Glen Duncan + werewolves + ? = The Last Werewolf
Colson Whitehead + zombies + ? = Zone One
Justin Cronin + vampires + ? = The Passage

three individualistic, well-acclaimed and well-awarded but not exactly a household name literary wunderkinds decide to take a go at writing genre fiction. specifically Horror and three of its Big Bads. why did they do it? to reach a wider audience? to rake in the greenbacks? to see if their personal visions can somehow avoid degradation (or at least not be completel More...

I give you Glen Duncan:



I didn't pay attention to the photo on the back of the book when I bought it. Oh, okay, it's by a guy; I could figure that out from the name on the front. Thanks, publisher for the picture but you needn't have bothered. Then I started reading the book and glancing back at the photo from time to time. The more I read of this book, the more I thought, huh, maybe Glen Duncan wants to be Jack Marlowe (the werewolf protagonist). It's either that or the photo was taken as Mr. Du More...

He killed his first victim on 14th August, 1842. He was thirty-four years old. He will be two hundred and one in March.
A word of warning you are about to read a sort of kind of memoir of a werewolf in London, he's more animal not human and has a high libido so many of his adventures endure high libido activity. Oh yes also if your Red Riding Hood don't bother why would you want to learn about the life of possibly the last werewolf in the world. Being an only werewolf can be a lonely business, he More...

I have decided my biggest pet peeve with most lycanthrope stories is the annoying pack politics that seem to take place in every werewolf saga. There’s the ‘I love you, Bro’ romance between the he-wolves, the overbearing wolf mafia that bosses everybody around in a nauseating oppressive way, and the average, unremarkable Alpha that I can never figure out why everybody follows, except that the author says that he’s the big dog.

Consequently, The Last Werewolf is wonderfully refreshing. With there More...

Glen Duncan’s take on the werewolf mythology, is gritty, violent and over sexed. Jake Marlowe is the last werewolf alive, with the pending extinction of his new race will he give up? The tone and voice Duncan has created is almost perfect, making this an interesting take on the genre. It is nothing like the popular style of werewolves in the paranormal genre, this is dark but too heavy on his libido. It focusing on the conflict within Jake; is he a man or is he a monster and his will to live a l More...

This review is not going to be super sophisticated, and I admit I haven't actually finished the book, but as an avid werewolf fan, I'm pretty disappointed in this "literary" genre novel thus far. Here's why I'm not going to finish it.

The plot is Anne Rice-y, except without the juicy quality of her storytelling, and since the main character and first-person narrator is an opulent, hence jaded kind of werewolf, there's quite a bit of mediocre Hamlet style rumination. I could deal with a Hamlet sty More...

Although I’ve been meaning to read my copy of I, Lucifer, I just had to dive into The Last Werewolf first (because werewolves take priority over Lucifer, duh). I really enjoyed it, and for different reasons it reminded me a lot of the “Underworld” movies… all of which I love. That’s not to say the book is identical or unoriginal; perhaps it’s the similar ‘dark and doomed’ vibe present in vampire and werewolf lore that bring to mind the comparisons.

In my opinion, the book was a lot more sexual t More...

I hate doing this, but I'm marking this one DNF

I gave it a fair shot. I was listening to the audio and was about 4 hours in. That's just over a third.

Here's my reasons:

1) Ridiculously slow pacing. I'm a third in. Something should have happened by now, even if its just the idea of what's too come.
2) The Women - The women in this book are ridiculous. They have no substance, no value. They are completely defined by their performance in bed. He says he loved his wife but other than how good she was More...

I can't wait for people to read this. Glen's about as smart as writers come (see A Day and a Night and a Day, Death of an Ordinary Man, or I, Lucifer) so leave it to him to take the werewolf genre and blow it wide open with a story that's razor-sharp smart, funny, sex-fueled, and not to mention engineered with the pace of a thriller. It's a thinking adult's werewolf novel.

One of my favorite passages is a conversation between Jake, our more-than-reluctant werewolf, and Jacqueline Delon, the myste More...

What a great book! It starts really really slow but it gets very very good. To be specific it took me 131 pages to really get into it but once you do it's non-stop thrills. Jake Marlow is the last of his kind and he's being followed by an organization that hunts and kills supernatural beings. But something happens. Oh it got so good. The writing was spectacular too, the author is British and you can tell immediately by the use of certain words. It's an amazing book to quote from too, I can't rem More...

Glen Duncan studied literature and philosophy in school, and it really shows in this book. If you enjoy heavy doses of erudition with your werewolves, then you're probably gonna love this. But if you're just looking for a popcorn read, look somewhere else. This is NOT your momma's werewolf story.

Duncan writes some wonderfully heavy, atmospheric prose in this book, with a lot of thought behind it. This isn't really a horror story at all. It's more of a philosophical treatise with werewolves. Sure More...

This book is not for everyone. The main character is not one of those good "monsters" with a conscience. He kills and eats people and has a lot of disgusting sex. So if you are the type of reader who likes to relate to the main character, especially when the book is written in the first person, you might not like this. However, if you can distance yourself, I thought it was quite an interesting read. It's a bit introspective - a lot about what the main character is thinking or trying to convince More...

This is probably the best werewolf book I've ever read. I loved Jake and felt his angst. The prose was beautiful and the scenes raw and visceral. The sex scenes were very real and erotic. Highly recommended page-turner!

Loved it, can't wait for Talulla Rising!

Updated: I loved this book. It surprised me. This book is a summer book group choice and I thought for sure I would not like it, I almost didn't read it. I loved the pacing, the surprises and the characters. It misses the 5 star mark for me because of some graphic sex scenes. I'm not opposed to these, I just don't get into them, but I totally understand the relevance of these to the story. The writing is fantastic. A completely awesome read.

I'm now a fan More...

YUUUUCK. This book was intriguing at first. It is certainly more richly-written than the occult genre is these days, and I was happy at first that the book was adult and not "YA." But then it just got to be too gory for me - the whole sex-while-killing-eating-people-alive-then-being-excited-you-get-to-screw-your-werefolf-girlfriend-over-a-dead-person's-remains thing is just not up my alley. If Duncan would have taken about two steps back, I could have stomached it. I actually read about 80% of i More...

Full Review at Foil the Plot

"Here is a powerful, definitive new version of the werewolf legend--mesmerising and incredibly sexy. In Jake, Glen Duncan has given us a werewolf for the twenty-first century--a man whose deeds can only be described as monstrous but who is in some magical way, deeply human." –Amazon.com

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Werewolves. They are stinky, vulgar and probably the most under-celebrated monster of the horr More...

This was a really enjoyable and very cleverly written book which I really loved reading. The narrative style of our Last Werewolf works extremely well, given that Jake was born 200 years ago, he can both be as cutting edge as the most up to date modern man and also give us a slice of his Victorian existence and outlook which I really loved.

I found the plot clever as I assumed certain endings were coming along; they did this quicker than expected and then went off onto a new tangent which I did n More...

This story it told by Jacob (Jake) Marlowe, a lonely and desperate man who endues an agonising transformation every full moon into a werewolf. For most of Jake’s 200 year existence, he’s been on the run from an organisation whose mission is to eliminate all werewolves. They have succeeded. He is the last existing werewolf standing. Jake knows that sooner or later the organisation will catch up to him. But does he have the will to live?

This would have to be the best werewolf book I’ve read and it More...

I haven’t paid much attention to the current and surprisingly popular fascination with Vampires, altho I did see the Tom Cruise movie on TV. Since then, I’ve ignored the books, movies, TV series (and video games? comics? breakfast cereals??). Oh, and I did watch the original Night of the Living Dead in college in the early 70’s, and actually enjoyed Shawn of the Dead.
So, how did I end up reading this, as one might suspect the author is craftily cashing in on the whole phenomenon by creating a ne More...

The Last Werewolf is a taut, original ride into the man/monster genre. This is not paranormal romance. It is horror, a monster origin story, told with great wit and clever language. I read it with the same pleasure I first read Interview with a Vampire. This turns a genre on its head, while keeping enough wonderful clichéd elements to identify it as being from the same gene pool as all the werewolf movies that enthralled me growing up.

The language is colorful and dense. A joy to unpack. Duncan c More...

I think I liked this book. That sounds weird, I know, but I'm just not really sure about it. Perhaps after a few days go by I will settle on an opinion.

Here's why I am so wishy-washy about this one: This is first, and foremost, a "literary" work. That means this is not one of the "tweenie" style books that are overflowing the bookstore shelves. Also, don't expect a novel like Stephen King or Brian Lumley would write, enjoyable stuff but mostly to be consumed by the masses. Mr Duncan can certain More...

No apologies for nicking this review from New York Times .
It is perfect and written by Justin Cronin and he knows what he is talking about:)

A Melancholy Werewolf’s Existential Howl By JUSTIN CRONIN

It’s easy to see why werewolves might feel under-celebrated these days. While vampires and zombies have stormed the multiplexes and best-­seller lists, and Dr. Frankenstein’s monster has completed its cultural infiltration by transforming into the ubiquitous information appliances of daily life (if my More...

What a filthy surprise! This book is wonderfully obscene. I think, though, that is loses something two-thirds of the way in. I'm not sure what. It's just as filthy, but there keep being these "twists" or something - you know, something sort of hackneyed. Too much plot and not enough filthy nihilist werewolf rumination, though of course he stops being a nihilist, and maybe that's the problem? Also, women are hilariously interchangeable. I think the protag has sex with 3 fully developed women char More...

In a world where many are looking for some method of living forever or staying young as long as possible, Glen Duncan's The Last Werewolf explores the dark side of eternal life. Through Jake Marlowe's struggles for survival, the reader gets an idea of just how far one is willing to compromise his or her values to achieve such a life. Gritty, stark, blunt, and reverentially existential, this is not a typical werewolf novel and nor is it for teens.

In Duncan's world, there is nothing remotely sexy More...

Eloquently written and captivating. I have never gotten into werewolf books that much, but this book was beautifully done. Intelligent, exciting, and moving. One of my new favorite books!

*Edit*
After reading other reviews, I felt the need to add something more. This book is not your typical horror story. In fact, I would hesitate to call it horror at all. This is something more like existential fantasy with a fair amount of sex and violence. "Gritty" comes to mind. I loved the book because I enjo More...

From website at: http://ammysspaceontheblogosphere.wor...

** Warning: One case of Swearing, because it’s a quote from the Book. Just thought I’d let you all know …**

The message is clear: By all means become an abomination — but only while unhinged by grief or wrath.

- The Last Werewolf, Glen Duncan pg.

Cover of my copy.

I am not sure what I expected from this book. I had read an early review, around about the time it first came out, that looked at it in terms of changing the werewolf world. A wor More...

OK, this isn't gonna be the best review, simply cause of my English skills. 1st person narration, film noar(ish) feeling, written like a werewolf's personal confession or a diary as he says. Cliche, boring begging of a book, but soon things go up. Now the stuff your either like or not. I can't see a chance of being indifferent if your read it through the end. Lots of sex, violence, animal and primal feelings, rough book maybe...in same time lot's of philosophy, aesthetic, nihilism ... other bran More...

Glen Duncan's prose is a pleasure to read, and he keeps hammering you with insights into the human condition, sometimes stated so succinctly and eloquently that you'll want to quote the passage aloud to whoever is sitting nearby. And the bloody adventure story is unarguably a page-turner.

But somehow, for me, the book as a whole was something less than the sum of its parts. Duncan's narrator, the titular werewolf, is a nihilist of sorts, looking for a reason to go on living in (as he sees it) a More...

I have never known Canongate Books to produce a bad book, and Glen Duncan's "The Last Werewolf" is no exception. This is a really smart, intelligent, witty, literary version of the werewolf story and I loved it. Jake Marlowe, The Last Werewolf of the title, is marvellously world-weary and just killing time until someone gets him with the silver bullet, until he discovers that he's not quite so alone as he first thought and suddenly has a reason for living. The action is fast-paced and exciting, More...

Oh Glen Duncan.....how you complete me. I'm berating myself for not having spotted this book sooner. It was a happy coincidence that put this tome in my hands & I am SOOOOO GLAD it happened. Turns out those "Book-A-Day" calendars really are worth the scratch! The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan was a recommendation for a day in February & though it took me a few days to get on with it & pick it up, the title stuck with me & I eventually did grab this.

Let me start by saying, THIS IS More...