I don't know what happened. But I had hoped this would cheer me up and it did the opposite. (Actually exactly what happened when I read Millar's Ruby and the Stone-age Diet. I hated that book. It was a gun in the foot of the dream of friendship.) There used to be characters who were relatable in wishing they had some warmth in their lives. They made me smile. I just kinda hated this. It's like fanfic that has a lot of silly scenes and this is important because I say my main character is super hot and important. Not really. Sighs. I wish I had read something else.
P.s. If I ever write a novel and am tempted to make my characters obsessive Aesop Rock fans with tons of references and in-jokes just because that's what I am then shoot me or just don't let me do it. Curse of the wolf Girl was better than Lonely werewolf girl for using invented stuff than real ones. He didn't overdo it. You were also looking for something for warmth, not assuming the reader had the same associations you did. Or you could cheat and rely on that rather than WHY they liked it. Come on, you know which is better.
'Daniel? Are you there? It's an emergency.'
Kalix heard Daniel's door open.
'What's the emergency?'
'I've been badly let down by Nagasaki Night Fight Boom Boom Girl.'
Daniel goes on to explain to Vex, the crushed anime fan from another dimension, that producers of shows care about other things than making a good show. I know the feeling. I feel let down by the third installment of Martin Millar's Kalix books. I can relate to Millar a lot. He often posts on his blog about some new installment of something he had been looking forward to just not being that good. I have often related to his hopelessly meandering in front of home or store shelves, or the internet, in search of something good that will occupy a place in your mind and heart, for however short lived. Something like a friend.
I looked forward to this book for three years. I loved the first two. There was something sweet about the humans who took the lonely werewolf girl into their home. More came long to their band of misfits. It was like all of the parts in favorite fantasy series when they get to have friends. Deep down I know that Labyrinth had a lot wrong with it. I didn't care. When the friends appear in the mirror to say they'll never leave her and they had a party in Sarah's (Jennifer Connely) bedroom made me happy. The books had that feeling. It was like a bittersweet smile. Daniel would listen to gloomy music and feel bad. No one had the person they wanted. It was like that episode of Buffy when Willow dated an evil demon on the internet. They realized they all had hopeless love lives (Xander almost got eaten by a praying mantis) and laughed. Their laughter was so comforting. I felt like I was one of them and okay. Millar used to do that kind of thing in his Werewolf books for social anxiety and misfitism.
I don't know what happened. It reads like fanfic. Nothing happens other than a trip to the movies (and they actually liked the abysmal The Runaways film) in the first 100 pages. It was like the part in a series that reminds you of what else happened lasted forever. You could recognize the events and waited for the awkwardness to end. When you haven't seen someone in a long time and are as awkward as you are with new people. It never goes away, this nothing happens reminders. I got to 400 pages and despaired of ever meeting any kind of a story. Have you ever known people who preferred the fanfic to the real thing? I always thought they were weird and in need of a good shake. With the Mary-Sues and author inserts and crushes on the character that comes with tons of pointless descriptions of how hot all the characters are. Millar wrote a fanfic. I triple double dare him to ever write a book and NOT constantly mention how gorgeous, pretty, beautiful, hot, etc the characters are. The other books did that too, but without the sweet parts it felt gross. If anime was nothing but underwear shots of little girls and not the weird funny parts. It is hard to believe, maybe, that readers are capable of not forgetting that Dominil has white hair (and Beauty and Delicious have pink and blue hair. I know, I'm going to have to take notes on this). I googled Martin Millar + My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic because I had a feeling (nothing but it doesn't mean it isn't true). I had to tell myself not to expect depth beyond that of the blindingly pink party animal Pinkie Pie to keep reading. She's insane and cute and very cartoonish. So are these characters, now. Do you remember how on Friends the Joey character started out a little dim? It was played for laughs. By the end of the show he was so mentally defective it wasn't possible he could function. Vex becomes that stupid. The stupidity scenes will be repeated a couple of pages later almost identically. She was my favorite character before. Monica on Friends becomes so hysterically anal that no one likes her. It isn't funny. It feels like someone is badly copying something else and exaggerating all of the details.
Kalix always identified with Joan Jett from The Runaways (ripping off his earlier book The Good Fairies of New York with appearances from Johnny Thunders, Kalix will meet Jett while jogging in "Anxiety"). Kalix is Cherie, not Joan, whatever she thinks. Spoiled, entitled, not that likable prima donna. Not a bad ass. If I wasn't sold on her as a bad ass it might be less annoying. Just admit she's Cherie if you're going to talk about it that much. I used to identify with her as a sufferer from anxiety myself. But why would anyone want to put up with a person who cannot treat anyone else with decency unless they are the boyfriend of the week? (More like thinks how she should treat them with decency more than actually does it.) As a model of junkie behavior I guess they are realistic. A hollow beginning and ending of "Great, my family of Scottish werewolf royalty are loaded so I never have to do anything to solve my own problems" and then a middle section of "I hate everyone. Everyone else sucks" self pity. Rinse, repeat. A world of heartbreak for anyone who tries to help. The burden is on them and it is never going to get better any other way. If you are in it you are in it for forever. This feels like that. It ends with the feeling that there's going to be a fourth book exactly like this one. Hey, Kalix why don't you go to art school! Be a fashion model! Suggests Moonglow, because Kalix has no spine. Yawns. Trust me, I am not rooting for a hollow happy ending here. If she had a "werewolf improvement plan" then it is missing the important parts. Be real, be human.
I lost it with Millar for good, though, when the humans Moonglow and Daniel are bullied into being expendable and donating their life forces to save the life of another stupid werewolf. No, they are not expendable! I hate that about urban fantasy. I triple double dare any urban fantasy author to not write the human characters as expendable for the characters with special powers.
