Scan barcode
rosaliez_reads's review against another edition
3.0
The plot was the best part of this book. It was suspenseful and kept the reading pushing through pages, eagerly awaiting the next development or twist.
Talulla was a very unsatisfying narrator after Jake. Her struggle between humanity and monstrosity, while at times insightful and interesting, mostly dragged on and became intensely repetitive. Also, her issues with her motherhood seem to be not only drag on forever, but also are not even backed up? She did mess up a couple times, but on the whole, I thought it was pretty evident she had a normal mother's love.... Maybe that was the point though and I just missed out on a huge literary development. Also, her big tragic "Delilah Snow" moment was really not as horrific as some of the other things she/other werewolves have done so I am a bit confused as to why that kept coming up and being such a defining moment. If this would have just been a minor theme in the book, it would have worked quite well (I do see its purpose), but it came up entirely too many times.
On the whole, a fine enough read that you will definitely want to finish to the end. The Last Werewolf was much better, but that seems to be the tragedy of sequels.
Talulla was a very unsatisfying narrator after Jake. Her struggle between humanity and monstrosity, while at times insightful and interesting, mostly dragged on and became intensely repetitive. Also, her issues with her motherhood seem to be not only drag on forever, but also are not even backed up? She did mess up a couple times, but on the whole, I thought it was pretty evident she had a normal mother's love.... Maybe that was the point though and I just missed out on a huge literary development. Also, her big tragic "Delilah Snow" moment was really not as horrific as some of the other things she/other werewolves have done so I am a bit confused as to why that kept coming up and being such a defining moment. If this would have just been a minor theme in the book, it would have worked quite well (I do see its purpose), but it came up entirely too many times.
On the whole, a fine enough read that you will definitely want to finish to the end. The Last Werewolf was much better, but that seems to be the tragedy of sequels.
korrigan's review
4.0
I won an ARC copy of Talulla Rising from a First Reads Giveaway, which is what finally kicked my butt into gear to read the first book of this series, The Last Werewolf.
Basically: if you like monsters, especially werewolves, these books are for you. Talulla is the kind of monster I'd want to be in her shoes. The modern setting is refreshing. The pace is quick. There's a little room left near the end for more questions, and I will be looking forward to their answers.
Basically: if you like monsters, especially werewolves, these books are for you. Talulla is the kind of monster I'd want to be in her shoes. The modern setting is refreshing. The pace is quick. There's a little room left near the end for more questions, and I will be looking forward to their answers.
tarynwanderer's review
4.0
Talulla Rising, Glen Duncan's sequel to 2011's The Last Werewolf, is a great example of a slow-burning novel. It starts quietly, in an isolated cabin in Alaska, and quickly becomes a mysterious chase spanning the globe as our heroine attempts to avert the murder of her child in a cult ceremony.
Oh yeah, and our heroine is a werewolf who eviscerates and devours at least one human being each month.
I won't keep you in suspense; I really, really enjoyed this book. It had much of the same black humor as the first book, and the same frenetic energy. Instead of following Jake, we follow Talulla--the new last werewolf--as she waits to give birth to her dead partner's child/pup. Everything quickly goes to hell. In the interests of avoiding spoilers, I won't detail exactly how or why.
I was wary of Talulla at first. She introduces herself as a bad girl, a nasty girl, a girl who has always done what she wanted, even before she became a monster every full moon. Not...the most endearing qualities, but I don't need to actively like every character I read about, even if it's the main character. Honestly, I think I just felt somewhat more detached from Talulla than I did from Jake. Duncan is a masterful writer, but it took me a while to really believe in Talulla and her voice; for stories written in a first-person narrative, a reader not believing in your POV character can be the kiss of death. I had the thought, more often than once, that Duncan was perhaps not as comfortable--or at least, as believable--writing from a woman's perspective. I do, however, applaud his effort, and once the pace picked up, I found myself understanding Talulla a bit better, and even admiring her particular thoughts and skills as distinct from Marlowe's.
There are many familiar faces, including Cloquet (love him!), Madeleine, and Mia. Their inclusion and contributions to the plot were frequently wonderful and unexpected. The evolution of Cloquet from a drug-addicted, foolish, love-struck man into Talulla's companion was perhaps, to me, one of the most unambiguously positive outcomes of the last book. And though the specter of Jake hangs over Talulla (and Madeleine), having him there was nice for the reader--both for continuity and for the sheer enjoyment of his familiar voice.
Read the rest of my review at Bookwanderer!
Oh yeah, and our heroine is a werewolf who eviscerates and devours at least one human being each month.
I won't keep you in suspense; I really, really enjoyed this book. It had much of the same black humor as the first book, and the same frenetic energy. Instead of following Jake, we follow Talulla--the new last werewolf--as she waits to give birth to her dead partner's child/pup. Everything quickly goes to hell. In the interests of avoiding spoilers, I won't detail exactly how or why.
I was wary of Talulla at first. She introduces herself as a bad girl, a nasty girl, a girl who has always done what she wanted, even before she became a monster every full moon. Not...the most endearing qualities, but I don't need to actively like every character I read about, even if it's the main character. Honestly, I think I just felt somewhat more detached from Talulla than I did from Jake. Duncan is a masterful writer, but it took me a while to really believe in Talulla and her voice; for stories written in a first-person narrative, a reader not believing in your POV character can be the kiss of death. I had the thought, more often than once, that Duncan was perhaps not as comfortable--or at least, as believable--writing from a woman's perspective. I do, however, applaud his effort, and once the pace picked up, I found myself understanding Talulla a bit better, and even admiring her particular thoughts and skills as distinct from Marlowe's.
There are many familiar faces, including Cloquet (love him!), Madeleine, and Mia. Their inclusion and contributions to the plot were frequently wonderful and unexpected. The evolution of Cloquet from a drug-addicted, foolish, love-struck man into Talulla's companion was perhaps, to me, one of the most unambiguously positive outcomes of the last book. And though the specter of Jake hangs over Talulla (and Madeleine), having him there was nice for the reader--both for continuity and for the sheer enjoyment of his familiar voice.
Read the rest of my review at Bookwanderer!
angarena's review
3.0
All I could think as I read this is how much I missed Jacob the last werewolf who wasn't the last werewolf after all. Talulla just didn't do it for me the way Jake did.
manek_m's review
3.0
The first one was better... but this one was pretty good. In a literary werewolf sort of way.
fattieflower's review
2.0
COME NO CLOSER IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE LAST WEREWOLF.
.
.
.
.
Read the first book and really devoured it (with a few quips about its movie-ready plot line, scripted dialogue and action sequences). The Last Werewolf is unique, pleasingly complicated, even sophisticated in ways I had not thought originally. I now appreciate postmortem Jake, its principle character, more than ever in his absence. With Talulla Rising, I felt the plots were thin-to-fatally diluted and overly plentiful; it is packed with threadbare characters with no express purpose than to populate space and then clear a path to satisfying the end, which didn't really satisfy. Overall, this was just "okay."
.
.
.
.
Read the first book and really devoured it (with a few quips about its movie-ready plot line, scripted dialogue and action sequences). The Last Werewolf is unique, pleasingly complicated, even sophisticated in ways I had not thought originally. I now appreciate postmortem Jake, its principle character, more than ever in his absence. With Talulla Rising, I felt the plots were thin-to-fatally diluted and overly plentiful; it is packed with threadbare characters with no express purpose than to populate space and then clear a path to satisfying the end, which didn't really satisfy. Overall, this was just "okay."
tomislav_d's review
2.0
1 star more because of the violence and the gore. Also, now I want to know if I guessed correctly where the plot is going, so onward to no. 3.
abookishtype's review
3.0
You might be surprised, considering my reaction to the first book in this series, that I carried on and read Glen Duncan’s Talulla Rising. I picked it up mostly because of the reviews. Surprisingly, I actually found myself in accord with the critics on this one. This book is better than its predecessor. A lot better. I actually have fewer misgiving in recommending this one to others. While Duncan still uses the c-word fairly liberally and there’s some fairly gruesome violence in this book, there’s a lot of plot, a lot of intriguing mystery, and, for me, a better narrator...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
arkhikernc's review
3.0
I enjoyed reading this book (it only took me two days). I gave the book 3 stars because I found the main character Tallula just a little unbelievable. I think that may be because a male author tried to be inside a female's head. It wasn't bad just a little off center. That said the story was fun to read and kept me interested even when Talulla's monologue went off track.
vaderspetpug's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0