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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!
anothercurleyhairbooklover's review against another edition
4.0
Brutal, harsh, good. Reminiscent of Interview with a Vampire.
spiritismus's review against another edition
4.0
Wow - I didn't expect to love this book so much since my love/hate relationship with part 1 of the series! Part 2 is so much better. Tallulah comes across as a lot more genuine character and she struggles with the monster in her on a much more relatable level. It was definitely a wise decision to give the lead character emotions, which Jake lacked. I almost read this book in one go, I just needed to know what happend next.
angielisle's review against another edition
4.0
Modern Gothic Lit at it's best! This book is not to be confused with the degenerated bodice-rippers that dub themselves Gothic Romance. Talulla Demetriou is one fierce bitch! Glen Duncan ups the ante with sex and violence that casually moves the story forward. He continues to examine the issues of morality versus primitive animal instinct, taking it one step further with his exploration of the roles of men and women (both wulf and human). I'm looking forward to the third installment of this trilogy.
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads (but I would've bought it anyway. No self-respecting bibliophile leaves a trilogy incomplete).
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads (but I would've bought it anyway. No self-respecting bibliophile leaves a trilogy incomplete).
chriswolak's review against another edition
2.0
Talulla Rising is book two in Glen Ducan's The Last Werewolf trilogy. The first book, The Last Werewolf, came out in 2011 to much fanfare. I didn't think it lived up to the hype, but I still think it's a book that horror fans might like to check out. It's certainly nowhere near the literary heights of horror classics like Dracula or Frankenstein, but it does bring a grown-up werewolf to the contemporary literary scene.
Let me start with what I liked about Talulla Rising:
I like the world Duncan has created, even if I don't always admire how he executes the story. It's a world where werewolves and vampires are physically repellant to one another. Most humans seem oblivious to the monsters in their midst, but a small paramilitary organization is out to capture or kill them. Vampires get "vampire burnout" from living forever and not being able to eat real food or have sex or walk in the sunshine: vampires are depressives,"centuries of no sunlight. Seasonal Affective Disorder on a massive scale." Werewolves live about 400 years and even Jake Marlowe from book one was ready to be done with it after only 200 years of eating, shagging, and walking in the sunshine. There is some good, dark humor throughout the story.
Jake's advice to Talullah that she keep reading will tug at the heart and library card of most bibliophiles: "Literature is humanity's broad-minded alter-ego, with room in its heart even for monsters, even for you. It's humanity without the judgement. Trust me, it'll help." She thinks of his words after noticing the pages of Moll Flanders fluttering on the table near an open window. How can anyone not appreciate that sentiment or image?
Duncan also won me over with the idea of species sympathy: "a feeling of accommodating something you never imagined you'd have room for. At the time I'd thought: that's what God wants us to do, find room for each other the way He finds room for Everything." Least you think this book has gone soft or religious, the sprouting of Talulla's species sympathy gets its energy from a moment in the past when she secretly sniffed her best friend's recently worn underwear.
This species sympathy is part of a huge shift that's underway in Talullah Rising and which I'm assuming will play out in book three, By Blood We Live (click here to read a NYT interview where Duncan mentions the title).
Overall, however, Talulla Rising lands a bit lower on my rating scale than did its predecessor, The Last Werewolf.
There's some poor, uneven writing throughout, particularly in the first 100 pages or so when it seems that Duncan was still looking for Talulla's voice. In the beginning she sounds exactly like Jake Marlowe (the last werewolf character of book one) and even uses male slang to describe her own masturbatory act. I've never heard a woman say she "jerked off." Perhaps it's a British thing.
I'd need to give the book a second reading to sort out the vast array of sexual violence and stereotypes about women, men, rape, and motherhood (there's lots of angst about motherhood). In short it seems that Talullah's voracious female libido has to be counterbalanced by rape, prostitution, domestic violence, and/or the pornographic subjugation of women. It's like feminism never happened. I'm all for a healthy libido and it would be refreshing to see a woman character have one that can stand on its own.
Another sexual device that I found offensive is Talulla's teasing speculation about not if, but when she'll have sex with another woman. Sure, Jake Marlowe had sex with a few guys over the 200 year span of his werewolf existence, but this hint of woman-on-woman sex came off like a cheap Hollywood ploy designed to keep some people watching (or reading).
And speaking of characters, don't get me started on Mr. Walker. He's a walking, talking, plastic stereotype and the plot twist regarding him toward the end, with the help of the babysitter, is a cheap deus ex machina.
I had a hard time suspending my disbelief with the non-supernatural aspects of this novel. I'm hoping book three will rely less on stereotypes and cheap tricks and have more species sympathy.
If you really liked The Last Werewolf, you'll no doubt want to rush out to your local bookstore and pick up Talulla Rising. If you thought The Last Werewolf was just so-so, I recommend you check it out of the library. If you didn't like The Last Werewolf, I imagine you'd like the follow-up even less so, but you never know.
Let me start with what I liked about Talulla Rising:
I like the world Duncan has created, even if I don't always admire how he executes the story. It's a world where werewolves and vampires are physically repellant to one another. Most humans seem oblivious to the monsters in their midst, but a small paramilitary organization is out to capture or kill them. Vampires get "vampire burnout" from living forever and not being able to eat real food or have sex or walk in the sunshine: vampires are depressives,"centuries of no sunlight. Seasonal Affective Disorder on a massive scale." Werewolves live about 400 years and even Jake Marlowe from book one was ready to be done with it after only 200 years of eating, shagging, and walking in the sunshine. There is some good, dark humor throughout the story.
Jake's advice to Talullah that she keep reading will tug at the heart and library card of most bibliophiles: "Literature is humanity's broad-minded alter-ego, with room in its heart even for monsters, even for you. It's humanity without the judgement. Trust me, it'll help." She thinks of his words after noticing the pages of Moll Flanders fluttering on the table near an open window. How can anyone not appreciate that sentiment or image?
Duncan also won me over with the idea of species sympathy: "a feeling of accommodating something you never imagined you'd have room for. At the time I'd thought: that's what God wants us to do, find room for each other the way He finds room for Everything." Least you think this book has gone soft or religious, the sprouting of Talulla's species sympathy gets its energy from a moment in the past when she secretly sniffed her best friend's recently worn underwear.
This species sympathy is part of a huge shift that's underway in Talullah Rising and which I'm assuming will play out in book three, By Blood We Live (click here to read a NYT interview where Duncan mentions the title).
Overall, however, Talulla Rising lands a bit lower on my rating scale than did its predecessor, The Last Werewolf.
There's some poor, uneven writing throughout, particularly in the first 100 pages or so when it seems that Duncan was still looking for Talulla's voice. In the beginning she sounds exactly like Jake Marlowe (the last werewolf character of book one) and even uses male slang to describe her own masturbatory act. I've never heard a woman say she "jerked off." Perhaps it's a British thing.
I'd need to give the book a second reading to sort out the vast array of sexual violence and stereotypes about women, men, rape, and motherhood (there's lots of angst about motherhood). In short it seems that Talullah's voracious female libido has to be counterbalanced by rape, prostitution, domestic violence, and/or the pornographic subjugation of women. It's like feminism never happened. I'm all for a healthy libido and it would be refreshing to see a woman character have one that can stand on its own.
Another sexual device that I found offensive is Talulla's teasing speculation about not if, but when she'll have sex with another woman. Sure, Jake Marlowe had sex with a few guys over the 200 year span of his werewolf existence, but this hint of woman-on-woman sex came off like a cheap Hollywood ploy designed to keep some people watching (or reading).
And speaking of characters, don't get me started on Mr. Walker. He's a walking, talking, plastic stereotype and the plot twist regarding him toward the end, with the help of the babysitter, is a cheap deus ex machina.
I had a hard time suspending my disbelief with the non-supernatural aspects of this novel. I'm hoping book three will rely less on stereotypes and cheap tricks and have more species sympathy.
If you really liked The Last Werewolf, you'll no doubt want to rush out to your local bookstore and pick up Talulla Rising. If you thought The Last Werewolf was just so-so, I recommend you check it out of the library. If you didn't like The Last Werewolf, I imagine you'd like the follow-up even less so, but you never know.
grandlarsony's review against another edition
3.0
Again, werewolves (and vampires) aren't really my cup of tea, but there is something about The Last Werewolf series that I like. I enjoyed Tallula Rising more than The Last Werewolf, maybe because of the female narration. If you like werewolf sex and descriptions of humans being eaten, then this book is for you.
gerhard's review against another edition
5.0
Superb sequel to The Last Werewolf is liberally drenched in violence and sex. Typical middle-novel syndrome in that the ending is a bit muted as it set-ups number three. However, what pushes this to the front of the, er, pack is Duncan's intensely descriptive prose. This is shaping up to be a classic horror trilogy in the making.