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rainstar's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Is it objectively a good book? Perhaps not. Did I really really enjoy it? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, War, Antisemitism, and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
It's a werewolf book where half of it is set in WWIIsortabadass's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
annemarie246's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the book but could have done with a little less detail in some of the more gruesome scenes. Should have known as his Mr. Slaughter was pretty dark too.
karinlib's review
3.0
A bit gruesome for my tastes, not a bad story, but I did like the main character.
10/31/23: Starting this again.
10/31/23: Starting this again.
billymac1962's review
3.0
It takes a pretty good writer to pull this off:
Write an espionage tale about a British spy who is in a race against time to determine what secret the Germans have in mind to thwart the Allied Invasion of Europe. Now throw in the fact that he's a werewolf without making the whole thing sound stupid.
Yeah, it sounds really stupid, and the front cover of my paperback does nothing to dispel that.
But it really works! Of course, it helps if you're the type of reader who can suspend disbelief and just sit back and enjoy the story.
For the most part, the novel goes back and forth from the espionage tail, er...tale, to Michael's childhood beginnings as a werewolf and growth into a man-beast.
I preferred his coming of age chapters to the espionage parts, but not by a whole lot: the whole novel was very entertaining. If I have one gripe, it's that I felt the story was a little long at 600 pages. I was more than ready for a wrap-up at around 500. And, well, there was a moment there when the villain, with our hero in his grasp, makes the cliched bone-headed move of totally spilling the beans of the big secret and how they're going to pull it all off, Mwahahaha!
Oh well, this is pulp, and it is all about fun, so it is what it is. Fun stuff, and I doubt anyone who would be interested in reading this would be expecting to take things in here too seriously. So there.
Incidentally, thanks, Robert, for including Canadians in the Normandy D-Day Invasion. Too many Americans forget that we were there, too.
Write an espionage tale about a British spy who is in a race against time to determine what secret the Germans have in mind to thwart the Allied Invasion of Europe. Now throw in the fact that he's a werewolf without making the whole thing sound stupid.
Yeah, it sounds really stupid, and the front cover of my paperback does nothing to dispel that.
But it really works! Of course, it helps if you're the type of reader who can suspend disbelief and just sit back and enjoy the story.
For the most part, the novel goes back and forth from the espionage tail, er...tale, to Michael's childhood beginnings as a werewolf and growth into a man-beast.
I preferred his coming of age chapters to the espionage parts, but not by a whole lot: the whole novel was very entertaining. If I have one gripe, it's that I felt the story was a little long at 600 pages. I was more than ready for a wrap-up at around 500. And, well, there was a moment there when the villain, with our hero in his grasp, makes the cliched bone-headed move of totally spilling the beans of the big secret and how they're going to pull it all off, Mwahahaha!
Oh well, this is pulp, and it is all about fun, so it is what it is. Fun stuff, and I doubt anyone who would be interested in reading this would be expecting to take things in here too seriously. So there.
Incidentally, thanks, Robert, for including Canadians in the Normandy D-Day Invasion. Too many Americans forget that we were there, too.
papidoc's review
2.0
Read this 20 years ago, during a short-lived period of interest in horror/fantasy. it was OK, being a sort of pulp fiction novel of a master spy/werewolf during WWII, fighting against the Nazi's. Wouldn't really recommend it to anyone though...there are far better ways to spend your time.
mnyberg's review
4.0
An interesting and intriguing take on the werewolf character. Like how the author bounced back and forth between time periods.
louloureadsbooks's review against another edition
Dnf with 16 something or other hours to go.
It started off in el Alamein all very jolly exciting (I really thought it was) and now it's become hard work.
I'd have preferred Michael's origins to have remained a mystery, for me to wonder about. (Grass is always greener). His past has suddenly put the break on the WWII story that I'd been lead to believe the book was actually about.
In fairness I was beginning to lose interest before the origins bit got properly going, just from the level of detail over the get away. Had it just been that though (highly detailed bits), I'd have hung on. But the origin story slapped in just when you'd expect things to get going with the main mission. Yeah, no.
I expect it's fine, just not my cuppa.
NEXT!
It started off in el Alamein all very jolly exciting (I really thought it was) and now it's become hard work.
I'd have preferred Michael's origins to have remained a mystery, for me to wonder about. (Grass is always greener). His past has suddenly put the break on the WWII story that I'd been lead to believe the book was actually about.
In fairness I was beginning to lose interest before the origins bit got properly going, just from the level of detail over the get away. Had it just been that though (highly detailed bits), I'd have hung on. But the origin story slapped in just when you'd expect things to get going with the main mission. Yeah, no.
I expect it's fine, just not my cuppa.
NEXT!
dantastic's review
3.0
Michael Gallatin is a master spy during World War II. He also happens to be a werewolf. He comes out of retirement for one last mission: to stop a secret Nazi operation called Iron Fist. Can Michael stop Iron Fist and retain his humanity?
The Wolf's Hour is what would happen if Captain America was a werewolf instead of a super-hero. Yes, I remember the atrocious CapWolf storyline from the 1990's. That doesn't count since it didn't happen during World War II.
Wolf's Hour tells two parallel stories: one of Michael Gallatin in World War II and another of young Mikhail Gallatinov, a Russian boy who becomes a werewolf when his family is killed. While both branches of the story had a good amount of action, I was far more interested in the Mikhail storyline. The WWII storyline had far too little werewolf action for my taste.
McCammon's writing is workmanlike. He's not going to win awards on prose alone. However, I do enjoy what he writes. The action sequences are well done and the bits involving werewolves are suitably gory. I thought Michael Gallatin was a good character for what he was meant to be: James Bond as a werewolf. None of the other characters really did much for me.
slightly later edit: I thought it was a little long for what it was. If it had been cut down to 400-450 pages, it would have easily gotten another star.
One last thought: Did you know werewolves pee on one another? I did not.
All in all, this is a good pulpy action story starring a werewolf. If that's all you're expecting, you won't be disappointed.
The Wolf's Hour is what would happen if Captain America was a werewolf instead of a super-hero. Yes, I remember the atrocious CapWolf storyline from the 1990's. That doesn't count since it didn't happen during World War II.
Wolf's Hour tells two parallel stories: one of Michael Gallatin in World War II and another of young Mikhail Gallatinov, a Russian boy who becomes a werewolf when his family is killed. While both branches of the story had a good amount of action, I was far more interested in the Mikhail storyline. The WWII storyline had far too little werewolf action for my taste.
McCammon's writing is workmanlike. He's not going to win awards on prose alone. However, I do enjoy what he writes. The action sequences are well done and the bits involving werewolves are suitably gory. I thought Michael Gallatin was a good character for what he was meant to be: James Bond as a werewolf. None of the other characters really did much for me.
slightly later edit: I thought it was a little long for what it was. If it had been cut down to 400-450 pages, it would have easily gotten another star.
One last thought: Did you know werewolves pee on one another? I did not.
All in all, this is a good pulpy action story starring a werewolf. If that's all you're expecting, you won't be disappointed.