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The Turning
A Voyage into Horror
-intended for mature audiences-
Years ago Brandon Frye was bitten, cursed to transform into a primal killing machine under the light of the full moon... until he met Celine, who introduced him to experimental pills meant to suppress the turning.
Now, after a terrible tragedy has taken Celine's life, Brandon boards a cruise ship bound for Alaska, intending to venture into the cold white north and never return.
But when Brandon meets Ginny, he gains a second chance at love. Nevertheless, circumstances align against a storm is building, a hunter is on his trail, and the pills that are meant to prevent the turning...
Are about to trigger it.
"A suspenseful, breathlessly paced, gory and sexy new spin on the werewolf tale. Horror fans are in for a bloody treat!" -- Jeff Strand, author of WOLF HUNT and PRESSURE.
* This book contains graphic language, sex and violence*
-intended for mature audiences-
Years ago Brandon Frye was bitten, cursed to transform into a primal killing machine under the light of the full moon... until he met Celine, who introduced him to experimental pills meant to suppress the turning.
Now, after a terrible tragedy has taken Celine's life, Brandon boards a cruise ship bound for Alaska, intending to venture into the cold white north and never return.
But when Brandon meets Ginny, he gains a second chance at love. Nevertheless, circumstances align against a storm is building, a hunter is on his trail, and the pills that are meant to prevent the turning...
Are about to trigger it.
"A suspenseful, breathlessly paced, gory and sexy new spin on the werewolf tale. Horror fans are in for a bloody treat!" -- Jeff Strand, author of WOLF HUNT and PRESSURE.
* This book contains graphic language, sex and violence*
- GenresHorrorWerewolvesFiction
439 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 2, 2016
50 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
About the author
Micky Neilson
63 books59 followersMicky Neilson is a two-time New York Times best-selling author whose graphic novels, Ashbringer (#2 on the list) and Pearl of Pandaria (#3) have both been published in six languages. As one of the first writers at Blizzard Entertainment, he has more than two decades of experience in the cutting edge of the gaming industry. He has self-published three horror novels in his original series The Turning, on Amazon. In 2017 Micky was tapped to write The Howling: Revenge Of The Werewolf Queen, a comic book continuation of the beloved 1981 Joe Dante horror film The Howling. In 2018 Micky completed his first original sci-fi novel, Ridgerunners, and co-wrote the graphic novel The Invisible Empire: Madge Oberholtzer And The Unmasking Of The KKK, as well as the illustrated novel Strange Highways. Most recently Micky wrote the bestselling book The Art Of Spyro: Reignited Trilogy and completed his sci-fi trilogy Skiptracer. Micky lives in beautiful Washington State with his wife and daughter where he enjoys life's essentials: movies, comic books, chocolate and sushi.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 19, 2018
Exciting!
What a really good book! The story starts out nice and easy, then it builds and builds and never
let's up with the action and suspense. A little romance, a cruise ship, a relentless killer and of course
a werewolf. The author covered all his bases and never left you with unanswered questions. All the characters had depth and personality that made you care about them. A few times I was teary eyed which doesn't
happen very often in horror books. The writer really takes you on a great ride at sea and many exciting elements with the coast guard as well. Their are many conversations and actions taking place at one time
yet you are never confused even though there are so many characters within this story. Micky Neilson really
knows how to write a well developed and executed horror story! This book should have a warning for
sensitive readers, there is very graphic violence, sex, foul language and racial slurs where some readers may
be offended yet the actions are realistic and belong to the characters and do not represent the author's own
behavior. I really enjoyed this book and didn't want it to end. I certainly will be reading more books from this
author. Highly recommend!!!!!
