The Last Werewolf
by Glen Duncan
Meet Jake. A bit on the elderly side (he turns 201 in March), but you’d never suspect it. Nonstop sex and exercise will do that for you—and a diet with lots of animal protein. Jake is a werewolf, and after the unfortunate and violent death of his one contemporary, he is now the last of his species. Although he is physically healthy, Jake is deeply distraught and lonely.
Jake’s depression has carried him to the point where he is actually contemplating suicide—even if it means terminating a legend thousands of years old. It would seem to be easy enough for him to end everything. But for very different reasons there are two dangerous groups pursuing him who will stop at nothing to keep him alive. (description from Amazon.com)
Though the plot of this book was good, and intriguing enough that I wanted to know how things were going to end, this was not my favorite werewolf book. I had a couple of problems with it.
It was super introspective through the first half and I felt like it draaaagggeddd... Part of the problem may have been that I listened to this as an audio book and though the narrator perfectly matched Jake's character, the pacing was such that I had a hard time telling when the thinking stopped and the action started.
Though I don't think of myself as a prude, I did find myself bothered by the language in this book. Swearing is by no means off limits and especially not for emphasis, but Duncan relies totally on graphic language. He used the c*nt word quite frequently and I cringed every single time.
But, those were things that bothered me! They will not bother every reader. It's a strong, interesting adult book that many readers will love. *The ending is a killer, too!!
Full disclosure: Audiobook received to review for AudioFile
2011 Shifter Reading Challenge
The old-fashioned pacing and style reminded me of Frankenstein or Dracula. Probably deliberate on the author's part, since Jake had been alive for so many years.
ReplyDeleteI thought the audiobook narrator did such an incredible job conveying the world-weariness of story's narrator that I was glad I had listened to the audio. But, yeah, definitely not one to listen to while the kids are in earshot! ;)
Yes, Robin Sachs did an incredible job matching Jake's ennui. His tone was perfect for the character and matched the feel of the book effortlessly. I only wish as I'd been listening to the audio that you could almost hear where the white space would have been on the pages between paragraphs and chapters...I had trouble, like I said, moving from the introspection to the action. There were no audio cues when the "scene" changed...
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