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capercaillie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
rukmini's review against another edition
4.0
The central (and controversial) idea in this book is logically inconsistent, but I don't want to go into why because it's a spoiler.
That being said, the writing and world-building are very good and make creative use of Norse mythology. I enjoyed the novel more than I've enjoyed any fantasy book in a while. The characters are appealing, the story is interesting, and I'm a sucker for animal-bonding stories done right.
The one quibble I had was that I felt the ending was a bit rushed. Several interesting themes were introduced with which the authors could have done more. The book could easily have been twice as long without getting stale.
One last thing: if you're put off by non-con, don't read this book - you're almost certain not to like it.
That being said, the writing and world-building are very good and make creative use of Norse mythology. I enjoyed the novel more than I've enjoyed any fantasy book in a while. The characters are appealing, the story is interesting, and I'm a sucker for animal-bonding stories done right.
The one quibble I had was that I felt the ending was a bit rushed. Several interesting themes were introduced with which the authors could have done more. The book could easily have been twice as long without getting stale.
One last thing: if you're put off by non-con, don't read this book - you're almost certain not to like it.
eososray's review against another edition
3.0
Good story, great concept!
A medieval world where the wolves and their companions are the only barrier between the towns people and the Trolls. Honestly, I could have done without all the sex scenes though.
A medieval world where the wolves and their companions are the only barrier between the towns people and the Trolls. Honestly, I could have done without all the sex scenes though.
lizshayne's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book is basically two things. The first is a strong desire to think about the setting/vibe of Beowulf. The second is a desire to critique and rework Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern, but with wolves. Specifically the bit about dragon mating.
It works extremely well.
It works extremely well.
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
3.0
Wolves who love men who loves wolves and the men who love them (and wolves)!
This books reads like someone's RPG, and the authors don't remember they're supposed to have a plot beyond "wolf-shenanigans" until approx two-thirds of the way through. AND YET. I had a lot of fun reading this, even though if you think about it too much the whole thing falls to pieces.
This books reads like someone's RPG, and the authors don't remember they're supposed to have a plot beyond "wolf-shenanigans" until approx two-thirds of the way through. AND YET. I had a lot of fun reading this, even though if you think about it too much the whole thing falls to pieces.
caedocyon's review against another edition
2.0
Watch out if you are thinking about reading this---the main character is maybe a Kinsey 0.5, so it's hardly "M/M romance" unless your idea of M/M romance has nothing to do with actual gay men. Also, every sex scene is dubiously consensual at best, and most of them are worse.
For the record, I agree with every other review I've read, both positive and negative. Yes, it can be read as a more detailed and thoughtful take on what sex and social life is like when you're "soulbonded" to an animal, and about the harsh gender roles of historical Norse life. Yes, it can also be read as a slightly upscale version of a lot of terrible fanfic tropes like "going into heat" and "aliens wolves made them do it," and as very homophobic and misogynist besides.
But it did happen to be exactly the right level of trashy fantasy novel for me to read this week.
There were hints of openness to transfeminine characters (those who bond to wolves are men who love men as well as people perceived as men who have gender-transgressive interests), but there aren't any in the story unless you count Ulfmaer, whose name apparently means "wolf maiden." Nothing in the story would lead you to think Ulfmaer is anything but another of the buff hairy wolfbros, though.
Oh and yes, I started looking up the meaning of the characters' names partway through, in case it helped me tell them apart. It didn't really---there are too many characters, and their names are too similar, and most of them are fairly indistinguishable in word and deed, and you just can't keep track of them. This made the pack politics very hard to follow, which is unfortunate since the complications of both men and wolves having their own interlocking politics was supposed to be one of the main points of the book.
There's an implication throughout the book that Isolfr's position is very much like his sister's---in a very misogynist society, they're both going to make political marriages to people they may not like and aren't attracted to, and that's just the way things are. Towards the end of the book Isolfr has some interesting and fairly believable changes of heart about women's oppression. I liked that most of them are phrased in terms of Freyja's mythology---which, granted, I don't know that much about, independent of this book.
For the record, I agree with every other review I've read, both positive and negative. Yes, it can be read as a more detailed and thoughtful take on what sex and social life is like when you're "soulbonded" to an animal, and about the harsh gender roles of historical Norse life. Yes, it can also be read as a slightly upscale version of a lot of terrible fanfic tropes like "going into heat" and "
But it did happen to be exactly the right level of trashy fantasy novel for me to read this week.
There were hints of openness to transfeminine characters (those who bond to wolves are men who love men as well as people perceived as men who have gender-transgressive interests), but there aren't any in the story unless you count Ulfmaer, whose name apparently means "wolf maiden." Nothing in the story would lead you to think Ulfmaer is anything but another of the buff hairy wolfbros, though.
Oh and yes, I started looking up the meaning of the characters' names partway through, in case it helped me tell them apart. It didn't really---there are too many characters, and their names are too similar, and most of them are fairly indistinguishable in word and deed, and you just can't keep track of them. This made the pack politics very hard to follow, which is unfortunate since the complications of both men and wolves having their own interlocking politics was supposed to be one of the main points of the book.
There's an implication throughout the book that Isolfr's position is very much like his sister's---in a very misogynist society, they're both going to make political marriages to people they may not like and aren't attracted to, and that's just the way things are. Towards the end of the book Isolfr has some interesting and fairly believable changes of heart about women's oppression. I liked that most of them are phrased in terms of Freyja's mythology---which, granted, I don't know that much about, independent of this book.
fencewalker's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
smemmott's review against another edition
2.0
Human/animal soulbonding fantasy in a pseudo-historical setting. This book fits into an unfortunate middle ground: it's better written and has more interesting world-building than I might expect from a truly amateur take on this set-up. But overall, the authors only explore the problematic aspects of this social/sexual community in really superficial ways. Also, the protagonist just didn't intrigue me; though he angsts about his choices it's clear that he only has one path. For readers who are into these particular tropes and cliches and can skim over the problems (or who consider the problems a bonus).
bookycnidaria's review against another edition
1.0
CliffsNotes
The psychic wolves could have been an interesting premise if they hadn't been bundled into a 302-page excuse to write gay rape scenes. Romance is complicated. Sexuality is complicated. That still doesn't excuse the gang rapes (yes, plural) described in the book. Despite rampant troll-killing and some vague rambling about courage and honor, the book has one very specific purpose, which is unnecessary non-consensual sex between muscly men. I don't know much about these authors so I couldn't tell you if it's Serious Business or heavy-handed satire, but whatever the case it's pretty lame.
TL;DR
A Companion to Wolves focuses in semi-epic length on the trials and tribulations of a teenaged boy named Njall, who lives in an ill-defined region that the authors have decided to call the “world of the Iskryne.” This is not, they tell us, actually Earth, but a rather lazy amalgamation of several Earth cultures. In practice what this means is that the characters are running around a world that is like Earth, but is supposed to be some weird kind of fantasy land where men can talk to wolves and gang rape is a socially acceptable activity.
In the beginning, Njall is an impetuous 16-year-old who wants to be treated like an adult. This doesn’t really change throughout the book, but he does manage to impress Vigdis, a dominant female wolf (“konigenwolf”) from the local “wolfheall” (a walled compound that houses a number of men and their wolves), and is taken away from his family to learn the ways of the wolf-men. While there, he partners with a young konigenwolf-to-be named Viradechtis, starts training to become a pack leader despite having zero leadership skills, changes his name to Isolfr, and has unwilling sex with men. Throughout the book, it’s explained that the wolves and their men are connected by a “pack sense”: they can't exactly read each other's minds, but they can share information and tap into each other's emotions. Thus, because of the pack sense and the lust shared by a wolf and his/her human partner, the wolf-men are compelled to have sex with each other at the exact same time that their respective wolves are mating. The trouble is that this adds nothing to the plot, and it's inconsistent with the rest of the pack sense. Even when their wolves are in a blinding rage, the men are generally able to keep their own tempers under control; the wolves, for their part, are completely unaffected when the men carry on romantic affairs. They don’t live or die in sync, so why are they so inseparable in this one particular aspect? Isolfr often gets compared to a woman: is this supposed to be some kind of a message, a role-reversal? If so, it gets blurred out by the porn.
In complete fairness, this isn't the worst thing I've ever read; that dubious honor belongs to an even trashier book that didn't have cute wolves. A Companion to Wolves wasn’t quite as bad as it could have been, but, while I'm not in a hurry to light it on fire, I’d rather not waste my time on a series whose first installment can be summed up in four words: I’d rather read Twilight.
The psychic wolves could have been an interesting premise if they hadn't been bundled into a 302-page excuse to write gay rape scenes. Romance is complicated. Sexuality is complicated. That still doesn't excuse the gang rapes (yes, plural) described in the book. Despite rampant troll-killing and some vague rambling about courage and honor, the book has one very specific purpose, which is unnecessary non-consensual sex between muscly men. I don't know much about these authors so I couldn't tell you if it's Serious Business or heavy-handed satire, but whatever the case it's pretty lame.
TL;DR
A Companion to Wolves focuses in semi-epic length on the trials and tribulations of a teenaged boy named Njall, who lives in an ill-defined region that the authors have decided to call the “world of the Iskryne.” This is not, they tell us, actually Earth, but a rather lazy amalgamation of several Earth cultures. In practice what this means is that the characters are running around a world that is like Earth, but is supposed to be some weird kind of fantasy land where men can talk to wolves and gang rape is a socially acceptable activity.
In the beginning, Njall is an impetuous 16-year-old who wants to be treated like an adult. This doesn’t really change throughout the book, but he does manage to impress Vigdis, a dominant female wolf (“konigenwolf”) from the local “wolfheall” (a walled compound that houses a number of men and their wolves), and is taken away from his family to learn the ways of the wolf-men. While there, he partners with a young konigenwolf-to-be named Viradechtis, starts training to become a pack leader despite having zero leadership skills, changes his name to Isolfr, and has unwilling sex with men. Throughout the book, it’s explained that the wolves and their men are connected by a “pack sense”: they can't exactly read each other's minds, but they can share information and tap into each other's emotions. Thus, because of the pack sense and the lust shared by a wolf and his/her human partner, the wolf-men are compelled to have sex with each other at the exact same time that their respective wolves are mating. The trouble is that this adds nothing to the plot, and it's inconsistent with the rest of the pack sense. Even when their wolves are in a blinding rage, the men are generally able to keep their own tempers under control; the wolves, for their part, are completely unaffected when the men carry on romantic affairs. They don’t live or die in sync, so why are they so inseparable in this one particular aspect? Isolfr often gets compared to a woman: is this supposed to be some kind of a message, a role-reversal? If so, it gets blurred out by the porn.
In complete fairness, this isn't the worst thing I've ever read; that dubious honor belongs to an even trashier book that didn't have cute wolves. A Companion to Wolves wasn’t quite as bad as it could have been, but, while I'm not in a hurry to light it on fire, I’d rather not waste my time on a series whose first installment can be summed up in four words: I’d rather read Twilight.