“The Wolf Leader”: An origins story of sorts
Posted: January 4, 2021 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Classics, Fiction, Review, Speculative Fiction | Tags: Alexandre Duma, Book Review, The Wolf Leader, werewolves, Writing to be Read Leave a commentThe classics were written in another era and literature was viewed differently than it is in modern times. The language, although often lavish and eloquent, can also be pretentious and difficult to decifer. There are some sixteenth century words that are just plain confuddling to my twentieth century brain. Over the past year, I’ve tried a few times to read the classic authors. After all, their works survive them over centuries, and set the historical standards of contemporary literature. But I couldn’t get through The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft due to all the pretentious purple prose, and although I finished the first story in The Mysteries of Edgar Allen Poe, I had to put it down or risk dying from sheer boredom. While clearly a predecessor to murder mystries which came later, such as Sherlock Holmes, I found Poe’s style too dry to be considered entertaining.
With The Wolf Leader, by Alexandre Dumas, I did not find this to be the case. In spite of a few words which required defining, I had no trouble following the flow of the Dumas’ story. Alfred Allison did a fine job of translating this classic novel and Jonathon Maberry does the literary world a service by bringing it back into print. Dumas’ style is more along the lines of a Don Quixote, silly but entertaining type of story, than the borishness of Poe’s Detective Dupin, or presumptious fluff and verbage of LoveCraft’s Chtulhu Mythos.
The Wolf Leader is a Faust meets The Wolfman story. Contempory werewolves have grown well beyond what Dumas envisioned, but in his work, one can see the origins from which they sprang. Thibauld is a peasant shoemaker, angry at the injustices he feels he has suffered under the hands of French burgious land owners, who makes a deal with the devil, or in this case, the black wolf, to have all of his wishes granted, for the price of one hair per wish. Each time he wishes for something, one hair on his head turns fiery red, and his wishes seldom turn out as he intended. Instead of being rich and loved, as he had desired… well, you can see where this is headed.
The reason we can foresee what’s to come in the tale described above is that we are familiar with the story of Faust, so we might read it and think it a bit tropish with the ‘deal with the devil’ thing. There are no silver bullets or full moons in this tale, but Thibauld does eventually take the form of the black wolf and there is a lot of howling, so it may even be the first werewolf story ever penned, as Jonathon Maberry points out in his introduction. As such, it could could be the trope setter for an entire genre.
How many quills do I give to a classic work of literature? I’m not sure I’m qualified to rate this work which has survived the centuries. The very fact that is has survived speaks volumes more than any opinion I could ever give.
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“Twisted”: An Unusual Body Switching Tale
Posted: September 21, 2018 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Dark Fantasy, Paranormal, romance, Romantic Comedy, Speculative Fiction | Tags: Book Review, Dark Fantasty, Humor, Paranormal Romance, RA Winter, Speculative Fiction, Twisted, vampires, werewolves 3 CommentsWe’ve all heard tales which involved body switching, but what does one do when they are switched into the body of, not only the opposite sex, but that of a different species, one that is your sworn enemy? Twisted is a Vampire Werewolf Freaky Friday novelette, by R.A. Winter which deals with just such a delimma. And the worst part is, they are going to have to work together if they want to save their world.
This funny, quirky novelette explores the unthinkable and makes it believable and entertaining. The humor is on the adult side and may be a little over the top for the YA crowd, but it will keep the pages turning. It’s a fun read andI give Twisted five quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
“Bitten”: A Werewolf Story with a Unique Twist
Posted: May 11, 2018 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Dark Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Speculative Fiction, Suspense, Thriller | Tags: Bitten, Book Review, Dan O'Brian, Paranormal, Speculative Fiction, Suspence, Thriller, werewolves Leave a commentBitten, Book 1 of Lauren Westlake Mystery series, by Dan O’Brien is not your typical werewolf story. In this mystery thriller the werewolf is actually a pretty good guy when you get to know him, and Lauren can’t take down the true villain without him. To say any more would require huge spoiler alerts. The story unravels the mystery with skill, revealing the answers piece by piece, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to interfere with the care that was taken to present it all in such a smooth fashion, along with the surprise ending that reveals the direction Book 2 will take.
Well crafted, suspenseful, with a unique take on werewolf lore, and it keeps readers guessing. I give Bitten five quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs at no charge. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
“Bait”: A YA Supernatural Romance Even Death Can’t Kill
Posted: October 13, 2017 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Dark Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, romance, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult | Tags: Bait, Book Review, Ghosts, Kasi Blake, Paranormal Romance, Vampire Hnters, vampires, werewolves, Young Adult Leave a commentFans of werewolves, vampires, ghosts and ghouls alike will enjoy this tale of vampire and monster hunters. Bait is the first novel in author Kasi Blake’s Order of the Spirit Realm series, which promises to be full of surprises. Certainly, this first book was filled with them.
Nothing is as it seems, including Bay Lee’s life, which is all one big lie. No one can know that she is a Van Helsing. Or is she? And she has a strange, unexplainable aversion to rock star Tyler Beck, even when he appears in her bedroom after his death. The rock star she thought she hated turns out to be the hunter that she loves. Whether he is Tyler Beck, or Nick Gallo, Bay Lee’s love for him overrides all, including her quest to become the best hunter ever to attend the Van Helsing school and avenge her parents’ deaths, and the prophecy that says that together they will cause the end of the world. Will Bay Lee be able to handle the truth when she learns she isn’t who she always thought she was?
This is an entertaining story that leaves room for to be carried on with the series. The only criticism I have is that there is a lot of head hopping, and abrupt scene changes, leaving the reader trying to figure out what’s happened. This is one of my pet peeves, so it really bothered me, especially when it occured in spots where I was really getting into the flow of story. For me, it was a real problem that detracted from my enjoyment of the tale.
The story itself is great, highly entertaining, but the unsuspected switches are distracting, pulling the reader out of the story each time. Overall, I can only give Bait three quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs at no charge. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.