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Only the Moon Howls
17-year-old Caleb O’Connor is a werewolf, but he doesn’t believe in magic. He breaks out of his reclusive community in Maine to go to MIT, hoping that a werewolf can fit in on a campus where no one believes in monsters. He’s drawn back to Maine when, one fateful weekend, his childhood friends break into an abandoned mansion without him. One dies there, and another is executed by the local community who call themselves “wizards.” His crime? Opening a sealed tomb that had held a centuries-old vampire who crossed the ocean on the Titanic.
Caleb can’t accept that any of this can be possible, until his physics professor tells him of a shadowy government agency that tracks and corrals monsters of all descriptions. Caleb reluctantly takes a job with a retired vampire-hunter in Romania—hoping to escape his demons as well as to gain powers that will allow him to punish those who killed his friends.
Caleb can’t accept that any of this can be possible, until his physics professor tells him of a shadowy government agency that tracks and corrals monsters of all descriptions. Caleb reluctantly takes a job with a retired vampire-hunter in Romania—hoping to escape his demons as well as to gain powers that will allow him to punish those who killed his friends.
282 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2013
5 people want to read
About the author
Connie Senior
4 booksConnie Senior writes fiction because she can’t help it. She wrote her first story, “The Haunted Space Station”, in third grade. Since then, she has worked as an environmental engineer and technical editor, but hasn’t stopped spinning stories in her head: days spent on science, nights spent thinking about what it means to be human even if everyone thinks you’re a monster. The Wolf's Den, a sequel to her first book of fiction, Only the Moon Howls, will be out in 2021. She lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband and a couple of elderly cats. See more of her work at conniesenior.com
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 30, 2020
There's something oddly enjoyable about "Only the Moon Howls". Despite being published in 2013, it reads more like a 19th century paranormal novel - slow, dark, with hints of tragic pasts. It's over a century late to be a huge success, alas, but more's the pity.
The action takes place in the late 80s and early 90s. Caleb in an American werewolf who attends university, and whose wizard friend winds up in trouble when he releases vampires from their 50 year confinement, getting someone killed. The friend gets tried and, presumably, executed (off-screen).
Caleb finds himself drifting through life and dreaming of revenge, letting circumstances lead him to communist Romania, where he ends up in service to Alexandru Arghezi as a monster hunter. Together, they hunt vampires and other creatures, clearing the area of malevolent beings, while Caleb also joins a local werewolf pack.
One could write books about odd American beliefs about life under communism, but suffice it to say, the Romania in this book has nothing to do with the country itself, and everything to do with the rural backwater of many a vampire story, starting with Bram Stoker's "Dracula".
Aside from the setting which may or may not annoy a Romanian reader to distraction, the book is a slow, gothic delight, in which vampires feel like monsters (I wasn't aware they still *could* feel like monsters, after all the shows and books), and werewolves are morally grey, both victims and perpetrators of violence. It's mature, and in a sense realistic (although not exquisitely crafted).
It requires patience, because while there is a plot, and there is a mystery behind Arghezi's obsession with hunting vampires, our point of view character isn't particularly concerned or aware of those for most of the book. I'm not sure what the opposite of a cliffhanger is - a surprise plot? You expect nothing, yet it's suddenly there to intrigue?
In more deference to 19th century books, and less deference to modern tastes, not everything gets resolved. Caleb's thirst for revenge wanes. People go on with their lives. We don't get to find out what happens next. But it's all good.
The action takes place in the late 80s and early 90s. Caleb in an American werewolf who attends university, and whose wizard friend winds up in trouble when he releases vampires from their 50 year confinement, getting someone killed. The friend gets tried and, presumably, executed (off-screen).
Caleb finds himself drifting through life and dreaming of revenge, letting circumstances lead him to communist Romania, where he ends up in service to Alexandru Arghezi as a monster hunter. Together, they hunt vampires and other creatures, clearing the area of malevolent beings, while Caleb also joins a local werewolf pack.
One could write books about odd American beliefs about life under communism, but suffice it to say, the Romania in this book has nothing to do with the country itself, and everything to do with the rural backwater of many a vampire story, starting with Bram Stoker's "Dracula".
Aside from the setting which may or may not annoy a Romanian reader to distraction, the book is a slow, gothic delight, in which vampires feel like monsters (I wasn't aware they still *could* feel like monsters, after all the shows and books), and werewolves are morally grey, both victims and perpetrators of violence. It's mature, and in a sense realistic (although not exquisitely crafted).
It requires patience, because while there is a plot, and there is a mystery behind Arghezi's obsession with hunting vampires, our point of view character isn't particularly concerned or aware of those for most of the book. I'm not sure what the opposite of a cliffhanger is - a surprise plot? You expect nothing, yet it's suddenly there to intrigue?
In more deference to 19th century books, and less deference to modern tastes, not everything gets resolved. Caleb's thirst for revenge wanes. People go on with their lives. We don't get to find out what happens next. But it's all good.
February 7, 2013
Seventeen-year-old Caleb O’Connor is a werewolf who is trying to fit into society at MIT, where he can blend in, unnoticed. When his best friend is executed by a group of wizards for breaking into an abandoned mansion and then opening a vault containing a sinister and powerful vampire, held prisoner for decades. Caleb doesn't believe in magic, even though he is a magical creature, himself. He learns of a secret government agency that tracks down 'monsters' like the vampire and is talked into heading to Romania to assist a retired vampire hunter. Here he has the opportunity to learn the magic he needs to seek revenge for the death of his friend.