What a really good book! The story starts out nice and easy, then it builds and builds and never
let's up with the action and suspense. A little romance, a cruise ship, a relentless killer and of course
a werewolf. The author covered all his bases and never left you with unanswered questions. All the characters had depth and personality that made you care about them. A few times I was teary eyed which doesn't
happen very often in horror books. The writer really takes you on a great ride at sea and many exciting elements with the coast guard as well. Their are many conversations and actions taking place at one time
yet you are never confused even though there are so many characters within this story. Micky Neilson really
knows how to write a well developed and executed horror story! This book should have a warning for
sensitive readers, there is very graphic violence, sex, foul language and racial slurs where some readers may
be offended yet the actions are realistic and belong to the characters and do not represent the author's own
behavior. I really enjoyed this book and didn't want it to end. I certainly will be reading more books from this
author. Highly recommend!!!!!
August 15, 2016
Horror on the High Seas . . .
Not for the faint of heart; The Turning is a fast-paced thrill-ride that easily earns its "Warning:" for graphic language, sex and violence. Book your cruise today.
Not for the faint of heart; The Turning is a fast-paced thrill-ride that easily earns its "Warning:" for graphic language, sex and violence. Book your cruise today.
October 12, 2016
The Turning is a well written suspenseful book that reminded me of a mixture between Frankenstein movie with Robert Deniro and the movie Van Helsing. There was a mixture of love, horror and suspense. Well done!
February 23, 2017
From romance to horror
Too mix these two genres together so well must have been difficult. I'm glad to say that the author succeeded in doing so.
Too mix these two genres together so well must have been difficult. I'm glad to say that the author succeeded in doing so.
August 9, 2017
4.5 stars (rounded up).
A werewolf trying to get away from society ends up on a cruise ship with a sudden romance and another who has been tracking him...
So this was a page turner, especially once the action really got started. I definitely didn't want to stop reading it and finding out what was going on. Yep, lots of hot and heavy werewolf action, with plenty of gore and attention to detail.
I enjoyed the attention that the author gave to both the characters, their motivations, and the scenery in general, with one exception. I think that one particular characterization seemed a little over-the-top and heavy handed in its (in my opinion) unnecessary grotesqueness. Perhaps it's a bit silly to complain in a novel in which heads are chopped off on a regular basis, but that's what took out a half-star for me.
It jumped around between characters a little bit much at times, especially toward the later parts of the book, although for the most part it was justified. A good read overall, and recommended for werewolf horror lovers.
A werewolf trying to get away from society ends up on a cruise ship with a sudden romance and another who has been tracking him...
So this was a page turner, especially once the action really got started. I definitely didn't want to stop reading it and finding out what was going on. Yep, lots of hot and heavy werewolf action, with plenty of gore and attention to detail.
I enjoyed the attention that the author gave to both the characters, their motivations, and the scenery in general, with one exception. I think that one particular characterization seemed a little over-the-top and heavy handed in its (in my opinion) unnecessary grotesqueness. Perhaps it's a bit silly to complain in a novel in which heads are chopped off on a regular basis, but that's what took out a half-star for me.
It jumped around between characters a little bit much at times, especially toward the later parts of the book, although for the most part it was justified. A good read overall, and recommended for werewolf horror lovers.
May 14, 2017
Old fashioned tortured soul/werewolf story, loved it! The writing was fantastic and I'm anxious to read the second book. Would highly recommend to any fans of werewolf fiction (not the love/romance type but the old gory slasher kind)
August 29, 2016
The werewolf is one of the most tragic monsters in literary history. Their condition is a curse, a constant struggle to deal with and suppress their primitive nature. Once the moon turns man to beast, his hunger is voracious, his lust is insatiable, and his violence is brutal. As humans, acting upon these urges has been generally frowned upon and sometimes shunned in societies both past and present. But we are wild creatures; always have been. We’ve hunted and gathered, we’ve been fruitful and multiplied, and clawed our way to the top tier of the food chain to ensure the survival and thriving of our species. Unfortunately, we’ve tamed ourselves in the past few centuries. The domestication of man has come at a cost: the suppression of our wildness. The werewolf represents our most basic instincts: consume, copulate, kill. Wolf lore has portrayed this beast as representing society’s struggle with our animal nature, and our attempts (and failures) to hide what we really are.
The Turning, by Micky Neilson, is a howling homage to the awesome werewolf lore we all grew up on. Neilson assumes that you’re already familiar with the old-school rules (the cursed is at the mercy of the moon, has superhuman strength when turned, can be killed by silver bullets, etc.) and goes a step further by adding new twists, like an anaphylactic-like reaction to colloidal silver. The story follows Brandon Frye as he deals with his curse after being bitten. Brandon does what most would do, once bitten: tries to avoid hurting others, by any means necessary. For him, this means going off the grid, closing himself off, and taking pills to suppress his more primal symptoms. In his quest of self-isolation, he boards a cruise ship to Alaska, where he meets the tame and sensible Ginny. Ginny is a passive player in her life and rarely listens to her gut, until she takes a chance on the handsome, masculine stranger with a mysterious past. Their romance is sudden, passionate, and sexy as hell. Neilson does not shy away from sexual themes, and is not afraid to explore the concept of sexuality as a repressed primal impulse through Ginny and Brandon’s relationship. Their graphic trysts are sure to cause a few raised eyebrows and earmarked pages for readers.
I gotta be real, I re-read the juicy parts a few times. Don’t judge me.
As Brandon and Ginny enjoy each others company on the high seas, a hunter is in pursuit. Brandon is the target of a different kind of predator, who is part of something big; something foreboding. Despite being a mortal human, this predator is a formidable foe for our lycanthropic protagonist. Alexander stalks his prey methodically, enjoying the thrill of the hunt. Unlike Brandon, Alexander is conscious of his primal “needs”, and revels in satisfying his impulses, to the point of getting deep,depraved gratification from slowly extracting life from others.
I want to take a minute to talk about how much I loved this villain. Alexander made me squirm at his sadism, and cry out whenever anyone crossed his path. One of the scenes that stood out for me was when Alexander was having drinks with a woman whom he was using for information about his prey. He never referred to her as a woman, or even human. He called her, “the cow”, “the pachyderm”, animal terms befitting the subhuman she was, in his eyes. The author put some serious work into this character (as he did with all characters in this story, even the minor ones), and it shows. He serves as a revolting antithesis to Brandon, and I really, really wanted to see him get his just desserts. This guy was a real piece of work.
I can’t say much more about the plot without spoiling things for the reader, but I will say that the climax was action-packed, and the ending made me gasp, “Dude, NO WAY!”
The only negative comment I have isn’t really all that negative; the book ended too soon. I need more. Fingers crossed for a series!
TL;DR: If you are a fan of the old-school werewolf movies like An American Werewolf in London or Silver Bullet, or if you just need a solid supernatural page-turner that’ll make you laugh out loud and hit you with some serious feels, I’d highly recommend that you pick up this book on Amazon. Snuggle in on the night of the next full moon, and enjoy the ride…
The Turning, by Micky Neilson, is a howling homage to the awesome werewolf lore we all grew up on. Neilson assumes that you’re already familiar with the old-school rules (the cursed is at the mercy of the moon, has superhuman strength when turned, can be killed by silver bullets, etc.) and goes a step further by adding new twists, like an anaphylactic-like reaction to colloidal silver. The story follows Brandon Frye as he deals with his curse after being bitten. Brandon does what most would do, once bitten: tries to avoid hurting others, by any means necessary. For him, this means going off the grid, closing himself off, and taking pills to suppress his more primal symptoms. In his quest of self-isolation, he boards a cruise ship to Alaska, where he meets the tame and sensible Ginny. Ginny is a passive player in her life and rarely listens to her gut, until she takes a chance on the handsome, masculine stranger with a mysterious past. Their romance is sudden, passionate, and sexy as hell. Neilson does not shy away from sexual themes, and is not afraid to explore the concept of sexuality as a repressed primal impulse through Ginny and Brandon’s relationship. Their graphic trysts are sure to cause a few raised eyebrows and earmarked pages for readers.
I gotta be real, I re-read the juicy parts a few times. Don’t judge me.
As Brandon and Ginny enjoy each others company on the high seas, a hunter is in pursuit. Brandon is the target of a different kind of predator, who is part of something big; something foreboding. Despite being a mortal human, this predator is a formidable foe for our lycanthropic protagonist. Alexander stalks his prey methodically, enjoying the thrill of the hunt. Unlike Brandon, Alexander is conscious of his primal “needs”, and revels in satisfying his impulses, to the point of getting deep,depraved gratification from slowly extracting life from others.
I want to take a minute to talk about how much I loved this villain. Alexander made me squirm at his sadism, and cry out whenever anyone crossed his path. One of the scenes that stood out for me was when Alexander was having drinks with a woman whom he was using for information about his prey. He never referred to her as a woman, or even human. He called her, “the cow”, “the pachyderm”, animal terms befitting the subhuman she was, in his eyes. The author put some serious work into this character (as he did with all characters in this story, even the minor ones), and it shows. He serves as a revolting antithesis to Brandon, and I really, really wanted to see him get his just desserts. This guy was a real piece of work.
I can’t say much more about the plot without spoiling things for the reader, but I will say that the climax was action-packed, and the ending made me gasp, “Dude, NO WAY!”
The only negative comment I have isn’t really all that negative; the book ended too soon. I need more. Fingers crossed for a series!
TL;DR: If you are a fan of the old-school werewolf movies like An American Werewolf in London or Silver Bullet, or if you just need a solid supernatural page-turner that’ll make you laugh out loud and hit you with some serious feels, I’d highly recommend that you pick up this book on Amazon. Snuggle in on the night of the next full moon, and enjoy the ride…
July 24, 2021
This was great! I'd started reading it at the end of 2016, then had my heart broken (again? Sheesh) in 2017 and didn't feel like reading about our protagonist's tragically lost love and newfound love, which you know has also got to end badly. Love and lycanthropy rarely mix well. So I finally picked up where I left off, the werewolf hunter scoping out our hero on the ship, which is where the book really took off for me. The second half of the book is tense, exciting, and bloody, has good switching perspectives among our werewolf buddy, Ginny (our other hero), the ship security team members, a few tourists, the creepy werewolf hunter, the captain, some Coast Guard crew, all to great effect. I really liked the perspective swapping, a clever way to convey personalities and info without feeling forced or like info dumps, avoiding the traps of expository writing.
I also really appreciated the multicultural representation among the ship's crew. I don't know, maybe that's common on cruise ships (never been on one), but it stood out to me as unique, but not in a self-conscious way. It's simply the ship's crew and security team. It's also nice that Ginny, the main female character (and star of the third book in the series, apparently), isn't a Megan Fox type model, but a real woman person. Great action, good characters and backstory and suspense; this would make a great movie, with the right script adaptation and director.
I also really appreciated the multicultural representation among the ship's crew. I don't know, maybe that's common on cruise ships (never been on one), but it stood out to me as unique, but not in a self-conscious way. It's simply the ship's crew and security team. It's also nice that Ginny, the main female character (and star of the third book in the series, apparently), isn't a Megan Fox type model, but a real woman person. Great action, good characters and backstory and suspense; this would make a great movie, with the right script adaptation and director.
September 6, 2016
~I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review~
So, I’m not a real big fan of werewolf tales after the whole Twilight epidemic, but I loved this story! The Turning focuses more on the elements of “real” werewolf lore, things seen in the classic werewolf movies that I used to enjoy a few years back.
The story focuses on Brandon after he’s bitten and passed the dreaded werewolf curse. He takes pills to help suppress the worst of his urges, but when he boards a cruise to Alaska, he finds out how tough it is to keep those urges in check. He meets a girl named Ginny and they hit if off really well (werewolf erotica anyone?).
Systematically, Brandon is being hunted by a torturous type of hunter. He doesn’t just want his targets to die…he wants them to suffer. There’s so much action in this story, right away in the prologue and all the way to the end of the book. Plus, all the characters are very complex.
Read this book to have your faith restored in werewolves, or if you want a good chill on Halloween!
So, I’m not a real big fan of werewolf tales after the whole Twilight epidemic, but I loved this story! The Turning focuses more on the elements of “real” werewolf lore, things seen in the classic werewolf movies that I used to enjoy a few years back.
