Release the Wolves: A Suspenseful Middle Grade Fantasy About Choosing Rebellion Over Fear for Kids

by Stefan Bachmann

One thousand years ago, the Elduari conquered the country of Varen in a brutal war. Now, every few generations they subject their one-time enemies to a terrible tradition: bloodthirsty monsters are unleashed across the land, attacking indiscriminately, keeping the population in a perpetual dark age.

For Argo, fear of another Release is something he has always lived with. When his friend is killed by a monster during a routine patrol, Argo suspects that another Release is coming, and sooner than everyone thinks. But in a country built on fear, getting answers is dangerous. Elduari spies are hiding behind the most familiar faces, and any hint of disobedience could lead to the death of thousands.

As whispers of dissent circulate, rebellion grows in the villages. Argo's beloved sister Simna leaves town without warning. Masked figures stalk the alleys at night, offering dangerous gifts. When tragedy strikes a second time, Argo and his new ally, Ana—a mysterious monster hunter in disguise—set off on a dangerous journey to stop the next Release. But what if it’s already too late?

From Stefan Bachmann, the internationally renowned author of The Peculiar and Cinders & Sparrows, Release the Wolves is an atmospheric, suspenseful, and haunting novel about friendship, trust, power, and the monsters all around us.

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Young Adult, Fiction, Dark, Teen, Audiobook

288 pages, Hardcover

First published June 25, 2024

About the author

Stefan Bachmann is a bestselling author of books and short stories. He was born in the United States and spent most of his childhood in Switzerland, where he graduated from the Zürich University of Arts with degrees in music composition and theory. His debut, The Peculiar, was published to international acclaim when he was nineteen years old. His work has gone on to be named a Publishers Weekly’s best book of the year, a VOYA Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, a New York Times Editor’s Choice, and a Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award finalist, among others. In 2017, he was chosen for the Aarhus 39, a selection of the best young writers in Europe, presented at the International Hay Festival in Denmark. He has written for radio, film, opera, magazines and newspapers, and his books have been published in over fifteen countries.

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Reviews

[Amber's Book Cave · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Release the Wolves" by Stefan Bachmann is a thrilling YA fantasy adventure. It follows Argo, a blacksmith’s apprentice, who faces terrifying monsters that rule his land. After his friend is killed and his sister goes missing, Argo embarks on a journey to find his sister and stop the monsters' attacks. He teams up with Ana, the princess and a secret monster hunter, to fight back. Their journey is full of suspense, twists, and courage.

This book is perfect for younger readers who enjoy a fast-paced and exciting story. The characters are likable, with Argo's growth from a fearful blacksmith's son to a determined fighter being particularly compelling. Ana stands out as a strong, independent princess who adds depth and excitement to the plot. The unique chapter header art adds a fun touch and left me eager to see what the next art piece would be. Overall, "Release the Wolves" is a great read about friendship and bravery in a world full of dangers. I highly recommend this book to younger fantasy lovers or anyone who enjoys YA books.

[Valarie - WoodsyBookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Promised Neverland meets The Witcher in this middle grade horror fantasy where children hunt monsters known as vestiges, creatures ruled by the mysterious Elduari - subjects of a powerful kingdom across the sea.

This was an amazing blend of horror and young adult fantasy. If you can't tell by all my little annotating tabs, I really enjoyed this one! Argo, the young blacksmith, was such a relatable character and I really wished this book was longer to stay with him and remain in this incredibly dark magical world.

[Therearenobadbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pre-ordered this title and counted the days to get it.
Amazing chilling horror fantasy. I have loved this author's style since his release of The Peculiars.
Awesome characters, forging their path and fighting back against those who have been oppressing them for centuries.
The first chapters set the mood. Horror/bit of gore/ creepiness and the monsters dive us into a non-stop quest of two characters trying to stop a calamity from happening.
The blacksmith apprentice's bravery will lead him to uncover many secrets and fight beside a cool monster hunter with secrets of her own.
Loved reaching the end and understanding the depth of the book title.
This reads as a standalone, but I wish there would be more adventures from these characters.

[Hanya]

😍😍 MONSTERS THAT DESCEND ON THE LAND EVERY FEW GENERATIONS TO ROT OUT ANY CHANCE OF REBELLION?? Hurry uppp, 2022. I will read anything Bachmann writes. His books are always lowkey terrifying in like... a whimsical and aesthetically pleasing way, but this sounds more epic and fight-y, and I'm here for that.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rollicking and action-packed ride, this one. I am surely a smidgen, or maybe many smidgens, past the target audience's age range, but I did enjoy the tale for what it was. The adult fantasy reader in me wanted much more back story and detail and whys and whens and other tangents too, and that is mostly why this book, while fun and easy to enjoy, fell rather short of more stars. Much of what happened made little sense except to drive the narrative, which might work better for the young and less well read. Still, great descriptions and lots more gore and monsters than expected, considering the MG angle, made this worth the while.

[C.J. Milbrandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Argo's people fear the Release, fearful times when monsters run rampant through the villages, killing as they go. So they patrol. And they hand down lore. Many people even worship the ones who trigger the release in the hopes they'll be kept safe. But there are those who rebel, hoping to put an end to the terrible cycle. When Argo's friend is killed by a new and clever monster during their patrol, it's a sure sign that another Release is nearing. He resolves to stop it.

Complex world-building. Politics and religion mingled and mangled. Oppression and subjugation and rebellion. Bleak overtones and terrible bloodshed. This is dark fantasy with a generous helping of horror, so if suspense and scary stories are your vibe, Bachmann does it well. Fair warning: there are many tragedies, and the violence is graphic.

[Perhapsme]

Excited to read this, premise sounds like the situation with Gaza/Palestine.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is delightfully grim. It is also action packed, I could hardly put it down. I needed to know what happened next.

[Carina Olsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book I learned about when I saw that awesome cover. And I couldn't help but get it. It also sounded just like a book for me. But oh, I ended up being very disappointed. Only two stars for this. I have a whole bunch of thoughts to share about this book. A quick read, which was a plus. Ha.

I shall start by mentioning that cover. One of the characters in the corner looks like a wizard. Which was a total lie, and is not an outfit that is in the book. And the tagline, the hunt begins at midnight. What. That does not fit with the book at all. I had no idea how old the main characters were. Weird.

I guess they were teenagers. But it was not mentioned how old. And at times the main boy felt like such a child, but in a bad way. I also feel more tricked by the cover. Seemed like there would be tons of monsters in this book. There wasn't. Only a few ones. But I will say that the monster parts were the parts that I liked most. Especially a scene at the start of the book, where a boy ends up tricked by the monster and a trap kills him. I liked that scene a lot, as it was brutal and made me think the book would be awesome. It was not. Yeah. I just felt so disappointed.. I truly had hoped to love it. But it was way too rushed. And the writing was not very good at all. I did not care for any of the characters. There was nothing to care about.

This book tells the story of Argo, a boy who comes from such a small village. He lives with his sister and their father. Whom is a mean drunk. His sister is sort of an outcast. Argo works at the smithy. His sister, Simna, knits. The book begins with Argo and some other kids going out on a hunt, to kill a stray monster that has been hiding for years. Except it was not old, but new. And more cunning. So one of them died. Simna's boyfriend. I felt nothing for this. Nothing at all. This book did emotions all kinds of wrong, sadly.

It could have been so much better. If it had any types of feelings included. But it did not. Sigh. I did not at all care for Argo. Even though he do spend a lot of this book crying. It just felt weird, considering we don't get to know anything well enough to actually care. This book takes place in a world that was changed by war ages ago. They are killed all the time, so their world is a small one. They aren't able to rebuild before most of them are killed again. I thought this sounded so exciting. But it was sadly done too badly for me.

I just feel like this book could have been so much better. If it had been longer. If it had been written better. If it had more details, more about the world. If it had characters that I could actually care about. But it did not have these things, sadly. And it ended way too soon. This whole book was simply much too short. But I found the story of this world to be interesting. I liked learning more about why things were that way. But there was too little of this. Still. I liked the past, how they had been at war a thousand years ago and lost.

I liked learning more about how they were all almost killed again, about every century. How the monsters were just suddenly there, killing them all. How the monsters were of different types and sizes. I wished to know more about all that. But there was too little of it. Sigh. I wanted more about the trap in the marshes, as it sounded so very cruel and awesome. But no more information. Nothing more about the past. Or the future. This book was simply too short and had too little in it. I so badly wish I had loved this. But I did not.

The plot of this story is that Argo is now alone in village, after his sister left on a trip. He is getting a little suspicious about the elders of the village, about how things work. The bad guys were the Elduari. They came from across the sea. They were not like normal humans. They had some sort of magic. And they kill everyone who thinks about rebelling. And now they are after Argo. They kill his dad. Whom is never mentioned again, not once. Yeah. No feelings in this. I get that he was a drunk, but still. Zero emotions.

These bad guys are hunting Argo. He is running away, and ends up running with a girl, a monster hunter named Ana. Whom is actually a princess in disguise. She was supposed to be all badass and awesome. But I did not like her at all. I wanted to, but no. She wasn't written very well. And their sort of friendship was badly written all over. Sigh. I really wanted more from this story. And I'm not sure what else to write. Everything just felt off to me. It was not exciting enough or thrilling. It simply felt like a short story, to me.

I'm not sure what else to say about this book. Argo and Ana are running from the Elduari, whom wants to kill them. But then they want to kill them too. And take down their leader, I guess. Two very young people, thinking they are enough to change their entire world. Which could have been, had they been at least a little bit interesting. But they were not. Gah. I just wish I had cared more. But it was impossible. Release the Wolves sounded so exciting. But it was such a let-down for me. And I just wanted more of everything.

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This review was first posted on my blog, Carina's Books, here: https://carinabooks.blogspot.com/2024...

[SOYAMRG · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this fantasy novel for middle grade, Argo, who is described as a “young man,” and seems about 15, lives in the country of Varen where the neighboring country of Eludar periodically releases terrible monsters to keep the country afraid and oppressed. The citizens in Varen are always training for the next release, which hasn’t happened in 70 years. After an opening battle with a monster where Argo’s friend dies, he believes it’s the beginning of another release and sets out as a monster hunter on his own. He teams up with Ana, the daughter of the good and ineffectual king of Varen, and they proceed to learn from each other and make a decent team. They journey to Eludar, where Ana’s father and Argo’s sister are being held, and battle lots of monsters along the way. The overarching theme is that the people of Varen are victims, as are Argo and Ana, and that they alone can save Varen from the monsters.

No adults appear to be fighting the monsters because they are all apathetic or scared, which is troubling and not really addressed. Also, it’s hard to believe that these kids can defeat the imaginatively terrible monsters they fight with gory detail..The novel is decently written, with good but typical character development.

The final battle is a bit quick and disappointing, and I wish it had been a different character who made the final sacrifice.

Grades 5-8.

D.B.
Ret. YS Librarian

[isa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5 ☀️☀️☀️☀️⛅️

I give this book 4.5 stars because I ended up enjoying it a lot, and was very intrigued with the storyline. It has this fantastical-dystopian feel with a lot of darkness intertwined. During the book I went through a hate-love process, because the author ends up killing off a lot of characters, which was kinda sad, but after finishing it I decided that I liked it.

After reading the first chapter, however, I could immediately tell that this book isn’t middle-grade, as it says. It’s bloody and gory, and YA for sure.

The story is basically like this: Argo lives in a world controled by the Eldurai king and his followers, the Sleepers. In the past, when humans would rebel against them, the Eldurai would kill them all, making the humans live in constant fear. Argo sees these Sleepers as greedy humans who want power, and sees Eldurai as a predator he must destroy to live in peace. He meets Ana, a princess from the capital who hunts the Eldurai beasts, and they join forces to get to the city and warn the kindgom of an imminent Release.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upon opening the pages of this book, before getting to any of the story, readers encounter a map that says it displays, "The Conquered Land of Varen." Not simply Varen. The Conquered Land.

That hint sets the stage that this story is about an oppressed people. A terrified people, who are mostly wiped out every 70 years or so to keep them meek. Most too afraid to do anything more than acquiesce and hope to avoid notice.

But not Argo. His sister was mangled by a monster--one of the tools of their creepy, otherworldly conquerors--and this story begins with him leading a hunt for another monster. Argo is one of the few who will stand up to the Elduari and face the doom heading his people's way.

From that opening hunt, events quickly spin out of Argo's control and he is caught up in an accumulating whirlwind of adventure, danger, intrigue, and rebellion. He is joined by a bold daughter of the king in being hounded by dark terrors, constantly on the run, the pace furious, the action nonstop.

It is a spooky, thrilling ride.

[Michael Jameson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Way darker and weirder than one thinks of for middle grade fiction. Any kid who could read this and be sucked into this gloomy murderous world is a kindred spirit for me. The setting and story conceit were top tier and I could easily see this being a longer series. The writing is quite striking with beautiful turns of phrase yet it is seemingly reserved for descriptions of place and action, leaving dialogue and internal dialogue somewhat lacking. The abrupt ending is the real kicker though, it feels tragic to cut the story where chosen. This book stops on a dime and could use some character work but is full of great atmosphere, setting and action. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for being my favorite genre (dark fantasy).

[read. by. emma_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to MTMCtours & Stefan Bachmann for sending me a copy of "Release the Wolves" to review. 📖

I hadn't read anything from Stefan Bachmann before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. The world-building was detailed and immersive, and the characters were well thought out. The story was fresh and unique, with a great flow. There were moments that had me jumping out of my skin 😱. To say Stefan Bachmann knows how to build suspense is an understatement.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys spooky villains, lots of tension, and an exhilarating, well-written fantasy 📚✨.

[Jared White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, after listening to this I felt it belongs more in our Teen section than our Juvenile at our library, but it seems both the publisher and Amazon disagree with me. Maybe I'm misremembering, but I thought the leads were like 15. Nothing is too "bad," but it felt more like a teen book to me and some of the content is quite grim (how a few people die, the monsters themselves, a foreign power releasing monsters into their enemy's territory).

I thought it had some nice twists. If you know of a tween or teen who likes creepy (but not quite horror) fantasy, then this may be good to recommend.

[Gil · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75. This was an unexpected yet highly enjoyable read! I picked it up because the premise intrigued me. Despite the YA labels, I was shocked to discover a mature look at living under a monstrous system, oppression, why people act as agents to evil empires, and how hard it is to rebel systems that seem overwhelmingly massive. Victories cannot truly be savored because the next horror awaits. Yes there were trope elements that weighed it down - the princess cliché - but damn if the book didn't do interesting things and discussions with it! And no romance subplot as well. Truly, I highly recommend this work, it was a surprisingly engaging read.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Elduari send out monsters every 70 years or so to keep the people perpetually in the dark ages and never able to rise against them again (like the Hunger Games but with Monsters). Aldo and Ana are brought together in a need to avenge the deaths of their friends and family. Although Kirkus and the publisher list this book as appropriate for Elementary readers ages 8 and up, I do not recommend this for elementary school due to the amount and descriptions of the killings. This book is marketed as a fantasy because of the magic and the medieval setting, but the monsters and the killings make this more of the horror genre.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't that horror book for me but for middle graders, I think it is.
It's a fast-paced and very interesting plot. The children hunts monsters and creatures.
I liked the main characters and their friendships.
It was very well written. I mean the world-building got me hooked from the beginning.
It was suspenseful and creepy.

I kinda wanted this book to be longer. I loved the chapter's art. It was creepy and interesting.

[Jen Nishi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book all the stars. My goodness! What a ride, what expertly beautiful writing. The character development, the plotting, all of it is achingly perfect. It is heart aching and gut wrenching and yet so beautiful at the same time. It is also very dark. I know this is technically MG but I would say it is more young YA or very mature MG. There’s quite a lot of blood and gore. This book was like YA fantasy used to be before it went all romantasy.

[AllyP Reads Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I didn't realize it was a kid's book when I checked it out from Overdrive. I only saw that it was when I went to add it to my currently reading shelf on Goodreads. Even after that, I did not feel like I was listening to a kid's book.
I do think the use of the teleportation amulet was used way too often for the characters to get out of bad situations. Other than that it was great!

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars rounded up.

It's not a perfect 5 Stars for me but it was so so close.

I loved the atmosphere of the book. How dark, slightly gory, and creepy it was. The characters were amazing and I even cried at the end.

Stefan Bachmann is an auto-buy author for me at this point. His writing just speaks to me.

[libraryofetter · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Sometimes it doesn’t matter if people are good or bad, just that they’re the same kind of hurt”

An unexpectedly beautiful story. This is written for ages 8+ so there is no romance but it’s a great thriller fantasy that’s worth the read!

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

So grim! So... Good! Much more horror than I was expecting, it gripped me from start to finish. Bachmann's writing style was also right up my alley, using words to describe things in a fresh way, instead of the same ol chiches. Ah! Just loved this!

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Zach DePhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story with Witcher Vibes

[Jen Ervin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book. It was ok. Wasn’t terrible or wonderful. Very mid book. I didn’t hate it. I just was not super interested or sucked in.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting worldbuilding and great style, it just didn't quite click for me via audio. Felt a little short for what it was trying to do.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this dark fantasy world and how our main character grew their friendship over the course of the book. The monsters that this somewhat alien race of the Elduari use to keep the humans subdued and in line are fascinating and when you learn how they create them, you will be shook. It was a fantastic and relatively quick read for me, which was just what I needed.

Argo and Ana feel somewhat like foils of each other at the start, given their backgrounds and attitudes about the world, but this changes over time and you can see them getting to understand each other better. Their character development is really well-done.

This feels a lot darker than a typical middle grade book and I was shocked at some of the violence and deaths that happen. I would say this should be appropriate for a kid at the older end of the middle grade scale or a bit more YA aged.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard for me to rate this one. I quite enjoyed it, but I also like Gothic/darker stories. This would have been a perfect fit for my Edgar Allen Poe era.

"Release the Wolves" is considered a middle grade book for ages 10-12, but because of the content, I wouldn't give it to anyone younger than 13 or 14. Within the first few pages, Argo and his friends come across a little girl who was killed, floating in the water. (At first I thought this was unnecessary but later learn the importance). Argo's best friend is then killed by a monster and it is heart wrenching. The monsters are scary and later learning the true nature of the monsters makes this a teen read for sure.

Found in L4T Booklist Bundle

[rachel x]

The book is set in a conquered land where every few generations hordes of bloodthirsty monsters are unleashed in an attempt to keep the population subdued; the hero is a young hunter trying to find his sister and possibly start a rebellion.

this sounds amazing