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rachl27r's review
4.0
Just like the first book in this series, I really liked the story but was a bit put off by the graphic nature of the book. It just grossed me out sometimes. But I thought the female werewolf perspective was a nice change and her struggles with motherhood and feeling alone and helpless with the death of her parter Jake, kept the story interesting and gave it some depth. Not just a thriller-horror novel. Overall, it's not a book for everyone, but I enjoyed it!
gilnean's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Kidnapping
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
vita_zeta's review against another edition
5.0
It’s common in storytelling to end a tale with the death of a man and the birth of his son. A follow-up is rarely considered necessary – the genetics live on, the man lives on. No more you need to know. So it was for that reason that I felt exceptionally foolish when I was, for one, surprised that there was a sequel to The Last Werewolf, and secondly, that the story of the woman who would give birth to Jake Marlowe’s children was far more appropriate for a tale of a person who is both a human and a vicious animal.
There’s the obvious allegory – the moon cycle. There’s the fact that this book opens with introducing us to the brutality of pregnancy and birth, and also the vulnerability of a pregnant woman, even when she can turn into a seven foot monster. She becomes an Other several times over - a woman, a mother, and a nearly extinct werewolf - and the fact that she is attacked from all sides reflects that. It takes the opportunity to look at the basic mammalian instincts of motherhood, and the modern angst of just not knowing what this little thing that looks like you is and what you could possibly offer it, and spins it into a driven and bloodthirsty story of a woman who needs to reunite her newborn twins after her son is taken.
For this reason, Tallulah Rising is far more focused that The Last Werewolf was. Jake Marlowe absently searched for someone or something to give him a reason not to die, whereas Tallulah Demetriou desperately has to live. The story is not nearly as convoluted (though it does get complicated towards the end, perhaps a little unnecessarily) as TLW, and it feels far more sincere. It's a lot nastier too, but also appropriately sentimental. Where Jake was a lone wolf, Tallulah finds family, not just in her children, but in a young pack of happy accidents and a former hunter - "His face was full of life focused on me, the blue-green eyes glimmering, the mouth edging into a less innocent version of its smile" Anyone think Walker was a carbon copy of Dean Winchester? Someone tell Jensen Ackles to keep an eye on the option rights for this one.
The characters in this book – the ones we care the most about, anyway, though I did love Madeline – get the crap beaten out of them. It’s not an angry story, exactly, but it is about people crawling their way out from where they were buried in the basement and ripping the guts out of the person who put them there. Over and over Tallulah is taken as merely a means to end to be stripped and left in pieces, and over and over she kicks back with a force hell doesn't know. It’s about the relationship between being hurt and dishing out hurt, and I think that this book handles that better than any other I’ve read ("I learnt two things. One was that no amount of violence you've done to others prepares you for violence done to yourself. The other was that you can't escape the marriage with your body. Divorce isn't an option. Even when you want to stop caring about it you can't"). If there’s anything Glen Duncan does well its write sex and violence in the most brutal and beautiful ways. As well as being painfully clever, as usual.
(ARC provided by NetGalley.com)
There’s the obvious allegory – the moon cycle. There’s the fact that this book opens with introducing us to the brutality of pregnancy and birth, and also the vulnerability of a pregnant woman, even when she can turn into a seven foot monster. She becomes an Other several times over - a woman, a mother, and a nearly extinct werewolf - and the fact that she is attacked from all sides reflects that. It takes the opportunity to look at the basic mammalian instincts of motherhood, and the modern angst of just not knowing what this little thing that looks like you is and what you could possibly offer it, and spins it into a driven and bloodthirsty story of a woman who needs to reunite her newborn twins after her son is taken.
For this reason, Tallulah Rising is far more focused that The Last Werewolf was. Jake Marlowe absently searched for someone or something to give him a reason not to die, whereas Tallulah Demetriou desperately has to live. The story is not nearly as convoluted (though it does get complicated towards the end, perhaps a little unnecessarily) as TLW, and it feels far more sincere. It's a lot nastier too, but also appropriately sentimental. Where Jake was a lone wolf, Tallulah finds family, not just in her children, but in a young pack of happy accidents and a former hunter - "His face was full of life focused on me, the blue-green eyes glimmering, the mouth edging into a less innocent version of its smile" Anyone think Walker was a carbon copy of Dean Winchester? Someone tell Jensen Ackles to keep an eye on the option rights for this one.
The characters in this book – the ones we care the most about, anyway, though I did love Madeline – get the crap beaten out of them. It’s not an angry story, exactly, but it is about people crawling their way out from where they were buried in the basement and ripping the guts out of the person who put them there. Over and over Tallulah is taken as merely a means to end to be stripped and left in pieces, and over and over she kicks back with a force hell doesn't know. It’s about the relationship between being hurt and dishing out hurt, and I think that this book handles that better than any other I’ve read ("I learnt two things. One was that no amount of violence you've done to others prepares you for violence done to yourself. The other was that you can't escape the marriage with your body. Divorce isn't an option. Even when you want to stop caring about it you can't"). If there’s anything Glen Duncan does well its write sex and violence in the most brutal and beautiful ways. As well as being painfully clever, as usual.
(ARC provided by NetGalley.com)
raposisses's review
4.0
The first book really DOES feel like just a very long prologue for this one, where the real story begins. Who tf is Jake? Talulla is the protagonist we deserve.
All good things that were already present in the first book (prose, gore, dark humor, werewolf mythos) only get better here, but I'm honestly surprised by how GOOD glen duncan is at writing a believable woman. Don't get me wrong, but I think most ladies will agree with me here: some (a LOT of) male writers really don't know how to write women. And after such a... masculine? book like the last werewolf, I had my doubts. But not only Talulla is amazing, the narrative is amazing TO Talulla. There were a lot of times where a potentially problematic scene began and I immediately thought "oh here we go, this dude had to fuck up eventually", but he turned it around to a fantastic conclusion EVERY TIME. I'm so impressed. And not only Talulla is without a doubt the strongest character in this series, but a lot of other female characters are also introduced! No more dudefest! All my dreams about this trilogy are coming true.
All good things that were already present in the first book (prose, gore, dark humor, werewolf mythos) only get better here, but I'm honestly surprised by how GOOD glen duncan is at writing a believable woman. Don't get me wrong, but I think most ladies will agree with me here: some (a LOT of) male writers really don't know how to write women. And after such a... masculine? book like the last werewolf, I had my doubts. But not only Talulla is amazing, the narrative is amazing TO Talulla. There were a lot of times where a potentially problematic scene began and I immediately thought "oh here we go, this dude had to fuck up eventually", but he turned it around to a fantastic conclusion EVERY TIME. I'm so impressed. And not only Talulla is without a doubt the strongest character in this series, but a lot of other female characters are also introduced! No more dudefest! All my dreams about this trilogy are coming true.
amyextradot's review
4.0
I liked this much better than the first one--either I grew used to Duncan's pretentious way of writing, or he toned it down. I'm guessing he turned it to 7 instead of 11, which makes sense--Talulla isn't a world-weary Wulf. She's a new mom dealing with reconciling her "fuckkilleat" nature with that of a nurturing mom.
The beginning bugged me a bit--the "Delilah Snow" mystery that wasn't really a huge deal, overshadows the other events, but once that cat was out of the bag, it moves at a quick pace.
If you don't want to wade through the pages to figure out who the fuck Ms. Snow is....keep reading. (I wish I would have seen this spoiler myself, so hopefully, I'm doing some of you a favor.)
SPOILER ALERT
IT'S COMING
READY?
Delilah Snow is a 2 month old infant that Lu DIDN'T kill. She ate the great-grandad, as she was surprised by the mom, Lu ate her too, and then went upstairs to see the baby. She was thinking about it, but was interrupted by a car pulling into the drive. It's because she was *going to* eat a baby that she thinks she might eat her own kids.
The beginning bugged me a bit--the "Delilah Snow" mystery that wasn't really a huge deal, overshadows the other events, but once that cat was out of the bag, it moves at a quick pace.
If you don't want to wade through the pages to figure out who the fuck Ms. Snow is....keep reading. (I wish I would have seen this spoiler myself, so hopefully, I'm doing some of you a favor.)
SPOILER ALERT
IT'S COMING
READY?
Delilah Snow is a 2 month old infant that Lu DIDN'T kill. She ate the great-grandad, as she was surprised by the mom, Lu ate her too, and then went upstairs to see the baby. She was thinking about it, but was interrupted by a car pulling into the drive. It's because she was *going to* eat a baby that she thinks she might eat her own kids.
bookwormlukas's review
5.0
I give this book ALL OF THE STARS. It was great, and even better than the first which I already loved. I won't talk about it too much since it's the middle of the trilogy and practically everything that I could talk about involves spoilers, but this is everything a sequel should be. The action was non-stop, the characters well drawn out (we get a different narrator here and it works brilliantly), and the story showed progress towards a definitive ending.
This is really shaping up to be one of my favourite adult series, and I just can't get enough of Glen Duncan's writing. Just assume the rest of this review would be lots of gushy praise, and go out and pick up the original if you like your stories dark, gory and full of mayhem!
This is really shaping up to be one of my favourite adult series, and I just can't get enough of Glen Duncan's writing. Just assume the rest of this review would be lots of gushy praise, and go out and pick up the original if you like your stories dark, gory and full of mayhem!
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.