After nine years in Romania, Caleb has become the Alpha to a small pack of werewolves, a vampire hunter and accomplished wizard. He has loved and lost. He has learned the true meaning of "family," while accepting who he is and gaining the respect of those around him.
As a debut author, Connie Senior has done well! There is an edginess to this dark fantasy throughout the book, aided by the setting, a castle in the woods of Romania, once overrun with vampires!
The characters are complex and vividly drawn with distinctive traits that cross the lines of good AND bad. Each character is important to the story and their pasts unfold as a huge part of the plot!
As I said, this is dark and it's intense, these are not your sparkly vamps or cuddly werewolves so wear your garlic and keep the wolfsbane handy!
This ARC edition was provided by NetGalley and Biting Duck Press in exchange for an honest review. Publication date: March 1, 2013
For more reviews on great books, please check out: http://tometender.blogspot.com/
After nine years in Romania, Caleb has become the Alpha to a small pack of werewolves, a vampire hunter and accomplished wizard. He has loved and lost. He has learned the true meaning of "family," while accepting who he is and gaining the respect of those around him.
As a debut author, Connie Senior has done well! There is an edginess to this dark fantasy throughout the book, aided by the setting, a castle in the woods of Romania, once overrun with vampires!
The characters are complex and vividly drawn with distinctive traits that cross the lines of good AND bad. Each character is important to the story and their pasts unfold as a huge part of the plot!
As I said, this is dark and it's intense, these are not your sparkly vamps or cuddly werewolves so wear your garlic and keep the wolfsbane handy!
This ARC edition was provided by NetGalley and Biting Duck Press in exchange for an honest review. Publication date: March 1, 2013
For more reviews on great books, please check out: http://tometender.blogspot.com/
March 1, 2022
I loved “Only the Moon Howls.” I found I was drawn right into the story and the world of magical and supernatural beings. There were the traditional werewolves and vampires as well as many strange new creatures. This story also described how a modern day community of wizards live, hunt, hurt, and help these beings. The book uses a new lens to show how all these characters live and interact in today’s world; sometimes successfully and sadly many times not.
Good read!
Good read!
August 26, 2016
Does for Werewolves What Stoker Did for Vampires
While this book is set in modern times it is very similar in style, tone and atmosphere to the classic "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. By that I mean that it brings an austere dignity and depth of feeling to the tale being told, and treats the werewolf legend with great respect. This holds true not only for the scenes set in Transylvania, but for those set it Maine and elsewhere.
There is a brooding sense of menace and danger and a dark seriousness to the action. No sparkling vampires, no dim heroines, no dreamy teen heartthrobs. The choice of language and structure is slightly formal. Descriptions are restrained and dense. The characters are adult, and while they are vague, cryptic and ambiguous when the story calls for indirection, conversation is rich and full of expressed and suggested meaning.
Action scenes have an immediacy and authenticity. Werewolf scenes feel and read more like Jack London's "The Call of the Wild" than like modern teen werewolf books.
But, apart from treating the werewolf legend with the weight it deserves as an enduring and fundamental shared and understood story, this book is distinguished by its plot and by its human characters, (or the human aspects of its werewolf characters). You could strip away the supernatural aspects of the book and still reveal a complex, dynamic and satisfying tragic tale of love and loss and betrayal and loyalty and courage. Lots of werewolf/vampire books rely on the trappings and glamour of the legendary creatures and overlook story, plot and character. This book does not fall into that careless error. There is a real and engaging story here. (Not unlike, again, "Dracula", which is at heart a story of love lost and love regained.)
So, not to put too fine an edge on it. This is a mystery novel, a romance novel, the story of a teen's transformation into an adult, and a vampire/werewolf story. It is demanding because it doesn't go for the easy thrill, but it is rewarding. I'm not a paranormal creature fan generally, but this was a nice find.
Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
While this book is set in modern times it is very similar in style, tone and atmosphere to the classic "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. By that I mean that it brings an austere dignity and depth of feeling to the tale being told, and treats the werewolf legend with great respect. This holds true not only for the scenes set in Transylvania, but for those set it Maine and elsewhere.
There is a brooding sense of menace and danger and a dark seriousness to the action. No sparkling vampires, no dim heroines, no dreamy teen heartthrobs. The choice of language and structure is slightly formal. Descriptions are restrained and dense. The characters are adult, and while they are vague, cryptic and ambiguous when the story calls for indirection, conversation is rich and full of expressed and suggested meaning.
Action scenes have an immediacy and authenticity. Werewolf scenes feel and read more like Jack London's "The Call of the Wild" than like modern teen werewolf books.
But, apart from treating the werewolf legend with the weight it deserves as an enduring and fundamental shared and understood story, this book is distinguished by its plot and by its human characters, (or the human aspects of its werewolf characters). You could strip away the supernatural aspects of the book and still reveal a complex, dynamic and satisfying tragic tale of love and loss and betrayal and loyalty and courage. Lots of werewolf/vampire books rely on the trappings and glamour of the legendary creatures and overlook story, plot and character. This book does not fall into that careless error. There is a real and engaging story here. (Not unlike, again, "Dracula", which is at heart a story of love lost and love regained.)
So, not to put too fine an edge on it. This is a mystery novel, a romance novel, the story of a teen's transformation into an adult, and a vampire/werewolf story. It is demanding because it doesn't go for the easy thrill, but it is rewarding. I'm not a paranormal creature fan generally, but this was a nice find.
Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews