Reviews

Wolf Land by Jonathan Janz

colorfulleo92's review against another edition

4.0

Read this in 2020 just before I started to sitter reviews and was curious to see what I think of it now as the cover still intruiged me. I was pleasantly surprised and ended up liking it more than last time. An engaging horror story and it made me realize how much I missed biting into horror novels

shawn_of_the_read's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

zooloo1983's review against another edition

5.0

So I get to open the tour for one of my favourite authors and I am sure I will just sound like such a fangirl, but in my eyes (and I have said it before) he can do no wrong! I mean even with this dark book, I loved everything about it. I do love the Q&A at the beginning of the book, and Janz tips his head to Richard Laymon (beyond awesome horror author) and you most definitely get that feel in this book. Anything with gore and frivolity you can sense the influence of Laymon – pure ecstasy.

So wolves are the subject of this book, and it takes on every part of the folklore, movies and books you can think of. A character you hate gets bit and the next thing you know he is a god to women. I loved it, straight out of the legends with that. The other thing that you will discover with Janz, is that no matter who you get attached to and no matter what, he never bottles it. He will kill off any characters if they need to be, does not matter. One character I thought would be the lead character in this story…tut tut was nice knowing you. (This is not a spoiler because the action starts on page 1!) He is an author whose risks pay off and I think that is why I love reading everything I have already and why I want to read more. (Told you another sucky love letter).

Like all the other books in his repertoire, this story is action pack, high octane and just shows no signs of slowing down in any aspect of the story. We have all your typical horror rom-com characters the hot guy, the nerdy guy, the football player, the shy girl who is quite hot and they are all thrown in the deep end but it is whether they survive to the end? Just do not get attached to anyone.

Janz also touches on some uncomfortable subjects, because it would not be a horror story without them, graphic scenes of abuse, creepy man wanting the younger women. All horrifying, all disturbing but what got me the most….one of the characters peeling their scab off their leg and hip, pass me the sick bucket! I could handle anything else but not that!!

Aside from that from the start, there is so much carnage, the fight of Good vs Evil, and you are left with the ability of opening and closing your mouth like a goldfish as you have not had a chance to get to know anyone really before all hell kicks loose.

I did not want to stop reading, I could not tear myself away from the book as I completely immersed myself into the story, wondering how this could be played out on the big screen. I can think of one blogger who will agree with me on this!

So to finish off my love letter, ahem I mean my review obvs, Mr Janz please do not stop writing!!!

tomesoftrouble's review against another edition

4.0

Another good book from Jonathan Janz. This one was a real bloodbath! The characters were memorable and the story was interesting throughout. I do wish the lore was a little more developed but I think Janz must've been going for something quick and nasty with this one, which he achieved.

truebookaddict's review against another edition

5.0

Boy oh boy, what a werewolf novel! We're not given long until we're served up a truly scary massacre by one monstrous werewolf. At that point, that's it...you can't put it down (or stop thinking about it when you must put it down). I keep asking myself, "Is this really my first Janz read? What the hell have I been waiting for!?"

Let me tell you though. He doesn't just do gore. Oh no. There is some serious character development here. So much so that you're either rooting for the good guy, or seriously hating on the bad guy. Also, he writes werewolves the way I think they would/should be. More like a man-wolf beast rather than a wolf in the traditional sense, a la Twilight or True Blood. But it's not just the look. The charisma and self assurance that I also feel would accompany a werewolf's physique is also here. We're treated to downtrodden characters with low self esteem suddenly becoming confident and enigmatic. Never mind that they're also becoming monsters. Good stuff!

Janz has written a good many horror novels that I will be scooting closer to the top of my to-be-read stack (or the queue in my Kindle). This novel, Wolf Land, is not only a true masterpiece of werewolf horror. It is also just a damn good novel. I can't help but think of Stephen King. You get the scares, but you also get great writing. This book definitely fills the bill. Read this one...now!

beardedbard08's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

4.0

tyler_j's review against another edition

4.0

I meant to review this book sooner but here we are. Let's see what I can remember...

I enjoyed the depth to the characters. This is a gory werewolf horror story but it doesn't skimp on character development. If you can think of a trigger warning, it's probably in the book so be warned of that.

It kept me interested, rooting for the characters (or loving to hate them). My fave character is Barb, a 50 something bad-ass woman.

Sorry I didn't review it sooner but it's a solid 4 stars for me, definitely glad I read it and plan to read more by this author. :) 

bookworm311's review against another edition

3.0

Wow, this one was a tough read for me. Besides the talked about trigger warnings of abuse and sexual assault, it was extremely graphic and violent, including the death of children, which was too much for me.☹

lanternsjourney's review against another edition

3.0

This was a solid werewolf story with lots of gore, fast-paced story telling, and good characters. The main issue I had with the story would likely not bother the typical horror reader. It wasnt the over the top brutality, which I enjoy in a werewolf story, but the amount of characters the story was told in the point of view of. There were some characters I loved (or loved to hate) and wanted to read more of, and other characters that I didnt really care about. This made the story drag a little for me, though I ended up really loving the ending. 

readbyashleyd's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

5.0

This might just be the best werewolf novel I’ve ever read. Actually, scratch that, it IS the best werewolf novel I’ve ever read and I have read a lot, I’m just a bit obsessed with the idea of lycanthropy. This book is just unlike ANY werewolf novel I’ve read, it’s a completely different take on the werewolf myth and I couldn’t have loved it more. I just love the way the story was based around a high school reunion, it added a level of camp that I really adored. It gave me serious Friday the 13th but make it werewolf vibes and you don’t need me to tell you how perfect that is to me. Janz has yet again written one hell of a book that I will now and forever recommend as the best werewolf book I’ve ever read (at the risk of sounding like a broken record because I’ve said that already).