REVIEW: The Company of the Wolf by David Wragg
If you thought The Hunters was a thrilling and tragically funny dark fantasy romp, then you are not ready for the astonishing feat of storytelling madness that David Wragg has in store in The Company of the Wolf. In this exhilarating second instalment in the Tales of the Plains series, the dynamic duo of Ree and Javani are back and better than ever for a new unexpected adventure full of unlikely allies, hysterical witty banter, complex schemes, brutal emotional gut punches, and the most compelling morally grey misfits whose journeys will have you howling with both laughter and deep sorrow by the end.
Compared to its predecessor, The Company of the Wolf has a much smaller scope and features a lot less hectic action, but don’t mistake that for me saying that there’s a lack of tension or stakes of any kind. After all the mad dashes and crazy chases across the plains, Javani and Ree have travelled into the mountains to seek a better and more quiet life, but through a series of unfortunate events they find themselves having to seek refuge in a remote pacifist village of peaceful nomads. Which, yes, technically sounds like a dream come true for them, if only it wasn’t for the vengeful company of mercenaries threatening the peace; the same band of mercenaries that they may or may not have pissed off on the way there, oops.
To me, Wragg’s exceptionally strong character work and compelling character dynamics are easily my favourite elements of this series, and I loved how the slower pacing and more vulnerably intimate storytelling allowed those aspects to shine in The Company of the Wolf. The realistically messy development of Ree and Javani, both as individuals and as the most complicated mother/daughter pair, really tugged on my heartstrings and somehow made me love them even more than I already did. Their inner conflicts were depicted in such a beautifully authentic way, be it Ree’s frustration over losing her sense of identity because of her aging, ailing body and her struggles to be a good parental figure, or Javani’s trials and tribulations as she enters into adolescence and starts to fight to stand on her own two legs.
Though, as much as I enjoyed the almost slice-of-life vibe of the first half of The Company of the Wolf, I think the second half is where everything really clicks into place and the true gold is to be found. When Javani and Ree find themselves (accidentally and reluctantly) becoming embroiled in the politics of the village, we get to see some new unexpected relationships blossom as the heart-wrenching secrets and hidden depths of the villagers are slowly brought to light. I can’t deny that it took me a while to accept the fact that we weren’t going to see any of my favourite side characters from book 1 (you know, the ones that made it out alive), but somehow Wragg managed to get me fully invested in this brand-new vibrant cast of characters without me even realising it.
All the most loveable, hateable and intriguingly enigmatic characters just leap off the page with personality, and seeing how the villagers of Ar Ramas reacted to Ree and Javani’s disruptive presence in their deceptively peaceful lives both frustrated and amused me to no end. See, Ree might not be allowed to take her trusty weapons into the peaceful village, but that doesn’t stop her from wielding her sharp tongue as a weapon (which arguably makes her even more menacing and dangerous). For me, the most entertaining scenes were those featuring the grumpy and emotionally scarred hermit hunter Anri who becomes Javani’s new obsession, the power couple Mariam and Vida, and the delicious cherry on top of this sublime sundae for me: Captain Inaï Manatas (or Captain Longwinded, if you’d ask Ree).
I’ll admit that I wasn’t immediately sold on the idea of an additional POV that took away pagetime from my beloved Ree and Javani, but Manatas maybe ended up having my favourite storyline in the end. Not only were his ‘done with everyone’s shit’ attitude and his overly verbose way of speaking entirely too amusing, but I just loved getting a peek into the twisted minds of the exquisitely hateable adversaries (Lado of Cstethia, please choke on a brick of Lego) through his perspective. His unexpected and excitingly forbidden bond with Ree was an absolute highlight of this story for me, and his arc ended up surprising me in all the best ways.
In a way, Wragg’s nuanced exploration of all shades of grey morality and his satirisation of the concept of violence in The Company of the Wolf reminded me of how Abercrombie did a similar thing with heroism in The Heroes, except here we have a lot less bloody battles. While Wragg probably shows a bit more faith in the good of humanity than Abercrombie, he absolutely isn’t afraid to go down some dark paths and deliver some brutal emotional gut punches. The slow-burn build-up to the big action-packed climax at the end of the story resulted in so much satisfying emotional pay-off, which combined with the dark humour is exactly what makes The Company of the Wolf stand out from the generally depressing grimdark crowd for me.
The Company of the Wolf was certainly not the sequel I was expecting, but it turned out to be exactly the sequel that my heart needed and wanted. Especially fans of Joe Abercrombie, Jay Kristoff, and Sebastien de Castell will find much to love here, though I dare say that Wragg’s whip-smart storytelling is even more compelling and morbidly entertaining than those three kings of snark and sarcasm at their best. If you are a fan of dark fantasy with low-magic and high stakes, humour and heart, then the Tales of the Plains is an absolute must read (or listen, because Sara Powell’s narration is simply phenomenal); I couldn’t recommend this highly enough.
Thank you to Harper Collins UK for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
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