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12th out of 42 books
—
46 voters
Benighted
“A fascinating and unique tale in an alternate reality where being human is a hindrance. Kit Whitfield has created an astonishing read.”
–Sherrilyn Kenyon, author of the Dark-Hunter series
“Kit Whitfield has created a unique and powerful twist on the werewolf mythos, an eloquent parable about the profound effects of prejudice and violence on both perpetrator and victim. Beni...more
–Sherrilyn Kenyon, author of the Dark-Hunter series
“Kit Whitfield has created a unique and powerful twist on the werewolf mythos, an eloquent parable about the profound effects of prejudice and violence on both perpetrator and victim. Beni...more
Paperback, 544 pages
Published
August 8th 2006
by Del Rey
(first published 2006)
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This book supposes a world where more than 99% of the population are lycanthropes, who transform into wild, unthinking beasts for a single night every month. The tiny minority of non-lycanthropes are drafted into an organization that polices the rest of the population. The "nons" spend that night hunting down those who violate the law by not locking themselves safely away. The protagonist is a "non", and the book is not so much about werewolves as it is about her life experience as a member of t...more
Benighted takes place in a world not unlike our own, except for one fundamental difference: over 99% of the population are lycanthropes, and the remaining minority work with the Department for the Ongoing Regulation of Lycanthropic Activity, capturing and prosecuting lunes that break full-moon curfews. Lola Galley is a DORLA veteran, but the events of two bad moon nights leads her to investigate a new type of lycanthrope crime: lycos capable of thought in wolf form and murder in human form. Beni...more
Did Not Finish - Quit at page 130
90% of the population are werewolves, the other 10% are non's. The law requires werewolves to lock themselves inside on full moons to avoid prowling, maiming and murdering while under the moon influence.
The non's are required to belong to DORLA (Dept. for the Ongoing Regulation of Lycanthorpic Activities). DORLA teams in vans hunt on full moon nights to catch and jail those werewolves who are out. The "dogcatching" is extremely dangerous, as the human non's are...more
90% of the population are werewolves, the other 10% are non's. The law requires werewolves to lock themselves inside on full moons to avoid prowling, maiming and murdering while under the moon influence.
The non's are required to belong to DORLA (Dept. for the Ongoing Regulation of Lycanthorpic Activities). DORLA teams in vans hunt on full moon nights to catch and jail those werewolves who are out. The "dogcatching" is extremely dangerous, as the human non's are...more
Lola lives in a world where she is the minority. As a bareback she was born with a birth defect that results in her not changing into a wolf during a full moon. She and others like her have no choice but to work for DORLA (Department for the Ongoing Regulation of Lycanthropic Activity), a government agency tasks with patrolling the streets during the change to make sure no one is out and about as wolves. One of her colleagues is maimed by a bad Lune and shortly after the man responsible was assi...more
I picked this book off the bookshelf at the library on a whim. I was looking for new authors without long, multi-book series started yet. The premise was interesting: a human cop living/working/surviving in a world of werewolves.
It's a dark world; it's a dark book. Humanity is slowly being bred out/killed off. Although the author didn't say it, I had the feeling that humanity was a recessive gene, getting more recessive each generation. Yet the werewolves, or lupines, need humans to keep society...more
It's a dark world; it's a dark book. Humanity is slowly being bred out/killed off. Although the author didn't say it, I had the feeling that humanity was a recessive gene, getting more recessive each generation. Yet the werewolves, or lupines, need humans to keep society...more
For those born feet-first, life is normal. Civil rights are enshrined in law, the world is a comfortable place, and every full moon night, you lock yourself in a secure room to fur up in peace. But for those born head-first, the damage done is more than just physical. For a non, locked in his or her human skin, is first and foremost a conscript, drafted at eighteen into DORLA, the Department for the Ongoing Regulation of Lycanthropic Activity.
For a DORLA agent, insultingly referred to as a 'bare...more
For a DORLA agent, insultingly referred to as a 'bare...more
Benighted is a hard book to review: for starters, it's almost impossible to explain without spoilers. It includes lycanthropes (werewolves), but no magic and few action scenes, and delves deeper into moral and psychological issues than any urban fantasy I've ever read. It portrays a dystopia of sorts, but the point still seems to be the story, not some political message. There's a murder mystery or two involved, before the plot veers off in a direction you've probably never seen in a simple myst...more
This is actually closer to 2 and 1/2 stars . . .
