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Nightwolf
“It started with a miracle. It was a useless miracle, but it still counted as a jaw-dropper, a total malfunction of reason and time… I can burn my own bushes, so I have no patience for miracles.”
Introducing the inimitable Milo Byers, a seventeen-year-old dropout whose brother is missing and mother has given up on life. In Lexington, Kentucky, Milo spends his nights being a bar bouncer and boosting cars while searching for his brother, who he suspects is a mysterious figure named “Nightwolf.” Nightwolf stalks the streets, tagging local businesses, while wearing a trash-bag over his head with eyeholes cut out,and making nonsensical threats to local news outlets. Caught between rival heavies Thomas the Prophet and Egan Hopper, Milo must choose what he stands for and the type of adult he wants to be.
In Willie Davis’s gritty, but affectionate portrayal of the new South, around every dark and harrowing corner, there is a tender and redemptive path forward.
Introducing the inimitable Milo Byers, a seventeen-year-old dropout whose brother is missing and mother has given up on life. In Lexington, Kentucky, Milo spends his nights being a bar bouncer and boosting cars while searching for his brother, who he suspects is a mysterious figure named “Nightwolf.” Nightwolf stalks the streets, tagging local businesses, while wearing a trash-bag over his head with eyeholes cut out,and making nonsensical threats to local news outlets. Caught between rival heavies Thomas the Prophet and Egan Hopper, Milo must choose what he stands for and the type of adult he wants to be.
In Willie Davis’s gritty, but affectionate portrayal of the new South, around every dark and harrowing corner, there is a tender and redemptive path forward.
- GenresFiction
286 pages, Paperback
Published July 31, 2018
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June 1, 2018I'm currently working with Willie as his publicist and we'd love to get a copy of this book into the hands a serious reviewers. Reach out if you think you'd like to take a peek and share some words about it!
July 26, 2018
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
In the first three paragraphs, our narrator, Milo Byers sets the stage and the tone for what is to follow -- a killer introductory section that is irreverent (at best, cynical, jaded, and -- simultaneously -- honestly optimistic.
We are then thrown into a giant mess surrounding the culture of runaways and poor teens in Lexington, KY. Dropouts, petty criminals, not-so-petty criminals with aspirations of greater crimes, drug dealers, addicts, users, the mentally ill, the ignored, the abused, and their friends create an interesting cultural web for Milo and his associates to move in. At this time, I'm not sure Milo actually has any friends (at least not to his knowledge), but he is constantly surrounded by people.
Milo's not technically a runaway -- he goes home to his mother frequently, but his mother's dealing with dementia and other problems, so Milo's practically orphaned. He had (has?) an older brother who left home a few years before, and no one's heard from him since. Theoretically, that's why Milo spends time with some of the criminal class -- they knew his brother, and he's sure that he'll get a clue if he just hangs around enough.
Also running around the city is Nightwolf. He's a graffiti artist who dabbles in vigilantism (and not wholly successfully) -- a folk hero of sorts. For reasons I'll let Milo explain, he's got a theory that Nightwolf is his brother. Now he just needs to meet him to unmask him, hopefully finding his brother -- and everything will make sense for him. Despite the book's title, Nightwolf is a relatively minor character -- but his presence (or lack thereof) hovers over just about everything we see Milo do.
Now, all this time -- I don't like Milo. He's not got a lot going for him as a character, he's a weasel, he lies to himself and everyone else in his life constantly (and frequently without reason) -- it's not that he's a criminal, there's at least something defining the character then. I just didn't care about him, or about what happened to him. Honestly, he's the best of the bunch -- among this cast of characters he's the most sympathetic, the most reliable, and the most tolerable. Frankly, I spent a lot of time wondering just what the point of this book was -- I didn't dislike the book, just everyone in it and just about everything they did.
(Small spoiler) Now, at 60% there's a pretty big time jump. I was totally unprepared for that -- and enjoyed someone saying, "Time moves too fast" two chapters later. I was initially annoyed because in many ways this jump ended things before I was ready for them to be ended. But it didn't take me too long to figure out that pretty much everything before was setting the stage for Part Two. Yes, you could argue that sixty percent of a novel is too long to spend on the introduction -- and typically you'd be right. But Davis makes it work. The characters have matured enough, have enough distance from the acts of the first part, and have seen what's happened since then to those involved, etc. The last forty percent of the novel worked for me in ways that the first didn't, but it wouldn't have been able to without the foundation laid.
Whenever I'd brush up against "Southern" fiction in my lit classes in college -- those stories/novels became my favorite in the course, and I've often intended on taking a year or so to do some sort of deep dive into that tradition -- but I haven't gotten around to it. I should see if there's an iTunesU (or equivalent) covering that. Anyway, I've gotten distracted here. My point is that I can see a direct line from Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor to Willie Davis -- particularly the latter. She'd be disappointed in Davis' attitude toward religion, I think, but she'd note a kindred spirit, I think. That should give you a spirit of the flavor of the novel -- agnostic, 21st century O'Connor-ish.
Better yet? Davis has the talent to pull that off. Even when I didn't like the characters (and I mean "actively disliked" not "didn't appreciate yet") and wasn't sure I wanted to know more about what was happening to them -- I could not stop reading the writing. When I didn't mind the characters and felt a certain apathy toward the plot, I couldn't stop reading the writing. When I sorta kinda maybe liked one or two of the characters and was curious where things were going -- I could not stop reading Davis' writing. I think you get what I'm saying here. Davis' writing is worth the hassle. I'm not going to try to explain it really -- I don't think I could. Just go with me on this. At the 9% mark, my notes read "horribly ugly world -- beautiful prose."
The book is funny (not really because of events, it's largely in the narration), sad, thoughtful, mournful, provocative, visceral, offensive and strange (in the most positive sense of the word). It's not one for a quick casual read, but will reward the effort. For most of the book -- and maybe even now (I'm unconvinced) -- I didn't care what happened, ultimately, I just wanted to see what Davis would do with ideas and language (not that I wasn't ultimately pulling for a few things to happen plot-wise). I'm not wholly satisfied with the novel -- not that I can fully articulate why (beyond really not liking anyone or what they were doing for most of the book) but I have a nagging suspicion that the problems are within me, not the text. I will be keeping an eye out for Davis in the future, and suggest you do the same -- but read Nightwolf first.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for my honest opinion and this post.
---
The police thought they collared Nightwolf. The newspapers kept cagey about it, saying the cops book a person of interest in a "prolonged vandalism case." Prolonged vandalism--like the tagger had writers block and agonized for weeks, and then returned to the scene of the crime to erase a comma.
In the first three paragraphs, our narrator, Milo Byers sets the stage and the tone for what is to follow -- a killer introductory section that is irreverent (at best, cynical, jaded, and -- simultaneously -- honestly optimistic.
We are then thrown into a giant mess surrounding the culture of runaways and poor teens in Lexington, KY. Dropouts, petty criminals, not-so-petty criminals with aspirations of greater crimes, drug dealers, addicts, users, the mentally ill, the ignored, the abused, and their friends create an interesting cultural web for Milo and his associates to move in. At this time, I'm not sure Milo actually has any friends (at least not to his knowledge), but he is constantly surrounded by people.
Milo's not technically a runaway -- he goes home to his mother frequently, but his mother's dealing with dementia and other problems, so Milo's practically orphaned. He had (has?) an older brother who left home a few years before, and no one's heard from him since. Theoretically, that's why Milo spends time with some of the criminal class -- they knew his brother, and he's sure that he'll get a clue if he just hangs around enough.
Also running around the city is Nightwolf. He's a graffiti artist who dabbles in vigilantism (and not wholly successfully) -- a folk hero of sorts. For reasons I'll let Milo explain, he's got a theory that Nightwolf is his brother. Now he just needs to meet him to unmask him, hopefully finding his brother -- and everything will make sense for him. Despite the book's title, Nightwolf is a relatively minor character -- but his presence (or lack thereof) hovers over just about everything we see Milo do.
Now, all this time -- I don't like Milo. He's not got a lot going for him as a character, he's a weasel, he lies to himself and everyone else in his life constantly (and frequently without reason) -- it's not that he's a criminal, there's at least something defining the character then. I just didn't care about him, or about what happened to him. Honestly, he's the best of the bunch -- among this cast of characters he's the most sympathetic, the most reliable, and the most tolerable. Frankly, I spent a lot of time wondering just what the point of this book was -- I didn't dislike the book, just everyone in it and just about everything they did.
(Small spoiler) Now, at 60% there's a pretty big time jump. I was totally unprepared for that -- and enjoyed someone saying, "Time moves too fast" two chapters later. I was initially annoyed because in many ways this jump ended things before I was ready for them to be ended. But it didn't take me too long to figure out that pretty much everything before was setting the stage for Part Two. Yes, you could argue that sixty percent of a novel is too long to spend on the introduction -- and typically you'd be right. But Davis makes it work. The characters have matured enough, have enough distance from the acts of the first part, and have seen what's happened since then to those involved, etc. The last forty percent of the novel worked for me in ways that the first didn't, but it wouldn't have been able to without the foundation laid.
Whenever I'd brush up against "Southern" fiction in my lit classes in college -- those stories/novels became my favorite in the course, and I've often intended on taking a year or so to do some sort of deep dive into that tradition -- but I haven't gotten around to it. I should see if there's an iTunesU (or equivalent) covering that. Anyway, I've gotten distracted here. My point is that I can see a direct line from Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor to Willie Davis -- particularly the latter. She'd be disappointed in Davis' attitude toward religion, I think, but she'd note a kindred spirit, I think. That should give you a spirit of the flavor of the novel -- agnostic, 21st century O'Connor-ish.
Better yet? Davis has the talent to pull that off. Even when I didn't like the characters (and I mean "actively disliked" not "didn't appreciate yet") and wasn't sure I wanted to know more about what was happening to them -- I could not stop reading the writing. When I didn't mind the characters and felt a certain apathy toward the plot, I couldn't stop reading the writing. When I sorta kinda maybe liked one or two of the characters and was curious where things were going -- I could not stop reading Davis' writing. I think you get what I'm saying here. Davis' writing is worth the hassle. I'm not going to try to explain it really -- I don't think I could. Just go with me on this. At the 9% mark, my notes read "horribly ugly world -- beautiful prose."
The book is funny (not really because of events, it's largely in the narration), sad, thoughtful, mournful, provocative, visceral, offensive and strange (in the most positive sense of the word). It's not one for a quick casual read, but will reward the effort. For most of the book -- and maybe even now (I'm unconvinced) -- I didn't care what happened, ultimately, I just wanted to see what Davis would do with ideas and language (not that I wasn't ultimately pulling for a few things to happen plot-wise). I'm not wholly satisfied with the novel -- not that I can fully articulate why (beyond really not liking anyone or what they were doing for most of the book) but I have a nagging suspicion that the problems are within me, not the text. I will be keeping an eye out for Davis in the future, and suggest you do the same -- but read Nightwolf first.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for my honest opinion and this post.
November 8, 2018
Full Review
2.5 Stars
Nightwolf is a book with a lot of potential that I don’t believe it lives up to. While the story has its moments and the prose is excellent, the story often feels empty and subordinate to the themes of the novel. However, I will be looking out for future work from Willie Davis as I believe there’s enough good about this book to expect what he comes out with next to be much better as a whole.
2.5 Stars
Nightwolf is a book with a lot of potential that I don’t believe it lives up to. While the story has its moments and the prose is excellent, the story often feels empty and subordinate to the themes of the novel. However, I will be looking out for future work from Willie Davis as I believe there’s enough good about this book to expect what he comes out with next to be much better as a whole.
November 21, 2018
I review books that I read with almost no frequency, quite frankly I'm just too lazy, but I felt inclined to, after reading Nightwolf, go online, rate the book five stars, and leave a comment. I'll do my best not to not give too many details so as to not spoil anything for anyone else, but, like I said, I sparsely give reviews, so I'm not exactly sure how to calculate the amount of spoilage that is generally accepted as proper.
I was fortunate enough to attend a publishing/selling event in Cincinnati, where I bought the book and spoke to Mr. Davis. The first thing I want to point out, though, is the cover, which is pretty damn neat. It's actually what prompted me to go over to Mr. Davis's table. It is a uniquely intriguing design, and I feel like I have to give credit to whoever created it. Enough ado.
The book itself is fantastic. It is a thrilling, encapsulating concoction of psychology, violence, death, corruption, teenage culture, and wasted talent. It includes dead-on observations and humor, and Mr. Davis somehow manages to intertwine such wild, harrowing ideas and sequences with remarkable tone and fluency. Several different subplots are laced together rigorously, and as a single plot form a suspenseful page-turner. The book includes delicate, rugged topics, ones that other authors may be afraid to venture into, and does an amazing job at it with outstanding, and realistic, characters and dialogue. Even though the culture that Nightwolf covers is very much real in the New South, it is articulated so well it is as interesting as an Orwellian fantasy.
The bottom line is, it was good enough to incline me to go online and write a review, and that, Mr. Davis, is almost as impressive as your novel.
I was fortunate enough to attend a publishing/selling event in Cincinnati, where I bought the book and spoke to Mr. Davis. The first thing I want to point out, though, is the cover, which is pretty damn neat. It's actually what prompted me to go over to Mr. Davis's table. It is a uniquely intriguing design, and I feel like I have to give credit to whoever created it. Enough ado.
The book itself is fantastic. It is a thrilling, encapsulating concoction of psychology, violence, death, corruption, teenage culture, and wasted talent. It includes dead-on observations and humor, and Mr. Davis somehow manages to intertwine such wild, harrowing ideas and sequences with remarkable tone and fluency. Several different subplots are laced together rigorously, and as a single plot form a suspenseful page-turner. The book includes delicate, rugged topics, ones that other authors may be afraid to venture into, and does an amazing job at it with outstanding, and realistic, characters and dialogue. Even though the culture that Nightwolf covers is very much real in the New South, it is articulated so well it is as interesting as an Orwellian fantasy.
The bottom line is, it was good enough to incline me to go online and write a review, and that, Mr. Davis, is almost as impressive as your novel.
August 31, 2023
This is one of those books I liked to have an internal argument with the whole time I was reading it, but I never put it down, nor was in jeopardy of not finishing. It’s well written and has great insights that pop or cool images or expressions etc. but there’s so much else that was always an argument. Who the hell is NIGHTWOLF and why does it even matter? It even only occasionally matters to the narrator and it’s the title of the book. Same on his missing brother. It kind of matters but it really doesn’t. The entire plot could have just not happened if the main just decided to stay home and play video games or some thing. Like anything that happened wasn’t really a force on them. Weirdest characters ever. I spent enough time on the fringes in my day, not quite as deep into the criminal side as these ones are, but I don’t know, never met anyone like these people or that just accepts ass whoopings like they do. Still, I’m guessing some of these arguments might be the “point” and still I did keep turning pages, but I don’t know.
August 28, 2018
Review to come @ Plumb and Bent Country. And, of course, here.
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October 21, 2021Recommended by Steve Hunt (written by someone he went to school with).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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