Hellboy: The Fire Wolves

Hellboy Novels #9

by Tim Lebbon, Various (Illustrator)

Hellboy is called to Amalfi, Italy, by Franca, a young member of the Esposito family. She fears that a dark curse on her family is about to claim her cousin as its next victim. Hellboy makes his way to their large home . . . and he encounters a flaming demon-a fire wolf-which he successfully fights off.

Hellboy and Franca make their way to Pompeii, where Franca remembers seeing an image of the fire wolf whilst on an archaeological dig. Hellboy unearths the shriveled corpse of a demon hunter who was buried during the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius, and it tells him of the fire demon that escaped the grip of the volcano . . . leading to that devastating eruption.

As the volcano rumbles again, with a new thirst for human blood, an eruption even more devastating than that historical catastrophe looks very, very close

"Tim Lebbon is an immense talent and he's become a new favorite. He has a style and approach unique to the genre."-Joe R. Lansdale

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Comics, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Monsters

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2009

About the author

I love writing, reading, triathlon, real ale, chocolate, good movies, occasional bad movies, and cake.

I was born in London in 1969, lived in Devon until I was eight, and the next twenty years were spent in Newport. My wife Tracey and I then did a Good Thing and moved back to the country, and we now live in the little village of Goytre in Monmouthshire with our kids Ellie and Daniel. And our dog, Blu, who is the size of a donkey.

I love the countryside ... I do a lot of running and cycling, and live in the best part of the world for that.

I've had loads of books published in the UK, USA, and around the world, including novels, novellas, and collections. I write horror, fantasy, and now thrillers, and I've been writing as a living for over 8 years. I've won quite a few awards for my original fiction, and I've also written tie-in projects for Star Wars, Alien, Hellboy, The Cabin in the Woods, and 30 Days of Night.

A movie's just been made of my short story Pay the Ghost, starring Nicolas Cage and Sarah Wayne Callies. There are other projects in development, too.

I'd love to hear from you!

Reviews

[Joe Lambert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely liked Mr. Lebbon's second Hellboy novel more than his first (Unnatural Selection); however, this one unfortunately falls to the bottom half of my ranking of this series. The pacing is inconsistent throughout. The entire first half is a slog to get through, and even when it picks up in the second half, it still feels like a lot of wasted time.

I still liked it though. It felt like Lebbon really understands Hellboy, and captured his voice. The lore surrounding Mt. Vesuvius and the Esposito family was very cool, and the twists and reveals felt earned.

This may not be the first Hellboy novel I would suggest to someone, but it is definitely worth a read if you like the character.

[Burton Olivier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book, what a thrilling ending!

[Chris Vest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy cow! What a journey! A great story for lovers of Tim Lebbon and Hellboy 10/10

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far I've enjoyed all of the Hellboy novels, and this one was no exception.

Set in Italy, this novel tales the tragic tale of a cursed family. Vesuvius is about to erupt, and only a family's sacrifice can stop it. If the family won't make the sacrifice, it appears the monstrous fire wolves will not give the family a choice.

Overall a strong, if somewhat dark, Hellboy story featuring all of the monsters and ghosts we've come to expect. This one has a strong setting, as you can actually feel like you're right in Italy.

Really good, and a must for Hellboy fans.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

When an author really gets his teeth into Hellboy, you end up with a great adventure. Tim Lebbon accomplished that. He gives us an interesting problem and just enough information early on for the reader to suspect things are much worse than they seem when Hellboy gets involved in trying to help end a family curse. The problem? Many young women in the family die on their eighteenth birthdays and there's a book hidden in the wealthy basement that suggests this has been going on for centuries. The second problem? The patriarch of the family doesn't believe in the curse and actively obstructs Hellboy's investigation. Now, if you are thinking that means the patriarch is one of the bad guys, I had the same thought. We're intended to. If you think that makes this a simple story, you are totally wrong.

The fire wolves of the title are like werewolves made of flame. They are a serious adversary, especially because they are more interested in the people Hellboy is trying to protect than they are in him. This is a good, fast moving, action-packed tale.

[Patrick Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect Hellboy book.

Carlotta Esposito contacts the BPRD and Hellboy is sent to investigate her claim that she's afraid she'll be murdered before her eighteenth birthday. The reason the BPRD gets involved is because she's discovered in her (rich) family's basement a secret history of over 300 years of young women being killed by their eighteenth. The family doesn't want him around, and they seem suspicious. Meanwhile, Mt. Vesuvius is starting to erupt. That's when a giant fire wolf appears in the family compound to kill the young woman. Hellboy leaps into action and it's nonstop from there on out.

I loved Hellboy's dialogue, actions, and thoughts. I loved the family, which unquestionably has some secrets, but they're not revealed until late in the book. I loved the female protagonist. As Hellboy thinks, 'She's got guts.' This is just absolute fun, exciting, thrilling, and contains just enough supernatural intrigue to keep one reading. I read this in one setting because I could not put it down.

Highest possible recommendation.

[Thomas Tymstone · Rating 2 out of 5]

☆☆ SPOILER ALERT ☆☆


The idea that Hellboy would catch feelings for this young woman is a bit laughable. The fact that Hellboy and his organization don't have a protocol for a fire demon, that's ludicrous.
Other than Hellboy being a little bit of a leach, I think it was a little bit sexist believing first that if she left to previously left the family she could only be a traitor. The fact that in a big family like that only one person liked her still after those years.

It was fine but I liked the others better.

✌🏾

[Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll be honest, this book was a lot more interesting than the “Ice Wolves” but it felt like it was going on for far too long. I normally don’t say this about HB’s adventures but this is one that made the pacing hard for me. In the end, fire wolves, family curses and an erupting volcano is all in the life of the loveable big red lug.

[djpmwp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I liked that the plot was intricate. The descriptions of the area accurately depicted. I would recommend this book to other Hellboy enthusiast.

[D.K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started off slow but picked up later. All in all, I enjoyed it.

[Graham Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story that races through exciting scenes only to end with a predictable ending that ruins the overall reading for the reader.

[Caspar Vega · Rating 2 out of 5]

The setting's great but the villain's boring, the finale takes forever and I much prefer Wayne Mitchell's Hellboy voice.

[BookMarc · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Hellboy: The Fire Wolves' is Tim Lebbon's second Hellboy novel in the series of unrelated prose novels that are available from all good booksellers now! It's not related in any way to his first Hellboy novel 'Unnatural Selection' and neither is it related to the other novel in the series 'Hellboy: The Ice Wolves' which I reviewed right here.
What is it with Hellboy and wolves? Fire Wolves, Ice Wolves and there's plenty of werewolves in his past too (there's one on the loose in Lebbon's other Hellboy novel). Just the sight of a wolf nowadays must make Hellboy howling mad!
Before I get into details of the story and my opinions on that I would like to express a few thoughts concerning the cover of the book. I love the overall color scheme and layout as it's very stylish and easy on the eyes. I hate that wolf. It just doesn't look scary enough to me. Although you might need a closer, enlarged look at it the wolf is actually a mosaic come to life but it still could of looked more horrifying.
Pompeii, AD 79, is where the story begins and sets the foundations for the rest of the novel. Mount Vesuvius is erupting and a fire wolf, a demonic presence that lives within the volcano, is on the rampage. An old woman, a demon hunter, casts a spell to trap the wolf as she dies and leaves a mosaic telling the story of what occurred. The wolf is trapped, the volcano rests and all is fine until...
Modern day and the spell has been broken and that, of course, means Hellboy is on the case. Rather than being a straightforward story of Hellboy taking on the Fire Wolves what we begin with is a seemingly separate story about a family curse. As such Hellboy is placed in the role of detective and he has to figure out what the hell is going on. Of course, this goes against his nature as he would rather just beat the crap out of something and Big Red's frustrations, and considerable efforts to be tactful, are played out well throughout the novel. As the mystery unravels and the link to the fire wolves and their overall plan becomes clear the story picks up pace and becomes more action packed. I actually loved the pacing of the story and having read other works by Tim Lebbon I can tell you it's one of his strong points as a writer; he can have you carefully reading every word in a calm manner or have you hurtling through each page in relation to the action taking place.
The story itself is a good one and Lebbon certainly has a grasp of who Hellboy is which is refreshing as other authors have severely lacked in this are in relation to the Hellboy prose novels. Throughout the novel there are various references to previous Hellboy cases/situations/characters that would go over the head of any first time Hellboy reader. Not that I think the story would be diminished in any way for those not in the know as it's akin to those superhero movies whereby, for instance, they'll mention the non-hero name of a character that isn't in the movie...to the person in the know it brings an appreciative nod of the head and a wry smile but those not in the know don't feel like they're missing out on anything.
I should point out that Hellboy works alone in this novel as he did against the Ice Wolves. In both these cases Liz Sherman would have been a great help as she has the ability of pyrokinesis. In many ways I guess having her a focal character in either novel would have watered down the plot due to her unique ability. I do prefer it when either Liz, Abe Sapien, or both, are involved as the characters play off each other well and add that little extra bit of dimension to the proceedings.
'Hellboy: The Fire Wolves' was a very good novel. It never quite achieved greatness but it is certainly a must for Hellboy fans and those who wish to branch out into a Hellboy prose novel could do far worse than to start with this offering.