This book turns the traditionally fantasy plot-line on its head, creating a world in which 99% of the world's population are lycanthropes, while the small one percent without the gene to change during the full moon are derisively called "barebacks". Members of this one percent are forced to join DORLA, an organization charged with policing the streets during full moons and convicting those lycanthropes who are found wandering (rather than locked up...more
This book turns the traditionally fantasy plot-line on its head, creating a world in which 99% of the world's population are lycanthropes, while the small one percent without the gene to change during the full moon are derisively called "barebacks". Members of this one percent are forced to join DORLA, an organization charged with policing the streets during full moons and convicting those lycanthropes who are found wandering (rather than locked up...more
You could call BENIGHTED (BAREBACK in the UK) a crime novel that explores society's prejudices, or you could call it a fantasy novel with a mystery to be solved. Or you could call it a damned fine novel whose full-human protagonist just happens to live in a place where turning into a wolf at full moon is the norm, and she's the oddball.
I'm not a fan of werewolf fiction - but this isn't. It just happens to be set in a world where most people turn into, well, werewolves, and those who don't are ta...more
I'm not a fan of werewolf fiction - but this isn't. It just happens to be set in a world where most people turn into, well, werewolves, and those who don't are ta...more
An interesting premise let down by poor writing/world building decisions. It's a world where most of the population is made up of werewolves. Those who aren't are conscripted into an agency (DORLA) who watches over the lycanthropic population on the nights they change over.
But why does this agency exist? There are references in the book to show that the werewolves are able to pack together without slaughtering each other while they're in their turned state. So if 99.4% of the population would b...more
But why does this agency exist? There are references in the book to show that the werewolves are able to pack together without slaughtering each other while they're in their turned state. So if 99.4% of the population would b...more
Let's be honest, the urban/paranormal fantasy sub-genre is glutted at this point in time. Like all genres, UF has varying degrees or classes of writers (or books). You have books that are quick, fun reads, kinda guilty pleasures or "B" movies; such as the Kitty Norville books. You have books whose authors believe they are making some type of message, but really aren't; a "B" movie with pretensions. You have books that can rise above the "B" level with a little more something, like Dresden Files....more
Set in a world populated by Lycos/Lunas (werewolves) and Nons/Barebacks (humans) Bareback is loosely an urban fantasy, sort of a crime thriller and kind of a romance. Described in The Times as neither [quite] horror nor supernatural fantasy, but more a cautionary tale, I'd describe it as a mongrel of a read in that it comprises bits of this, that and the other.
Though undoubtedly an interesting slant to the whole werewolf/human relationships thing, I personally would have preferred less, a lot le...more
Though undoubtedly an interesting slant to the whole werewolf/human relationships thing, I personally would have preferred less, a lot le...more
Benighted is not a book to start with false expectations. If you are looking for a story which focuses on the fantasy elements and worldbuilding, or a supernatural drama, this is not the book for you. Benighted is depressing as all get out, and that needs to be understood going in.
Its protagonist and narrator is Lola Galley, a "bareback" in a world filled with lycanthropes. "Barebacks" (a derogatory term for non-lycanthropes), or nons, are conscripted at a young age into DORLA, the organization...more
Its protagonist and narrator is Lola Galley, a "bareback" in a world filled with lycanthropes. "Barebacks" (a derogatory term for non-lycanthropes), or nons, are conscripted at a young age into DORLA, the organization...more
Benighted has two great things going for it. It's a novel with a Big Idea: it's set in a world much like ours, only 99% of people were werewolves, and when they're wolves they're pure unthinking predators. The small percentage of people who are born with the birth defect that they don't transform are conscripted into a government agency who have to take care of lawbreaking 'lunes' on full moon nights. Kit Whitfield does a great job of world-building and exploring the details of how such a societ...more
Oh. I don't quite know what to call this genre, but in my head I have a few books sorted in as "Matter-of-fact"-fantasy. The books in this genre all have fantasy or sci-fi thematics, but they don't go on and on about it. Like in "Benighted", it's just the way it is. There are no long and dreary explanations about HOW and WHY 99,6% of the population are werewolves, they just are. I recently read Audrey Niffenegger's "The timetravellers wife", which also goes into this category that I've fallen qu...more
Loved this book about werewolves. Bit dark as it should be for this topic.
First-time novelist Kit Whitfield tells of a parallel world of werewolves, where non-wolf humans are treated like second-class citizens. Lola is a 'bareback' lawyer and dogcatcher conscripted, following a dismal childhood, into an agency that enforces a full moon curfew on potentially dangerous wolves. Most are harmless, but there are more dangerous wolf citizens, like those 'lunes' who have monthly hunting parties with a...more
First-time novelist Kit Whitfield tells of a parallel world of werewolves, where non-wolf humans are treated like second-class citizens. Lola is a 'bareback' lawyer and dogcatcher conscripted, following a dismal childhood, into an agency that enforces a full moon curfew on potentially dangerous wolves. Most are harmless, but there are more dangerous wolf citizens, like those 'lunes' who have monthly hunting parties with a...more
DNF. I'm not giving it the traditional one star for unfinished books because it wasn't bad, but after two chapters I decided I didn't want to continue. Set in a world where 99.6% of the population is lycanthropic; the main character is a "bareback" (non-werewolf) investigating the murder of a colleague.
The problem is... I didn't buy any of the worldbuilding. You've got a minority that makes up 0.4% of the population, and yet they have so much political sway that the "normal" people have to lock...more
The problem is... I didn't buy any of the worldbuilding. You've got a minority that makes up 0.4% of the population, and yet they have so much political sway that the "normal" people have to lock...more
I ended up liking this book a lot, I picked it up thinking it was just another urban fiction novel but it wasn't it was about predjudice. This story takes place in a alternate reality where humans are the minority and werewolves are the majority. The main charater is a bareback a derogatory term the werewolves use for humans. She is acused of murdering werewolves in this very predjuice society and has to fight for her innocence. I recommend this book to all my friends who don't like fantasy urba...more
So, when I picked this book up from the library, it was a spontaneous choice and I completely thought it would be kind of cracktastic. Well... I was completely and wonderfully wrong. The set up is pretty decent - a world of werewolves where being non-were was a birth defect/disability, and the nons ran a government agency to help deal with weres who caused trouble and were a minority treated as a lower caste of people. The set up was good, the story was pretty well thought out, and a lot of the...more
A completely different take on werewolves (who, in this story, make up the majority of the population). The protagonist, a "bareback", is a challenging character. I'm sure there are people who won't like her at all, but I loved her, both for her strengths and her weaknesses. Her imperfections make her that much more human. Her struggles, what she's been through and what she's overcome, and what she still has to go through, all make her complicated, interesting, believable, and, at times, heartbr...more
This was an unexpected treat. I was unsure about taking on another paranormal read, but this is really more of a complete AU to our own reality. In this version, werewolves make up the majority of the population and the 'normals' aka 'barebacks' are the minority. This doesn't end up light and fluffly and isn't a feel good read with the ending all nicely wrapped up and the good guys saving the day. Who is the real monster? What does it mean to be human? Even if you don't normally read this genre,...more
This novel has an intriguing premise: Most people in the world are lycanthropes (werewolves, though the book avoids ever using this term). When the moon is full, they change into violent beasts, but the rest of the time, they carry out normal human lives, and as the majority population, they control pretty much everything. Those who don't transform due to a rare birth defect make up less than one percent of society. These people are considered freaks and are treated as second-class citizens, but...more
Jul 13, 2012
Mircalla64 (free Liu Xiaobo)
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
horror
Lola Galley non è un licantropo. In un mondo in cui i lica sono la razza dominante lei fa parte della ristretta cerchia dei senzapelo. I senzapelo non hanno diritto ad una vita privilegiata, né ad un istruzione. Vengono prelevati da piccoli e cresciuti in appositi nidi, dove solo i più forti sopravvivono per essere poi addestrati a fare la ronda nelle notti di luna piena. Lola è quanto di più vicino ci sia tra la sua gente ad un avvocato. Ha una sorella lica ed un amante lica. Ma questo non è un...more
I've spent the last three weeks reading Benighted off and on. I have a hard time describing how I feel about this book - in one respect I feel that it is well-written and very lifelike, even if it deals with lycanthropes, but in another, I feel that the story is flawed. I think that it was hard to stick with it because the tone is so depressing and dreary that I needed breaks.
Lola (or May) is a sympathetic character, but that does not, in any way, mean you'll like her, but I couldn't help but fe...more
Lola (or May) is a sympathetic character, but that does not, in any way, mean you'll like her, but I couldn't help but fe...more
99% of the population are werewolves, and for the very few that are born as 'barebacks', they are considered to have a disability, and are looked down upon by the rest of society. Being 'bareback' means that on a full moon night, they stay human and do not change into wolves, and so they have no choice by to join DORLA and hunt down rogue wolves who do not lock down, but instead roam outside illegally. When a friend of Lolas is mauled on a full-moon night by a rogue wolf and then later killed, s...more
Bareback Jade Farrar
Kit Whitfield
©2006
In the book Bareback the world is very similar to earth, except for one thing. Most of the population is Lyco (werewolves), who become horrible beasts underneath the full moon. And the other very small percentage of the population are called barebacks who are regular humans. The main character in this story is 28-year-old Lola Galley. In this world there are rules about the werewolves transformed roaming outside after their curfew. There are agents who ta...more
Kit Whitfield
©2006
In the book Bareback the world is very similar to earth, except for one thing. Most of the population is Lyco (werewolves), who become horrible beasts underneath the full moon. And the other very small percentage of the population are called barebacks who are regular humans. The main character in this story is 28-year-old Lola Galley. In this world there are rules about the werewolves transformed roaming outside after their curfew. There are agents who ta...more
In a world where werewolves - or lycos as they are called in this debut novel - are the norm and barebacks or ‘nons’ (in other words people that do not turn at the full moon) are considered disabled or crippled, born with a birth defect that means they come out headfirst and different, Lola May is a social outcast. As a non, she is forced to work as a dog-catcher for DORLA, the organisation responsible for policing the activity of lunes (lycos during full moon) for the two days of the month that...more
Bareback is an interesting book that in most Urban Fantasy worlds the supernaturals are the minority not the majority. Lola May, the main character, is a human or "bareback" working for a company DORLA, which is the only place barebacks can work, and trying to stay alive and fight her demons forced upon her in this world run by werewolves / lycos.
The lycos are locked up every full moon, either by choice or by DORLA and anyone caught prowling is captured and locked up. This is the only time bareb...more
The lycos are locked up every full moon, either by choice or by DORLA and anyone caught prowling is captured and locked up. This is the only time bareb...more
First let me preface this with two things:
1. I am not a big fan of fantasy (there is some I like, a lot I don't).
2. I like my detectives more along the lines of Sam Spade, or Jack Reacher.
that being said I still really did not like this book. It was not so much a matter of genre, but the fact that while fantasy don't have to be believable they should not have plot holes that one can drive a truck through. As for the main detective she is a trully unlikable character. There are some very good boo...more
1. I am not a big fan of fantasy (there is some I like, a lot I don't).
2. I like my detectives more along the lines of Sam Spade, or Jack Reacher.
that being said I still really did not like this book. It was not so much a matter of genre, but the fact that while fantasy don't have to be believable they should not have plot holes that one can drive a truck through. As for the main detective she is a trully unlikable character. There are some very good boo...more
Urban fantasy, where werewolves are substantially in the majority, and those born without the lycanthropic twist in their dna are known, derisively, as barebacks.
Whitfield takes a fab inversion of a uual idea, and does wonderful things with it. The Barebacks are drafted at 18 into governement agencies for the control of weres at full moon. A world with a self-imposed curfew and lockup for all were-wolves, it would have been tempting to take the pov of one of the many other characters in the boo...more
Whitfield takes a fab inversion of a uual idea, and does wonderful things with it. The Barebacks are drafted at 18 into governement agencies for the control of weres at full moon. A world with a self-imposed curfew and lockup for all were-wolves, it would have been tempting to take the pov of one of the many other characters in the boo...more
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Kit Whitfield grew up in London. In her time, she has trained as a chef and a masseur, as well as working as a website editor, quote hunter, toy shop assistant and publisher.
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Jun 06, 2008 06:20am
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