Scan barcode
annvious's review
5.0
I am not really a fan of mystical creature books, however Robert McCammon's Wolf's Hour is one that I really like to read. The fact that he intertwined the story of a werewolf with WWII/Nazi Germany made it a really suspenseful read and it's a book I can read again and again.
hipperion's review
5.0
After reading the synopsis, I honestly wasn't prepared for the book to be this good.
It's not as horror and gore-y as Swan Song, but it's a great page-turning historical thriller with supernatural elements.
You care about the characters, you enjoy the action and are actually invested in the plot, even if it does sound a bit like a B-movie script that could star Nicholas Cage.
It's the best book I read this year so far, McCammon really knows how to write stuff that keeps you saying "just one more chapter". The sequel/prequel is even better, both are very underrated.
It's not as horror and gore-y as Swan Song, but it's a great page-turning historical thriller with supernatural elements.
You care about the characters, you enjoy the action and are actually invested in the plot, even if it does sound a bit like a B-movie script that could star Nicholas Cage.
It's the best book I read this year so far, McCammon really knows how to write stuff that keeps you saying "just one more chapter". The sequel/prequel is even better, both are very underrated.
meenag's review
2.5
This book tells two stories, one is of a young boy who gets bitten and turned into a werewolf, the other is of the boy as an adult who gets dragged into World War II by the US Army after retiring.
This book was pretty hard to read because of how uninterested I was in adult Michael's chapters and his story and they were the biggest part of the book. I did want to DNF it during those chapters but I kept reading and pushing through because I wanted to know what happened to young Mikhail as he grew and became a member of the pack, I wish they were the bigger parts but they weren't as action-packed so I do understand the decision to focus on the war.
This book was pretty hard to read because of how uninterested I was in adult Michael's chapters and his story and they were the biggest part of the book. I did want to DNF it during those chapters but I kept reading and pushing through because I wanted to know what happened to young Mikhail as he grew and became a member of the pack, I wish they were the bigger parts but they weren't as action-packed so I do understand the decision to focus on the war.
yayforbooks's review
2.0
I read this book because the idea of WW2 but with werewolves was interesting.
This book was ridiculous. I've been reading a lot of romance lately, so I've seen my fair share of absurdity... but ... like... the opening starts with a wolf chewing off a man's hand. At some point another wolf explodes with gross worms (that scene was actually disgusting). There's a hunter who has a death-train. The most unappealing "erotic" scene happened. A lot of people get stomped to death.
This book was described as basically James Bond trouncing Nazis but also occasionally turns into a werewolf and wonders about humanity. I think it definitely holds up to that description (the review by Nathaniel Katz in Strange Horizons is pretty thorough and basically what I was thinking).
Robert McCammon writes entertaining stories. I really like the first two Matthew Corbett books. But the more you read his books, the more you realize that it's kind of like Michael Bay's movies but on paper (and more entertaining). There's a lot of visceral gore. There's a lot of graphic sex. I think McCammon does the gore better than the sex. I just feel like the characters aside from Michael are kind of thinly written. The women are the beautiful and dangerous women who are super attractive. But I don't get a huge sense of developed character out of them. And I'm pretty sure one of them was killed to further the plot and also be the super hot lady to show off the hero's prowess.
Also! The third person narrative with omniscient narrator (or at least very character hoppy POV) does not help the depth of the characters (in my own opinion, your mileage may vary). I just felt like the snippets of thoughts from everyone meant that I couldn't fully develop a connection...
Anyway. The verdict is that this was entertaining but also totally wacky in some places and I felt lacking in strong characterization. But filled with lots of explosions and limbs flying everywhere and throats being torn out and also women having supposedly super hot sex with the super hot hero. So basically James Bond.
This book was ridiculous. I've been reading a lot of romance lately, so I've seen my fair share of absurdity... but ... like... the opening starts with a wolf chewing off a man's hand. At some point another wolf explodes with gross worms (that scene was actually disgusting). There's a hunter who has a death-train. The most unappealing "erotic" scene happened. A lot of people get stomped to death.
This book was described as basically James Bond trouncing Nazis but also occasionally turns into a werewolf and wonders about humanity. I think it definitely holds up to that description (the review by Nathaniel Katz in Strange Horizons is pretty thorough and basically what I was thinking).
Robert McCammon writes entertaining stories. I really like the first two Matthew Corbett books. But the more you read his books, the more you realize that it's kind of like Michael Bay's movies but on paper (and more entertaining). There's a lot of visceral gore. There's a lot of graphic sex. I think McCammon does the gore better than the sex. I just feel like the characters aside from Michael are kind of thinly written. The women are the beautiful and dangerous women who are super attractive. But I don't get a huge sense of developed character out of them. And I'm pretty sure one of them was killed to further the plot and also be the super hot lady to show off the hero's prowess.
Also! The third person narrative with omniscient narrator (or at least very character hoppy POV) does not help the depth of the characters (in my own opinion, your mileage may vary). I just felt like the snippets of thoughts from everyone meant that I couldn't fully develop a connection...
Anyway. The verdict is that this was entertaining but also totally wacky in some places and I felt lacking in strong characterization. But filled with lots of explosions and limbs flying everywhere and throats being torn out and also women having supposedly super hot sex with the super hot hero. So basically James Bond.
bozimus's review
4.0
It has been years since I read this, but I remember it as a quick/fun read. Werewolf vs Nazis, what's not to like?
rian501's review
4.0
This book has basically everything. Violence, sex, war, tenderness, and the beast within. It has a lot in common with Guy Endore's [b:The Werewolf of Paris|539519|The Werewolf of Paris|Guy Endore|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1175633863s/539519.jpg|526906], even giving a shout out in the form of the address of the main character (Endore's Rill). Both are set against the background of a war (this one World War II), and both trace the theme of human nature as crueler than wolf nature. Unlike Endore's werewolf, Michael can will a change and has at least some control over his turning wolf or human. McCammon's wolf also presents a happier possible outlook for the place of wolfman in the sight of God.
The span of the novel is pretty big, telling most of Michael's life story, and the stakes are high (D-Day and the outcome of WWII), so it's a bit epic in that way. There were a couple of jarring point of view shifts that I found annoying, but for the most part I really liked the portrayal of all the protagonists. The antagonists were a bit cartoonish in their evil madness, but they were fun to hate. This book was unfortunately interrupted in progress, disappearing from my kindle about 85% of the way through, so that affects my enjoyment a bit through no fault of the book itself.
The span of the novel is pretty big, telling most of Michael's life story, and the stakes are high (D-Day and the outcome of WWII), so it's a bit epic in that way. There were a couple of jarring point of view shifts that I found annoying, but for the most part I really liked the portrayal of all the protagonists. The antagonists were a bit cartoonish in their evil madness, but they were fun to hate. This book was unfortunately interrupted in progress, disappearing from my kindle about 85% of the way through, so that affects my enjoyment a bit through no fault of the book itself.
johnnyphantos's review
4.0
This was an Audible listen, or a re-read.
I read this book over 20 years ago, enjoyed it.
The re-read/listen, not so much.
It's so romantic!
Meh.
I read this book over 20 years ago, enjoyed it.
The re-read/listen, not so much.
It's so romantic!
Meh.
markclarno's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic Audio does good at the audio part although there were only so many times I could stand to hear the transformation noises of man to wolf and vice versa. The Graphic Audio narrator is always good even if the story is weak. I didn't really like the main character from the start but I did warm up to him a little finally.
smcscot's review
4.0
an english agent who's a werewolf infiltrates Nazi Germany. Goddman is this book cool.