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mattdoylemedia's review against another edition
5.0
I want to start this review by mentioning the cover. Ben Baldwin has created what is probably one of my favourite book covers ever here. I love, old-school illustrated piece, and this does a great job of capturing the feel of the book. It’s impossible to look at this piece and not get the two most important pieces of information from it: one, it’s a werewolf book, and two, it’s horror, not paranormal romance. Beautifully done.
Now, onto the book itself. I picked this title up because I was specifically looking for werewolf horror. Don’t get me wrong, I love Urban Fantasy, but I was specifically looking for something scary here. In that regard, the book does not disappoint. This isn’t a tale of heroic shifters. Even the good guys– both literal and those who would paint themselves as such – are far from what you’d find in the works of Kelley Armstrong and Patricia Briggs, for example.
Part of what that means is the book is violent. Like, really, graphically violent. If you like your werewolves brutal, that is on show in full force here, with some truly disturbing kills.. Best of all, Graeme does a great job of balancing the descriptives in those scenes. They tell you everything you need to know, but he doesn’t fall into the trap of getting too wrapped up in adding more words than are needed. They don’t go on any longer than is needed. The result is the bloody moments essentially hit you square in the face and then step back, waiting for the right time to snap off another shot.
The characters themselves mostly fall into shades of grey. There are some very clear villains, but the good guys all have moments and traits that make them less clean-cut, even if it’s just actions that make you think, ‘bloody kids’, during the flashback arc. It’s done in a way that feels very authentic, though. Again, Graeme does a great job here in showing restraint, allowing the characters to be what they need to be rather than straying into caricature territory. I will say too that, with a handful of exceptions, the core cast is very British. The language, the attitudes, and the setting make it very clear where the book is set. If you grew up in the UK in the ’80s too, you’ll recognise a lot of little things that pop up.
In terms of the main story, this was exactly what I was looking for. We get a lot of the old-school curse elements to werewolves, complete with all that entails. At the same time, the more common (these days) approach to werewolves and their culture is also present but placed in a context that works well alongside the other elements. There are plenty of twists that you may well see coming a long way off, but they play out so earnestly that it really doesn’t matter. They make sense within the tale, and that is really all that matters.
Now, if I’m going to criticise anything, I would say that some of the language isn’t going to sit well with some. If you don’t like things to feel British, you’ll struggle. The characters certainly use some words that won’t fly now during the ’80s arc, though not so much in the arc set in more modern times. If you’re from the South in the UK and you don’t like people up North or in the Midlands viewing Southerners in a less than stellar light, there’s one scene that you may not like late on too. From a personal standpoint, I do think that this needs to be taken in context. The past arc plays out like it would have in the timeframe, and the language progresses a little in the more modern scenes. Being from the South East, I also saw the humour in the aforementioned scene. It’s good to laugh at yourself sometimes, after all.
Overall, I’m going to summarise the book thus: If you want a very British werewolf tale that is undoubtedly horror, and undeniably brutal, this is the book you need. It’s that simple. This is an easy 5 out of 5 for me, and I can’t wait to read the second and third parts of the trilogy.
Now, onto the book itself. I picked this title up because I was specifically looking for werewolf horror. Don’t get me wrong, I love Urban Fantasy, but I was specifically looking for something scary here. In that regard, the book does not disappoint. This isn’t a tale of heroic shifters. Even the good guys– both literal and those who would paint themselves as such – are far from what you’d find in the works of Kelley Armstrong and Patricia Briggs, for example.
Part of what that means is the book is violent. Like, really, graphically violent. If you like your werewolves brutal, that is on show in full force here, with some truly disturbing kills.. Best of all, Graeme does a great job of balancing the descriptives in those scenes. They tell you everything you need to know, but he doesn’t fall into the trap of getting too wrapped up in adding more words than are needed. They don’t go on any longer than is needed. The result is the bloody moments essentially hit you square in the face and then step back, waiting for the right time to snap off another shot.
The characters themselves mostly fall into shades of grey. There are some very clear villains, but the good guys all have moments and traits that make them less clean-cut, even if it’s just actions that make you think, ‘bloody kids’, during the flashback arc. It’s done in a way that feels very authentic, though. Again, Graeme does a great job here in showing restraint, allowing the characters to be what they need to be rather than straying into caricature territory. I will say too that, with a handful of exceptions, the core cast is very British. The language, the attitudes, and the setting make it very clear where the book is set. If you grew up in the UK in the ’80s too, you’ll recognise a lot of little things that pop up.
In terms of the main story, this was exactly what I was looking for. We get a lot of the old-school curse elements to werewolves, complete with all that entails. At the same time, the more common (these days) approach to werewolves and their culture is also present but placed in a context that works well alongside the other elements. There are plenty of twists that you may well see coming a long way off, but they play out so earnestly that it really doesn’t matter. They make sense within the tale, and that is really all that matters.
Now, if I’m going to criticise anything, I would say that some of the language isn’t going to sit well with some. If you don’t like things to feel British, you’ll struggle. The characters certainly use some words that won’t fly now during the ’80s arc, though not so much in the arc set in more modern times. If you’re from the South in the UK and you don’t like people up North or in the Midlands viewing Southerners in a less than stellar light, there’s one scene that you may not like late on too. From a personal standpoint, I do think that this needs to be taken in context. The past arc plays out like it would have in the timeframe, and the language progresses a little in the more modern scenes. Being from the South East, I also saw the humour in the aforementioned scene. It’s good to laugh at yourself sometimes, after all.
Overall, I’m going to summarise the book thus: If you want a very British werewolf tale that is undoubtedly horror, and undeniably brutal, this is the book you need. It’s that simple. This is an easy 5 out of 5 for me, and I can’t wait to read the second and third parts of the trilogy.
hydeinseek's review against another edition
5.0
Audiobook was great. I really enjoyed the story! There haven't been that many good werewolf stories that have come out recently, so it was nice to find one with plenty of everything you would expect!
winteryshilohs's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kirby978's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
If you're looking for a very straightforward, predictable werewolf tale, this is the book for you. I'll admit it was a breath of fresh air to have an author try and make werewolves scary as opposed to obsessing over romance, but the plot was bland and supposed story twists could be seen a mile away. The characters were uninteresting, and I had no attachment to any of them. Overall, I can't say I recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual harassment
passionfriuts's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
gunsandbullets's review against another edition
5.0
Literally can't be critical on this book because I love this kind of werewolves so much, read the book in 3 days because I was exited to keep reading
It is a fast but well pasted story that never let's down and I would highly recommend you this if your interested in werewolves at all
It is a fast but well pasted story that never let's down and I would highly recommend you this if your interested in werewolves at all
stewie's review against another edition
4.0
As a fan of the werewolf genre, I dug this one quite a bit. You can read my review at HorrorTalk.
annaonthepage's review against another edition
I struggled with the bleak, regressive world this book was set in. The voice wasn't for me either. The child gang violence is insidious and horrific. I gave up after a scene in which a man "pinches off" a poo halfway through on hearing unsettling noises while squatting in the woods.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence