Into the Mouth of the Wolf

by Joshua Dagon

Russell Shepard was just a boy when the first footage of a living werewolf was authenticated and broadcast. As he grew, the lycanthropic outbreak was a constant. During Russell's adolescence he watched with the rest of the world as "outbreak" turned into "epidemic". Now, as an adult, the epidemic had become a pandemic, reaching every nation and turning the scientific community on its head.Still, those unfortunate few who'd been contaminated remained a notable minority. Spectacular research facilities peppered the globe, designed to study the infection. Specially trained urban tactical units protected the population at large, capturing and containing the creatures for analysis until a cure could be developed.All of this fascinated Russell, as it did everyone he knew, but there was an entire global community dedicated to helping the victims of lycanthropic infection and eventually producing a cure. There was no need to panic. At least that was what Russell had been told all his life by television personalities and politicians alike. Just don't do anything stupid. Follow the rules and the odds of encountering an actual werewolf would remain blissfully remote.And so Russell's consideration of werewolves remained passive. It remained passive, that is, until the night he was bitten.Werewolves are real and the world has mobilized, brutally, to crush both the contagion that creates them and the individuals who have become infected. After Russell Shepard narrowly survives a werewolf attack, he is haunted by dreams of a place and time he has never been, and hunted by those who would end his life immediately, without remorse. He is propelled along a path that will bring him face to face with the forces determined to contain and destroy the threat he himself now represents.

Genres: M M Romance, Shapeshifters, LGBT, Werewolves

460 pages, Paperback

First published March 17, 2008

Reviews

[Rachel Eliason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Into the mouth of the wolf gives us a very different look at the werewolf genre.

It tells the story of a young man who has just been bitten by a werewolf. Perhaps in large part because the main character is gay (and so to is the author I believe) the novel quickly breaks from the typical, focusing heavily on the status of the infected and the fear that society has of them. He ends up in a heavily guarded research facility where he learns a dirty secret, most of the bitten don't survive long, not because they are out of control as wolves, but because the guards fear them and shoot first.

It's a very engaging tale and well told. It breaks the typical genre in another more subtle way, the main character is not the "alpha" wolf of the pack. This makes his character more interesting and developed and the novel less of a hack and slash adventure.

I really liked Into the Mouth of the Wolf and would gladly recommend it to others.

[Brody Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so captivated by this book. I read it every day on the train while laughing, gasping, holding my breath... I would 100% recommend this book. The allure of the story, you fall in love with Russel while simultaneously being mad at him. I love it.