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The Wolf Gift (The Wolf Gift Chronicles #1)

3.46 of 5 stars 3.46 · rating details · 9,198 ratings · 1,581 reviews

The time is the present.

The place, the rugged coast of northern California. A bluff high above the Pacific. A grand mansion full of beauty and tantalizing history set against a towering redwood forest.

A young reporter on assignment from the San Francisco Observer. . . an older woman, welcoming him into her magnificent, historic family home that he has been sent to write ab...more

Hardcover, 404 pages

Published February 14th 2012 by Knopf (first published February 9th 2012)

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Feb 24, 2012 Dan Schwent rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, 2012, great-if-it-didn-t-suck

A young reporter narrowly escapes being mauled by a man wolf and soon finds himself changing into a man wolf by the light of the moon. He begins taking the law into his own hands and soon has a horde of police and scientists looking for him, as well as others of his kind...

Ever run into an old flame and try to rekindle the spark? For years, I was a devout Anne Rice fan, wolfing down the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witches books with reckless abandon. After a few years of that, I started s...more A young reporter narrowly escapes being mauled by a man wolf and soon finds himself changing into a man wolf by the light of the moon. He begins taking the law into his own hands and soon has a horde of police and scientists looking for him, as well as others of his kind...

Ever run into an old flame and try to rekindle the spark? For years, I was a devout Anne Rice fan, wolfing down the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witches books with reckless abandon. After a few years of that, I started seeing changes in our relationship. After a few disappointing books like Blackwood Farm, Anne and I parted ways. Late last year, Anne's path crossed with mine once again when I learned of the Wolf Gift. Could we recapture the old magic?

NO! And here's what went down.

I really wanted to like this book but there are many reasons why I didn't. First off, I didn't care about the main character at all. His name is Reuben, he's 23, and he drives a Porsche. While I'm sure there are likeable 23 year old Porsche drivers, Reuben is not one of them. He's a really bland character with no real traits other than inexplicably having sex with women who aren't his girlfriend and talking like a 45 year old philosophy major.

The rest of the characters are similarly thin. I know I'm supposed to think it's interesting that Reuben's brother is a priest or his mother is a doctor but they are pretty much definied by their jobs. The other man wolves are pretty interchangeable as characters.

The writing isn't very good either. It's clunky and chock full of infodumps. Maybe I'm looking back at Anne Rice's previous work through the rose colored glasses of nostalgia but I can't remember her earlier work being this badly written.

All that being said, I did find some things of value in The Wolf's Gift. I actually like the mythology she's created for her werewolves, the Chrism and so forth, as well as the origin of the species. I also like that Reuben was accepting of the change and started acting like a werewolf version of Batman. The rest of the book just didn't do it for me. It was obviously meant to the be the first book in a series and the climax of the story occurs way before the end.

Sorry Anne, maybe we'll try again in another ten years. 2 stars.(less)

132 likes · like · see review

Apr 05, 2012 Blythe rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who don't end up wanting to strangle Reuben

Shelves: read-reviewed, in-a-name-challenge, 2012-reads, losing-my-faith-in-humanity

Originally, I gave The Wolf Gift four stars, because I did like its story, and it was fun to read (despite a few boring parts and many infodumps), but there's a reason I'm giving The Wolf Gift three stars, which I will explain later on in this review.

Pros of The Wolf Gift

1: First off, I loved the descriptions of the Nideck house! They really painted an image in my head of this big, elegant house overlooking the sea.

2: Marin County was one of the main settings in The Wolf Gift! I loved seeing n...more

48 likes · like · see review

Jul 17, 2012 Bethany Seabolt rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: won-t-finish

[Stopped reading for good]: I don't stop reading a book very often, but I hated the writing, especially the inconsistency of the narrator's tone. Hated. I didn't expect to dislike it so much.

19 likes · like · see review

Dec 25, 2011 Annmarie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, werewolves, fantasy, romantic-elements

I read an advance reader's copy of this on the plane, courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley. It was sort of disappointing, but it did keep me fairly engrossed. It starts off beautifully, with a journalist, a poetic and handsome young man named Reuben, meeting an older woman at her gorgeous spooky old mansion in the isolated redwoods of Northern California, inherited from an exotic uncle who mysteriously disappeared. Bites, wolfishness, philosophical and religious ponderings, and the more inter...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Jade rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

At the end of this book my first thoughts were....now to begin an amazing series of chronicles, and I hope that this is Rice's intention. In my eyes not as good as her greats like Cry to Heaven, The Feast of All Saints or the earlier Vampire Chronicles, but definitely back to her original style. And I weep with relief!!! Gone is that evil demon who replaced Anne in Christian clothing for so long, replaced once again with the witty, intelligent woman who encompasses her tales around the great arg...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Qwill / The Qwillery rated it 4 of 5 stars

My thoughts:

I've been a fan of Anne Rice's writing since I read Interview with the Vampire, which is not to say that I've liked everything she's written. So it was with great curiosity and a bit of hope that I began to read The Wolf Gift. I was not disappointed.

The Wolf Gift struck me as a gentle story in many ways. I know - werewolves and gentle don't necessarily go together. Yes, there is some violence, but mostly this book is an exploration of what it is to become a werewolf, of good versus e...more My thoughts:

I've been a fan of Anne Rice's writing since I read Interview with the Vampire, which is not to say that I've liked everything she's written. So it was with great curiosity and a bit of hope that I began to read The Wolf Gift. I was not disappointed.

The Wolf Gift struck me as a gentle story in many ways. I know - werewolves and gentle don't necessarily go together. Yes, there is some violence, but mostly this book is an exploration of what it is to become a werewolf, of good versus evil. It's a journey that the main character, Reuben, takes. And it is fascinating. Reuben struggles with the moral issues of his dilemma. Can something that is supposedly evil be good? Is there a purpose to his new life? Will he lose his humanity? Be more wolf than man?

Ms. Rice's descriptive powers are at full force in The Wolf Gift. I had a clear sense of place throughout the novel. I fell in love with the big coastal mansion with it's secrets as much as any of the characters. I saw the forest and the old growth trees. I heard the waves crash, the rain fall, the animals prowl the woods, the sounds of the city. All of this combined to provide a lovely Gothic feel to the novel.

Reuben's family, the people he loves and comes to love were wonderfully drawn. Even the villains of the story, though not a major focus, are well done. These villains as well as some of the good guys infuse the backdrop of the story for a large part of the novel until they are brought front and center. The story moves at a fast pace even through the ruminations on good and evil. While the concepts may be abstract, they are brought to life in a concrete manner without overshadowing the story. I enjoyed watching Reuben come to grips with what was happening, to wonder about his situation, and to learn about his gift.

Ms. Rice's werewolves are the stuff of legend but not the legend you may know or expect. There is something new here. Something more than a bit wonderful.

I give The Wolf Gift 4 1/2 Qwills (less)

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Feb 10, 2013 S.A. rated it 1 of 5 stars

Here’s a little history. I read Anne Rice when I was a teenager back in 1976. Yep, I was sixteen.

When I was twenty-five, Anne blew my mind with “The Vampire Lestat”. Hail the Brat Prince. Damn, I still think Lestat is one of the best characters ever and yes, he has influenced my writing. In fact, I raced through the novel again to prime myself for “The Wolf Gift.”

To backtrack, I thought the Mayfair Witches series was amazing. I still don’t understand how HBO hasn’t crafted a killer series from...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Christine Edison rated it 1 of 5 stars

I love werewolf stories, incluidng The Pack by Jason Starr, Bitten by Kelly Armstrong, Carrie Vaughn's Kitty series, even the were creatures in the Sookie Stackhouse books. I liked Interivew With A Vampire and The Vampire Lestat. I've sampled from some of Anne Rice's other series as well because I keep hoping one of them will grab me the way those first two books did. So far no luck.

I was really disappointed with the way The Wolf Gift was written. The information dumps near the beginning brough...more

15 likes · like · see review

Apr 19, 2012 James rated it 3 of 5 stars

Just started it, but so far it feels as if it were a talented amateur doing her best imitation of Anne Rice's style.

***

A week later and I'm done.

Has my early impression of the book changed, now that I'm done? Unfortunately, no.

