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addyallred's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
carolpk's review against another edition
3.0
My reading tastes tend to sway towards thrillers and non-fiction adventure. I easily get in a rut. As adult services librarian responsible for choosing all genres for our patrons, I keep a close ear on the buzz, what's hot and what's not. When a book garners really great reviews and is described as different, and the book for summer reading, how could I not purchase it? Do I have to read it? No! but even though I realize I can't read everything, when a book prompts such hype, I feel an obligation to be in the know.
The book I'm talking about is British Author Glen Duncan's The Last Werewolf. Reviews use words such as classy, literate, bloody, exciting, funny,brilliant, gory and sexy; sometimes in the same sentence. It is compared to Bram Stoker's Dracula and sparks debates on the recent popularity of werewolves, vampires, zombies, witches and other monstrous creatures in books and tv.
In my teens I was a horror fan and gobbled up the likes of King, Koontz, McCammon, Poe, Stoker, and the Queen of Vampires, Anne Rice. Over time I found stories with plots that were unbelievable to me, things I thought had no basis in reality, lost my interest. I gravitated to books that explored the true horror in my opinion, books with characters who portrayed man's inhumanity to man. I loved Koontz's From the Corner of his Eye, King's Dolores Claiborne, and even Harris' Silence of the Lambs for this reason. These guys are real, they walk the streets hiding behind normal facades and they are violent and brutal. As I got older this trickled to non-fiction and books about the atrocities of war, famine, natural disasters; stories that are more horrible than any fiction horror story can be.
I'm not certain what to say about The Last Werewolf. The wolf, Jake Marlowe is a striking character and plays his part so well. Two hundred plus years old, he is a bit jaded, losing his zest for life and yet he remains a bit witty and maintains a wolfishly swagger. He boozes, preferably scotch, he smokes, mostly camels, he swears, he kills, he feeds. He continues to indulge in graphic sex with tones of violence, though perhaps without the same vim as his younger self. I quickly got caught up in the back story, the beginning of how Jake became a werewolf and what he has been up to for so many years. The descriptive passages of his transformation from man to wolf at full moon are exquisite. For those who prefer Vampires they are an integral part of the story. The dialog is excellent and the other characters support the story well.
At one point while reading, I wondered if I would be able to continue. I felt sickened. The killing is raw, the sex is raunchy. But then something happened and I found myself surprised, though a more savvy reader might have seen it coming. This was just enough to keep me reading to the finish, quickly as the rest is fast paced and extremely tense.
There's great interview with the author on Tom Ashbrook's OnPoint on 7/8/11. It might give you some insight into the author and story. Glen Duncan is the author of several other well received novels. I'd like to read another. There's also an album, The Last Werewolf by The Real Tuesday Weld with songs that fit the story. It has an explicit rating and is interesting to say the least.
I did like The Last Werewolf. It is well written and an interesting tale. Would I want to read more about Jake Marlowe or see the character continue in a series? I'd say leave well enough alone. I've read it, enjoyed it, can talk about it with my friends and patrons and now it's time to move on to something new. Or maybe not!
The book I'm talking about is British Author Glen Duncan's The Last Werewolf. Reviews use words such as classy, literate, bloody, exciting, funny,brilliant, gory and sexy; sometimes in the same sentence. It is compared to Bram Stoker's Dracula and sparks debates on the recent popularity of werewolves, vampires, zombies, witches and other monstrous creatures in books and tv.
In my teens I was a horror fan and gobbled up the likes of King, Koontz, McCammon, Poe, Stoker, and the Queen of Vampires, Anne Rice. Over time I found stories with plots that were unbelievable to me, things I thought had no basis in reality, lost my interest. I gravitated to books that explored the true horror in my opinion, books with characters who portrayed man's inhumanity to man. I loved Koontz's From the Corner of his Eye, King's Dolores Claiborne, and even Harris' Silence of the Lambs for this reason. These guys are real, they walk the streets hiding behind normal facades and they are violent and brutal. As I got older this trickled to non-fiction and books about the atrocities of war, famine, natural disasters; stories that are more horrible than any fiction horror story can be.
I'm not certain what to say about The Last Werewolf. The wolf, Jake Marlowe is a striking character and plays his part so well. Two hundred plus years old, he is a bit jaded, losing his zest for life and yet he remains a bit witty and maintains a wolfishly swagger. He boozes, preferably scotch, he smokes, mostly camels, he swears, he kills, he feeds. He continues to indulge in graphic sex with tones of violence, though perhaps without the same vim as his younger self. I quickly got caught up in the back story, the beginning of how Jake became a werewolf and what he has been up to for so many years. The descriptive passages of his transformation from man to wolf at full moon are exquisite. For those who prefer Vampires they are an integral part of the story. The dialog is excellent and the other characters support the story well.
At one point while reading, I wondered if I would be able to continue. I felt sickened. The killing is raw, the sex is raunchy. But then something happened and I found myself surprised, though a more savvy reader might have seen it coming. This was just enough to keep me reading to the finish, quickly as the rest is fast paced and extremely tense.
There's great interview with the author on Tom Ashbrook's OnPoint on 7/8/11. It might give you some insight into the author and story. Glen Duncan is the author of several other well received novels. I'd like to read another. There's also an album, The Last Werewolf by The Real Tuesday Weld with songs that fit the story. It has an explicit rating and is interesting to say the least.
I did like The Last Werewolf. It is well written and an interesting tale. Would I want to read more about Jake Marlowe or see the character continue in a series? I'd say leave well enough alone. I've read it, enjoyed it, can talk about it with my friends and patrons and now it's time to move on to something new. Or maybe not!
sleepiebear's review against another edition
4.0
Reallie enjoyed this book. Unfortunate, since now I'll have to read the sequels. Looking forward to it.
sandin954's review against another edition
3.0
While the prose style was a bit exaggerated for my taste and some of the sexual interludes could have excised, I did ultimately end up enjoying both the plot and the characters in this story about the last living werewolf. I listened to the audio version and the first person narration of the book was handled very well by, a new to me narrator, Robin Sachs.
maggienack's review against another edition
3.0
The main character isn't likable. The plot isn't terribly original, and yet it sucked me in.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
christajls's review against another edition
I hate doing this, but I'm marking this one DNF
I gave it a fair shot. I was listening to the audio and was about 4 hours in. That's just over a third.
Here's my reasons:
1) Ridiculously slow pacing. I'm a third in. Something should have happened by now, even if its just the idea of what's too come.
2) The Women - The women in this book are ridiculous. They have no substance, no value. They are completely defined by their performance in bed. He says he loved his wife but other than how good she was in bed, I have yet to hear what it is he loved about her.
3) Sex for the sake of sex. - I don't care if there is sex in novels. People have sex. It's normal. However, Sex for the sake of sex, when it isn't actually necessary, or is drawn out, is no better than violence for the sake of violence. It's a cheap tactic to get people to be shocked by your book. It's like watching a slasher film. Yeah sure it's fun sometimes, but no one will take it seriously. For something that is described as "literary" is reads an awful lot like erotica.
4) Jake - Jake annoys the hell out of me. I can't put my finger on it exactly but I just can't connect with him. Characters (to me) are the most important aspect of the book so I find this lack of connection disappointing.
Finally I will say this, double points to Glenn Duncan for the amount of different ways he's come up with to say testicles - balls, plums, gonads, I heard them all in my 4 hours on the Last Werewolf. *rolls eyes*
Maybe I'll try this again one day in print, but at the moment it seems highly unlikely.
I gave it a fair shot. I was listening to the audio and was about 4 hours in. That's just over a third.
Here's my reasons:
1) Ridiculously slow pacing. I'm a third in. Something should have happened by now, even if its just the idea of what's too come.
2) The Women - The women in this book are ridiculous. They have no substance, no value. They are completely defined by their performance in bed. He says he loved his wife but other than how good she was in bed, I have yet to hear what it is he loved about her.
3) Sex for the sake of sex. - I don't care if there is sex in novels. People have sex. It's normal. However, Sex for the sake of sex, when it isn't actually necessary, or is drawn out, is no better than violence for the sake of violence. It's a cheap tactic to get people to be shocked by your book. It's like watching a slasher film. Yeah sure it's fun sometimes, but no one will take it seriously. For something that is described as "literary" is reads an awful lot like erotica.
4) Jake - Jake annoys the hell out of me. I can't put my finger on it exactly but I just can't connect with him. Characters (to me) are the most important aspect of the book so I find this lack of connection disappointing.
Finally I will say this, double points to Glenn Duncan for the amount of different ways he's come up with to say testicles - balls, plums, gonads, I heard them all in my 4 hours on the Last Werewolf. *rolls eyes*
Maybe I'll try this again one day in print, but at the moment it seems highly unlikely.
selenityelizabeth's review against another edition
3.0
★★★ & 1/2 out of five.
“You love life because life's all there is.”
“We’re the worst thing because for us the worst thing is the best thing. And it’s only the best thing for us if it’s the worst thing for someone else.”
“Falling in love makes the unknown known. Falling out of love reverses the process.”
This was definitely an interesting take on Werewolves and the myth behind them. The story itself was decent but Jake's too-long inner monologues and the way he described everything would get boring after a while. I did chuckle at times but thought, come on, let's get on with it. I did enjoy how he felt about life in general and just what else he had planned thinking he's the last Werewolf.
Overall not a bad novel per se. I didn't love it but I still enjoyed it. The dig at Vampires gave me a good laugh too.
“You love life because life's all there is.”
“We’re the worst thing because for us the worst thing is the best thing. And it’s only the best thing for us if it’s the worst thing for someone else.”
“Falling in love makes the unknown known. Falling out of love reverses the process.”
This was definitely an interesting take on Werewolves and the myth behind them. The story itself was decent but Jake's too-long inner monologues and the way he described everything would get boring after a while. I did chuckle at times but thought, come on, let's get on with it. I did enjoy how he felt about life in general and just what else he had planned thinking he's the last Werewolf.
Overall not a bad novel per se. I didn't love it but I still enjoyed it. The dig at Vampires gave me a good laugh too.
lavoiture's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a long time to get into it, but when I did, I couldn't put it down. I'd actually probably give it a 3.5, but it was closer to the 4 end of the 3.5. I didn't love the end, but there will definitely be a sequel. Good? Bad? Not sure.
honeybones's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
natalie_bryan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0