[Kip · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the third Hellboy novel I've read and as much as I like the character and world, all the novels have been a bit disappointing to me. I think one reason for that is because these books are essentially one-off side adventures there's no real opportunity for character growth or development. Hellboy is the same at the end of each book as he is at the beginning. One way to sidestep this is for the author to give us interesting character growth among the new characters introduced in the story. That was what I like most about the Lost Army. But in this novel the new characters didn't come to life vividly enough for their emotional stories to provide a balance for Hellboy's static character arc.

Otherwise, this book takes Hellboy to Italy where he helps a young woman unearth the secret curse that haunts her family, which leads to a tale of fire wolves, an ancient demon hunter, and an angry volcano. The book is full of action but relatively light on plot. Major clues are basically left out in the open (hidden in plain sight in the caves that ALL the children play in) and there is at least one major story point/massacre that is completely unmotivated.

Overall I think this would be more satisfying if it was a script for a one hour episode of a TV series, instead of a book that required hours of my time to get through.

[MacGhille · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worthwhile Hellboy entry

There were some editing mishaps, but overall I would consider this a solid 'episode' of Hellboy adventure. Be warned: if you enjoy any of the other BPRD characters, none of them make an appearance here. There are a few phone calls to Liz, but these serve mostly to punctuate how alone Hellboy is on this trip.
There is also very little lore or demonology in this one. That can be seen as good or bad, depending. The good: characters and interactions are the focus, and not spelling out every little detail avoids having the reader suffer through a potentially poor or overwrought explanation. The bad: the lack of mysticism feels like a missed opportunity, Hellboy comes off as hired muscle a bit more than usual, and Hellboy's main source of fire wolf information could have been an incredible character but ends up serving as an under-developed dues ex machina.
Still, a decent Hellboy romp.

[travis williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

From hell he rises

I gave this book five stars because first off hellboy is my favorite movie slash moral compass a hero who saves the day despite what people perceive him to be I like the twist with the fire wolves in the story not being to affected by water and how the whole family turned out to be fire wolves what I disliked how corlotta died I mean come on hellboy always saves the innocents or he always tries to I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a really good story and for die hard fans like me

[Victor Espinosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. Your love for comic book characters-- or lack thereof-- aside, this was a well written book about people struggling to survive against horrendous odds and cognizant evil forces. The writing structure was mature and the pacing was excellent. This is what a great story well written looks like. Something this well put together could really only come from an author who has as much experience with writing as Tim Lebbon does. It's not too long, no part drags, and nothing about it seems crafted or false. Thumbs up, I liked it and recommend it.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good Hellboy novel. The Italian setting was interesting, and there were a couple of surprising twists to the plot. I was a tad let-down that Hellboy was left on his own rather than having any of his fellow BPRD agents show up(the situation was tailor made for Liz Sherman), but it was a fun read. I was expecting some linkage to the previous volume's Ice Wolves, but there wasn't any.

[Nick Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far Hellboy is proving to be a very good novel. Very well written. I was not sure if I would like this book or not but I gave it a shot. So far I am really enjoying it. The writing is similar to that of Jeff Lindsay, the author of the Dexter novels. But the story is completely different and follows a completely new character. I have already decided to pick up other Hellboy novels when I finish this one.

[Jasper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read books based on comic book characters before but this was my first Hellboy novella. I felt an unwavering disconnect from Hellboy, the character, and that may be because it wasn't coupled with Mike Mignola's artwork (cover notwithstanding). The story was not amazing but it wasn't awful either. Perhaps i was expecting much more? Also, i personally think that the title gave too much away.
side note: A friend lent me four (4) Hellboy books. Three left to go.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting that this was about Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii, but a little more back ground on the wolves would have been better. And it would have been cool if Liz has showed up and there could have been a big fire throw down.

[Damon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Hellboy book. Not bad, I guess - it wasn't really all that unique or innovative, but it kept me wanting to read it, so that's something. And there was a volcano, which I guess is something else...

[Paul Papa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this before "The Ice Wolves," not just because it is a better story, but because "The Ice Wolves" references it. This is a good story and Lebbon does a wonderful job with the Hellboy character.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This HELLBOY book was good, even if it needed abruptly. At parts, it felt like Hellboy himself wasn't... Quite right but a good story nonetheless.

[Ailene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that Hellboy wasn't the main character.