It's sad to say, but this novel is but a pale shadow of what Anne Rice used to deliver when creating one of her supernatural tales. If you are a Rice fan, or a werewolf fan then by all means, give this novel a spin, you may enjoy it more than I did. If it's your first tas...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Jela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: supernatural-fiction

Before I begin this review I have to mention a few things. I have read several reviews both here on Goodreads and on Amazon and I have to say people don't get it. They don't get this book, they read drivel like 50 Shades of Grey or Twilight and believe that those books are good examples of supernatural and/or erotic literature. They are not. For every person that is grossed out by "icky" Morphenkind/Human sexual relations or turned off on the whole novel because they main character starts out by...more Before I begin this review I have to mention a few things. I have read several reviews both here on Goodreads and on Amazon and I have to say people don't get it. They don't get this book, they read drivel like 50 Shades of Grey or Twilight and believe that those books are good examples of supernatural and/or erotic literature. They are not. For every person that is grossed out by "icky" Morphenkind/Human sexual relations or turned off on the whole novel because they main character starts out by cheating on his girlfriend... This book is not for you. If you cannot understand the mythological context of werewolf as the primal human sexuality, this is not for you. If you are so naive to believe that good people don't find love in peculiar places. Then this book is not for you. Frankly, I don't see how anyone who has ever read an Anne Rice book would be shocked at any of these events.

I consider myself an Anne Rice fan, though I have not read all of her books. I stopped the Vampire Chronicles in the middle of Memnoch the Devil. It was clear she was having a religious epiphany and I did not want my beloved characters forces into it with her. I read the Lives of the Mayfair witches through most of Taltos. I picked up Pandora, Merrick and Blood and Gold and longed to find out what happened when the characters met in the crossovers books. I have yet to go back and find them. So, I chose the Wolf Gift to begin my new journey with Anne.

I am glad I did. While it is true that Anne's writing has changed over the years, I don't think that this change detracts from her ability to tell a great story. I am not going to go into a recap of the story here, you can find that information on a book jacket or in any number of the other reviews on this site.

What I can say is that she has drawn us into the world of the morphenkind by introducing us to Reuben Golding. A young man, who is obviously living in the wrong time, he is wise beyond his years and drawn into the mystery of Nideck Point, a large property that carries with it many secrets.

Now, as someone who has not grown up privileged, like Reuben, I still found it easy to relate to him. He is intrigued by mythology and literature and by the world that came before him. It was easy to see how someone could get caught up in a mysterious house, even before the tragedy that befalls him, which ultimately changes his life forever.

I am a lover of mythology, especially supernatural mythology and have done my own research on werewolves. I found it refreshing that she turned this genre on it head, by not including many of the recently created tropes associated with werewolf folklore. There was no lunar cycle, no silver bullet. Anne is known for her impeccable research into a topic before writing and you can tell she did it here.

The only con I found in reading this novel was that there is some echo of her vampire mythology hiding in these pages. How can their not be. You have immortal creatures, who must kill as a means of survival. There is the struggle between good and evil..as always.

I, for one, cannot wait until October 2013, when the sequel is released. I want to know more about the Morphenkind and their adventures throughout history.

(less)

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Feb 18, 2012 Adrienne rated it 2 of 5 stars

So, the Wolf Gift.

What can I say? It could only have been written by Anne Rice. I’m actually stumped as to how someone who hasn’t read any of Anne Rice’s books before would feel about this novel.

I get the feeling that the world of Anne Rice’s books and the actual world have grown farther and farther apart as the years go by. No one dresses the way they do in her books. No one speaks the way they do in her books. Certainly she had no concept of age – The hero, Reuben already has his Masters at 23...more So, the Wolf Gift.

What can I say? It could only have been written by Anne Rice. I’m actually stumped as to how someone who hasn’t read any of Anne Rice’s books before would feel about this novel.

I get the feeling that the world of Anne Rice’s books and the actual world have grown farther and farther apart as the years go by. No one dresses the way they do in her books. No one speaks the way they do in her books. Certainly she had no concept of age – The hero, Reuben already has his Masters at 23, for example.

I feel like she writes her historical books and her contemporary books in much the same way. But her writing works for historical fiction, or for example, for the vampires who were mostly born in another time, who often act older than they look. It sounds natural when Lestat says, “My god!”, but not so much when a 16 year old boy from California says it.

However, her writing has a rhythm to it, the essence hasn’t changed at all. It’s her language, her themes, her character types, her dialogue, the catchphrases I recognize from so many other books (‘Dear God’, ‘Lord God’, ‘For the love of hell’, etc. ‘Powerfully excited’ was used at least ten times.) If you had told me that this was a lost manuscript from the 80s, I would have believed you, if not for the fact that everyone had an iPhone.

In that way, although I’d never read the book before, the reading experience was almost similar to that of reading a comfort read for me. And I found the characters likable enough, because none of them were the old characters I loved being rendered utterly unrecognizable, as happened with the last books in the Vampire Chronicles. So I enjoyed it, It wasn't a hard read at all for me. I read it in a day. I reminded me a lot of The Mummy, for example.

The only two aspects of this book that I felt set it apart from her earlier writing was: 1) It was much more Catholic. That aspect was much more overt. 2) It was less gay, or should I say, less bi-sexual. There was a gay character, but he was very clearly marked as such, unlike the general love and affection between men in her earlier book where every male character including the hero fell in love with another man or mentioned having been in love with another man despite never being identified as gay or bisexual.

Also, I can only end with 3 points.

1. The phrase ‘Man Wolf’ never stopped being funny.
2. There was WAY too much werewolf/human sex.
3. The most hilarious line in the book: “Well, you’re one splendid boy wolf I’ll tell you that.” (less)

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Sep 07, 2012 Tracy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-fiction

What a tremendous disappointment it is to read my first Anne Rice novel. The first 200 pages were stilted and lifeless without depth of character. It lacked passion. It became mildly interesting during the 2nd half of the book, but it was bogged down by philosophical meanderings ad nauseaum that were too poetic to be considered entertaining or enriching. If only more time had been given to plot and character development and less on the authors ethereal wanderings. In the end, it was if I was sit...more

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Dec 14, 2012 LL rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No one

Shelves: couldn-t-finish, junk

Sometimes I’d enjoy a book simply for its clever and action-packed storyline. Sometimes I’d enjoy a book because of its ingenious and fascinating characters. Sometimes I’d enjoy a book due to its philosophical offerings and thought-provoking details. Often it’d be a combination of all of these things.

Unfortunately, The Wolf Gift was none of the above.

It was rather disappointing, because believe it or not, this was my first ever Anne Rice book. I knew about her popular Vampire Chronicles series b...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Jen Sines rated it 2 of 5 stars

Was Anne Rice always such a clunky writer? I read her early works and remember really enjoying them. I knew this wasn't going to be a great work of literature, but I expected a smoother story than what I got. There is a part where Laura is making a large salad (which she does when she is worried? Really?) where Rice uses the word "glistening" three times in two paragraphs to describe the lettuce. Thesaurus, please!

Some of the writing was so cheesy that it made me wince: "Garden of Pain, I need y...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Di rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's a 2.5 to be fair.
It's all about Reuben, anyone else is just a caricature of what a developed character in a novel should be. Our main character Reuben: he is 23, he is obviously intelligent and mature for his age, and a reporter for the San Francisco Observer, he has a masters in English Literature and yet he whines about how he hasn't accomplished anything in his life (really?) and he seems annoyed that people notice too much how pretty he is. First World, white rich guy problems. Nothing...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Mina De Caro rated it 5 of 5 stars

Review available on Mina's Bookshelf
http://minadecaro.blogspot.com/2012/0...

Reuben Golding, golden boy and young reporter for the San Francisco Observer, comes from a very wealthy family: his father is a retired professor with a taste for poetry, his mother is a high-profile physician, his older brother a priest, his girlfriend a successful attorney. He got his job at the newspaper thanks to his parents’ influential connections and, although a very talented writer and new promise in the journal...more Review available on Mina's Bookshelf
http://minadecaro.blogspot.com/2012/0...

