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A review by tarynwanderer
Talulla Rising by Glen Duncan
4.0
Talulla Rising, Glen Duncan's sequel to 2011's The Last Werewolf, is a great example of a slow-burning novel. It starts quietly, in an isolated cabin in Alaska, and quickly becomes a mysterious chase spanning the globe as our heroine attempts to avert the murder of her child in a cult ceremony.
Oh yeah, and our heroine is a werewolf who eviscerates and devours at least one human being each month.
I won't keep you in suspense; I really, really enjoyed this book. It had much of the same black humor as the first book, and the same frenetic energy. Instead of following Jake, we follow Talulla--the new last werewolf--as she waits to give birth to her dead partner's child/pup. Everything quickly goes to hell. In the interests of avoiding spoilers, I won't detail exactly how or why.
I was wary of Talulla at first. She introduces herself as a bad girl, a nasty girl, a girl who has always done what she wanted, even before she became a monster every full moon. Not...the most endearing qualities, but I don't need to actively like every character I read about, even if it's the main character. Honestly, I think I just felt somewhat more detached from Talulla than I did from Jake. Duncan is a masterful writer, but it took me a while to really believe in Talulla and her voice; for stories written in a first-person narrative, a reader not believing in your POV character can be the kiss of death. I had the thought, more often than once, that Duncan was perhaps not as comfortable--or at least, as believable--writing from a woman's perspective. I do, however, applaud his effort, and once the pace picked up, I found myself understanding Talulla a bit better, and even admiring her particular thoughts and skills as distinct from Marlowe's.
There are many familiar faces, including Cloquet (love him!), Madeleine, and Mia. Their inclusion and contributions to the plot were frequently wonderful and unexpected. The evolution of Cloquet from a drug-addicted, foolish, love-struck man into Talulla's companion was perhaps, to me, one of the most unambiguously positive outcomes of the last book. And though the specter of Jake hangs over Talulla (and Madeleine), having him there was nice for the reader--both for continuity and for the sheer enjoyment of his familiar voice.
Read the rest of my review at Bookwanderer!
Oh yeah, and our heroine is a werewolf who eviscerates and devours at least one human being each month.
I won't keep you in suspense; I really, really enjoyed this book. It had much of the same black humor as the first book, and the same frenetic energy. Instead of following Jake, we follow Talulla--the new last werewolf--as she waits to give birth to her dead partner's child/pup. Everything quickly goes to hell. In the interests of avoiding spoilers, I won't detail exactly how or why.
I was wary of Talulla at first. She introduces herself as a bad girl, a nasty girl, a girl who has always done what she wanted, even before she became a monster every full moon. Not...the most endearing qualities, but I don't need to actively like every character I read about, even if it's the main character. Honestly, I think I just felt somewhat more detached from Talulla than I did from Jake. Duncan is a masterful writer, but it took me a while to really believe in Talulla and her voice; for stories written in a first-person narrative, a reader not believing in your POV character can be the kiss of death. I had the thought, more often than once, that Duncan was perhaps not as comfortable--or at least, as believable--writing from a woman's perspective. I do, however, applaud his effort, and once the pace picked up, I found myself understanding Talulla a bit better, and even admiring her particular thoughts and skills as distinct from Marlowe's.
There are many familiar faces, including Cloquet (love him!), Madeleine, and Mia. Their inclusion and contributions to the plot were frequently wonderful and unexpected. The evolution of Cloquet from a drug-addicted, foolish, love-struck man into Talulla's companion was perhaps, to me, one of the most unambiguously positive outcomes of the last book. And though the specter of Jake hangs over Talulla (and Madeleine), having him there was nice for the reader--both for continuity and for the sheer enjoyment of his familiar voice.
Read the rest of my review at Bookwanderer!