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Kalix MacRinnalch #2
Curse of the Wolf Girl
Kalix, a morose, laudanum-addicted, unschooled, slightly anorexic werewolf is still on the run. The youngest daughter of the Thane of the MacRinnalch Clan of werewolves, held responsible unfairly for the death of the Thane, and justifiably responsible for the deaths of a great many other werewolves, remains prohibited from returning to Scotland in order to maintain the uneasy peace that temporarily prevails in court, despite the endemic debauchery and degeneracy always threatening to again spiral out of control. Frankly, things aren’t much better for her in London than in Scotland. The love of her life is in hiding and her enemies increase in number by the day. Strong as she is when enraged, it’s becoming ever more dangerous to be her. Daniel and Moonglow, her two human friends, do what they can to keep her hidden in plain sight (who would look for a werewolf in a remedial program for high school dropouts?) and keep her fed. Millar is a true world-creator, populating Curse of the Wolf Girl with a universe of characters: fashion-designing werewolves, cross-dressing werewolves, and neurotic, psychotic, and erotic werewolves, as well as fairies, Fire Elementals, and good ole humans — whipping them in faster and faster revolutions with his thrilling, vertiginous rollercoaster narrative.
384 pages, Paperback
First published July 29, 2010
36 people are currently reading
937 people want to read
About the author
Martin Millar
50 books513 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
October 3, 2010
This book is awesome and reviewing it will only butcher the masterpiece.
*sigh*
Don't read it and go buy the book instead :)
In this story, the werewolf Kalix MacRinnalch is settling down in Daniel and Moonglow's flat in London in a relatively safe situation. Though half of the werewolf Council wants her dead, her family protects her and hides her from them. Vex, the young Fire Elemental, is also settling down in Daniel and Moonglow's attic, and both of the girls go to remedial college to learn how to read and write and try to blend in. Which proves to be much mush harder than it seemed...
Thrix (the werewolf sorceress, Kalix's sister and incidentally fashion designer) and Malveria (Fire Elemental, Aunt to Vex and Queen of the Hiyastas) are still deeply passionate about fashion, more than anything else. They are still hated by the vile Princess Kabachetka who wants to be the most fashionable and heir to the throne of the Hainustas. A lot of serious and less serious drama ensues...
I feel all of a sudden very blessed not to care about fashion...
Dominil, the white-haired wolf, is back in London to help Beauty and Delicious, the blue and pink-haired wolves, become rock stars (with integrity) helping them rehearse and finding gigs - all this with Pete the guitarist falling in love with her and one of her old College acquaintance wanting to kill her.
Decembrius, after being a follower of Sarapen, is finding himself unwilling to go back to Castle MacRinnalch and is wandering in London to find Kalix. Eventually, he isn't looking to kill her.
I want to profess my love for the character of Vex. She is the most hilarious person ever (though, technically, she is a Fire Elemental) and you are in for quite a laugh whenever she is around. This girl is a jinx for all those around but she has some serious style. I loved the interaction between Kalix and Decembrius, and I can't wait for a third book to read more about them!!
I absolutely love this book and I am putting it among my favourite books of all time. Really. I am loving all the strong female characters, the incredible plot and the werewolf/fire elementals mythology. The book takes all the awesomeness from Lonely Werewolf Girl and mixes it with additional greatness. It is pure pleasure!
If you are not blown away by the world depicted brilliantly by Martin Millar, you will be entranced by his characters, all thoroughly original, his fantastic story-telling skills and his sensational sense of humour which breaks through every line.
If you are still not interested by the book, I'm afraid nothing can be done for you anymore.
That I loved this book doesn't even cover it. Curse of the Wolf Girl, with Lonely Werewolf Girl, goes beyond this. It is one of my book soulmates, if there is such a thing, with everything I love in a book, plus all the things I secretly like but would never admit and all those I never knew I liked.
Anyways, I'm not sure if I managed to show how much I really liked this book... *grin*
Seriously people, read it, it is made of awesome!
*sigh*
Don't read it and go buy the book instead :)
In this story, the werewolf Kalix MacRinnalch is settling down in Daniel and Moonglow's flat in London in a relatively safe situation. Though half of the werewolf Council wants her dead, her family protects her and hides her from them. Vex, the young Fire Elemental, is also settling down in Daniel and Moonglow's attic, and both of the girls go to remedial college to learn how to read and write and try to blend in. Which proves to be much mush harder than it seemed...
Thrix (the werewolf sorceress, Kalix's sister and incidentally fashion designer) and Malveria (Fire Elemental, Aunt to Vex and Queen of the Hiyastas) are still deeply passionate about fashion, more than anything else. They are still hated by the vile Princess Kabachetka who wants to be the most fashionable and heir to the throne of the Hainustas. A lot of serious and less serious drama ensues...
I feel all of a sudden very blessed not to care about fashion...
Dominil, the white-haired wolf, is back in London to help Beauty and Delicious, the blue and pink-haired wolves, become rock stars (with integrity) helping them rehearse and finding gigs - all this with Pete the guitarist falling in love with her and one of her old College acquaintance wanting to kill her.
Decembrius, after being a follower of Sarapen, is finding himself unwilling to go back to Castle MacRinnalch and is wandering in London to find Kalix. Eventually, he isn't looking to kill her.
I want to profess my love for the character of Vex. She is the most hilarious person ever (though, technically, she is a Fire Elemental) and you are in for quite a laugh whenever she is around. This girl is a jinx for all those around but she has some serious style. I loved the interaction between Kalix and Decembrius, and I can't wait for a third book to read more about them!!
I absolutely love this book and I am putting it among my favourite books of all time. Really. I am loving all the strong female characters, the incredible plot and the werewolf/fire elementals mythology. The book takes all the awesomeness from Lonely Werewolf Girl and mixes it with additional greatness. It is pure pleasure!
If you are not blown away by the world depicted brilliantly by Martin Millar, you will be entranced by his characters, all thoroughly original, his fantastic story-telling skills and his sensational sense of humour which breaks through every line.
If you are still not interested by the book, I'm afraid nothing can be done for you anymore.
That I loved this book doesn't even cover it. Curse of the Wolf Girl, with Lonely Werewolf Girl, goes beyond this. It is one of my book soulmates, if there is such a thing, with everything I love in a book, plus all the things I secretly like but would never admit and all those I never knew I liked.
Anyways, I'm not sure if I managed to show how much I really liked this book... *grin*
Seriously people, read it, it is made of awesome!
May 17, 2013
I shouldn't have bothered. Why do I read this crap?
I moderately enjoyed the first novel in this series but with so many great books to read, why do I settle for moderation? I suppose the cover art hooked me. It is quite seductive. I suppose I had hopes the writing would improve from Book 1 to Book 2. Unfortunately, it got worse. I suppose I thought the characters might have a little more depth in Book 2. They were even more shallow. I suppose I thought it would be "fun" because the first was somewhat fun. Sadly, Book 2 was rather painful. But when you come down to it, what sucked me into this is our human addiction to story. Or as might be commonly called "plot." What Joseph Campbell would call "myth." Shallow characters (as in, written without depth as opposed to written as shallow people) are not, apparently, a detriment to the popularity of significant swathes of mainstream literature nor postmodern fiction for that matter, which often eschews conventions of character development. If events occur that build toward a climax then there is a natural tendency for us to want to know "what happens next." Hollywood knows this well. Keep the plot moving. Even with bad actors, all you need is special affects and forward momentum to keep an audience riveted.
So I was seduced by plot. Wondering what would happen to these cardboard characters. With this postmodern twist: the experience was closer to wondering what the author would do with the characters than what would happen to the characters. The characters in Curse of the Werewolf Girl were puppets with a checklist of personality attributes. I should say a shortlist of attributes. Nothing complex here, just a couple characteristics and that'll do, pig, that’ll do.*
Just as in the first novel in the series, several female leads are utterly obsessed with fashion. And beyond that, their interest only extends to romance and social standing. The main character, Kalix, is a 17 year-old werewolf laudanum addict and former runaway rooming with a couple college kids whose elaborate personalities consist of the responsible "Mom" and the sad sack goth. Kalix is just plain goddamn annoying. An utterly whiny bitch. She is written as a rather empty-headed angry mopey violent teen (with a rough childhood). She perpetuates stupid angry banter with boys and her friends. I wonder if her being a werewolf is supposed to make up for her lack of depth? It's a rather inappropriate contradiction in the genre of the book that it features a drug addicted “hero,” much ripping of bodies, and yet Kalix is written with the attitude of the most juvenile YA novel. As if every teen were nothing more sophisticated than an angry stupid mopey ball of hormones. As if a teen worth writing about is one who is nothing more than an angry stupid mopey ball of hormones. She was supremely irritating and by the end I wanted her to get killed. Too bad she's the main character.
Of all the weak elements of this book, the one that bothered me the most was Millar's scenic level descriptions. They were so frequently awkward that it felt as though Millar had outlined what he wanted to happen in each scene...and then couldn't be bother to flesh them out. Character A strikes Character B who drops into the top right pocket so that Character C could get angry at Character A, blah-blah-blah. Several scenes that brought together large number of characters for comedic or dramatic purposes seemed to have been developed via Venn Diagrams. Hmmhh, what justification could I come up with to move this character to this location and this character here and this character here to make a larger circle of characters that I can throw darts at.
Dialogue was...for the most part acceptable.
Further paper cuts:
• Overly frequent descriptions of characters' appearances. How many times do we need to read about the long flowing hair of the various female werewolves?
• The text was crammed into 360 pages with small margins, small text and tight kerning where spaces often dropped out between sentences. I can only imagine this was done to save on costs in order to drop the page count down below a certain number.
• Although it was supposed to be hilarious, I managed only two smiles out of the whole book. A violent Douglas Adams he ain't.
In summation: No good. Don't bother. Why did I?
*See Babe: The Gallant Pig. Do see it.
I moderately enjoyed the first novel in this series but with so many great books to read, why do I settle for moderation? I suppose the cover art hooked me. It is quite seductive. I suppose I had hopes the writing would improve from Book 1 to Book 2. Unfortunately, it got worse. I suppose I thought the characters might have a little more depth in Book 2. They were even more shallow. I suppose I thought it would be "fun" because the first was somewhat fun. Sadly, Book 2 was rather painful. But when you come down to it, what sucked me into this is our human addiction to story. Or as might be commonly called "plot." What Joseph Campbell would call "myth." Shallow characters (as in, written without depth as opposed to written as shallow people) are not, apparently, a detriment to the popularity of significant swathes of mainstream literature nor postmodern fiction for that matter, which often eschews conventions of character development. If events occur that build toward a climax then there is a natural tendency for us to want to know "what happens next." Hollywood knows this well. Keep the plot moving. Even with bad actors, all you need is special affects and forward momentum to keep an audience riveted.