Kalix also resents Moonglow for being connected to Kalix's rich mother for the rent money. So, Moonglow, the poor student, is supposed to support her, or something? She has a werewolf improvement plan in this book. She should add "I'm not the center of the universe" to it. I have a bad feeling the reason Millar keeps pointing out how gorgeous she is (unrealistic as it is that a violent laudanum addicted anorexic is gorgeous) so that the readers will be reminded to care about her. Because that's all anyone has to offer is how pretty they are. What is it with the need for pedestals? Can't they be people? You don't need tons of pointless scenes of Vex being happy about anime to get that. Or how hot her legs look in tiny skirts (this is why fanfic sucks). (And I am sure that I am one of the few who understood the Absolute Boyfriend reference, unneeded as it was. Did the book need to be nearly 700 pages long? NO! It really didn't. I understood Vex wanted a boyfriend without it being mentioned over and over.) I just didn't like it or care about what I was reading. I wish I hadn't looked forward to it. I have wasted many hours of my life on bad books and tv. I even read the pretty excretable Absolute Boyfriend when I had a subscription to a Shojo manga (and none of it was good). I don't know what happened. But I had hoped this would cheer me up and it did the opposite. (Actually exactly what happened when I read Millar's Ruby and the Stone-age Diet. I hated that book. It was a gun in the foot of the dream of friendship.) There used to be characters who were relatable in wishing they had some warmth in their lives. They made me smile. I just kinda hated this. It's like fanfic that has a lot of silly scenes and this is important because I say my main character is super hot and important. Not really. Sighs. I wish I had read something else.
P.s. If I ever write a novel and am tempted to make my characters obsessive Aesop Rock fans with tons of references and in-jokes just because that's what I am then shoot me or just don't let me do it. Curse of the wolf Girl was better than Lonely werewolf girl for using invented stuff than real ones. He didn't overdo it. You were also looking for something for warmth, not assuming the reader had the same associations you did. Or you could cheat and rely on that rather than WHY they liked it. Come on, you know which is better.
October 13, 2013
A new book by Martin Millar is always a cause for celebration as far as I'm concerned and when that new book is the latest in the series featuring the most dysfunctional werewolf you're ever likely to meet, then it's champagne all around.
The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf is the longest of the series (at 665 pages) but doesn't suffer the fate of so many books of its size. It never sags. It grips you and keeps you turning the pages. In achieving this, it proves a worthy successor, not only to the first two books in this series, but also to the great body of work the author has produced so far.
The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf is the longest of the series (at 665 pages) but doesn't suffer the fate of so many books of its size. It never sags. It grips you and keeps you turning the pages. In achieving this, it proves a worthy successor, not only to the first two books in this series, but also to the great body of work the author has produced so far.
June 20, 2014
I would read 2000 pages of this series. Which is kind of amazing, because often there is not much happening and there are loose ends scattered everywhere, but somehow every scene is enjoyable.
July 2, 2018
I'm disappointed in this book because I absolutely loved the first two. It was just more of the same exact personal conflicts and the characters really didn't evolve enough in way that would bring closure to the trilogy in a meaningful way. There were a lot of loose ends that didn't get tidied up. Still, Kalix and Company are hands down, some of the most fun, lovable characters in the universe.
February 13, 2014
Fantasy Review Barn
I first came to Martin Millar due to a horrible search and request function from my old library. I honestly thought I was requesting a Neil Gaiman book; instead they had mislabeled Good Fairies of New York because Gaiman had provided an introduction. Best mistake since bread was left near the petri dish.
Millar has a style that is completely unique. Rapid fire chapters and absurd characters that somehow still bring out the emotion, multiple plot lines being twisted around each other so many times it mind boggling that they can all be resolved- let alone tied together at the end. He is often funny; relying on the interactions of the characters for humor rather than a string of dated in jokes or puns. The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf (last time I am writing that title out in full, from now on this book will be referred to as Kalix, kay?) continues in the same style. This book completely relies on knowing what happened in the first two so from here on out there could be spoilers of the earlier books. So go ahead and catch up with the series before reading any more of this review, we will wait.
Done yet? No? Its ok, we all got Flappy Bird before it was pulled, we can wait for you. (Talk about easily dated in jokes, ya?)
Ok, moving on.
Once again there is so much going on it should be impossible to track. Kalix has set up a self-improvement plan for herself. The fire queen has consolidated her power after the civil war and can once again focus on the more important world of fashion; her new goal is to be shown in Vogue’s style pages. The crowded flat that Kalix lives in is full of people going to college and actually showing some responsibility; Moonglow makes a harsh, but fair, task master and has them all working and doing chores. In Scotland the fight for Thane is settled and Marcus is no longer facing resistance. And of course everything is about to blow up.
The guild of werewolf hunters have stepped up their efforts, leaving their old ways and modernizing with better security and tactics borrowed from the Special Forces. They also have some help from an odd ally, the new empress Kabachetka, Malvaria’s rival in fashion and war in the fire realm. Holy mother of god, enough details, I am out of breath and hardly got started. Once again, SO many plot lines! So many names! Each character is so unique (in part because of their over the top, quirky natures) that I have no trouble remember who is who, even with a two year layoff since reading the last book.
If anyone is like me and already hooked they should love this book. I am not sure it matches Lonely Werewolf Girl, in part because it will never feel quite as fresh as it did the first time, but it comes close and exceeds Curse of the Wolf Girl in my mind. While it still has its share of angst and shows signs of darkness like the first two it has an altogether more hopeful tone; both in the beginning and right through the end. Kalix in particular finally is starting to realize some of the good things she has; it is not suddenly sunshine and lollypops but it isn’t always doom and gloom anymore. Hell the ending is downright cheerful compared to the first two outings.
If there is something to complain about it is clear that that this is now a series without a clearly defined end and as such no longer wraps up all of its plotlines within one volume. Thrix in particular goes through some changes that affect her on the most fundamental level; and we never see her get any closure. On the other hand there is a malevolent fairy on the loose that should provide us with a lot of entertainment if another book makes its way out into the world.
Another solid entry from one of the most underrated authors out there. Please do yourself a favor and pick up any of his books. If you do I have a strong feeling you will make your way to this one eventually.
4 Stars
Review copy provided by the publisher.
I first came to Martin Millar due to a horrible search and request function from my old library. I honestly thought I was requesting a Neil Gaiman book; instead they had mislabeled Good Fairies of New York because Gaiman had provided an introduction. Best mistake since bread was left near the petri dish.
Millar has a style that is completely unique. Rapid fire chapters and absurd characters that somehow still bring out the emotion, multiple plot lines being twisted around each other so many times it mind boggling that they can all be resolved- let alone tied together at the end. He is often funny; relying on the interactions of the characters for humor rather than a string of dated in jokes or puns. The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf (last time I am writing that title out in full, from now on this book will be referred to as Kalix, kay?) continues in the same style. This book completely relies on knowing what happened in the first two so from here on out there could be spoilers of the earlier books. So go ahead and catch up with the series before reading any more of this review, we will wait.
Done yet? No? Its ok, we all got Flappy Bird before it was pulled, we can wait for you. (Talk about easily dated in jokes, ya?)
Ok, moving on.
Once again there is so much going on it should be impossible to track. Kalix has set up a self-improvement plan for herself. The fire queen has consolidated her power after the civil war and can once again focus on the more important world of fashion; her new goal is to be shown in Vogue’s style pages. The crowded flat that Kalix lives in is full of people going to college and actually showing some responsibility; Moonglow makes a harsh, but fair, task master and has them all working and doing chores. In Scotland the fight for Thane is settled and Marcus is no longer facing resistance. And of course everything is about to blow up.
The guild of werewolf hunters have stepped up their efforts, leaving their old ways and modernizing with better security and tactics borrowed from the Special Forces. They also have some help from an odd ally, the new empress Kabachetka, Malvaria’s rival in fashion and war in the fire realm. Holy mother of god, enough details, I am out of breath and hardly got started. Once again, SO many plot lines! So many names! Each character is so unique (in part because of their over the top, quirky natures) that I have no trouble remember who is who, even with a two year layoff since reading the last book.
If anyone is like me and already hooked they should love this book. I am not sure it matches Lonely Werewolf Girl, in part because it will never feel quite as fresh as it did the first time, but it comes close and exceeds Curse of the Wolf Girl in my mind. While it still has its share of angst and shows signs of darkness like the first two it has an altogether more hopeful tone; both in the beginning and right through the end. Kalix in particular finally is starting to realize some of the good things she has; it is not suddenly sunshine and lollypops but it isn’t always doom and gloom anymore. Hell the ending is downright cheerful compared to the first two outings.
If there is something to complain about it is clear that that this is now a series without a clearly defined end and as such no longer wraps up all of its plotlines within one volume. Thrix in particular goes through some changes that affect her on the most fundamental level; and we never see her get any closure. On the other hand there is a malevolent fairy on the loose that should provide us with a lot of entertainment if another book makes its way out into the world.
Another solid entry from one of the most underrated authors out there. Please do yourself a favor and pick up any of his books. If you do I have a strong feeling you will make your way to this one eventually.
4 Stars
Review copy provided by the publisher.
September 19, 2013
This is the third part in the story about Kalix MacRinnalch. I was a little bit nervous when I started to read it, but soon found myself enjoining it immensely.
Though it never made me laugh out loud, I did really like it and it was easy to read and never was any boring. It didn't have any boring bits that I found difficult to get past, but it was all very fast read.
I really like how the author make such complex characters. When you get to the third book, you expect to know the main characters quit well, but you always get a new side in every book you read.
Kalix is such a complex character, but you still can relate to her in some way almost all the time. And I think she has come really far since the beginning of her story, she’s slowly getting better I think. And that Kalix is a drug addict I think just adds a layer to her as a person. And in the book it’s portrayed very well how hard it’s for her to actually stop, and being a werewolf just makes it even harder for her to fight the addiction.
And Decembrius, we meet him in the last book, and I really liked him. I like that somehow he and Kalix always end up arguing with each other. And I also like that he isn't as confident as you first would think he is. He’s as many other characters in the book very complex and still have many side hidden about himself, just like every other character in the book.
Something else I also enjoy about the books is that the characters are never good or evil. They are very complex and they all exist in some sort of grey area, and you never really know where they stand all the time or which side they will choose in the “battle.”
Martin Millar has succeeded very well in making a complex set of characters in his books and also bringing them alive, they never seem to be like any other person in the book and makes it easy to keep them apart when you read the books.
Though it never made me laugh out loud, I did really like it and it was easy to read and never was any boring. It didn't have any boring bits that I found difficult to get past, but it was all very fast read.
I really like how the author make such complex characters. When you get to the third book, you expect to know the main characters quit well, but you always get a new side in every book you read.
Kalix is such a complex character, but you still can relate to her in some way almost all the time. And I think she has come really far since the beginning of her story, she’s slowly getting better I think. And that Kalix is a drug addict I think just adds a layer to her as a person. And in the book it’s portrayed very well how hard it’s for her to actually stop, and being a werewolf just makes it even harder for her to fight the addiction.
And Decembrius, we meet him in the last book, and I really liked him. I like that somehow he and Kalix always end up arguing with each other. And I also like that he isn't as confident as you first would think he is. He’s as many other characters in the book very complex and still have many side hidden about himself, just like every other character in the book.
Something else I also enjoy about the books is that the characters are never good or evil. They are very complex and they all exist in some sort of grey area, and you never really know where they stand all the time or which side they will choose in the “battle.”
Martin Millar has succeeded very well in making a complex set of characters in his books and also bringing them alive, they never seem to be like any other person in the book and makes it easy to keep them apart when you read the books.
April 2, 2014
OK. I don't like the main character, Kalix. I used to feel sorry for her, but I don't even have that anymore. Her addiction, self-loathing and general all-around unpleasantness have really worn me down. Throughout the book, she countered every small step forward to self-improvement with a giant leap backwards towards self-destruction. I'm not asking for her to completely turn her life around. All I'm asking for is that she becomes a little less annoying. I want to like her, but I just can't do it. Sorry, Martin.
Fortunately, the book is chock-a-block with wonderful supporting cast members, most of whom I like (even if they're evil) and whom the author writes with verve and wit. From the long-suffering roommates, or her long-suffering family members (which include alcoholic punk rockers, a laudanum addicted genius and a cross-dressing Clan leader), to the always amusing fashionista Queen Malveria (Quiet, idiot niece!) who longs to be featured in the style pages of a fashion magazine, they're all there to help pull the story out of the depression that comes on whenever Kalix takes one of her mighty leaps backwards.
This book might have seemed a little longer to read than the last one, but that's fine. I'm more worried about the long wait until the next Kalix novel becomes available.
Fortunately, the book is chock-a-block with wonderful supporting cast members, most of whom I like (even if they're evil) and whom the author writes with verve and wit. From the long-suffering roommates, or her long-suffering family members (which include alcoholic punk rockers, a laudanum addicted genius and a cross-dressing Clan leader), to the always amusing fashionista Queen Malveria (Quiet, idiot niece!) who longs to be featured in the style pages of a fashion magazine, they're all there to help pull the story out of the depression that comes on whenever Kalix takes one of her mighty leaps backwards.
This book might have seemed a little longer to read than the last one, but that's fine. I'm more worried about the long wait until the next Kalix novel becomes available.
Read
June 15, 2019Kalix MacRinnalch has a plan. She has written a self-improvement plan to help guide her to improve her life and health. Sounds simple right? Not if you're Kalix MacRinnalch - for her, nothing is ever simple. Kalix would like nothing more than to be getting on with things, attending college, drawing, getting better, but life has a way of throwing you curve balls. That's what happens when you're part of a werewolf family, embroiled in a centuries old war with hunters who are determined to see the end of your kind. Add her wacko family and friends into it and you have recipe for disaster.
The Fire Queen is her usual over the top self. After a successfully won civil war she has turned her attention to more important matters: fashion. And her newest plan to conquer the fashion world? To get on the fashionable pages of Vogue magazine. Her nemesis Kabachetka, empress of a rival Kingdom and in all things fashion, is determined to stop ruin her plans. Not only that, but because she wasn't evil irritating enough she has joined forces with the guild of werewolf hunters, those dastardly bastards with that whole 'Death-To-All-Werewolves' thing. She's going to help them destroy Thrix and The Fire Queen and anyone else she feels like killing for stupid reasons. What a bitch. Moonglow and Daniel are their usual adorable selves, getting dragged along on dangerous werewolves adventures and Vex is as entertaining as ever, there to either say the wrong thing at the wrong time or save the day. Dominil is her usual odd self yet genius self and the only characters that don't feature this time around are the colourful Beauty and Delicious, the perpetually drunk twin werewolf sisters.
The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf has everything you've come to expect from Millar's writing - slightly psychotic, odd ball, supernaturally inclined characters thrown into hairy situations. And of course, much angst, drama and violence ensues.
The only . . . criticism? That I have is that I'm not sure where Millar is going with all these storylines. I mean there's the obvious main one that has been persisting since book one - The Council wanting Kalix to pay for killing the Thrane. Then there's Thix and her fashion house, The Fire Queen and her never ending fashion drama, Daniel and Moonglows budding romance, Decembrius and Kalix's . . . whatever they are, Thrix and Kalix's volatile sibling drama, the persistent hunters guild, Marcus and his drama as Thrane and Serapen and whatever evil thing he is up too. Not to mention all the emotional turmoil in between it all and yet none of it seems to get resolved - no Millar just seems to be adding to it! Fairy drama and Kalix's new maybe-boyfriend? Nothing ever seems to get resolved, it's all just left hanging.
All that aside, Millar has written a book that is a great companion to it's predecessors. Funny, witty and a whole lot of weird, Millar is an immensely underrated writer and if you have not had the pleasure of reading his work, I recommend you do so. Right now.
The Fire Queen is her usual over the top self. After a successfully won civil war she has turned her attention to more important matters: fashion. And her newest plan to conquer the fashion world? To get on the fashionable pages of Vogue magazine. Her nemesis Kabachetka, empress of a rival Kingdom and in all things fashion, is determined to stop ruin her plans. Not only that, but because she wasn't evil irritating enough she has joined forces with the guild of werewolf hunters, those dastardly bastards with that whole 'Death-To-All-Werewolves' thing. She's going to help them destroy Thrix and The Fire Queen and anyone else she feels like killing for stupid reasons. What a bitch. Moonglow and Daniel are their usual adorable selves, getting dragged along on dangerous werewolves adventures and Vex is as entertaining as ever, there to either say the wrong thing at the wrong time or save the day. Dominil is her usual odd self yet genius self and the only characters that don't feature this time around are the colourful Beauty and Delicious, the perpetually drunk twin werewolf sisters.
The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf has everything you've come to expect from Millar's writing - slightly psychotic, odd ball, supernaturally inclined characters thrown into hairy situations. And of course, much angst, drama and violence ensues.
The only . . . criticism? That I have is that I'm not sure where Millar is going with all these storylines. I mean there's the obvious main one that has been persisting since book one - The Council wanting Kalix to pay for killing the Thrane. Then there's Thix and her fashion house, The Fire Queen and her never ending fashion drama, Daniel and Moonglows budding romance, Decembrius and Kalix's . . . whatever they are, Thrix and Kalix's volatile sibling drama, the persistent hunters guild, Marcus and his drama as Thrane and Serapen and whatever evil thing he is up too. Not to mention all the emotional turmoil in between it all and yet none of it seems to get resolved - no Millar just seems to be adding to it! Fairy drama and Kalix's new maybe-boyfriend? Nothing ever seems to get resolved, it's all just left hanging.
All that aside, Millar has written a book that is a great companion to it's predecessors. Funny, witty and a whole lot of weird, Millar is an immensely underrated writer and if you have not had the pleasure of reading his work, I recommend you do so. Right now.
December 27, 2017
Quite enjoyed reading this one, even without remembering a whole lot about the previous two...fortunately there was enough backstory here to refresh me as to the major relationships and happenings of those ones without making me feel like I should have reread them first. Feeling a little conflicted about the title and the loose-ends ending though, since I didn’t think Kalix actually got nearly as much screen time (so to speak) as her flat mates, the fire elementals and the rest of the clan, and the ending didn’t exactly wrap everything up in a neat and tidy package...but I suppose it’s certainly left wide open for another installment or two!
July 19, 2017
I realised a bit into the book that this was part of a series. Ovetall it was easy to grasp what had happened as the author explained the back stories, which I found helpful. While the story was interesting I could see that it is writen for a young adult audience. I still love reading the young adult genre but this was definitely for a younger audience in general.
I felt the writing was a bit clunky. The book contained many spelling errors/missing words, mainly with 'the' and 'they', which made the reading experience less enjoyable when mentally correcting.
I felt the writing was a bit clunky. The book contained many spelling errors/missing words, mainly with 'the' and 'they', which made the reading experience less enjoyable when mentally correcting.
December 21, 2020
3.5
This was a series I loved growing up.
I'm sad to see that it was meant to be longer probably and never got a sequel.
Miller has clearly a weird and niche way of writing. He combines very serious topics with very vain writing sytle(and characters), and I am not sure adult me appreciates that...
But it was nice to read again about beloved characters, some I still love so much and I'm sad to have seen the last of them.
This was a series I loved growing up.
I'm sad to see that it was meant to be longer probably and never got a sequel.
Miller has clearly a weird and niche way of writing. He combines very serious topics with very vain writing sytle(and characters), and I am not sure adult me appreciates that...
But it was nice to read again about beloved characters, some I still love so much and I'm sad to have seen the last of them.
January 13, 2019
I'm a little sad to be finished with Kalix's saga for the moment. Urban Scottish werewolves and Fire Elementals have been my second home for three books. Now faced with the dilemma of which one of the volumes on my teeteringly tall TBR pile to tackle next. Each is a portalmto another world. Which shall I enter?
May 4, 2023
Prob more a 3.5 but I definitely feel like I enjoyed delving into this instalment more than the others. Prob because all the characters are maturing and therefore feels less theatrical and more loveable (despite most of them still being utter self-centred toss bags). I actually could have jumped straight into another one.
September 10, 2018
I was quite excited by this book; it looked like a really fun read. This was the first book I have tried from this author and it'll also be the last - I somehow didn't like his 'voice' and I got bored quite quickly. Did not finish.
September 29, 2018
I really enjoyed this series, but this book was so long it took me a month to get through. Its only 665 pages, but there's no page breaks for chapters. There's also a very big cast of characters with odd names.
March 9, 2019
A satisfyingly complex tale of werewolves, werewolf hunters, fire elementals, fashion, fairies, and poor old Daniel and Moonglow whose student lives are considerably more dangerous now Kalix lives at their house.
February 27, 2022
it’s a lot like the first two, which i enjoyed as well. the characters are great, i relate a bit too heavily to kalix and the writing is superb. witty, sexy and messy.
lots of content warnings though!
lots of content warnings though!
Read
October 21, 2022This was another good read about Kalix the werewolf and her family of Scottish werewolves. This book twists and turns in unpredictable ways making for a suspenseful read. The characters are intriguing and balance well. I enjoyed the whole series.
October 23, 2022
I devoured this book, as I did the first 2 Kalix books, which is great because I will then re-read it several times more slowly. I usually find things I'd skipped over in my fervor, and that is pure joy!! I absolutely wish there would be more Kalix, but I'm thankful that I have #1, 2 & 3!
August 28, 2017
Pretty poorly written and edited.... on occasion they would use the wrong character's names. Extremely long. But moderately enjoyable story.
September 22, 2019
Brilliant- Just like the previous installments in the series. This is probably the most consistent series I have ever read and one of the weirdest.
August 18, 2022
All three of the kalix books are excellent. I would love a fourth....
January 1, 2025
A satisfying end to an amazing trilogy. This series definitely needs more hype.
January 1, 2014
It's been a few months since the events of Curse of the Wolf Girl, Millar's second book in the anxiety and depressive journey of Kalix the werewolf.
When we last saw Kalix, she had started classes at a remedial college in London and was embroiled in quest to avenge the death of a murdered lover. Her human flatmates - Daniel and Moonglow - have been working hard to help Kalix come to terms with living a life of stability and higher self-esteem, but, as with real-life sufferers of depression and anxiety, it is hard to help people (never mind supernatural beasts with berserker rage) help themselves.
But some things do change. Even if it is only by degrees.
Kalix, and the ever perky anime-addicted fire elemental Vex, have just completed a summer of hard work at a local bodega stacking shelves and experiencing the very best of a mundane human existence. Moonglow is happy that the bills are starting to get paid off and Kalix seems to be cutting herself less and is even contemplating quitting her laudanum addiction. She even has a written plan for becoming a better werewolf. Things looks pretty good for the crew.
When the werewolf sorceress, Minerva, is expertly assassinated on her own mountain, Kalix's sister, the fashion-designer Thrix, demands vengeance and holds Kalix personally responsible for the murder.
Millar's strength in this series once again revolves around the fact that he can take things I otherwise wouldn't care reading about - high-fashion, fairies, real depictions of people suffering from anxiety and depression, and gala-events -and makes them fascinating. I'm constantly surprised by his ability to craft an intricate world, based on so few adjectives and metaphors. Sure, we never really get a solid layout of the apartment of the majestic volcano kingdom, we are never painted a picture of the werewolf hunter's hideout or the werewolf castle, but Millar's expressive characters builds and maintains a world that abides by its rules and rests on the strength of its characters. It never lingers too long on one emotion; its serious, its suspenseful, its frustrating, and its funny as hell.
And each character is a strong individual with their own thoughts, their own voice, and their own stacks of emotional baggage. Even minor characters break free of simple plot enhancers with a simple one-liner or emotion that gives them depth and creates a demand to know more. In short, Millar seems less concerned with the world and more concerned about its inhabitants. And it is for that reason we suffer along side Kalix and sit through chapter long arguments about Fall fashion trends. We care about these characters as if they were old friends unloading their troubles over tea.
The only problem I had with the novel had nothing to do with the interior pages. In fact, I was hard pressed to put the book down and found my self carrying it around the house reading while waiting for water to boil and other brief moments that otherwise might have been filled with a quick check of the internet. No, the trouble I had was with the the US cover. My apologies to the artist, but this is horrible and off-putting. I was embarrassed to leave the house with the book and several artist friends were struck speechless. For a book with such a focus on fashion, this cover actively rips it in the opposite direction. I can only hope that Soft Skull manages comes to its senses, otherwise I can't imagine anyone picking this up on impulse. After all, it was the strength of the cover to Lonely Werewolf Girl that brought Millar to my attention.
It's a world a fantasy and magic The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf is unmistakably and apologetically real.
When we last saw Kalix, she had started classes at a remedial college in London and was embroiled in quest to avenge the death of a murdered lover. Her human flatmates - Daniel and Moonglow - have been working hard to help Kalix come to terms with living a life of stability and higher self-esteem, but, as with real-life sufferers of depression and anxiety, it is hard to help people (never mind supernatural beasts with berserker rage) help themselves.
But some things do change. Even if it is only by degrees.
Kalix, and the ever perky anime-addicted fire elemental Vex, have just completed a summer of hard work at a local bodega stacking shelves and experiencing the very best of a mundane human existence. Moonglow is happy that the bills are starting to get paid off and Kalix seems to be cutting herself less and is even contemplating quitting her laudanum addiction. She even has a written plan for becoming a better werewolf. Things looks pretty good for the crew.
When the werewolf sorceress, Minerva, is expertly assassinated on her own mountain, Kalix's sister, the fashion-designer Thrix, demands vengeance and holds Kalix personally responsible for the murder.
Millar's strength in this series once again revolves around the fact that he can take things I otherwise wouldn't care reading about - high-fashion, fairies, real depictions of people suffering from anxiety and depression, and gala-events -and makes them fascinating. I'm constantly surprised by his ability to craft an intricate world, based on so few adjectives and metaphors. Sure, we never really get a solid layout of the apartment of the majestic volcano kingdom, we are never painted a picture of the werewolf hunter's hideout or the werewolf castle, but Millar's expressive characters builds and maintains a world that abides by its rules and rests on the strength of its characters. It never lingers too long on one emotion; its serious, its suspenseful, its frustrating, and its funny as hell.
And each character is a strong individual with their own thoughts, their own voice, and their own stacks of emotional baggage. Even minor characters break free of simple plot enhancers with a simple one-liner or emotion that gives them depth and creates a demand to know more. In short, Millar seems less concerned with the world and more concerned about its inhabitants. And it is for that reason we suffer along side Kalix and sit through chapter long arguments about Fall fashion trends. We care about these characters as if they were old friends unloading their troubles over tea.
The only problem I had with the novel had nothing to do with the interior pages. In fact, I was hard pressed to put the book down and found my self carrying it around the house reading while waiting for water to boil and other brief moments that otherwise might have been filled with a quick check of the internet. No, the trouble I had was with the the US cover. My apologies to the artist, but this is horrible and off-putting. I was embarrassed to leave the house with the book and several artist friends were struck speechless. For a book with such a focus on fashion, this cover actively rips it in the opposite direction. I can only hope that Soft Skull manages comes to its senses, otherwise I can't imagine anyone picking this up on impulse. After all, it was the strength of the cover to Lonely Werewolf Girl that brought Millar to my attention.
It's a world a fantasy and magic The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf is unmistakably and apologetically real.
May 29, 2014
This review first appeared on http://readingtheend.com.
Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
Scottish werewolf Kalix MacRinnalch is trying to make her life better. She’s taking remedial classes at a nearby college and trying to cut back on the violence she does to others and herself. But her plans for self-improvement are interrupted when the Guild of Werewolf Hunters — abetted in their work by Fire Queen Malveria’s deadly enemy — begins to hunt down and murder the members of the werewolf clans.
Well, to start with, I am in favor of this ENORMOUS REVENGE PLOTLINE. The first werewolf killed by the Guild — and it’s sort of Kalix’s fault, although not completely — is Thrix’s teacher and mentor, the werewolf enchantress Minerva. Her death plunges Thrix into a spiral of depression and rage, and she becomes the driving force behind the werewolf clans’ efforts to eradicate the Guild once and for all. In past books, Thrix has been very much a voice of reason, but here she becomes someone who must be reasoned with. It’s a fun switch, and it’ll be interesting to see the fallout from it in the next book.
In other snooty werewolves who are getting into the game, The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf featured a satisfying number of people being impressed with Dominil, Kalix’s frosty, competent cousin who is trying to conceal her own laudanum addiction from the clans. I can never get enough of Dominil getting shit done and not even caring what everyone thinks of her. Although her plans do not fall out exactly as she imagines in this book, she nevertheless gets to do a number of clever and resourceful things in furtherance of werewolf goals. And it’s just nice when someone says “Dominil, can you do X Impossible Thing?” and then goes off in perfect confidence that Dominil will handle it.
A new supernatural wrinkle is added to the supernatural world in the form of Scottish fairies! Hurrah, a new supernatural wrinkle! The werewolves require assistance from the fairies who live in the forests of Scotland, and the fairies are none too pleased that they’ve been neglected so long and only flattered and catered to now that the werewolves want something. There’s a helpful fairy queen as well as an extremely unhelpful fairy called Teinn who poisons the minds of the werewolf clans against their Thane. It’ll be fun to see what Teinn gets to do from here on out, as at the end of the book she heads for London to make mischief there.
On the down side, I discovered that I’ve stopped caring about Daniel and Moonglow. Or to be more accurate, I’ve stopped caring about whether they date or not, and the question of whether they were going to date or not was pretty much the only thing either of them had going on in this book. They’re more sort of satellites orbiting Kalix and Vex. It’s okay for now, I guess, but in the next book I’d like to see them working to achieve goals of their own (school goals? work goals? anything is fine, really). My utterly favorite thing about Martin Millar (this may be in conflict with some other thing I’ve said in the past is my favorite thing about Martin Millar, but who are you, the Continuity Police? Favorite things change! Shut up!) is the way he places the magical side-by-side with the utterly banal.
Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
Scottish werewolf Kalix MacRinnalch is trying to make her life better. She’s taking remedial classes at a nearby college and trying to cut back on the violence she does to others and herself. But her plans for self-improvement are interrupted when the Guild of Werewolf Hunters — abetted in their work by Fire Queen Malveria’s deadly enemy — begins to hunt down and murder the members of the werewolf clans.
Well, to start with, I am in favor of this ENORMOUS REVENGE PLOTLINE. The first werewolf killed by the Guild — and it’s sort of Kalix’s fault, although not completely — is Thrix’s teacher and mentor, the werewolf enchantress Minerva. Her death plunges Thrix into a spiral of depression and rage, and she becomes the driving force behind the werewolf clans’ efforts to eradicate the Guild once and for all. In past books, Thrix has been very much a voice of reason, but here she becomes someone who must be reasoned with. It’s a fun switch, and it’ll be interesting to see the fallout from it in the next book.
In other snooty werewolves who are getting into the game, The Anxiety of Kalix the Werewolf featured a satisfying number of people being impressed with Dominil, Kalix’s frosty, competent cousin who is trying to conceal her own laudanum addiction from the clans. I can never get enough of Dominil getting shit done and not even caring what everyone thinks of her. Although her plans do not fall out exactly as she imagines in this book, she nevertheless gets to do a number of clever and resourceful things in furtherance of werewolf goals. And it’s just nice when someone says “Dominil, can you do X Impossible Thing?” and then goes off in perfect confidence that Dominil will handle it.
A new supernatural wrinkle is added to the supernatural world in the form of Scottish fairies! Hurrah, a new supernatural wrinkle! The werewolves require assistance from the fairies who live in the forests of Scotland, and the fairies are none too pleased that they’ve been neglected so long and only flattered and catered to now that the werewolves want something. There’s a helpful fairy queen as well as an extremely unhelpful fairy called Teinn who poisons the minds of the werewolf clans against their Thane. It’ll be fun to see what Teinn gets to do from here on out, as at the end of the book she heads for London to make mischief there.
On the down side, I discovered that I’ve stopped caring about Daniel and Moonglow. Or to be more accurate, I’ve stopped caring about whether they date or not, and the question of whether they were going to date or not was pretty much the only thing either of them had going on in this book. They’re more sort of satellites orbiting Kalix and Vex. It’s okay for now, I guess, but in the next book I’d like to see them working to achieve goals of their own (school goals? work goals? anything is fine, really). My utterly favorite thing about Martin Millar (this may be in conflict with some other thing I’ve said in the past is my favorite thing about Martin Millar, but who are you, the Continuity Police? Favorite things change! Shut up!) is the way he places the magical side-by-side with the utterly banal.
November 13, 2014
Words cannot express how much I love these stories. They aren't always literate but still they always manage to be massive literary masterpieces. Martin Millar inhabits the souls of his characters in the same way as literary giants like John Irving, although his style is vastly different. Coloured by his love of the comic book genre, the novels read like a vast spiraling comic book series growing larger and sucking in more of everyday London life as they go whirling through space then adding in a liberal shake of the supernatural and a good dose of mental health issues, topped off with a swift glug of laudanum. Millar is a chronicler of modern subcultures and he builds his characters with a kind of effortless joy that I only wish I possessed.
In this third book of the series, Kalix McRinnalch, the exiled heroine of all three novels, is on the brink of her eighteenth birthday and still a failure in her own eyes at just about everything. In an effort make her life better, she creates a self improvement list in her diary but her plans come crashing down when in an attempt to stop taking laudanum she overdoses and inadvertently causes the death of her sister Thrix's sorcerous mentor, Minerva McRinnalch, who is slain by werewolf hunters of the increasingly bold Avenaris Guild, sworn to rid the world of werewolves.
This leads in turn to a plot by her sister and their cousin, the cool and cunning Dominil, to bring down the Guild in an act of bloody vengeance. Which really should not be funny but, as they are thwarted at every turn and the werewolf hunters grow more desperate to find and eliminate them, leads to some moments of genuine slapstick. Most of these involve the intercession of Malveria, the Queen of the Haiyasta Fire Elementals and a good friend and customer of Thrix who, as well as being one of the only werewolves to master sorcery, is also an acclaimed fashion designer and creator of Malveria's stunning wardrobes, a powerful weapon in Malveria's arsenal as she takes on her deadly opponent, Kabachetka, Empress of the Hainusta Fire Elementals in a battle to be photographed by Vogue magazine for their Fashionable Party People section.
The lives and (never quite successful) loves of these werewolf women and their myriad allies and opponents make for a fast moving, sometimes touching, often hilarious read.
I can't wait for book four.
In this third book of the series, Kalix McRinnalch, the exiled heroine of all three novels, is on the brink of her eighteenth birthday and still a failure in her own eyes at just about everything. In an effort make her life better, she creates a self improvement list in her diary but her plans come crashing down when in an attempt to stop taking laudanum she overdoses and inadvertently causes the death of her sister Thrix's sorcerous mentor, Minerva McRinnalch, who is slain by werewolf hunters of the increasingly bold Avenaris Guild, sworn to rid the world of werewolves.
This leads in turn to a plot by her sister and their cousin, the cool and cunning Dominil, to bring down the Guild in an act of bloody vengeance. Which really should not be funny but, as they are thwarted at every turn and the werewolf hunters grow more desperate to find and eliminate them, leads to some moments of genuine slapstick. Most of these involve the intercession of Malveria, the Queen of the Haiyasta Fire Elementals and a good friend and customer of Thrix who, as well as being one of the only werewolves to master sorcery, is also an acclaimed fashion designer and creator of Malveria's stunning wardrobes, a powerful weapon in Malveria's arsenal as she takes on her deadly opponent, Kabachetka, Empress of the Hainusta Fire Elementals in a battle to be photographed by Vogue magazine for their Fashionable Party People section.
The lives and (never quite successful) loves of these werewolf women and their myriad allies and opponents make for a fast moving, sometimes touching, often hilarious read.
I can't wait for book four.
January 28, 2014
Hmmm, mixed feelings about this one. The main issue is that it was far, far, far too long. Whereas the length of the previous two wasn't overly noticeable, despite being similar in size, this third instalment suffered from not being particularly exciting. Actually, none of them could be regarded as exiting, rather it was the strength of the characters and their interwoven lives that made them interesting. Alas, after having built up an impressive cast of some quite brilliant characters, the author seemed a little lost as to what to do with them, something I feel would have been remedied had the editor been a little more aggressive. There was just an awful lot of repetition, things mentioned that had already been mentioned many times, in some cases in the last chapter. The writing had lost a bit of it's lustre too, not a sharp or witty. I'm a little concerned for Malveria, a Fire Queen who had lost some of the theatrics and spark that had made her so much fun.
It's not all bad news though. The last quarter did improve quite a bit, enough that I finished it within a couple of days, in comparison to the rest of the book which took me a couple of months to slog through.
From the ending, I get the feeling there may be more from Kalix and the rest of the MacRinnalchs. A part of me is happy, as I do generally enjoy reading about them, I just hope the author perhaps has more of an idea as to where the story is going and perhaps doesn't take quite as long to get there. Still a series worth reading, though this is my least favourite of the three, but still better than a lot of things I read in the last year.
As a final note, I still find it shocking how many errors crop up, though less in this one as in the other two. But for crying out loud, there's a spelling error on the back of the book, in the blurb, on the name MacRinnalch...which is used quite often considering the books are about the MacRinnalch clan so there really is no excuse...I mean seriously people, how did you miss that?!!!!
It's not all bad news though. The last quarter did improve quite a bit, enough that I finished it within a couple of days, in comparison to the rest of the book which took me a couple of months to slog through.
From the ending, I get the feeling there may be more from Kalix and the rest of the MacRinnalchs. A part of me is happy, as I do generally enjoy reading about them, I just hope the author perhaps has more of an idea as to where the story is going and perhaps doesn't take quite as long to get there. Still a series worth reading, though this is my least favourite of the three, but still better than a lot of things I read in the last year.
As a final note, I still find it shocking how many errors crop up, though less in this one as in the other two. But for crying out loud, there's a spelling error on the back of the book, in the blurb, on the name MacRinnalch...which is used quite often considering the books are about the MacRinnalch clan so there really is no excuse...I mean seriously people, how did you miss that?!!!!
May 30, 2015
I really love this series, of which this is the third book. The first is still the best of the lot, but other two hold up well.
This book has lots of the same elements of the previous two: werewolves in London, werewolves in Scotland, high fashion, fire elementals, clan politics, the Avenaris Guild. There are some really unexpected developments, and I'm not terribly happy about them. They significantly affected things in this book, and will likely do so in the future.
I realized that several characters have really grown since the first book. This is really nice, since some series have characters that rarely change, if ever. Kalix is definitely still Kalix, but she is maturing as well.
I had a major minor revelation while reading this book. Throughout the series, Agrivex will teleport poorly and end up in a closet or a bathtub or somewhere she hadn't aimed for. She'll then appear complaining about bumping her elbow and needing someone to rub it better. I had always thought she was just looking for attention and affection. However, shortly before reading this book I developed tendinitis in an elbow. Every time I bump the elbow, even slightly, I get shooting pain in the elbow and rubbing it helps it feel better. I realized the Agrivex has tendinitis, and she really has been hurting herself all those times. And looking for attention, of course. Agrivex is always looking for attention.
One last thing. This book had much less Yum Yum Sugary Snacks than it should have had.
This book has lots of the same elements of the previous two: werewolves in London, werewolves in Scotland, high fashion, fire elementals, clan politics, the Avenaris Guild. There are some really unexpected developments, and I'm not terribly happy about them. They significantly affected things in this book, and will likely do so in the future.
I realized that several characters have really grown since the first book. This is really nice, since some series have characters that rarely change, if ever. Kalix is definitely still Kalix, but she is maturing as well.
I had a major minor revelation while reading this book. Throughout the series, Agrivex will teleport poorly and end up in a closet or a bathtub or somewhere she hadn't aimed for. She'll then appear complaining about bumping her elbow and needing someone to rub it better. I had always thought she was just looking for attention and affection. However, shortly before reading this book I developed tendinitis in an elbow. Every time I bump the elbow, even slightly, I get shooting pain in the elbow and rubbing it helps it feel better. I realized the Agrivex has tendinitis, and she really has been hurting herself all those times. And looking for attention, of course. Agrivex is always looking for attention.
One last thing. This book had much less Yum Yum Sugary Snacks than it should have had.
May 3, 2014
I've enjoyed the stories of Kalix the Werewolf and the MacRinnalch werewolf clan, but honestly it gets a little repetitive and even as the characters get fleshed out, they still feel more like caricatures at times. Kalix is emotionally disturbed - possibly due to having been born on a full moon, in her werewolf form - and suffers from severe social anxiety. Her clansmen hate her, her sister Thrix especially. Beauty and Delicious are drunk and immature. Vex the fire elemental is even more so. Malveria is obsessed about fashion. Daniel is mooning over Moonglow. Moonglow is trying to be the group mom. Dominil is emotionless, etc. etc.
The plot itself is enjoyable and moves along - Minerva MacRinnalch, Thrix's mentor in sorcery is murdered by werewolf hunters, prompting an all-out war between the clans and the hunters' guild, necessitating much skullduggery and espionage. Of course, when the hunters are allied with Empress Kabatchatka, her fashion rivalry with Malveria gets overlaid on the MacRinnalch's need for revenge and plots, counterplots and fashion coups all turn into one 50 Xanatos Pile-Up by the end. It's a quick read, but every moment of character growth - like Kalix starting to overcome her anxiety - gets cut off and returns everyone to the status-quo by the end.
It's a bit frustrating. I like the characters, but man, I'd love to see them actually grow and change already.
The plot itself is enjoyable and moves along - Minerva MacRinnalch, Thrix's mentor in sorcery is murdered by werewolf hunters, prompting an all-out war between the clans and the hunters' guild, necessitating much skullduggery and espionage. Of course, when the hunters are allied with Empress Kabatchatka, her fashion rivalry with Malveria gets overlaid on the MacRinnalch's need for revenge and plots, counterplots and fashion coups all turn into one 50 Xanatos Pile-Up by the end. It's a quick read, but every moment of character growth - like Kalix starting to overcome her anxiety - gets cut off and returns everyone to the status-quo by the end.
It's a bit frustrating. I like the characters, but man, I'd love to see them actually grow and change already.
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