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The Wolf Gift: The Graphic Novel
When reporter Reuben Golding arrives at a secluded mansion at the request of the home's mysterious female owner, he doesn't expect this assignment will lead to him being inexplicably attacked-bitten-by a beast shadowed in darkness. This single event prompts a terrifying but seductive transformation that both opens Reuben's eyes to what was previously unseen and unknown, and leads to even more questions. Why was he given this wolf gift? Is its nature good or evil? And is he now all alone in this mysterious new world?
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 18, 2014
14 people are currently reading
1324 people want to read
About the author
Ashley Marie Witter
55 books44 followersAshley Marie Witter was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. She graduated from Madison Area Technical College with a degree in Animation and Conceptual Development. She now lives in Chicagoland working as a professional artist/illustrator.
She has worked on Interview with the Vampire: Claudia's Story, The Wolf Gift: The Graphic Novel, Twilight: The Graphic Novel Vol.2 (inking assistant), New Moon: The Graphic Novel Vol. 1 (inking assistant), Gothology: The Eternal Sad, Gothology: Misery Loves Company, Bloodthirsty: One Nation Under Water, Scorch (webcomic), and Squarriors.
She has worked on Interview with the Vampire: Claudia's Story, The Wolf Gift: The Graphic Novel, Twilight: The Graphic Novel Vol.2 (inking assistant), New Moon: The Graphic Novel Vol. 1 (inking assistant), Gothology: The Eternal Sad, Gothology: Misery Loves Company, Bloodthirsty: One Nation Under Water, Scorch (webcomic), and Squarriors.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
March 7, 2015
Love Anne Rice, but this was not good. The Wolf Gift was boring nonsense and I did not like it at all (and this is coming from someone who typically loves werewolf stories!). There are huge plot holes that could have been solved by a simple phone call, the ending makes NO SENSE and the illustrator's faux manga style makes all the werewolves look more like The Cowardly Lion than big, scary monsters. Seriously, the little blond kid looked like a sheep. This book sucked. Or rather, this adaptation sucked because I can just tell from reading this that despite this graphic novel being EXTREMELY text heavy for a visual medium there was a lot of stuff left out.
It was impossible for me to make sense of it all. The beginning was slow and boring but the ending has all of this random stuff related to the 'mystery' part of the plot dumped on us. For what? Dramatic effect? More than half of the characters in the conclusion are BRAND NEW to the reader. New people show up and disappear all willy nilly and I did not care about any of them. I swear, she was going somewhere FUN with this story about a Batman-like vigilante werewolf and then she ruined it with the cliche 'mysterious missing man' story.
Skip this book. Why?
1. We could've had werewolf Batman and she ruined it!
2. ALL of the women looked alike, thus making it impossible to tell any of them apart.
3. There's ABSOLUTELY NO frame of reference in regards to time. Does this story take place over a couple weeks? Months? A year? I have no idea. The book doesn't even try to help you figure it out.
4. There's about 1,000 scenes of people sitting and talking. Seriously. It is deathly boring.
5. The leading man is a Mary Sue. 23 and drives a luxury car? Best reporter ever and you've only been on the job for 6 months? Most handsome man anyone's ever seen? Everybody loves him and misses him? He saves poor defenseless women and gay teens? Are you kidding me???
6. The leading man also cheats on his girlfriend, then breaks up with her via email like a true asshole.
7. He also kinda sorta looks like a woman (many of the men in this story look like women, just FYI), which ruins the 'most handsome man anyone's ever seen' part for me.
8. Then there's the random woman in the woods, totally down with bestiality who has no qualms about sexing up a random wolf man covered in fur and then moving in with him immediately afterwards to proclaim her undying fairy tale love for him. It was gross. She was trying SO HARD to make a Beauty and the Beast reference and it just fell flat.
It's all ridiculous. And terrible. Just plain terrible. Save your brain cells and do not read this book.
It was impossible for me to make sense of it all. The beginning was slow and boring but the ending has all of this random stuff related to the 'mystery' part of the plot dumped on us. For what? Dramatic effect? More than half of the characters in the conclusion are BRAND NEW to the reader. New people show up and disappear all willy nilly and I did not care about any of them. I swear, she was going somewhere FUN with this story about a Batman-like vigilante werewolf and then she ruined it with the cliche 'mysterious missing man' story.
Skip this book. Why?
