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The Forsaken Boy: A Werewolf Novel
Freak, they call him. Weirdo. Queer. Tonto. Redskin.
People have tormented Brandon Turner his entire life. For eighteen years, he's been abused, humiliated, ostracized -- hated.
Maybe it's his shabby clothes. Maybe it's the bruises on his arms or the haunted look in his eyes. Or maybe it's some essential, unexplainable difference hidden deep inside. Not quite white, not quite Indian, and soon now ... not quite human.
Because Brandon is about to walk a lonely country road and discover a hunger and a power he'd never imagined.
By the light of the next full moon, Brandon will reintroduce himself to the town that's always hated him.
And for anyone in his path, the only option will be to run ...
People have tormented Brandon Turner his entire life. For eighteen years, he's been abused, humiliated, ostracized -- hated.
Maybe it's his shabby clothes. Maybe it's the bruises on his arms or the haunted look in his eyes. Or maybe it's some essential, unexplainable difference hidden deep inside. Not quite white, not quite Indian, and soon now ... not quite human.
Because Brandon is about to walk a lonely country road and discover a hunger and a power he'd never imagined.
By the light of the next full moon, Brandon will reintroduce himself to the town that's always hated him.
And for anyone in his path, the only option will be to run ...
- GenresHorrorWerewolvesFiction
261 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
9 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 7, 2022
A consistently gripping and entertaining werewolf novel with well handled coming of age elements to accompany the latest lycanthropy.
Full review soon on CriminOlly,com and the CriminOlly YouTube channel
Full review soon on CriminOlly,com and the CriminOlly YouTube channel
December 7, 2021
Review to come. In the meantime, go buy a copy of this mean, all-too real werewolf novel.
November 22, 2024
My initial reaction after finishing this book was “Holy hell that was dark.” Troy did a great job of capturing multiple elements of horror within this book. The story started a bit slow and depressing for my liking but picked up quickly and I was hooked until the end.
May 25, 2022
Overall, a very fun read. Has a good pace to it and keeps the story flowing well. In the start there were a couple of times where it was a little muddy as to who certain people were but gets clearer later. Could have made it a little easier though. Very well written and hard to put down once it gets moving. Also, enough differences in the story to separate it from other werewolf stories. Loved that there was a wolf habitat in the area too, added to the knowledge of them I think throughout the book. The main character really makes you feel for him too, and when he turns you can understand why he embraced it so much and so fast. I have a feeling I would do the same lol. Could have used a little more back story on how the 1st wolf was turned, but did not really hurt that it was not explained, that's just me ha.
January 5, 2022
I loved this book. It was a book the Booktuber Library Macbre recommended and I was not disappointed.
The book is action packed, and graphic in its violence so it may not be for everyone. There is some CW including abuse(sexual, physical and emotional/mental), bullying, and gay slurs.
The story is a revenge thriller/horror that focuses on Brandon who receives a gift that seemed impossible to turn down. He soon learns he is unique in his ability but with that comes consequences. The author takes us on this journey and you are emotionally invested in the characters and it is hard to put down.
I am excited to see what Troy Tradup gives us next.
The book is action packed, and graphic in its violence so it may not be for everyone. There is some CW including abuse(sexual, physical and emotional/mental), bullying, and gay slurs.
The story is a revenge thriller/horror that focuses on Brandon who receives a gift that seemed impossible to turn down. He soon learns he is unique in his ability but with that comes consequences. The author takes us on this journey and you are emotionally invested in the characters and it is hard to put down.
I am excited to see what Troy Tradup gives us next.
January 19, 2022
In 2021, I read a couple of "werewolf" novels that left me severely disappointed. One of them was quite terrible, and the other wasn't as bad but the element of horror was completely absent and the werewolf part of the story was merely a plot device in a rather straightforward thriller. As an avid consumer of all things horror with a particular fascination of lycanthropy, I often seek out a good werewolf story, but have yet to find one that's really WOWed me. This one came much closer than the previous two I read (which I'm avoiding naming here, but if you browse through my shelf you'll find them), but still didn't quite hit the mark, for me.
In The Forsaken Boy, our lead character, Brandon, is sort of an outcast, a loner. In the beginning his "parents" kick him out of the house and he has to fend for himself. Having been picked on and bullied his entire life, he doesn't have many friends or anyone he can turn to for help. He carries on, merely surviving, until his path leads him into that of a werewolf, that gives him a choice. Live, or die.
This book had a lot of cool ideas that I liked. It follows in the tradition of a more classical type werewolf story - protagonist is transformed - agonizes over this new alter-ego - bodies turn up - police get involved / mystery is implemented, etc.
However, Mr. Tradup approaches things from a slightly different angle. Instead of our lead character being surprised by the existence of a monster, or trying to flee, he is enticed by it and wonders how he can use this opportunity to his benefit. There are some interesting themes tacked on to this idea involving temptation and its consequences. I liked this idea and exploration of themes, even if it took the backseat during the second half, where the story structure seems to fall more into step with the stereotypical werewolf story (again - body count, police involvement, etc.) These psychological themes could have been opened up a bit more (in my opinion) without it being too heavy-handed.
There is also a bit of commentary on the "bullied" kid in school. What happens when someone is disrespected and violated his entire life and is then given capable and effective means to lash out in bitterness and rage...? This is something that we've unfortunately seen far too often in our society, and this book doesn't skirt around the issue. In fact, I applaud the author for being so bold to include some scenes and instances of this "bullying", and not holding back in regards to language and slurs. Is it terrible? Quite. Is it realistic? Absolutely.
I want to back up a little here and talk about Brandon's character, which had me a bit conflicted and slightly affected my reading experience. The characterization certainly isn't the best, and Brandon feels solely defined by his circumstances. He doesn't have much of a personality and it feels like he is completely the product of his environment - that is, those who have wronged him in one way or another. And don't get me wrong, he really does endure some twisted stuff that is evidently supposed to elicit sympathy for him... but I never really felt like I knew him, and at times I thought of him as sort of a bratty, selfish character, wallowing in self-pity. Of course, I think this all may have been intentional, that there is no simple black-and-white area... but I do think the characters in general here lacked any sort of true layering.
This is the author's, Mr. Tradup's, first book and so I have to be a little bit forgiving for the lack of characterization in some areas, and also (at times) the writing, which seemed a little clunky and awkward in some areas in regards to word choices and sentence structure. The writing wasn't bad (where the hell is my published novel, anyway?!), but it's not exactly anything that grabbed me or had any sort of immersive effect, either. For a debut novel, this was pretty impressive. I do wished we would have got a bit more detail in regards to some of the action later on in the book - for how bold it was earlier on, I was surprised to discover that some of the more "intense" sequences were often alluded to and/or had strongly implied outcomes. I was slightly disappointed with this lack of descriptive violence, only given the direction the story took. Werewolf stories tend to be more psychological than anything, which is what I often appreciate about them, and I have no qualms with subtleties... but I felt a little bit cheated at times with the severe lack of blood and gore. However, there was a bit of a twist earlier in the book involving a priest and a farmer (a shocking twist that I again applaud the author for), and I was glad he didn't go into anymore detail with that one. Some things are better left without too much explanation or description.
This book also took a different direction at the end then I thought it was going to, which I appreciated. I'll admit to not being super invested in the story so it didn't necessarily surprise or impact me, but I was just happy to get something other than what I expected.
Overall, it's a bit hard for me to rate this book. I liked some things about it but there were others that dampened my overall enjoyment. Again, this being a debut novel, I have to remind myself I can't expect the writing quality of King or Koontz. Ironically enough, the two werewolf novels I read last year were both by (somewhat) well-known/established authors... and I can say with confidence this book is better than those two. This feels more like what a werewolf novel should be, while managing to keep things a bit fresh and present some unique twists and turns. I just didn't quite love it.
Trying to find an excellently written, satisfying werewolf novel seems to be like trying to find an actual werewolf. It's damn near impossible. They could exist, somewhere...
But this one is decent, all things considered. I can recommend it if you're a fellow werewolf junkie - but I'll continue to seek (and likely not find) that elusive horror story about a man who changes into a werewolf, and scratches all the right itches and ticks off every box for me.
2.75 / 5 - rounded up to 3.
In The Forsaken Boy, our lead character, Brandon, is sort of an outcast, a loner. In the beginning his "parents" kick him out of the house and he has to fend for himself. Having been picked on and bullied his entire life, he doesn't have many friends or anyone he can turn to for help. He carries on, merely surviving, until his path leads him into that of a werewolf, that gives him a choice. Live, or die.
This book had a lot of cool ideas that I liked. It follows in the tradition of a more classical type werewolf story - protagonist is transformed - agonizes over this new alter-ego - bodies turn up - police get involved / mystery is implemented, etc.
However, Mr. Tradup approaches things from a slightly different angle. Instead of our lead character being surprised by the existence of a monster, or trying to flee, he is enticed by it and wonders how he can use this opportunity to his benefit. There are some interesting themes tacked on to this idea involving temptation and its consequences. I liked this idea and exploration of themes, even if it took the backseat during the second half, where the story structure seems to fall more into step with the stereotypical werewolf story (again - body count, police involvement, etc.) These psychological themes could have been opened up a bit more (in my opinion) without it being too heavy-handed.
There is also a bit of commentary on the "bullied" kid in school. What happens when someone is disrespected and violated his entire life and is then given capable and effective means to lash out in bitterness and rage...? This is something that we've unfortunately seen far too often in our society, and this book doesn't skirt around the issue. In fact, I applaud the author for being so bold to include some scenes and instances of this "bullying", and not holding back in regards to language and slurs. Is it terrible? Quite. Is it realistic? Absolutely.
I want to back up a little here and talk about Brandon's character, which had me a bit conflicted and slightly affected my reading experience. The characterization certainly isn't the best, and Brandon feels solely defined by his circumstances. He doesn't have much of a personality and it feels like he is completely the product of his environment - that is, those who have wronged him in one way or another. And don't get me wrong, he really does endure some twisted stuff that is evidently supposed to elicit sympathy for him... but I never really felt like I knew him, and at times I thought of him as sort of a bratty, selfish character, wallowing in self-pity. Of course, I think this all may have been intentional, that there is no simple black-and-white area... but I do think the characters in general here lacked any sort of true layering.
This is the author's, Mr. Tradup's, first book and so I have to be a little bit forgiving for the lack of characterization in some areas, and also (at times) the writing, which seemed a little clunky and awkward in some areas in regards to word choices and sentence structure. The writing wasn't bad (where the hell is my published novel, anyway?!), but it's not exactly anything that grabbed me or had any sort of immersive effect, either. For a debut novel, this was pretty impressive. I do wished we would have got a bit more detail in regards to some of the action later on in the book - for how bold it was earlier on, I was surprised to discover that some of the more "intense" sequences were often alluded to and/or had strongly implied outcomes. I was slightly disappointed with this lack of descriptive violence, only given the direction the story took. Werewolf stories tend to be more psychological than anything, which is what I often appreciate about them, and I have no qualms with subtleties... but I felt a little bit cheated at times with the severe lack of blood and gore. However, there was a bit of a twist earlier in the book involving a priest and a farmer (a shocking twist that I again applaud the author for), and I was glad he didn't go into anymore detail with that one. Some things are better left without too much explanation or description.
This book also took a different direction at the end then I thought it was going to, which I appreciated. I'll admit to not being super invested in the story so it didn't necessarily surprise or impact me, but I was just happy to get something other than what I expected.
Overall, it's a bit hard for me to rate this book. I liked some things about it but there were others that dampened my overall enjoyment. Again, this being a debut novel, I have to remind myself I can't expect the writing quality of King or Koontz. Ironically enough, the two werewolf novels I read last year were both by (somewhat) well-known/established authors... and I can say with confidence this book is better than those two. This feels more like what a werewolf novel should be, while managing to keep things a bit fresh and present some unique twists and turns. I just didn't quite love it.
Trying to find an excellently written, satisfying werewolf novel seems to be like trying to find an actual werewolf. It's damn near impossible. They could exist, somewhere...
But this one is decent, all things considered. I can recommend it if you're a fellow werewolf junkie - but I'll continue to seek (and likely not find) that elusive horror story about a man who changes into a werewolf, and scratches all the right itches and ticks off every box for me.
2.75 / 5 - rounded up to 3.
May 1, 2023
This author had me invested in the characters from the get go. It was hard to put down and easy to keep going. Straight up werewolf story. I thought it was a good story. Plenty of suspense and action. Horrifying and gory at times.
December 17, 2014
The first real review of this book, cool! I finished City of fallen angels and Im waiting for may 33rd or 5th for divergent to come out and I ran across this for 2.99 on the kindle so I got it. I was a little darker than I thought and had some holes in it but It dept me really interested. It got 4 stars because of how dark it was. The main character cant catch a break for nothing nothing and It really never stops, Hes just one of those ppl who nothing good happens to and when it does god takes it away. On chistmas eve (his birthday) he is driving home and a wolf comes out of the wood and the story begins. I swear Troy Tradup got it right in this book, Everyone who deserved to die did, and I found myself rooting for Brandon as the slaughtered all these ppl because they gave him hell thru the entire book. Its a great little quick read if your looking for a great werewolf story and it has some new rules of the werewolf so Its well worth the 2.99 on the kindle.
October 3, 2011
Admittedly, this is a book a friend wrote, but I did really enjoy it. There are a couple of scenes with imagery that left me stunned. One gasping at how a mundane domestic scene was so perfectly grasped. The other at how beautifully rendered a scene of destruction was.
March 16, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and then had to pass it around to my family because they were so excited to read it. Granted there is a lot of cussing and plenty of gore but if that doesnt bother you its a great story.
February 18, 2016
Fantastic werewolf book!
February 4, 2017
It was pretty funny considering all the people that died.
May 22, 2024
Some of the writing felt a little softer around the edges than it needed to be, both in style and tone, but it was a great story with an engaging group of characters, and it felt like a genuine portrait of small-town America.
October 31, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyable
Kept me interested from start to finish will definitely look out for more books from this author maybe he would consider writing a sequel
Kept me interested from start to finish will definitely look out for more books from this author maybe he would consider writing a sequel
October 18, 2022
Great story for this time of year: part coming of age, part werewolf... FUN!
March 3, 2023
A fast-paced story set in my home state of Minnesota. Makes me very happy to be a vegan!
January 22, 2016
Gay werewolves!
Okay, so maybe the werewolves are not gay but there is enough homosexuality to make this book PC for the modern age. My opinion is that this is singularly the most realistic, believable and entertaining werewolf story I have ever read.
Brandon has led a life of abuse and mistreatment, when his father kicks him out into the street to fend for himself, his world changes forever. As a reader we see him mature and change in more ways than expected. With believable and likable characters and enough plot twists to create a bubble where time no longer exists for the reader to become lost in.
Overall, an excellent page turner that I read it in a single sitting and I would recommend to all fans of werewolf fiction.
Okay, so maybe the werewolves are not gay but there is enough homosexuality to make this book PC for the modern age. My opinion is that this is singularly the most realistic, believable and entertaining werewolf story I have ever read.
Brandon has led a life of abuse and mistreatment, when his father kicks him out into the street to fend for himself, his world changes forever. As a reader we see him mature and change in more ways than expected. With believable and likable characters and enough plot twists to create a bubble where time no longer exists for the reader to become lost in.
Overall, an excellent page turner that I read it in a single sitting and I would recommend to all fans of werewolf fiction.
October 7, 2012
Fantastic horror book
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews