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twoclaws's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Body horror, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, and Gore
intothevolcano's review
3.0
I verged on giving this two stars, to be honest - but I think my distaste for it mostly stemmed from comparison to The Last Werewolf (the book's prequel, which is far better). Something about Duncan's portrayal of Talulla in particular didn't sit right with me - and the constant referencing back to things Jake had written or said (i.e. quoting the last, far better, book) was not only lazy, but pointed out how unsuccessfully we were shown Talulla's inner voice in comparison. Meh.
anrobe's review
4.0
I think that I may have liked this novel better than the first in the series, The Last Werewolf. But, all in all, it's a very similar tale but from a woman's perspective. I think it was the female voice and her struggles around motherhood that spoke to me the most, pushing this one to a higher place in my mind than the first novel.
This one is dark, violent, gory and highly sexual, just like the first book. If that puts you off, do not read this book. It's in no way a 'nice' werewolf novel. It's extremely violent and has incredible amounts of sexual content. It's definitely not for everyone.
Much of my review of The Last Werewolf could be repeated here ... Glen Duncan is a great writer & this novel continues to be an introspective look at the thoughts and emotions of werewolves which I find interesting. However, I think this novel continues to be uneven, just like the previous one. There are areas of brilliance and then others are eh. The story itself was fine and the pacing was good.
But, all in all, I don't think this novel was much different from the first other than it focused on a female instead of a male. Otherwise, much of the content felt similar to what I'd read in the previous novel with just a few tweaks. It's my understanding that this is a trilogy so I'll probably read the last one but I'm not particularly excited about doing so. Yet, I feel compelled to see the series through.
This novel is definitely an adventure into the dark world of the werewolf. I think its worth the read if you liked the first novel. But, it's not for the sensitive reader. Read only if intense violence and sexuality don't bother you.
This one is dark, violent, gory and highly sexual, just like the first book. If that puts you off, do not read this book. It's in no way a 'nice' werewolf novel. It's extremely violent and has incredible amounts of sexual content. It's definitely not for everyone.
Much of my review of The Last Werewolf could be repeated here ... Glen Duncan is a great writer & this novel continues to be an introspective look at the thoughts and emotions of werewolves which I find interesting. However, I think this novel continues to be uneven, just like the previous one. There are areas of brilliance and then others are eh. The story itself was fine and the pacing was good.
But, all in all, I don't think this novel was much different from the first other than it focused on a female instead of a male. Otherwise, much of the content felt similar to what I'd read in the previous novel with just a few tweaks. It's my understanding that this is a trilogy so I'll probably read the last one but I'm not particularly excited about doing so. Yet, I feel compelled to see the series through.
This novel is definitely an adventure into the dark world of the werewolf. I think its worth the read if you liked the first novel. But, it's not for the sensitive reader. Read only if intense violence and sexuality don't bother you.
rothcoe's review
3.0
I liked this, and I didn't like this.
I like Jake more than I like Talulla.
I like Talulla better when she's alone - I love her fierceness. I don't love everyone else around her. When she was in the cell, plotting her escape, I loved her. When she was plotting with the other werewolves, I didn't like her as much. I don't know why.
I didn't like the other werewolves being introduced. It seemed too... Convenient, almost? I don't have a really solid reason behind WHY I dislike stories that involve a group of people banding together to fight - there are some instances where it works really well, and there are some instances where it's just page after page of prep and it seems so silly and trite - like girls getting ready for a high school dance and assigning maximum importance to each and every movement. It's difficult to explain, and I sound kind of vagueish and "Hmph", but it rubs me the wrong way sometimes. It rubbed me the wrong way this time. It reminded me of the last Twilight book, kind of - there was a bunch of preparation for an event that was somewhat disappointing. Though I fucking LOVED every single bit of scenery that Marco was involved in. (I don't know why, I picture him looking like Tim Meadows, and I'm ok with that). This book was set up like there will be a sequel, and I am crossing all of my fingers and hoping against hope that Marco plays a larger part.
I didn't like the instant closeness that Talulla fell into with the other werewolves - it seemed like there should be more to their friendship, other than "We're all werewolves!" I get the "pack" structuring, sort of - even though it's been stated a few times that werewolves are solitary creatures. Maybe it's different because they are special, I don't know.
Lots of "I don't knows" sprinkled in here - overall, I liked the book. I like the style of writing, for the most part, and I like the characters, for the most part. I think I like it best when they are solitary, I think the characters are more appealing when they are fending for themselves. This makes me sound like a horrible person? This makes me sound like a horrible person.
I like Jake more than I like Talulla.
I like Talulla better when she's alone - I love her fierceness. I don't love everyone else around her. When she was in the cell, plotting her escape, I loved her. When she was plotting with the other werewolves, I didn't like her as much. I don't know why.
I didn't like the other werewolves being introduced. It seemed too... Convenient, almost? I don't have a really solid reason behind WHY I dislike stories that involve a group of people banding together to fight - there are some instances where it works really well, and there are some instances where it's just page after page of prep and it seems so silly and trite - like girls getting ready for a high school dance and assigning maximum importance to each and every movement. It's difficult to explain, and I sound kind of vagueish and "Hmph", but it rubs me the wrong way sometimes. It rubbed me the wrong way this time. It reminded me of the last Twilight book, kind of - there was a bunch of preparation for an event that was somewhat disappointing. Though I fucking LOVED every single bit of scenery that Marco was involved in. (I don't know why, I picture him looking like Tim Meadows, and I'm ok with that). This book was set up like there will be a sequel, and I am crossing all of my fingers and hoping against hope that Marco plays a larger part.
I didn't like the instant closeness that Talulla fell into with the other werewolves - it seemed like there should be more to their friendship, other than "We're all werewolves!" I get the "pack" structuring, sort of - even though it's been stated a few times that werewolves are solitary creatures. Maybe it's different because they are special, I don't know.
Lots of "I don't knows" sprinkled in here - overall, I liked the book. I like the style of writing, for the most part, and I like the characters, for the most part. I think I like it best when they are solitary, I think the characters are more appealing when they are fending for themselves. This makes me sound like a horrible person? This makes me sound like a horrible person.
erinelizabeth's review against another edition
4.0
4 1/2 stars. The beginning was a little rough, but the writing is far superior to majority of the urban werewolf stuff out there.
charshorrorcorner's review against another edition
3.0
When I was listening to THE LAST WEREWOLF, I wasn't sure I would continue on with the series. I liked the bloodiness of it, and I enjoyed the world building, but was less than thrilled with the tons of graphic sex going on. EAT. FUCK. KILL. That's the werewolf mantra. However, there was such a hook at the end of the narrative AND the library had the audio of this one in stock, and here we are!
Right now, I feel the same way as I did when I finished the first book in the series. Here there were many surprises, (maybe too many to be believed, but hey-it's a werewolf book), and a good amount of action. However, I didn't feel that the quality of the writing was quite as good as THE LAST WEREWOLF.
Once again, close to the end, there is another surprising tidbit that makes me want to continue on with the series. This time, though, I'm going to read a few books in between, and then see if I still feel like continuing.
*I checked this audio out from my local library for FREE. LIBRARIES RULE!*
Right now, I feel the same way as I did when I finished the first book in the series. Here there were many surprises, (maybe too many to be believed, but hey-it's a werewolf book), and a good amount of action. However, I didn't feel that the quality of the writing was quite as good as THE LAST WEREWOLF.
Once again, close to the end, there is another surprising tidbit that makes me want to continue on with the series. This time, though, I'm going to read a few books in between, and then see if I still feel like continuing.
*I checked this audio out from my local library for FREE. LIBRARIES RULE!*
eri_123's review against another edition
4.0
Engaging! Stopping reading to go to sleep was not an option. A darker, grittier supernatural story.
whatsheread's review against another edition
In The Last Werewolf, readers met Jake, a 400-year-old werewolf who believes that he is the last of his kind until he meets Talulla and his entire world suddenly takes on new meaning after hundreds of years of ennui and survival. Talulla Rising picks up roughly seven months after The Last Werewolf with Jake dead and Talulla alternating between fear at her inability to balance her monster with motherhood and grief over the loss of her true love. Upon the kidnapping of her son immediately after his birth, what follows is a breathtaking story that allows the reader to run the gamut of emotional responses at Talulla’s actions and inactions, her warring instincts, and own inner turmoil. Told in a similar journalistic fashion as The Last Werewolf, readers get true insight into Talulla’s internal conflicts, her self-disgust, and her opposing desires.
The idea of a monster becoming a mother is nothing new, but Mr. Duncan is able to bring a freshness to the story that is intriguing. More importantly, even though Talulla is female and turns into a literal monster once a month, he manages to create her story without delving too horribly into the cliché of women’s monthly cycle, something that would be all too easy to do. Talulla’s struggles drive home the issues that arise when any woman becomes a mother and must adjust her entire lifestyle to accommodate these changes. Yet, the story’s true heart is the idea that someone completely conflicted about her role as a mother is willing to move heaven and earth to recover her stolen child. When Talulla is at her most driven, the reader becomes utterly captivated, and the reader’s despair over her grief is nothing compared to the reader’s feelings of impotence when things look the bleakest for Talulla and her allies. It is an emotional investment that is totally absorbing.
Make no mistake, however, that Talulla Rising is more than a trite and tortuous rescue mission. There is just enough gravitas and psychological discussions to please even the most discerning of literary critics. While The Last Werewolf was an introduction into Mr. Duncan’s world of supernatural creatures, it is through Talulla’s eyes where his world takes on substance. Everything a reader thought s/he understood from Jake’s story is quickly found to have no meaning as her experiences show that the world of supernatural creatures and their hunters is more complicated and fraught with peril than Jake ever knew. Keeping track of the overly large cast of characters may be complicated, but there the reader implicitly knows that it is essential for understanding the depth and details of Talulla’s world and vital for future storylines.
In The Last Werewolf, Glen Duncan introduced readers to an entirely new version of werewolf that was at once fascinating and disgusting. In Talulla Rising, he continues his masterful storytelling and ups the ante by adding a nurturing element that drives home the monstrosity that is the werewolf curse. While Jake wrestled with his own issues after having been alive for over 400 years, Talulla’s story is sufficiently more complicated and human. Not only must she deal with her own monstrousness, she has to wrest away enough residual humanity to become a mother. Mr. Duncan’s vision of werewolves is still graphically violent and overtly sexual, but due to her youth, her inexperience as a werewolf, her pending motherhood, and her abrupt switch into rescue mode, there is a poignancy to Talulla’s story that outshines the gory explicitness. With its twists and turns and surprising ending, Talulla Rising is a worthy sequel to one of last year’s more exciting novels.
Acknowledgments: Thank you to Kim Thornton from Random House for my e-galley!
The idea of a monster becoming a mother is nothing new, but Mr. Duncan is able to bring a freshness to the story that is intriguing. More importantly, even though Talulla is female and turns into a literal monster once a month, he manages to create her story without delving too horribly into the cliché of women’s monthly cycle, something that would be all too easy to do. Talulla’s struggles drive home the issues that arise when any woman becomes a mother and must adjust her entire lifestyle to accommodate these changes. Yet, the story’s true heart is the idea that someone completely conflicted about her role as a mother is willing to move heaven and earth to recover her stolen child. When Talulla is at her most driven, the reader becomes utterly captivated, and the reader’s despair over her grief is nothing compared to the reader’s feelings of impotence when things look the bleakest for Talulla and her allies. It is an emotional investment that is totally absorbing.
Make no mistake, however, that Talulla Rising is more than a trite and tortuous rescue mission. There is just enough gravitas and psychological discussions to please even the most discerning of literary critics. While The Last Werewolf was an introduction into Mr. Duncan’s world of supernatural creatures, it is through Talulla’s eyes where his world takes on substance. Everything a reader thought s/he understood from Jake’s story is quickly found to have no meaning as her experiences show that the world of supernatural creatures and their hunters is more complicated and fraught with peril than Jake ever knew. Keeping track of the overly large cast of characters may be complicated, but there the reader implicitly knows that it is essential for understanding the depth and details of Talulla’s world and vital for future storylines.
In The Last Werewolf, Glen Duncan introduced readers to an entirely new version of werewolf that was at once fascinating and disgusting. In Talulla Rising, he continues his masterful storytelling and ups the ante by adding a nurturing element that drives home the monstrosity that is the werewolf curse. While Jake wrestled with his own issues after having been alive for over 400 years, Talulla’s story is sufficiently more complicated and human. Not only must she deal with her own monstrousness, she has to wrest away enough residual humanity to become a mother. Mr. Duncan’s vision of werewolves is still graphically violent and overtly sexual, but due to her youth, her inexperience as a werewolf, her pending motherhood, and her abrupt switch into rescue mode, there is a poignancy to Talulla’s story that outshines the gory explicitness. With its twists and turns and surprising ending, Talulla Rising is a worthy sequel to one of last year’s more exciting novels.
Acknowledgments: Thank you to Kim Thornton from Random House for my e-galley!