1. We could've had werewolf Batman and she ruined it!
2. ALL of the women looked alike, thus making it impossible to tell any of them apart.
3. There's ABSOLUTELY NO frame of reference in regards to time. Does this story take place over a couple weeks? Months? A year? I have no idea. The book doesn't even try to help you figure it out.
4. There's about 1,000 scenes of people sitting and talking. Seriously. It is deathly boring.
5. The leading man is a Mary Sue. 23 and drives a luxury car? Best reporter ever and you've only been on the job for 6 months? Most handsome man anyone's ever seen? Everybody loves him and misses him? He saves poor defenseless women and gay teens? Are you kidding me???
6. The leading man also cheats on his girlfriend, then breaks up with her via email like a true asshole.
7. He also kinda sorta looks like a woman (many of the men in this story look like women, just FYI), which ruins the 'most handsome man anyone's ever seen' part for me.
8. Then there's the random woman in the woods, totally down with bestiality who has no qualms about sexing up a random wolf man covered in fur and then moving in with him immediately afterwards to proclaim her undying fairy tale love for him. It was gross. She was trying SO HARD to make a Beauty and the Beast reference and it just fell flat.
It's all ridiculous. And terrible. Just plain terrible. Save your brain cells and do not read this book.
August 21, 2016
I always loved Anne Rice's vampires, but I think she doesn't have quite the same talent to pull off werewolves. Sure, she was very original in her take and the backstory\origin (I actually like it a little more than that of the vampires) but other than that it was... eh? It had all the hallmarks of Anne Rice storytelling and characters (a definite bonus for me), with the beautiful, sexy male character, who, while aggressive and animalistic in his "animal side" has this almost saintly and martyr quality to him.
He reminds me of Louis a lot (I LOVE LOUIS! STOP JUDGING ME!) which is definitely a good thing, but the werewolf itself (wolves with human faces) kinda failed to appeal to me -- after being a long time Werewolf: the Apocalypse player, I am pretty much ruined for any kind of setting that involves werewolf. While Vampire: the Masquerade and Anne Rice Vampires were matched in terms of setting and world build (VtM ripped Anne Rice like whoa, but had some amazing bits), WtA wins this hands down.
To be honest, this might be just an adaptation issue, although it seemed concise and clear to me.
Finally, the art.
I loved the art. I wanted to make babies with the art. It is gorgeous, glorious and the only flaw I can find in it is that women do seem to have the same face. In characters that have the same hairstyle, it becomes almost impossible to distinguish them. Still. I don't care. I love this art. I love this artist and she stands alone for most of the grade.
He reminds me of Louis a lot (I LOVE LOUIS! STOP JUDGING ME!) which is definitely a good thing, but the werewolf itself (wolves with human faces) kinda failed to appeal to me -- after being a long time Werewolf: the Apocalypse player, I am pretty much ruined for any kind of setting that involves werewolf. While Vampire: the Masquerade and Anne Rice Vampires were matched in terms of setting and world build (VtM ripped Anne Rice like whoa, but had some amazing bits), WtA wins this hands down.
To be honest, this might be just an adaptation issue, although it seemed concise and clear to me.
Finally, the art.
I loved the art. I wanted to make babies with the art. It is gorgeous, glorious and the only flaw I can find in it is that women do seem to have the same face. In characters that have the same hairstyle, it becomes almost impossible to distinguish them. Still. I don't care. I love this art. I love this artist and she stands alone for most of the grade.
June 16, 2022
Une bonne transportation du roman vers le manga.
July 16, 2025
the Wolf Gift is granted and looked at as more of a blessing than curse. A refreshing take on the werewolf type myths and how this gifts can be used for good.
March 20, 2019
The art was fantastically beautiful, 8 out of 10. Only downsides were the sameface syndrome making it difficult to tell who was whom.
I have not read the original novel, so I'm taking the story at face value. The plot seemed rushed without much in terms of conflict. Besides the main character, I didn't get enough time to get attached to anyone else. Even the main character seemed to be flat. I understand this is based on Anne Rice's purple prose, but I've never heard a modern 23 year old man speak so poetically like the main character.
Comparing this to Witter's other Anne Rice adaptation, this was a flop. Claudia's story was helped by the beautiful 18th century details, making it more visuals-heavy and propping up the short nature of graphic novels. But this story didn't have the same beauty as the former, and by nature of not focusing on one character's plotline, it was spread thin.
I have not read the original novel, so I'm taking the story at face value. The plot seemed rushed without much in terms of conflict. Besides the main character, I didn't get enough time to get attached to anyone else. Even the main character seemed to be flat. I understand this is based on Anne Rice's purple prose, but I've never heard a modern 23 year old man speak so poetically like the main character.
Comparing this to Witter's other Anne Rice adaptation, this was a flop. Claudia's story was helped by the beautiful 18th century details, making it more visuals-heavy and propping up the short nature of graphic novels. But this story didn't have the same beauty as the former, and by nature of not focusing on one character's plotline, it was spread thin.
May 4, 2020
Here is an example of what gives the Graphic Novel media such a bad reputation. The dreadful manga style artwork detracted, rather than added to the imagery of what was one of this author's least best novels.
Poor story boarding and bad scene splits that would make any film or television post production editor cringe only added to the distraction, and fragmented the telling of the plot ever more.
This work felt like one of those poor knock-off or fake buys that scam buyers in on the internet; But the appalling story line of the original book would have taken a lot to rescue anyway.
The plot is loosely gothic supernatural horror, but it is more like a mixture of white advantage wish mentality lusting after wealth, power and luxurious affluence with a touch of soft porn; obviously arising from the author's early dabbling in that genre under a pseudonym.
While not being a great read, the original text did allow the readers' imagination save some vestige of readability. That is something this graphic novel version did not.
Poor story boarding and bad scene splits that would make any film or television post production editor cringe only added to the distraction, and fragmented the telling of the plot ever more.
This work felt like one of those poor knock-off or fake buys that scam buyers in on the internet; But the appalling story line of the original book would have taken a lot to rescue anyway.
The plot is loosely gothic supernatural horror, but it is more like a mixture of white advantage wish mentality lusting after wealth, power and luxurious affluence with a touch of soft porn; obviously arising from the author's early dabbling in that genre under a pseudonym.
While not being a great read, the original text did allow the readers' imagination save some vestige of readability. That is something this graphic novel version did not.
March 17, 2019
Initial: -Cover
- the art style is pretty
- I had the novel version, but I couldn't get through it so I thought I could try this version.
Pros: -I like the characters and their design.
-It gives off a superhero kind of vibe.
-I like all of the different genres and elements that are in the story.
-I liked the world it is modern, but it gives off this old and historical feel too.
Cons: -There were moments where the story starts and stops abruptly it hurts the flow of the story and it felt like something was missing.
-suspense and build-ups were kind of lacking.
-The romance wasn't believable it was very unnatural and very insta-love.
-This is a con for me because I normally don't go for these kinds of books, but there are some trigger warnings here for attempted rape. There is also a lot of blood and violence and it is a sexual book, not erotica, but still sexual.
- the art style is pretty
- I had the novel version, but I couldn't get through it so I thought I could try this version.
Pros: -I like the characters and their design.
-It gives off a superhero kind of vibe.
-I like all of the different genres and elements that are in the story.
-I liked the world it is modern, but it gives off this old and historical feel too.
Cons: -There were moments where the story starts and stops abruptly it hurts the flow of the story and it felt like something was missing.
-suspense and build-ups were kind of lacking.
-The romance wasn't believable it was very unnatural and very insta-love.
-This is a con for me because I normally don't go for these kinds of books, but there are some trigger warnings here for attempted rape. There is also a lot of blood and violence and it is a sexual book, not erotica, but still sexual.
November 2, 2017
This was more subtle, classy fantasy work (to me)--- which is common for Anne Rice. You don't get the bells and whistles in this graphic novel that was in the Vampire Chronicles series. However, here you'll get a much more sedated Anne Rice. Perhaps the actual lengthy novel is more vivid and action- filled.
I personally enjoyed it. Reading Anne Rice in graphic novel form was a treat. On the other hand, I can see a person becoming bored with this one, or not thinking it's worth the money. Critical readers beware. Other criticism could come from the graphics themselves--- it's completely in black and white, and there are no extraordinary graphics. So, meh. Your call. The storyline was very basic as well.
I personally enjoyed it. Reading Anne Rice in graphic novel form was a treat. On the other hand, I can see a person becoming bored with this one, or not thinking it's worth the money. Critical readers beware. Other criticism could come from the graphics themselves--- it's completely in black and white, and there are no extraordinary graphics. So, meh. Your call. The storyline was very basic as well.
July 21, 2019
I really like Ashley Marie Witter's art style. And she really should've rejected this project. As some other reviewers have pointed out, the book is very text heavy. Witter obviously clamored to get the mangled plot all into the 180 or what painted pages. It did not work. The characters are bland and boring. Witter's style is the only thing I cared for.
I don't care much for Anne Rice. I liked Witter's "Claudia's Story" adaption of Interview with a Vampire a lot. Here, I just can't see the point. Yen Press should've let Witter do slme great book, not this directionless werewolf story. From all I've read about the novel that was the source material for this, it's just as bad or worse than this comic book.
I don't care much for Anne Rice. I liked Witter's "Claudia's Story" adaption of Interview with a Vampire a lot. Here, I just can't see the point. Yen Press should've let Witter do slme great book, not this directionless werewolf story. From all I've read about the novel that was the source material for this, it's just as bad or worse than this comic book.
March 27, 2018
It's always hard to adapt a story that has been fleshed out in novel form to graphic novel. You know that the treatment will be different. And adapting it in manga style is all the more way off the mark for me.
Because of this condensed visual adaptation, it felt more of Ashley's work, rather than that of Anne's.
I suggest you still read the novel and let this be a companion piece instead of being the sole source material for all things Reuben Golding and his Morpinkinder brood.
Read the book then read this. Not the other way around.
Anne Rice Forever!!!!
Because of this condensed visual adaptation, it felt more of Ashley's work, rather than that of Anne's.
I suggest you still read the novel and let this be a companion piece instead of being the sole source material for all things Reuben Golding and his Morpinkinder brood.
Read the book then read this. Not the other way around.
Anne Rice Forever!!!!
June 26, 2017
I'm really enjoying the book on which this graphic novel is based. I stumbled upon Anne Rice years ago via a graphic novel, so was wondering how her material was being treated these days. I wasn't disappointed here. Very well realized. My only concern was perhaps they could have done with a little more detail. I do know you can only include so much. Overall, a pretty good graphic interpretation of pretty good book!
June 25, 2020
Having not read the original novel, I had a hard time staying focused on this book. So much of the plot felt disconnected, plus there were several typos that could have easily been fixed before printing. The art was too busy for me, with the text getting lost easily in all the details of the background. I feel I would have enjoyed the story more if I had just gone ahead and read the original book.
March 19, 2021
I loved the original novel from Anne Rice. The graphic novel is understandably fast paced. So you miss out on a lot of the backstory. But it was still very enjoyable. I agree with another reviewer that the faces are hard to distinguish between characters. Otherwise, the art was beautiful. It is still a great story and I do recommend it.
February 23, 2019
This is one of my favorite books by Anne Rice. I love the storyline ! Waiting for the second book to be written and brought out . How long will it be before we get to see more of the family of werewolves and the special way they live ?
June 28, 2021
this just wasn't for me. Didn't like the characters, there was no growth or depth. Wasn't a fan of the art, I found it hard to tell the difference between some of the characters and everyone was very feminine shaped. Maybe reading the novel I it I would have had a different opinion, but oh well.
March 20, 2022
Left wanting for more (in a good way)
Would love a sequel. Good use of LGBTQ characters.
I haven't read the novels so I am unsure there is more material which could be adapted this way. Love the art work!
Would love a sequel. Good use of LGBTQ characters.
I haven't read the novels so I am unsure there is more material which could be adapted this way. Love the art work!
May 17, 2018
Think it lost something in the translation to graphic novel. Just felt like I was missing part f the story
November 28, 2019
I felt like I was reading a graphic novel of the first Twilight's wolf gang story. Great for teens. I think I'll move on to something else.....
December 4, 2019
Love the detail it goes into
November 3, 2021
Terrible, just terrible.
August 26, 2022
wtf did i read
April 24, 2023
An interesting take on the werewolf mythos, with pretty art and gorgeous dialogue.
May 9, 2023
This should not have bored me to tears but it did.
October 12, 2016
3.5 stars. If I hadn't read the book, I would be confused. Surprisingly, there were a few typos right in the beginning of the book: "witten" instead of "written" for example. It needed better editing. Some characters looked too much alike, hard to differentiate between them. Otherwise, I enjoyed the story.
December 3, 2014
I really liked the artwork...it had a manga feel too it. Very clean and angular. The story is a little interesting if not a little...hmm... how to put it without spoilers. It's not very complex for the first three-quarters of the story. The main character started out broody and thinking, but quickly became a bland ubermensch. The age of his love interests stuck me as a little odd.. not because cougar-cub relationships don't happen but because their age is paired with a vapid sense of the present, or lack of sense of the future, or even self-preservation! The more complex part oof the story seems shoved in at the last minute. I wish she would have written THAT as a story, it seemed far more interesting. Rewrite the whole thing from their point of view. Anyway, I didn't believe it. Take that comment for what it's worth. I read a lot of supernatural fiction, but am new to supernatural graphic adaptions. Still, I'm very familiar with Rice's work and this simply misses a lot of purpose and character depth. I'm hoping it was simply lost in translation between novel and graphic adaption.
Some spoilers follow.
Some spoilers follow.
May 4, 2022
I read this graphic novel several years ago but realized I didnt put an actual text review.
I'm usually an Anne Rice fan but this one was not it for me. I first attempted to read the actual novel that this graphic novel is based on but it was increasingly draining to muddle through so I had to DNF it. When this graphic novel came out I thought this might be a more digestible format for me for this particular story but after reading it I realized it isnt about the format- the story just isnt very good.
I can't get behind the main character in literally any way. The decisions he makes, the way he acts, etc is all just bad to put it simply and there was no real plot structure beneath it all.
The art for this graphic novel is nice to look at for the most part, thats definitely not the issue here. The art is the only reason this got 3 stars instead of 1.5 or 2 honestly.
Also the weird in the woods is so outta pocket and random. IDK why that had to be included because it did literally nothing for the plot of the book in any way lol
I'm usually an Anne Rice fan but this one was not it for me. I first attempted to read the actual novel that this graphic novel is based on but it was increasingly draining to muddle through so I had to DNF it. When this graphic novel came out I thought this might be a more digestible format for me for this particular story but after reading it I realized it isnt about the format- the story just isnt very good.
I can't get behind the main character in literally any way. The decisions he makes, the way he acts, etc is all just bad to put it simply and there was no real plot structure beneath it all.
The art for this graphic novel is nice to look at for the most part, thats definitely not the issue here. The art is the only reason this got 3 stars instead of 1.5 or 2 honestly.
Also the weird in the woods is so outta pocket and random. IDK why that had to be included because it did literally nothing for the plot of the book in any way lol
June 24, 2015
I read this for my own personal reading challenge, this was #40 - A graphic novel.
I have a feeling I should have read the actual novel first, then I might have had a better sense of flow in the progression of the story. A couple things were shown in panels that I had no idea what was supposed to be happening/how it related to the current conversation. If it wasn't that, it was that it just moved too abruptly. Some of the sequences of events made absolutely no sense to me. I love The Vampire Chronicles, and I've read the graphic novel of Claudia's Story so when I saw this on the shelf I was excited to get it, and I don't regret buying it, but I wish I had read the actual book first before reading this.
I have a feeling I should have read the actual novel first, then I might have had a better sense of flow in the progression of the story. A couple things were shown in panels that I had no idea what was supposed to be happening/how it related to the current conversation. If it wasn't that, it was that it just moved too abruptly. Some of the sequences of events made absolutely no sense to me. I love The Vampire Chronicles, and I've read the graphic novel of Claudia's Story so when I saw this on the shelf I was excited to get it, and I don't regret buying it, but I wish I had read the actual book first before reading this.
December 20, 2014
thank you!! cannot wait to receive read and review, i will update my post once this is done. my first won graphic novel. i am still eagerly waiting to receive this book.
still no sign of this book in the mail :(
and i want to read it so very badly.... hopefully i will receive it before the holidays are over as i am really really looking forward to receiving this book and read it over the holidays. hope to get it by new years so i can pass it on to my family members who love the paranormal books just as much as i do.
still no sign of this book in the mail :(
and i want to read it so very badly.... hopefully i will receive it before the holidays are over as i am really really looking forward to receiving this book and read it over the holidays. hope to get it by new years so i can pass it on to my family members who love the paranormal books just as much as i do.
November 1, 2014
Ann Rice has not disappointed us with her new novel, The Wolf Gift. It is, as always, very well written and enthralling to read. I have always loved Ann Rice's vampires and now I love her werewolves even more. I highly recommend this book for all Ann Rice fans and werewolf readers.
Gaston Sanders, Author
Gaston Sanders, Author
November 15, 2025
I loved the story and I think it is a very good adaptation of the original story. However, some characters I imagined differently. And regarding the design of the werewolf transformation, in my opinion, due to the huge amount of fur present in the neck area and the short muzzle they are more like a lion than a wolf, and only have a true resemblance a wolf in very few scenes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews