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flosmith's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, 3.5 starts. I considered rounding up but after thinking about it I decided that I didn't enjoy it well enough for 4 stars.
This is supposedly the last I the Last Werewolf trilogy, although the ending leaves me in doubt of that. I love the style of Duncan's writing. It usually always keeps me interested, hanging on every word. Despite this, By Blood We Live, left me a bit disappointed. I loved this trilogy from the very beginning and maybe I just had too high of expectations for the ending.
By Blood We Live is told from many different points of view. Duncan seemed to want to make all of his characters equally important, and while a worthy goal it just left it all a bit jumbled. There seems to be a lot going on and at the same time a whole lot of nothing. We are drawn into the lives of vampires and werewolves alike and with that comes lots of blood, lots of killing and eating, and lots of bestiality/sex. But at the same time, there just doesn't seem to be much of a point to it all (maybe that's the point of real life, there really is no point.) We hear a lot about this important prophecy and the life of a 20,000 year old vampire. The whole story seems to culminate with Remshi and Talulla coming together. (This isn't a spoiler cuz its listed in the blurb) Then its like and ...... now what?
Overall, I love this series. Its not for everyone but if you like werewolves this is the series to read. But having said that, I had much higher expectations for the ending.
This is supposedly the last I the Last Werewolf trilogy, although the ending leaves me in doubt of that. I love the style of Duncan's writing. It usually always keeps me interested, hanging on every word. Despite this, By Blood We Live, left me a bit disappointed. I loved this trilogy from the very beginning and maybe I just had too high of expectations for the ending.
By Blood We Live is told from many different points of view. Duncan seemed to want to make all of his characters equally important, and while a worthy goal it just left it all a bit jumbled. There seems to be a lot going on and at the same time a whole lot of nothing. We are drawn into the lives of vampires and werewolves alike and with that comes lots of blood, lots of killing and eating, and lots of bestiality/sex. But at the same time, there just doesn't seem to be much of a point to it all (maybe that's the point of real life, there really is no point.) We hear a lot about this important prophecy and the life of a 20,000 year old vampire. The whole story seems to culminate with Remshi and Talulla coming together. (This isn't a spoiler cuz its listed in the blurb) Then its like and ...... now what?
Overall, I love this series. Its not for everyone but if you like werewolves this is the series to read. But having said that, I had much higher expectations for the ending.
jsberzon's review against another edition
4.0
not quite as good as the others...but ended with a bang and i'm excited for what's coming next. maybe more like a 3.75 but rounding up cause i like his style and i love all the characters.
adelaidemetzger_robotprophet's review against another edition
3.0
Well, this trilogy didn’t go out with a bang, but at least it wasn’t cliché—even if I didn’t quite understand it.
Glen Duncan got me hooked with the end of The Last Werewolfwith Jake dying and leaving Tellula pregnant and that made me excited about Tellula Rising which contained everything I wanted that wasn’t in the first book. With Tellula Rising ending so hunky-dory, I was completely satisfied with the trilogy ending there (even without explaining who Remshi was despite his appearance in the climax). What got me interested in By Blood We Live was the fact that this was in the point of view of a vampire—the oldest vampire—instead of a werewolf like the first two books. However, about 1 quarter into it I lost interest quickly.
This book started strong and fresh with Remshi being the focal point. As usual, Duncan’s take on the lore has to be my favorite part of this whole trilogy. I always like to see how different authors put a different take on werewolf/vampire lore and Glen Duncan has to be my favorite so far. How the werewolves came to be, why vampires and werewolves can’t stand each other, vampire quirks and behavior, werewolf quirks and behavior, so much greatness on these subjects here and I love every bit of it.What got me really excited was finding out that Tellula and Remshi are long lost lovers and actually meant for each other. But that interest left when we got back into Tellula’s POV and had to deal with her problems with a mysterious vampire who needs her for curing paranormal curses—and that’s probably because I felt I was done with her side of the story.
As I said the end of this book is anti-climatic without much of a kick, but it isn’t cliché—just confusing. I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on with Tellula walking away safe and okay,at first I thought it was the cure to lycanthropy, but then she said something about immunity to silver, but even Tellula repeated that she didn’t know what it was. One thing Duncan is known for is trying to come off as realistic and original. He doesn’t play by the rules of literature and forms a world within our own so that we can believe it all the more, so I think that’s what he was trying to do with this ending. In reality we seldom understand things that would make our life story more meaningful, so having the main character not understand what just happened to her is reasonable. But my brain hard-wired with starving for patterns in literature naturally disagreed with what happened and so I’m still fidgeting in my skin about it.
But after a day or two of sitting on it, I accept this conclusion with open arms, but still give it three stars with what this book had to offer as a whole. Loved the backstory and lore stuff, everything else was alright.
Glen Duncan got me hooked with the end of The Last Werewolf
This book started strong and fresh with Remshi being the focal point. As usual, Duncan’s take on the lore has to be my favorite part of this whole trilogy. I always like to see how different authors put a different take on werewolf/vampire lore and Glen Duncan has to be my favorite so far. How the werewolves came to be, why vampires and werewolves can’t stand each other, vampire quirks and behavior, werewolf quirks and behavior, so much greatness on these subjects here and I love every bit of it.
As I said the end of this book is anti-climatic without much of a kick, but it isn’t cliché—just confusing. I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on with Tellula walking away safe and okay,
But after a day or two of sitting on it, I accept this conclusion with open arms, but still give it three stars with what this book had to offer as a whole. Loved the backstory and lore stuff, everything else was alright.
vylotte's review against another edition
3.0
The third in The Last Werewolf series. Glen Duncan once again populates the world with darker, grittier werewolves and vampires, banding together against the world that knows they exist and is systematically destroying them. The author knows how to craft a gorgeous sentence, though it feels lighter (less substantial?) than the first book, which I called art.
whatsheread's review against another edition
5.0
True to form, By Blood We Live is not for the faint of heart or easily disturbed. As in the other two books, the descriptions of sex and violence are extremely graphic. Mr. Duncan leaves nothing to the imagination, especially when it comes to the monthly transformation and the intense build-up to it.
Yet, for all its explicit scenes of rough sex and gory murder scenes, By Blood We Live is a love story. Love is the driving force of the novel, whether it is of lost loves, future loves, or parental love. Talulla is still suffering from Jake’s death, and his memory is the measurement she uses for all relationships. In everything she does, deliberately or subconsciously, she is always seeking to make him proud and live up to his legacy. Then there are her children. Aged three now, she will never forgive herself for losing her son immediately upon his birth and constantly upbraids herself for her lack of protection. There is no doubt that her love for her twins is as deep as it is fierce. Finally, there is the increasing obsession she has with Remshi. She might be a legendary creature with a penchant for evisceration and vivisection, but her heart longs for the peace and comfort a loving relationship brings to everyone.
That Talulla and Remshi are living out an ancient prophecy is just a portion of the story. The introduction of the newest human danger, the Vatican-based Christian cult bent on unmasking the creatures and disposing of them, sets the stage for an entirely new battle. While the vampires and the werewolves will always oppose each other, the world in which they skirmish is definitely changing, and it is in this new world in which Talulla must find a way to negotiate her pack to safety. Given how the story itself ends, one can only hope Mr. Duncan has at least one more novel to write to close out Talulla’s story properly.
There is something incredibly hypnotic about the entire story. Talulla’s stream-of-consciousness rants are heartbreaking in the depths of emotion they show. Her mindset when fully transformed is equally mesmerizing because of the singular focus of the Wolf. In spite of all her outward toughness, Talulla remains the lost girl she was when Jake finds her, and her self-doubt is overwhelming at times. These very human attributes help balance the violence and destruction of which she is more than capable of inflicting on anyone who may get in her way.
By Blood We Live continues to explore the meaning of being human. For all her ferocity, Talulla is incredibly fragile, and she struggles to balance her brittle feelings with the fierce killer she becomes. That she both craves and abhors her behavior on every full moon underscores her continued conscience and is proof that she has not lost her humanity entirely. Then again, her capacity for love is further proof that she is not the monster she believes herself to be. The guilt she carries around with her – guilt at surviving when Jake is gone, guilt at her son’s kidnapping, guilt at her preoccupation with something other than her pack, guilt at the people who have been bitten or killed helping and protecting her – is brutal, but it is what helps keep her tied to her humanity when the Wolf wants nothing more than for her to shed her last vestiges of her past and fully embrace what she has become. For, no matter how often she changes and kills, as long as she continues to feel guilty about it, Talulla will always be human.
The third novel in The Last Werewolf series continues Talulla’s fascinating story. Her personal battles against the Wolf, as well as the battles she fights on behalf of her loved ones, remain provocative and intense. Mr. Duncan’s writing maintains its edginess, finding beauty in the grotesque, and capturing the elegance behind the mental anguish that comes with self-doubt and self-loathing. By Blood We Live is every bit as bloody and riveting as the first two novels, and fans can only hope that we will continue to follow Talulla through her personal existential crisis and her battle for survival.
Yet, for all its explicit scenes of rough sex and gory murder scenes, By Blood We Live is a love story. Love is the driving force of the novel, whether it is of lost loves, future loves, or parental love. Talulla is still suffering from Jake’s death, and his memory is the measurement she uses for all relationships. In everything she does, deliberately or subconsciously, she is always seeking to make him proud and live up to his legacy. Then there are her children. Aged three now, she will never forgive herself for losing her son immediately upon his birth and constantly upbraids herself for her lack of protection. There is no doubt that her love for her twins is as deep as it is fierce. Finally, there is the increasing obsession she has with Remshi. She might be a legendary creature with a penchant for evisceration and vivisection, but her heart longs for the peace and comfort a loving relationship brings to everyone.
That Talulla and Remshi are living out an ancient prophecy is just a portion of the story. The introduction of the newest human danger, the Vatican-based Christian cult bent on unmasking the creatures and disposing of them, sets the stage for an entirely new battle. While the vampires and the werewolves will always oppose each other, the world in which they skirmish is definitely changing, and it is in this new world in which Talulla must find a way to negotiate her pack to safety. Given how the story itself ends, one can only hope Mr. Duncan has at least one more novel to write to close out Talulla’s story properly.
There is something incredibly hypnotic about the entire story. Talulla’s stream-of-consciousness rants are heartbreaking in the depths of emotion they show. Her mindset when fully transformed is equally mesmerizing because of the singular focus of the Wolf. In spite of all her outward toughness, Talulla remains the lost girl she was when Jake finds her, and her self-doubt is overwhelming at times. These very human attributes help balance the violence and destruction of which she is more than capable of inflicting on anyone who may get in her way.
By Blood We Live continues to explore the meaning of being human. For all her ferocity, Talulla is incredibly fragile, and she struggles to balance her brittle feelings with the fierce killer she becomes. That she both craves and abhors her behavior on every full moon underscores her continued conscience and is proof that she has not lost her humanity entirely. Then again, her capacity for love is further proof that she is not the monster she believes herself to be. The guilt she carries around with her – guilt at surviving when Jake is gone, guilt at her son’s kidnapping, guilt at her preoccupation with something other than her pack, guilt at the people who have been bitten or killed helping and protecting her – is brutal, but it is what helps keep her tied to her humanity when the Wolf wants nothing more than for her to shed her last vestiges of her past and fully embrace what she has become. For, no matter how often she changes and kills, as long as she continues to feel guilty about it, Talulla will always be human.
The third novel in The Last Werewolf series continues Talulla’s fascinating story. Her personal battles against the Wolf, as well as the battles she fights on behalf of her loved ones, remain provocative and intense. Mr. Duncan’s writing maintains its edginess, finding beauty in the grotesque, and capturing the elegance behind the mental anguish that comes with self-doubt and self-loathing. By Blood We Live is every bit as bloody and riveting as the first two novels, and fans can only hope that we will continue to follow Talulla through her personal existential crisis and her battle for survival.
anothercurleyhairbooklover's review against another edition
3.0
it is a 3.5.....hard to say. Not as hard hitting as the other two in the series. I liked the various viewpoints, but the plot seemed to be repeating itself from the previous books.
annasirius's review against another edition
3.0
I bought this in a charity shop, not realising it was the third book in a trilogy. It's not badly written, but there's a little too much American bravado in the 20k years old vampire, and I just don't care about werewolves. I stopped reading at the beginning of chapter 22.
gerhard's review against another edition
5.0
Transcendent, gore-soaked third volume in Glen Duncan’s werewolf/vampire series is a magnificent conclusion, but also takes the series to a whole new level. Duncan takes a bit of a risk here in that he slows his breakneck plot down with the introduction of the 20 000-year on-again, off-again love affair between Remshi and Vali, and the couple’s mysterious link to Talulla.
However, it is a risk that pays off handsomely, with Duncan pouring some of his most incandescent writing into the tale of these star-crossed lovers. Twilight, True Blood, Anne Rice, all take note: this is how you do inter-species romance properly, with sufficient gravitas and eroticism, but also a healthy meta-appreciation of the absurdity of the genre’s constraints, so you are able to transcend them.
We also have the successor to the World Organisation for the Control of Occult Phenomena (WOCOP), the Catholic Church’s Militi Christi vigilante hit squad thrown into the heady brew of the plot, plus the mysterious Olek secreted away in a converted ashram in India, convinced he has found the ultimate cure for what ails a fallen world.
If you have not read Duncan before, this is definitely not the place to start – best begin with The Last Werewolf. For the up-to-date reader, Duncan does subtly reiterate some plot arcs of the preceding two novels at crucial points. Given the gonzo, Grand Guignol way the plot erupted in Talulla Rising, I left scratching my head as to how Duncan would resolve the mess in the third volume. Suffice it to say, he is in total control of his material here.
Technically, Duncan is a master of both splatter and psychological horror. There are jaw-dropping set pieces here of quite stunning depravity, and then long lyrical stretches of painful beauty. I especially loved the way he works Robert Browning into the plot, which of course will be familiar to fans of Stephen King, but Duncan’s take on the Childe Roland story is much deeper that what King attempted with his Dark Tower series.
However, it is a risk that pays off handsomely, with Duncan pouring some of his most incandescent writing into the tale of these star-crossed lovers. Twilight, True Blood, Anne Rice, all take note: this is how you do inter-species romance properly, with sufficient gravitas and eroticism, but also a healthy meta-appreciation of the absurdity of the genre’s constraints, so you are able to transcend them.
We also have the successor to the World Organisation for the Control of Occult Phenomena (WOCOP), the Catholic Church’s Militi Christi vigilante hit squad thrown into the heady brew of the plot, plus the mysterious Olek secreted away in a converted ashram in India, convinced he has found the ultimate cure for what ails a fallen world.
If you have not read Duncan before, this is definitely not the place to start – best begin with The Last Werewolf. For the up-to-date reader, Duncan does subtly reiterate some plot arcs of the preceding two novels at crucial points. Given the gonzo, Grand Guignol way the plot erupted in Talulla Rising, I left scratching my head as to how Duncan would resolve the mess in the third volume. Suffice it to say, he is in total control of his material here.
Technically, Duncan is a master of both splatter and psychological horror. There are jaw-dropping set pieces here of quite stunning depravity, and then long lyrical stretches of painful beauty. I especially loved the way he works Robert Browning into the plot, which of course will be familiar to fans of Stephen King, but Duncan’s take on the Childe Roland story is much deeper that what King attempted with his Dark Tower series.
catniprocks's review against another edition
5.0
FUCK that was a good book. WHY does that have to be the last??? Rip me to shreds then rebuild me better, faster and stronger. PRIMAL!