So I was seduced by plot. Wondering what would happen to these cardboard characters. With this postmodern twist: the experience was closer to wondering what the author would do with the characters than what would happen to the characters. The characters in Curse of the Werewolf Girl were puppets with a checklist of personality attributes. I should say a shortlist of attributes. Nothing complex here, just a couple characteristics and that'll do, pig, that’ll do.*
Just as in the first novel in the series, several female leads are utterly obsessed with fashion. And beyond that, their interest only extends to romance and social standing. The main character, Kalix, is a 17 year-old werewolf laudanum addict and former runaway rooming with a couple college kids whose elaborate personalities consist of the responsible "Mom" and the sad sack goth. Kalix is just plain goddamn annoying. An utterly whiny bitch. She is written as a rather empty-headed angry mopey violent teen (with a rough childhood). She perpetuates stupid angry banter with boys and her friends. I wonder if her being a werewolf is supposed to make up for her lack of depth? It's a rather inappropriate contradiction in the genre of the book that it features a drug addicted “hero,” much ripping of bodies, and yet Kalix is written with the attitude of the most juvenile YA novel. As if every teen were nothing more sophisticated than an angry stupid mopey ball of hormones. As if a teen worth writing about is one who is nothing more than an angry stupid mopey ball of hormones. She was supremely irritating and by the end I wanted her to get killed. Too bad she's the main character.
Of all the weak elements of this book, the one that bothered me the most was Millar's scenic level descriptions. They were so frequently awkward that it felt as though Millar had outlined what he wanted to happen in each scene...and then couldn't be bother to flesh them out. Character A strikes Character B who drops into the top right pocket so that Character C could get angry at Character A, blah-blah-blah. Several scenes that brought together large number of characters for comedic or dramatic purposes seemed to have been developed via Venn Diagrams. Hmmhh, what justification could I come up with to move this character to this location and this character here and this character here to make a larger circle of characters that I can throw darts at.
Dialogue was...for the most part acceptable.
Further paper cuts:
• Overly frequent descriptions of characters' appearances. How many times do we need to read about the long flowing hair of the various female werewolves?
• The text was crammed into 360 pages with small margins, small text and tight kerning where spaces often dropped out between sentences. I can only imagine this was done to save on costs in order to drop the page count down below a certain number.
• Although it was supposed to be hilarious, I managed only two smiles out of the whole book. A violent Douglas Adams he ain't.
In summation: No good. Don't bother. Why did I?
*See Babe: The Gallant Pig. Do see it.
May 5, 2010
[Review of an advance review copy.:]
I was introduced to Martin Millar two years ago when Neil Gaiman recommended Lonely Werewolf Girl to his fans. LWF was a revelation to me. Here was a book that was whimsical, violent, sad, funny and completely insane and off-kilter, and yet it was also one of the most readable books I'd picked up in a long time. I loved it with my whole being.
The sequel is more of the same, mostly in the best sense: Millar's characters, their relationships and their dialogue are just as idiosyncratic and absurd as ever, and the plot careens all over the UK and across two separate dimensions, yet each of the characters is allowed to be real: to feel real emotions—love, hate, passion for fashion, greed, anxiety, depression and happiness—to confront real situations, and to feel real doubts. Millar is at his strongest when writing about people confronting their fears, regrets and weaknesses, and he certainly does not shy away from this here. Don't worry, though—I spent far more time during CotWG laughing than crying, and I promise you will, too.
The question now becomes: when is Millar's next werewolf book coming out???
I was introduced to Martin Millar two years ago when Neil Gaiman recommended Lonely Werewolf Girl to his fans. LWF was a revelation to me. Here was a book that was whimsical, violent, sad, funny and completely insane and off-kilter, and yet it was also one of the most readable books I'd picked up in a long time. I loved it with my whole being.
The sequel is more of the same, mostly in the best sense: Millar's characters, their relationships and their dialogue are just as idiosyncratic and absurd as ever, and the plot careens all over the UK and across two separate dimensions, yet each of the characters is allowed to be real: to feel real emotions—love, hate, passion for fashion, greed, anxiety, depression and happiness—to confront real situations, and to feel real doubts. Millar is at his strongest when writing about people confronting their fears, regrets and weaknesses, and he certainly does not shy away from this here. Don't worry, though—I spent far more time during CotWG laughing than crying, and I promise you will, too.
The question now becomes: when is Millar's next werewolf book coming out???
November 30, 2010
Two words - Sheer Genius!
If you haven’t read ‘Lonely Werewolf Girl’, do yourself a favour and go out and get it! Especially if you like dry humour (think of something like “My Family” on BBC) and you enjoy the supernatural (Werewolves, Fairies, Fire Elementals...).
Martin Millar is an amazing writer, who not only knows how to create an entire world filled with all kinds of characters that you would never have imagined, but he has the wittiest dialog I have ever come across in a story. The world he has created in “Lonely Were Wolf Girl” and “Curse of the Wolf Girl” is satire at its finest!
It had me in complete hysterics from beginning to end. I’d often find myself thinking, “This is utterly ridiculous!” but that is what the story is, it is RIDICULOUS, in the absolute best way imaginable!
The tale follows the depressed young werewolf girl, Kalix, as she tries to get her life in order. She has been banned from the Scotland and is now living with her two human friends, Moonglow and Daniel, and one young Fire Elemental, Agrivex. These four characters alone are an interesting mix. But when you bring in the Fire Queen, Thrix the Enchantress, Dominil, the white-haired werewolf, Beautix and Delix, the twin werewolf musicians, and Markus, the cross-dressing Thane, you can really only imagine what kind of craziness will ensue!
It is absolutely BRILLIANT!
If you haven’t read ‘Lonely Werewolf Girl’, do yourself a favour and go out and get it! Especially if you like dry humour (think of something like “My Family” on BBC) and you enjoy the supernatural (Werewolves, Fairies, Fire Elementals...).
Martin Millar is an amazing writer, who not only knows how to create an entire world filled with all kinds of characters that you would never have imagined, but he has the wittiest dialog I have ever come across in a story. The world he has created in “Lonely Were Wolf Girl” and “Curse of the Wolf Girl” is satire at its finest!
It had me in complete hysterics from beginning to end. I’d often find myself thinking, “This is utterly ridiculous!” but that is what the story is, it is RIDICULOUS, in the absolute best way imaginable!
The tale follows the depressed young werewolf girl, Kalix, as she tries to get her life in order. She has been banned from the Scotland and is now living with her two human friends, Moonglow and Daniel, and one young Fire Elemental, Agrivex. These four characters alone are an interesting mix. But when you bring in the Fire Queen, Thrix the Enchantress, Dominil, the white-haired werewolf, Beautix and Delix, the twin werewolf musicians, and Markus, the cross-dressing Thane, you can really only imagine what kind of craziness will ensue!
It is absolutely BRILLIANT!
August 27, 2025
Svanito l'effetto sorpresa del primo volume, questo secondo tomo delle avventure delle ragazze lupo risulta un po' meno brillante.
Abbiamo sempre questo potente clan di disadattati, che si sublima nella "filiale londinese" composta dall'Incantatrice (divisa tra problemi di cuore e l'imminente fallimento della propria casa di moda), dall'altera Dominil (che non si capisce perché ma è rimasta a fare da manager alle gemelle, rovinandosi la vita), le gemelle Beauty e Delicious (fatte, strafatte e in crisi costante), Decembrius (cui frega una cippa del Consiglio, dopo la morte del lupo su cui aveva puntato è rimasto lontano dal castello, principalmente perché innamorato di Kalix) e ovviamente Kalix (anoressica, drogata, preda di attacchi di panico, ma sicurissima e assetata di sangue e violenza quando diventa il lupo mannaro più forte di tutto il Regno Unito). Solo che alla lunga anche i disadattati annoiano, specie se non si vedono margini di crescita.
Cioè, alla fine le uniche a mostrare una qualche crescita, e comunque solo nel finale, sono Kalix e Vex (la straripante ragazzina della dimensione del fuoco, quasi nipote adottiva della regina Malveria).
Abbiamo di nuovo i complotti della principessa per sconfiggere Malveria (anche se si capisce da lontano quanto stia succedendo), l'unica novità è data dai tentativi di Kalix di fare l'investigatrice e dai cugini cacciatori che si intrecciano con le vite delle lupe.
Pensavo sarebbe evoluta diversamente la loro trama.
Mah, ho provato un po' di stanchezza per le ennesime gag sulla moda e sull'importanza di una borsetta o di un paio di scarpe, oltre agli sbadigli ogni volta che Kalix torna alle vecchie abitudini resettando i progressi fatti.
Abbiamo sempre questo potente clan di disadattati, che si sublima nella "filiale londinese" composta dall'Incantatrice (divisa tra problemi di cuore e l'imminente fallimento della propria casa di moda), dall'altera Dominil (che non si capisce perché ma è rimasta a fare da manager alle gemelle, rovinandosi la vita), le gemelle Beauty e Delicious (fatte, strafatte e in crisi costante), Decembrius (cui frega una cippa del Consiglio, dopo la morte del lupo su cui aveva puntato è rimasto lontano dal castello, principalmente perché innamorato di Kalix) e ovviamente Kalix (anoressica, drogata, preda di attacchi di panico, ma sicurissima e assetata di sangue e violenza quando diventa il lupo mannaro più forte di tutto il Regno Unito). Solo che alla lunga anche i disadattati annoiano, specie se non si vedono margini di crescita.
Cioè, alla fine le uniche a mostrare una qualche crescita, e comunque solo nel finale, sono Kalix e Vex (la straripante ragazzina della dimensione del fuoco, quasi nipote adottiva della regina Malveria).
Abbiamo di nuovo i complotti della principessa per sconfiggere Malveria (anche se si capisce da lontano quanto stia succedendo), l'unica novità è data dai tentativi di Kalix di fare l'investigatrice e dai cugini cacciatori che si intrecciano con le vite delle lupe.
Pensavo sarebbe evoluta diversamente la loro trama.
Mah, ho provato un po' di stanchezza per le ennesime gag sulla moda e sull'importanza di una borsetta o di un paio di scarpe, oltre agli sbadigli ogni volta che Kalix torna alle vecchie abitudini resettando i progressi fatti.
July 6, 2024
Maybe a bit overlong and too fashion-focused, but still a very funny follow-up to Lonely Werewolf Girl. I relate to Kalix MacRinnalch a lot. I think these books would make a great television series. There's even a cross-dressing werewolf in it, so it would be trendy.
July 8, 2017
I managed 58 pages. And I only got that far through a desperate, but ultimately deluded, hope that it would get better.
In those pages, I read:
* 1 skimmed-over fight scene. This is literally the only action; the rest is just talking.
* 1 man throwing a tizzy fit because a woman was being 'unreasonable' in not wanting to be his girlfriend.
* 5 flashbacks to the exact same backstory.
* 4 separate instances of fat shaming, one of which went on for half a page.
* 1 woman trying to start a fight with a different species, in a different dimension, so she could be the best dressed.
* So many instances of telling rather than showing, I'm actually not sure numbers go that high.
*6 entirely one-dimensional female characters, with only one personality trait each.
I hate not finishing a book, but I just can't inflict this upon myself any more. I'm so glad I borrowed this from a library rather than spending any money on it.
In those pages, I read:
* 1 skimmed-over fight scene. This is literally the only action; the rest is just talking.
* 1 man throwing a tizzy fit because a woman was being 'unreasonable' in not wanting to be his girlfriend.
* 5 flashbacks to the exact same backstory.
* 4 separate instances of fat shaming, one of which went on for half a page.
* 1 woman trying to start a fight with a different species, in a different dimension, so she could be the best dressed.
* So many instances of telling rather than showing, I'm actually not sure numbers go that high.
*6 entirely one-dimensional female characters, with only one personality trait each.
I hate not finishing a book, but I just can't inflict this upon myself any more. I'm so glad I borrowed this from a library rather than spending any money on it.
May 20, 2011
This is the book that gave me the most enjoyment this year.
It seems to be in a genre of its own: violent and whimsical, fantistical and grounded in reality, funny and soaked in sadness.
This is the second volume in the Kalix series and it is even better than the first. What more can you ask of a sequel?
It seems to me the title refers not just to Kalix but to all the femal werewolves. They are all cursed in one way or another.
This is a book bursting with memorable characters and with a plot that makes you want to keep turning the pages (which is just as well -it's a big book)
At the heart of this book is a deep understanding of dysfunctional families and the bonds and enemnities they harbour and a belief in the power of freely given friendship.
My personal favourite in this book is Vex, the fire elemental. At first she seems to be the airhead incarnate but it becomes clear that her optimism is a choice not a habit and that she is loyal and brave as well as being completely off the wall.
Kalix remains self-abusive and damaged but she is portrayed with an empathy and compassion that beats anything I've seen in mainstream fiction.
Do yourself a favour: buy this book and then buy a copy for your best friend - you'll need someone to talk to when you've finished this who will know what it is that you're so excited about.
It seems to be in a genre of its own: violent and whimsical, fantistical and grounded in reality, funny and soaked in sadness.
This is the second volume in the Kalix series and it is even better than the first. What more can you ask of a sequel?
It seems to me the title refers not just to Kalix but to all the femal werewolves. They are all cursed in one way or another.
This is a book bursting with memorable characters and with a plot that makes you want to keep turning the pages (which is just as well -it's a big book)
At the heart of this book is a deep understanding of dysfunctional families and the bonds and enemnities they harbour and a belief in the power of freely given friendship.
My personal favourite in this book is Vex, the fire elemental. At first she seems to be the airhead incarnate but it becomes clear that her optimism is a choice not a habit and that she is loyal and brave as well as being completely off the wall.
Kalix remains self-abusive and damaged but she is portrayed with an empathy and compassion that beats anything I've seen in mainstream fiction.
Do yourself a favour: buy this book and then buy a copy for your best friend - you'll need someone to talk to when you've finished this who will know what it is that you're so excited about.
September 19, 2010
This was absolutely terrific! Better even than
, which was in turn better than
. More fun than almost anything I've read this year. An inspiration to fantasy writers everywhere - originality galore and the perfected art of making the implausible seem anything but.
, which was in turn better than
. More fun than almost anything I've read this year. An inspiration to fantasy writers everywhere - originality galore and the perfected art of making the implausible seem anything but. 
April 23, 2014
This is really a 3.5, but I couldn't bear to give it a 3!
I was really excited to revist the wonderful imaginative and sometimes slightly silly world of Martin Millar. His books always have a slapdash and childlike feel to them, which form a wonderful juxtaposition to the violence, sex, alcohol and drug abuse and cynicism surrounding most of his characters.
The Wolf Girl books have a great range of characters, all both completely flawed and oblivious to their flaws in their own ways. I love them all, especially Malveria the Fire Queen, with her self obessession with fashion - the story developed for her in this novel is one of my favourtites to date.
The only unfortunate thing I've found so far with this series is the main character Kalix. In a way it is great that she is so different from the many strong energies surrounding her, but I find her character a little too much to handle at times. Kalix is a mess and seems that she always will be, but I find myself getting repeatedly angry that she doesn't sort herself out and is such a moaning depressant most of the time. These books are quite large and I tend to fly through them, apart from when I hit the chapters directly involving Kalix. Then I almost feel that I've lost the energy myself to deal with wading through her constant termoil of emotions.
Depsite this, I am very excited that there are still more morsals of Wolf Girl to get my teeth into and I thoroughly look forward to finding out if, one day, Kalix might cheer up. I may just have a valium on hand when reading the next installment :)
I was really excited to revist the wonderful imaginative and sometimes slightly silly world of Martin Millar. His books always have a slapdash and childlike feel to them, which form a wonderful juxtaposition to the violence, sex, alcohol and drug abuse and cynicism surrounding most of his characters.
The Wolf Girl books have a great range of characters, all both completely flawed and oblivious to their flaws in their own ways. I love them all, especially Malveria the Fire Queen, with her self obessession with fashion - the story developed for her in this novel is one of my favourtites to date.
The only unfortunate thing I've found so far with this series is the main character Kalix. In a way it is great that she is so different from the many strong energies surrounding her, but I find her character a little too much to handle at times. Kalix is a mess and seems that she always will be, but I find myself getting repeatedly angry that she doesn't sort herself out and is such a moaning depressant most of the time. These books are quite large and I tend to fly through them, apart from when I hit the chapters directly involving Kalix. Then I almost feel that I've lost the energy myself to deal with wading through her constant termoil of emotions.
Depsite this, I am very excited that there are still more morsals of Wolf Girl to get my teeth into and I thoroughly look forward to finding out if, one day, Kalix might cheer up. I may just have a valium on hand when reading the next installment :)
August 4, 2014
The first book in the series was amazing, and is one of the most refreshing books I've read in a long time. This second installment continued the series with it's quirky and loveable characters, intricately woven and over-the-top story-lines and wonderful dry and silly humour. Again, I loved it. The thing that has made me mark it down from 5 stars, is that there was quite a lot of repetition, especially in the first half of the book. This is understandable and is largely because the relationships between characters are so complicated after the mad happenings of The Lonely Wolf Girl, that Martin Millar needed to recap on events so that the characters can be understood by new readers. Unfortunately, for someone who remembered the first one well enough, it did slow the pace down a bit. However, the story really got rocking in the second half and it got back to Millar at his best. Recommended!
November 5, 2011
This story is like nothing else I've read before, and the way is written....I just don't know.... it's so unusual. But that's what makes it special!
This isn't the ordinary story of a girl who is different, alone and wants to change, well it kind of is, but please do not have any expectations 'cause this isn't the obvious story with a typical ending.
I really liked the kind of awkward way in which the story is written.
No obvious happy ending, no eternal love stories, no perfect match, no evil-will-always-perish plot.
There's a pinch of comedy and this pessimistic feeling always surrounding some of the characters, but in the end you are left with the feeling of wanting to know more about them all.
I give it 5 stars for its exceptional atypical way.
This isn't the ordinary story of a girl who is different, alone and wants to change, well it kind of is, but please do not have any expectations 'cause this isn't the obvious story with a typical ending.
I really liked the kind of awkward way in which the story is written.
No obvious happy ending, no eternal love stories, no perfect match, no evil-will-always-perish plot.
There's a pinch of comedy and this pessimistic feeling always surrounding some of the characters, but in the end you are left with the feeling of wanting to know more about them all.
I give it 5 stars for its exceptional atypical way.
October 17, 2010
A terrific book, but not nearly as brilliant as Lonely Werewolf Girl. Still I haven't read anything that Martin Millar wrote that wasn't great.
Lonely Werewolf Girl had a very satisfying ending, so there was no need for a sequel. That being said, I really enjoyed seeing what happened everyone.
The one thing I missed from the first book were the many references to The Runaways. Perhaps the buzz around the movie made Mr. Millar remove them.
Lonely Werewolf Girl had a very satisfying ending, so there was no need for a sequel. That being said, I really enjoyed seeing what happened everyone.
The one thing I missed from the first book were the many references to The Runaways. Perhaps the buzz around the movie made Mr. Millar remove them.
June 19, 2015
Dunque, avete presente il meme che gira ogni tanto in cui si deve fare un elenco di quei libri che _dovevamo assolutamente avere subito_ e poi sono rimasti sui nostri scaffali per anni? Ecco, Vex e Kalix per me è stato esattamente quel genere di libro, ma finalmente l'ho letto e non potrei essere più soddisfatta.
http://robertabookshelf.blogspot.it/2...
http://robertabookshelf.blogspot.it/2...
January 5, 2011
I love this and the first book unreasonably. I will hear no criticisms nor notice any failures in the text myself. You have been warned. Do not attempt to criticise this novel in my presence.
August 13, 2010
I learned NOTHING from this book, and that's good. I did enjoy it quite a bit.
July 4, 2020
Problemi di personalità!
Ammazza che lettura! Non so se queste 666 pagine, numero veramente diabolico, siano valse o meno la faticaccia che ci è voluta per concluderlo. Il difetto maggiore di questo libro è la lunghezza; se non fosse stato per questo tutto sarebbe andato bene. In così tante pagine avvengono veramente tante e troppe cose.
Pensavo nemmeno di leggerlo questo libro ma tanto vale, vista la possibilità avuta, di farlo fuori e trarne le apposite considerazioni. Millar ha a suo favore una grande fantasia, talmente rocambolesca che ti lascia basita dinanzi alla miriade di situazioni impervie in cui lascia imbestialire i nostri cari licantropi. Lo ammetto, alla fin fine la lettura è valsa la minima pena che ne è comportata.
Kalix e Vex, protagoniste del libro ma non indiscusse, si trovano a far fronte a molte difficoltà, dalle più banali come quelle scolastiche e relazionali, a quelle di vita e di morte. Vex dopo una grande sfarfallaggine pubblica rimane sempre la solita sciocchina, ma dimostra l'affidabilità che il potere concede a chi ne deve portare il peso. Kalix invece, dopo un primo miglioramento, subisce un grosso collasso difronte al quale, ma anche senza il quale, occorrerebbe una seduta o un ciclo completo dallo psichiatra. Ci vorrebbe una seduta per tutto il clan di licantropi o la sola famiglia MacRinnalch, ma nessuno ci vuole pensare ed io sono solo una semplice umana lettrice, quindi li lascio alle loro vite.
Daniel e Moonglow non vanno da nessuna parte, e se il primo è sempre e solo un buon personaggio con la sfiga di vivere con tre psicopatiche, la seconda è un conflitto vivente da esteriore ed interiore, ma contenta lei...
Il resto dei personaggi meriterebbe altrettanti commenti, ma visto che l'arduo compito di leggere il libro è stato compiuto lascio la palla a chi ancora deve decidere.
Alla fine chiudi il libro con il sorriso sulle labbra, una grande fatica, ma una piacevole consapevolezza di aver lasciato i nostri personaggi con qualcosa in più e non in meno su cifre fronte per il futuro. Non è l'eccellenza ma la comica esperienza di alcune situazioni non fa rimpiangere l'evoluzione dei fatti, a parte la drastica riuscita del romanticismo a cui Millar non sembra voglia dare alcuna speranza positiva. Povera Thrix, mi sarebbe piaciuto un risvolto diverso per lei.
Ammazza che lettura! Non so se queste 666 pagine, numero veramente diabolico, siano valse o meno la faticaccia che ci è voluta per concluderlo. Il difetto maggiore di questo libro è la lunghezza; se non fosse stato per questo tutto sarebbe andato bene. In così tante pagine avvengono veramente tante e troppe cose.
Pensavo nemmeno di leggerlo questo libro ma tanto vale, vista la possibilità avuta, di farlo fuori e trarne le apposite considerazioni. Millar ha a suo favore una grande fantasia, talmente rocambolesca che ti lascia basita dinanzi alla miriade di situazioni impervie in cui lascia imbestialire i nostri cari licantropi. Lo ammetto, alla fin fine la lettura è valsa la minima pena che ne è comportata.
Kalix e Vex, protagoniste del libro ma non indiscusse, si trovano a far fronte a molte difficoltà, dalle più banali come quelle scolastiche e relazionali, a quelle di vita e di morte. Vex dopo una grande sfarfallaggine pubblica rimane sempre la solita sciocchina, ma dimostra l'affidabilità che il potere concede a chi ne deve portare il peso. Kalix invece, dopo un primo miglioramento, subisce un grosso collasso difronte al quale, ma anche senza il quale, occorrerebbe una seduta o un ciclo completo dallo psichiatra. Ci vorrebbe una seduta per tutto il clan di licantropi o la sola famiglia MacRinnalch, ma nessuno ci vuole pensare ed io sono solo una semplice umana lettrice, quindi li lascio alle loro vite.
Daniel e Moonglow non vanno da nessuna parte, e se il primo è sempre e solo un buon personaggio con la sfiga di vivere con tre psicopatiche, la seconda è un conflitto vivente da esteriore ed interiore, ma contenta lei...
Il resto dei personaggi meriterebbe altrettanti commenti, ma visto che l'arduo compito di leggere il libro è stato compiuto lascio la palla a chi ancora deve decidere.
Alla fine chiudi il libro con il sorriso sulle labbra, una grande fatica, ma una piacevole consapevolezza di aver lasciato i nostri personaggi con qualcosa in più e non in meno su cifre fronte per il futuro. Non è l'eccellenza ma la comica esperienza di alcune situazioni non fa rimpiangere l'evoluzione dei fatti, a parte la drastica riuscita del romanticismo a cui Millar non sembra voglia dare alcuna speranza positiva. Povera Thrix, mi sarebbe piaciuto un risvolto diverso per lei.
March 28, 2018
Da ich das erste Buch gelesen habe, wollte ich natürlich wissen, wie es weiter geht.
Ein paar mal war ich verleitet dazu das Buch nicht zu beenden.
Kalix ist eine interessante Hauptfigur, doch leider widerspricht sich der Autor in seiner Beschreibung von (wenn man das Beschreibung nennen kann). Im ersten Buch hießt es noch Kalix sei zwar ungebildet, aber sehr intelligent. In diesem Buch war von ihrer angeblichen Intelligenz keine Spur mehr zu finden.
Was im ersten Buch noch interessant war, wurde hier nur noch in die länge gezogen und endlos breit getreten. Ja ihre Schwester entwirft Kleidung, ja sie und die Feuerkönigin sind absolut vernarrt und besessen von mode. Während die Tränenausbrüche im ersten Buch noch lustig waren, wurden sie in diesem einfach nur noch dumm. Wie bitte ist diese Frau an die Macht gekommen, wenn sie so blind von Mode ist, dass sie sich nicht einmal wundert, dass sie die Aura Ihrer Beraterin nicht lesen kann?
Was mich am meisten störte waren die ständigen Wiederholungen und das breittreten der Rassen- oder Gruppenzugehörigkeit. "die Zauberin", "die weißhaarige Werwölfin", "die junge Werwölfin", etc. Warum muss denn die hälfte der Story des ersten Buches wiederholt werden? Besonders warum muss das alle paar Kapitel geschehen? Warum muss denn alle paar Seiten wiederholt werden, das Kalix lange Haare hat (als wäre das ihr einziges Merkmal), warum wird ständig erklärt, das Moonglow schwarze Kleidung trägt? Reicht es denn nicht, die Figur einmal zu beschreiben!?
Jeh mehr ich las, desto mehr hatte ich das Gefühl, das Buch sei für Menschen mit Demenz oder extrem schlechtem Gedächtnis geschrieben.
Fazit:
Das erste Buch war noch moderat akzeptabel. Für dieses kann ich keine Empfehlung aussprechen. Letztlich wurde das Konzept, bzw die Grundstruktur des ersten Buches lediglich kopiert und das geseschen etwas abgeändert.
Ein paar mal war ich verleitet dazu das Buch nicht zu beenden.
Kalix ist eine interessante Hauptfigur, doch leider widerspricht sich der Autor in seiner Beschreibung von (wenn man das Beschreibung nennen kann). Im ersten Buch hießt es noch Kalix sei zwar ungebildet, aber sehr intelligent. In diesem Buch war von ihrer angeblichen Intelligenz keine Spur mehr zu finden.
Was im ersten Buch noch interessant war, wurde hier nur noch in die länge gezogen und endlos breit getreten. Ja ihre Schwester entwirft Kleidung, ja sie und die Feuerkönigin sind absolut vernarrt und besessen von mode. Während die Tränenausbrüche im ersten Buch noch lustig waren, wurden sie in diesem einfach nur noch dumm. Wie bitte ist diese Frau an die Macht gekommen, wenn sie so blind von Mode ist, dass sie sich nicht einmal wundert, dass sie die Aura Ihrer Beraterin nicht lesen kann?
Was mich am meisten störte waren die ständigen Wiederholungen und das breittreten der Rassen- oder Gruppenzugehörigkeit. "die Zauberin", "die weißhaarige Werwölfin", "die junge Werwölfin", etc. Warum muss denn die hälfte der Story des ersten Buches wiederholt werden? Besonders warum muss das alle paar Kapitel geschehen? Warum muss denn alle paar Seiten wiederholt werden, das Kalix lange Haare hat (als wäre das ihr einziges Merkmal), warum wird ständig erklärt, das Moonglow schwarze Kleidung trägt? Reicht es denn nicht, die Figur einmal zu beschreiben!?
Jeh mehr ich las, desto mehr hatte ich das Gefühl, das Buch sei für Menschen mit Demenz oder extrem schlechtem Gedächtnis geschrieben.
Fazit:
Das erste Buch war noch moderat akzeptabel. Für dieses kann ich keine Empfehlung aussprechen. Letztlich wurde das Konzept, bzw die Grundstruktur des ersten Buches lediglich kopiert und das geseschen etwas abgeändert.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2021
Vex e Kalix è il sequel del libro Ragazze lupo uscito sempre per la Fazi qualche anno fa. Io ho letto questo libro senza aver letto il precedente ma nonostante ciò, sono riuscita tranquillamente a seguire la storia (grazie soprattutto ai continui richiami al libro precedente).
Se pensate che questo sia l'ennesimo urban fantasy per adolescenti tutto amore e romanticismo, vi sbagliate di grosso. A cominciare dalla protagonista femminile, Kalix, un'adolescente lupo mannaro, ricchissima, selvaggia, bellissima nonostante sia quasi anoressica, sciatta e dipendente dal laudano. Caratterialmente é egoista, egocentrica, menefreghista e tutti pensano sia una pazza (e a giudicare da certi suoi comportamenti non c'è da meravigliarsi). Insomma, non é proprio una gran simpaticona.
La narrazione é in terza persona ed il punto di vista si sposta continuamente tra i vari personaggi presenti nel romanzo (e credetemi non sono pochi) ma nonostante questo si legge agevolmente.
La trama è originale e coinvolgente peccato che in alcun passaggi perde un po' di ritmo (il fatto che l'autore continui a sottolineare l'aspetto di alcuni personaggi non aiuta) ma resta davvero una lettura appassionante e naturalmente non mancano elementi che fanno pensare ad un sequel.
Il lato romantico é quasi inesistente ma il divertimento é assicurato grazie alla presenza di Vex, le sue stelle d'oro e sua zia Malveria.
Giusta dose di ironia e combattimenti, colpi di scena inaspettati, personaggi particolari, misteri da scoprire, avventura e creature soprannaturali sono gli elementi che vi spingeranno a leggere questo libro.
Se pensate che questo sia l'ennesimo urban fantasy per adolescenti tutto amore e romanticismo, vi sbagliate di grosso. A cominciare dalla protagonista femminile, Kalix, un'adolescente lupo mannaro, ricchissima, selvaggia, bellissima nonostante sia quasi anoressica, sciatta e dipendente dal laudano. Caratterialmente é egoista, egocentrica, menefreghista e tutti pensano sia una pazza (e a giudicare da certi suoi comportamenti non c'è da meravigliarsi). Insomma, non é proprio una gran simpaticona.
La narrazione é in terza persona ed il punto di vista si sposta continuamente tra i vari personaggi presenti nel romanzo (e credetemi non sono pochi) ma nonostante questo si legge agevolmente.
La trama è originale e coinvolgente peccato che in alcun passaggi perde un po' di ritmo (il fatto che l'autore continui a sottolineare l'aspetto di alcuni personaggi non aiuta) ma resta davvero una lettura appassionante e naturalmente non mancano elementi che fanno pensare ad un sequel.
Il lato romantico é quasi inesistente ma il divertimento é assicurato grazie alla presenza di Vex, le sue stelle d'oro e sua zia Malveria.
Giusta dose di ironia e combattimenti, colpi di scena inaspettati, personaggi particolari, misteri da scoprire, avventura e creature soprannaturali sono gli elementi che vi spingeranno a leggere questo libro.
April 9, 2023
Veramente deludente. Lo stile di scrittura è molto diverso dal primo libro e la cosa non è attribuibile alla traduttrice perchè è la stessa donna, affiancata da un altra persona. Le caratteristiche dei personaggi non sono trattate in maniera adeguata, persino la protagonista non è trattata con la dovuta attenzione perchè, nonostante il narratore precisi più volte le limitate capacità linguistiche di Kalix, i suoi dialoghi tradiscono questa sua caratteristica. Sicuramente è un libro per adolescenti, non è una lettura impegnativa ed è forse questo che non mi è piaciuto. Questo volume è uscito due anni dopo il primo (il l'ho letto quest'anno, quindi tre anni dopo il primo) e forse, maturando, mi rendo conto di alcuni difetti che, se presenti nel primo libro, mi erano passati inosservati. Una lettura leggera, incentrata sulle azioni e con poco spazio a riflessioni e pensieri dei personaggi. Non vedo in questi libri una serie di successo, forse per i temi banali talvolta trattati e per quelli impegnativi come la droga, poco approfonditi oppure per il semplice fatto che è solo una delle tante storie per adolescenti che vengono pubblicate ogni anno.
January 11, 2019
This was not as good as the first one, The Lonely Werewolf Girl. But who could resist an urban fantasy about Scottish werewolves and the troubled adolescent outcast who has run away to London where she's being cared for by two soft-hearted college students? Not me. Also I liked the added plot elements of a guild of wolf hunters, mostly Eastern European, and the fashion-obsessed Fire Elementals who may or may not be closely related to fairies, the punk werewolf band called Yum Yum Sugary Snacks, and opera. So I'm probably doomed to read the next one too. Sometimes I just wind up taking up residence in a fantasy world and living there part time till the series is over. Life as a book addict is like that.
February 9, 2017
The first book was good as it was written mostly from the perspective of Kalix and college kids, so the relative lack of maturity made sense. However, this book is written from many perspectives and I feel like all the characters kinda blended together, and none of them showed any maturity or responsibility. I just couldn't get into it though I definitely tried
January 20, 2025
This is now the third book I've read by this author, and the third time I finished it by not being sure if I really liked it. What's weird is, I will probably read more by him. The books are high on whimsey, long on word count and ridiculous on amount of chapters.
dnf
September 17, 2019I tried. And it's nothing against this book in particular, but I just can't do werewolf books.
May 2, 2020
Molta azione poca psicologia dei personaggi
March 4, 2021
Werewolves, fairies, fashion and politics. 2nd book to follow one I didn't read. Decent, but a bit long, and sometimes the characters acted stupid.
May 5, 2021
its fucking hilarious but also kind of sad and very thought provoking. the dialogue is amazing and the characters are so unique.
August 2, 2022
Absolutely love these books, next one is ordered
October 23, 2022
What joy to read the second Kalix book! It continues with her life, her friends and her madcap family, making me wish it would go on and on!
July 16, 2024
I love all of Martin Millar's books but especially his Kalix series. Would love to see them made into films some day.
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