The story focuses on Brandon after he’s bitten and passed the dreaded werewolf curse. He takes pills to help suppress the worst of his urges, but when he boards a cruise to Alaska, he finds out how tough it is to keep those urges in check. He meets a girl named Ginny and they hit if off really well (werewolf erotica anyone?).
Systematically, Brandon is being hunted by a torturous type of hunter. He doesn’t just want his targets to die…he wants them to suffer. There’s so much action in this story, right away in the prologue and all the way to the end of the book. Plus, all the characters are very complex.
Read this book to have your faith restored in werewolves, or if you want a good chill on Halloween!
September 22, 2016
The Turning…a cruise ship, a werewolf, and an evil villain. The very idea is beyond intriguing. First, the cover (because we do judge a book by its cover) captures the essence of the novel. The story is chocked full of action, romance of the steamy/dirty sort, and lots and lots of blood. While this isn’t the genre I’d normally pick up, it was still a good read. Overall, I’d give it four and a half stars.
~I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review~
~I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review~
August 13, 2016
Delicious! Suspenseful, horrific, and graphic. I may have to read this again at Halloween.
December 27, 2016
very good
A surprisingly good story. looking forward to reading the prequel. A little different twist on the werewolf story. well done
A surprisingly good story. looking forward to reading the prequel. A little different twist on the werewolf story. well done
May 13, 2019
Micky Neilson provides a fresh and tense take on the werewolf genre in The Turning. After being infected with the werewolf virus, Brandon is lost. A lady named Celine gives him a path back to wholeness but subsequently passes away. Devastated, Brandon boards a cruise ship intending to never return. What he finds instead is new love, a dangerous hunter, and a deadly plot. Neilson’s writing is actiony, moody, and perfectly descriptive bringing the great character of Brandon to life. This one’s perfect for anyone who loves werewolves or cruises (and especially both together)!
July 22, 2018
Thoughtfully written
The amount of detail and description involved is what kept me turning the pages and seeing in my mind easily what was described. Maybe too much in a few scenes haha, but certainly not for the faint of heart as the image could be rather gory. But those leaning in this genre I would totally recommend
The amount of detail and description involved is what kept me turning the pages and seeing in my mind easily what was described. Maybe too much in a few scenes haha, but certainly not for the faint of heart as the image could be rather gory. But those leaning in this genre I would totally recommend
March 19, 2019
4 Stars
In 1976 Brandon is attacked by creature that turns out to be a werewolf. 36 years later he is planning on going to Alaska and disappearing. But a werewolf hunter is out to kill him. Pretty good book can be considered a stand alone although there is a sequel, which I think I will read.
In 1976 Brandon is attacked by creature that turns out to be a werewolf. 36 years later he is planning on going to Alaska and disappearing. But a werewolf hunter is out to kill him. Pretty good book can be considered a stand alone although there is a sequel, which I think I will read.
November 16, 2018
I actually was rereading this book.
I forgot I had already read it but it sounded good.
It really is a good story and I won't provide spoilers.
I know there is a prequel but am hoping a sequel is either out or being written!
I forgot I had already read it but it sounded good.
It really is a good story and I won't provide spoilers.
I know there is a prequel but am hoping a sequel is either out or being written!
June 30, 2019
Great Werewolf Story!
I enjoyed every moment of this story! I loved that the writer added a love story to the mix! A must read for werewolf fans!
I enjoyed every moment of this story! I loved that the writer added a love story to the mix! A must read for werewolf fans!
September 1, 2016
When I heard about the premise for this novel (werewolf on a cruise ship), I was hooked. The book itself didn't disappoint. The writing is engaging, the characters are fleshed out and dynamic, and the pacing is spot on. Even if you're not into horror stories, I highly recommend this book. It has some surprising depth in terms of world building (which I won't go into for spoiler reasons) as well as one of the best villains I've read in quite some time.
Read
February 5, 2018DNF.
I like the premise but it just wasn't working for me.
I like the premise but it just wasn't working for me.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews