6th February 2014
Canongate Books
ISBN: 9781782112662
£7.99
Paperback
Jacob Marlow has lived for 200 years, a werewolf bitten in Snowdonia while on a walking holiday. Now he’s the last of the species. He’s hunted by an organisation, WOCOP, known as the Hunt, dedicated to the eradication of all supernatural entities, including werewolves, vampires and demons. He’s also being hunted by the vampires, who are looking for a way to walk in daylight.
Jacob doesn’t care. He’s tired of living. When his only friend is murdered by the Hunt he can’t find the energy to fight.
Until something he thought was dead, had died in him long before, returns. Love. With new incentive Jacob decides he has to live.
At this point it all goes to hell.
The novel takes the form of Jacob’s journal, describing in detail events, and his response to them. The form works well, giving immediacy to events and an insight into the main character’s mental state and reasoning.
I liked the general plot but there’s nothing original in this novel and some of the later events felt obvious. It’s all been done before. It felt a bit tacky at times as well. The descriptions of energetic sex with escorts added nothing to the story.
That being said, Jacob and Tallula are great characters, sparkling with life. The descriptions of their thoughts, disconnected at times, and actions are well written. Their unique ways of dealing with the transformation from were to wolf, like their different characters gives them individuality.
I loved the description of a vampire flying into a gout of flame from a flamethrower. There was a filmic quality to the writing, very evocative.
To sum up: good description and characters, okay plot, very little originality.
3/5
Everything Is Better With Dragons 