Dire Wolf: a Novel

by Eric Jubb

A gripping tale of hunting a wolf pack that has returned to their genetic origins, the Dire Wolf due to a misstep in breeding attack dogs. The reader feels the horror and suspense of the hunt. The tragedy of defeat and the exhilaration of success as the reader follow’s John Johnston through the wilds of Montana in pursuit of the wolf pack.
John Johnston, a Staff Sargent medic attached to a Special Forces “A” team. During a firefight in Afghanistan he is grievously wounded saving the life of his platoon leader. After a long recovery at Brooks Army medical center John is medically discharged and returns home to Montana. John’s brother Toby looses his dog during a camping trip with the Boy Scouts to a wolf pack. John begins to hunt the wolves only to find that he needs to get additional information about the wolves from an expert, a professor at the University of Montana. During the winter the wolves develop a liking for cattle and begin terrorizing the flathead, mission and swan river valleys. The Forest Service begins to hunt the wolves only to be thwarted by the extremes of the winter weather. The State of Montana hires a professional hunter to exterminate the wolves, but gets killed in the pursuit. A relationship develops between John and Beth, the University professor. They jointly begin to follow the wolves and document their findings. They discover that the wolves are poisonous with saliva that has hallucinogenic properties. After John and Beth’s marriage, Beth looses a hand during a camping trip to a wolf. While Beth is in the hospital, John teams with his old First Sargent and hunts the wolves across the Great Bear wilderness area.

341 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 29, 2013

Reviews

[Ionia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has an excellent premise and takes a lot of unexpected turns, so for those of you who enjoy a thrilling ride, this would be a good book to satisfy the desire for excitement.

There were quite a lot of things to like about this novel. First of all, the author took a subject that has a lot of depth (soldiers returning from war and trying to readjust to civilian life,) and added some interesting and frightening twists, making this book deeper and more thought provoking than most of the creature thrillers out there.

The setting was rich with details and the characters were well balanced and interesting. I enjoyed the way the author began the book in the past and then related the incidents that occurred then with the present.

I did find that sometimes this book was a little difficult to follow based on the writing style of the author. The sentence structure was awkward in some places, although that wasn't a major hindrance to my ability to read and enjoy the story.

Overall I thought this was a good book and certainly entertaining. I would recommend it to those who enjoy action based thrillers.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through Netgalley.

[John Johnstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the main character John Johnston having virtually the same name as myself how could I not review it. Sadly I don't live up to the heroics of the Afghan veteran who retires from the army back to his family's home in Montana. Beset by tragedy John starts to build a new life, when his young brother is attacked by wolves. John decides he must track and kill the wolves responsible to allow his brother to eradicate his trauma. Over time the body count of the wolves starts to climb and with the help of university professor Doctor Beth Wall, they decide the wolves are genetic mutants from the medieval past. The hunt is now on weather allowing.

This is a good adventure which is written in the first person, and in some places the language is very naive, but it does not really affect the story telling. The book also describes some of the problems war veterans have in readjusting to civilian life, and war wounds. Not exactly my normal thriller read but good none the less.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

John has returned from Afghanistan with one leg and a strong sense of family. When his younger brother's dog is killed by a vicious pack of wolves he set out to kill the wolves and hopefully help his brother deal with life again. The wolves are hunting all over Montana killing livestock and even profession hunters the state has hired. John hopes to get a better understanding by consulting Dr. Beth who has studied the Dire wolf. Beth and John fall in love and marry but the wolves attack and Beth loses her hand. This motivates John even more and he brings in an army buddy and they start picking off the pack. The Dire wolf has an historic background and it's a scary one. I liked this book. It has romance, adventure and the thrill of the hunt. A good read for all ages, even boys who are reluctant readers may find this one worth the effort. I think this is Mr Jubb's first novel and it was well written and has great characters.

[Icy_Space_Cobwebs Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was glued to this fascinating story; the writing, the multiple plot lines, the resolution, all kept me engrossed and I could not set it aside till I'd finished. The Author starts with a little historical backdrop, from the Roman occupation of the future British Isles; then moves forward to the 21st century. In light of the ongoing conflict between environmentalists on one side, and hunters and some governmental entities on the other, over wolf populations in Montana, Idaho, Canada, and Alaska, this story is very timely and apropos. Additionally, the wolf populace rendered herein is not the usual species, but a type much more powerful and much more dangerous. I think readers owe it to themselves to enjoy this riveting read.

[Marilyn Rhea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about an returning soldier and the job he faces tracking down a killer wolf pack in Montana. The story line is great and there is a lot of action and tense moments throughout. I sadly have to say that I had a hard time following the writing style of this author. That is not to say that there was anything at all wrong with his writing, or grammar. I just found it hard to follow. I would recommend this book to anyone that was interested in hunting wolf packs, or what can happen when the genetic origins are mistakenly made in the breeding and generational lives of these wolves. I received this book free in return for an honest review. Read it and give it a chance, I think you will enjoy it.

[Carolyn Injoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dire Wolf by Eric Jubb was an almost five star book. I received it free from NetGalley for fair review.

I found it to be a real page turner. I stayed up half the night to finish it. It is an excellent story line.

I found it exceptionally entertaining, with the caveat that there was no clear distinction of which characters were speaking.

It covered a broad range of time from Roman to current soldiers. The premise is that the pre-historic Dire Wolf

was diluted into the modern day gray wolf

& interbred with a presa canario.



Then through a genetic fluke a super wolf developed that could think strategically.

There's enough suspense in the wolf hunt & the interaction of characters to have kept me guessing. However, I was unable to set aside the suspension of disbelief to accept the idea that wolves could become poisonous.

I recommend this to readers of creature suspense, thriller & those interested in wolves.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I read the synopsis I thought I would enjoy this book but that wasn't the case. I couldn't follow the storyline due to the way the book was written. I wasn't sure who was talking, who was thinking or what was happening. Everything was jumbled together and was hard to follow.

I may try to read it again in the future but for now I'm going to leave it alone.

[Virginia Winfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book though sometimes a little confusing. Despite that I could not put it down. I had to get to the end to see what happened to everyone. I hope there will be more books in this series because there were a couple of questions that were not answered. I hope there is another book soon. I loved the characters and the story was very enjoyable. I received this book from the author for a fair and honest opinion.

[Elizabeth Pruett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Has it all,action ,adventure, horror and mystery. Even a little romance. I hope the rating speaks for itself, this book is just plain good. I hope there will be a follow up/ sequel to this one . All I can say is read this one now.