Reuben Golding, golden boy and young reporter for the San Francisco Observer, comes from a very wealthy family: his father is a retired professor with a taste for poetry, his mother is a high-profile physician, his older brother a priest, his girlfriend a successful attorney. He got his job at the newspaper thanks to his parents’ influential connections and, although a very talented writer and new promise in the journalistic field, Reuben thinks he hasn’t achieved anything outstanding in his life, no particular talent or gift to speak of unlike the rest of his family. He is writing an article about a huge and beautiful estate located in a remote area of Northern California: the Nideck property, a splendid mansion by the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by acres and acres of luxurious and isolated redwoods, is on the market for sale and in order to survey it Reuben meets the owner, the beautiful and worldly Marchent Nideck. The sophisticated, well-traveled Marchent and the distractingly handsome Reuben are immediately drawn to each other . For some reason, despite the impervious location and the remoteness and seclusion of the place, Reuben falls in love also with the house and wishes to buy it for himself. He ends up inheriting it: just before being killed by her intoxicated brothers, in fact, Marchent had made sure to contact her lawyers and have the property passed to the young reporter who had shown interest and admiration for the mansion and all the treasures it contained.
While trying to save Merchant from her brothers’ homicide fury, Reuben gets attacked and bitten by an unidentified wolfish creature. The same creature will kill Marchent’s brothers but will spare Reuben’s life. After the attack, he experiences a weird hormonal surge, a growth spurt (rather strange for his 23 years of age, and emotional restlessness. That’s not all: all his senses are enhanced and he starts hearing voices coming from great distance and imploring for help. The young reporter seems to have developed special antennas and an inner radar for people in distress. And most amazingly, he can smell and track down evil. In matter of days his new sensibility triggers a physical transformation: not the moon phases, but the pleas of innocent people in danger will cause him to transform into a werewolf and rescue them. The mutation will increase the emotional distance already existing between Reuben and his family and girlfriend. He is a new man now, fated and claimed by his new nature.

Anne Rice’s spin on the legend of the werewolf bridges her Gothic writer roots with the religious inclinations and philosophical pondering of her latest production. The novel features also a strong romantic twist when Reuben meets his mate in beautiful and sweet Laura. I have rated The Wolf Gift five stars certainly for the plot, although quite unoriginal in its take of the ancient wolf-man myth, but mostly for the metaphysical depths and philosophical issues it raises:

“Our way–the Western Way–has always been a work in progress. Questions of life and death, good and evil, justice and tragedy–these are never definitively settled, but must be addressed again and again as personal and public worlds shift and change. We hold our morals to be absolutes, but the context of our actions and decisions is forever changing.”

In her trademark controversial, thought-provoking, and allegorical sort of way Rice shines a spotlight on what modern society labels as “monstrosity”, on those fine and shifting ethical lines our culture draws between good and evil, right and wrong, gift and curse. The metaphysical undertones and the fetching supernatural plot are a sheer pleasure to read. At the end of the book we are left on a huge cliffhanger, literally, but we are only two seasons away from the release of the anticipated sequel. The Wolves Of Midwinter: The Wolf Gift Chronicles is due on October 15, 2013.

(less)

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Sep 14, 2012 Dan rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was a little concerned when I first bought this book and then read some of the reviews of it on here. People were really ripping into it! Well...I hate to say it.....but they weren't entirely wrong about this book.
Okay, Before I go on any further, I want to say that I love Anne Rice. I think she's a great storyteller. and her other books that I read were awesome! I mean Interview With the Vampire and her other vampire books were great! I had wanted to read a werewolf novel for a long time and...more I was a little concerned when I first bought this book and then read some of the reviews of it on here. People were really ripping into it! Well...I hate to say it.....but they weren't entirely wrong about this book.
Okay, Before I go on any further, I want to say that I love Anne Rice. I think she's a great storyteller. and her other books that I read were awesome! I mean Interview With the Vampire and her other vampire books were great! I had wanted to read a werewolf novel for a long time and when I heard that Anne Rice was doing one I was really psyched.The Wolf Gift ,however, was a major disappointment.
Where to start? Well it was a little fucking weird. I'll get to that. Okay, (view spoiler) I gave this book two stars because it wasn't truly horrible. Atleast Anne Rice tried. I don't know, it's very sad, perhaps she's slipping in her old age. Well, there you have it. That's what I think.
(less)

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Feb 20, 2012 Janice rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, horror

The question that followed me throughout the book was, "Is this quintessential Anne Rice?" I hesitate to say that it was. She brought her usual themes of good vs evil and the examination of theology to the story.

In doing so, she recreated the werewolf. It didn't work for me. I hestitate to classify it as horror because there wasn't any fear generated by her story. The man wolf was essentially a vigilante in wolf's clothing, only able to kill a person who was evil and spare the innocent and worth...more

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May 28, 2012 Mitzi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

I read a lot of reviews before reading this book, and some after I finished it, so I know of all the differing opinions out there and I can see both sides of them. While I didn't think this was one of Anne's best books, I did like it.

I liked how she re-shaped the werewolf myth and origins - the change coming on when the man wants it, rather than at the full moon, the change being orgasmic rather than painful, the man retaining his consciousness while in wolf form, his ability to smell and dispat...more

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May 22, 2012 Celici rated it 4 of 5 stars

A meal worthy of eating! The appetizer was simple, a little redundant even, and not at all what I expected from such a famous chef, but once I bit into the main course, I couldn't stop eating until the meal was finished! The dessert wasn't as mouth watering as the entree, especially when I began to feel I should have said grace before it, but it hit the spot nonetheless and I was able to walk away with a full belly.

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Mar 27, 2013 Jenn Noto rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I did like this book a lot, as I do like Anne Rice's work, however when I finished it, it left me with a lot of questions left unanswered. It felt slightly unfinished in the ending (almost a cliffhanger but not quite). There were a few chapters in a row that I felt were a bit repetitive in the middle of the book. And there were some things that I wish panned out differently.
On a better note, I do think it was definitely worth reading. I loved Anne Rice's version of the werewolf ("man wolf"). It...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Barbara Elsborg rated it 2 of 5 stars

I so wanted to like this. I've looked forward to reading it for AGES but but but - it didn't live up to my expectations. Some parts of it were very good. I loved the description of the house - I could really picture that. I liked the detail about the actual shift - I could picture that too. The whole werewolf mythology was well thought out, a bit different and until the last part which went on and on and on - I enjoyed that too. I understand why we had to get all the background at the end but I'...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Mark O'Brien rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: werewolves

I love Anne's writing style. Her prose is descriptive, fast-paced, targeted, spirited, and eloquent. To write a book takes effort and heaps of it, so kudos to her for giving it a go, again. Well done!

Besides my initial comments, I believe the plot lacks in certain areas, namely: plausibility of characters' lives. It seems to me as being a stretch, way too far out there in the skewed region of 'yeah right, pull the other one'. I know she could have married the paranormal with the normal to blend...more

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Apr 10, 2013 David Mccoy rated it 2 of 5 stars

This would be my first, maybe only, time reading an Anne Rice book. While I had heard of her other works, if they read like The Wolf Gift, then I would be disinclined to finish them.
The Wolf Gift was thick, dense, and ultimately I felt like somewhere in the middle it decided to completely become a different story.
So you start out with a wealthy journalist, who is well-traveled and well-read, going on about his past, his future, the antique mansion and its mysteries of which he is to be writing...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Yvonne rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anne Rice fans

Recommended to Yvonne by: don't remember

I was first introduced to Anne Rice with Interview with the Vampire. Then I was thrilled with her lyrical, vivid writing. She described the vampire's acts of feeding and experiencing in such poetic terms that I felt led to understand the term "erotic" as all that experienced with all our senses. In The Wolf Gift, Rice again works her magic (how does she do that?) to tell an engrossing and entertaining story. Her powers of description, however, begin to wear on one with such often-used words such...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Chuck rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I think I understand why so many people are having trouble either liking or actually finishing this novel.

This isn't our "old" Anne Rice. There isn't the sensual brainfog that she created within the first couple of pages in Interview With the Vampire. Nor does the story have the frankly sexy weirdness of The Mummy.

I have always picked and chosen my choices from amongst Mrs. Rice's works. I've preferred, and loved, The Vampire Chronicles and the aforementioned The Mummy. Then, things got a bit...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Danton rated it 4 of 5 stars

All I did was open up the book. After two pages , I knew that this was gonna spark some imagination. Creepy, my fingers sort of suddenly seemed more bulbous, my knuckles looked as if they had just endured some really horrible cuts. My mind had gone immediately towards two Big men. Timothy robbins and Thomas Sizemore. i found out that Emilio Estevez turned 60 right around this same time. A day later, thinking to myself, how can I evolve? What will it take to get these glimpses of seemingly Beauty...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Emilie B rated it 4 of 5 stars

I had not read anne Rice in a long time, I greatly enjoyed her Vampire Novels and I studied them in university. When I saw this I thought that it would be interesting to revisit the Werewolf myth. I liked the book at first because just as I was anticipating Anne Rice deconstructed the silly 'hollywood cliches' of Werewolf myth like the lunar cycle and silver bullets etc. I mean many of us are fed up with those cliches! Reading through more of the novel I suddenly asked myself 'Is this a werewolf...more I had not read anne Rice in a long time, I greatly enjoyed her Vampire Novels and I studied them in university. When I saw this I thought that it would be interesting to revisit the Werewolf myth. I liked the book at first because just as I was anticipating Anne Rice deconstructed the silly 'hollywood cliches' of Werewolf myth like the lunar cycle and silver bullets etc. I mean many of us are fed up with those cliches! Reading through more of the novel I suddenly asked myself 'Is this a werewolf story or a superhero story?' 'Why do i feel that Reuben is like Peter Parker or Clarck Kent?' It seems that he has super sensitive hearing when someone innocent is in danger just like Superman. He only kills evil guys and saves innocents. I was kind of hoping he would accidentally or just plainly slaughter some innocent person but he didn't. So he is the crusader of werewolves then? I found all this interesting. Just like in many werewolf novels and films the poor cursed guy has to be careful and hide from public view. The human race could catch him and destroy him or worse. If this novel is set in the present day in a world were you are never 'invisible' with facebook, twitter and people snapping pictures and recording videos with their phones, why does that not happen to Reuben? I guess he was really careful, that he lives in a well secluded place and that maybe Anne Rice decided not to go that way.

If I were to compare it with the vampire novels, I much prefer the vampires because they must feed, they must kill and they can reject their conditions but they live in convens and have strict moral codes and anyone of their kinds who breaks the rules will face destruction. The werewolves in the 'Wolf Gift' seem to live harmoniuosly and are able to 'clean up' and 'erase mistakes'. When they die their bodies just dissolves and they leave no evidence whatsoever at 'crime scenes'. I was afraid and kind of anticipating that Reuben just like Louie would face some kind of judgement or punishment for killing one of the werewolves, I guess 'Self defence' works in the Werewolf packs.

Overall I have some mixed feelings but I still think the book was well written and it was a fresh interesting take on the werewolf myth. I hope that this is not the only and last time we encounter Reuben, I hope that Anne Rice will write more werewolf novels.
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Feb 07, 2013 Al rated it 3 of 5 stars

Review

From Booklist: (Kristine Huntley)

Rice weaves her trademark meditations on the role of supernatural creatures in society into an often thrilling, page-turning yarn. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: News that the legendary vampire chronicler has written a novel about werewolves is mobilizing Rice's multitude of library-card-carrying fans.

From Library Journal:

*Verdict*Fans of Rice's "The Vampire Chronicles" and "The Lives of the Mayfair Witches" series should delight in this new saga delivered in t

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Review

From Library Journal:

*Verdict* Fans of Rice's "The Vampire Chronicles" and "The Lives of the Mayfair Witches" series should delight in this new saga delivered in the author's distinctive style. Part creation story, part love story, and all excellent! [See Prepub Alert, 11/9/11.]--Amanda Scott, Cambridge Springs P.L., PA

From Alan Cheuse

The Boston Globe:

The plot in which all this unfolds is magnetic, the characters fascinating, and Rice's style as solid and engaging as anything she has written since her early vampire chronicle fiction.

Review

“The Wolf Gift is vintage Anne Rice—a lushly written, gothic…metaphysical tale. This time, with werewolves.”

—Alexandra Alter, The Wall Street Journal

“Anne Rice has done it again. In her latest novel, The Wolf Gift, the woman who single-handedly, reinvented the vampire genre puts her formidable talent to work rewriting ‘were-wolf’ lore and in the end succeeds magnificently.”

—Nola Cancel, Examiner

“[Rice] returns to the lushly evocative scenery and gothic atmosphere of her vampire novels with great success. . . her reimagining of a well-worn mythology is fresh and intriguing. Fans of Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives of the Mayfair Witches series should delight in this new saga delivered in the author’s distinctive style. Part creation story, part love story, all excellent!”

—Bette Lee Fox, Library Journal (starred)

“I want to howl at the moon over this…I devoured these pages…[A] terrific new novel. . . . The plot [is] magnetic, the characters fascinating, and Rice’s style as solid and engaging as anything she has written since her early vampire chronicle fiction.”
—Alan Cheuse, The Boston Globe

“Rice weaves her trademark meditations on the role of supernatural creatures in society into an often thrilling, page-turning yarn”

—Kristine Huntley, Booklist

“[A]n energetic gambol, feisty and terrific fun. . . . [A] fast-paced, heady romp that ranks with her best. . . . Wolf Gift is irresistible.”
—Joy Tipping, The Dallas Morning News

“[I]n Rice’s hands, The Wolf Gift evolves from a fantastical romp into an engrossing thriller. . . .”
—Liz Colville, San Francisco Chronicle

“Anne Rice combines a vast literary gift with a shameless love of sex, beauty and pop culture. Her artistic vision is part Bela Lugosi, part Andy Warhol, part Christina the Astonishing, the medieval holy woman who could famously “smell sin.”…The Wolf Gift will leave open-minded readers howling for more.”
—Aidan Johnson, The Globe and Mail

“[E]xciting tale of a contemporary werewolf. . . . Rice’s classic concerns regarding good and evil and shifting views of reality play out wonderfully in what will surely please fans and newcomers alike.”
—Publishers Weekly

“[O]ne part ‘Beauty and the Beast’ love story, one part meditation on morality and immortality, and one part superman tale. . . . Told in the memorable style that won Rice’s vampire series so many readers, The Wolf Gift is an intriguing new take on the classic werewolf legend…Rice deepens and gives nuance to classic werewolf lore.”
—Diana Pinckley, New Orleans Times-Picayune

“Rice has never shied away from tackling Big Issues…The Wolf Gift marks a return to form while still giving a nod to spiritual matters…[A] delectable cocktail of old-fashioned lost-race adventure, shape-shifting and suspense.”
-Elizabeth Hand, The Washington Post

“Anne Rice is back”
—Tirdad Derakhshani, The Philadelphia Inquirer

“[W]ritten with compelling modernity…The Wolf Gift is a strong—and welcome—return to the monster mythology that made Anne Rice famous.”
—Rob LeFebvre, Shelf Awareness

“With both thrilling acts of horror and a final act that is deeply based in the mythology of the Wolf Gift and its history --- and bordering on lycanthropic existentialism --- this novel opens readers up to a world they only thought they knew…The characters come alive, and the strange history of the Nideck family will jump off the page and enter the readers’ nightmares as Rice has found a new gothic saga to sink her teeth into.”
—Ray Palen, Bookreporter.com

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Jan 30, 2013 Melisa Ramonda rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked the mythology, but it seems to be pretty much the same as many others I've read before. Anyway, it was a fine mix between magic and science, something you don't see very often in this kind of stories.

NOW, NOW, SOME COMMENTS THAT MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT BE SPOILERS :)

THE BEST: This werewolves are not evil creatures ashamed of themselves and off-control.
THE WORST: The fact that Reuben meets an unknown woman in the forest and they have sex in the same scene. Without a reason. Out of nowhere. And...more

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About Anne Rice

Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien) is a best-selling American author of gothic, supernatural, historical, erotica, and later religious themed books. Best known for The Vampire Chronicles, her prevailing thematical focus is on love, death, immortality, existentialism, and the human condition. She was married to poet Stan Rice for 41 years until his death in 2002. Her books have sold near...more

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Books by Anne Rice

Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1)

The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles, #2)

The Queen of the Damned (The Vampire Chronicles, #3)

The Witching Hour (Lives of the Mayfair Witches, #1)

The Tale of the Body Thief (The Vampire Chronicles, #4)

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“Time can tick when there is no clock.” — 18 people liked it

“Truth is a risky proposition. It's the nature of mediocre human beings to believe that lies are necessary, that they serve a purpose, that truth is subversive, that candor is dangerous, that the very scaffold of communal life is supported by lies.” — 15 people liked it

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