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Once Were Wolves
San Francisco newspaper reporter Ray Corvus lives with a family secret that has surfaced to bring his nightmares to life. During five tumultuous days and nights, centered under a full moon in 2016, he investigates the mystery behind dead women discovered floating in the bay. Strange wounds on their necks scream VAMPIRE.
ONCE WERE WOLVES is an urban tale of a collapsing economy, werewolves, zombies, evil billionaires, deadly riots, Golden Gate Bridge mayhem, a failing daily newspaper--to which a severed giant's head is delivered--and surviving World War II Nazis with a life-extending blood formula. And, yes, vampires of a new breed.
Ray, in his early 30s, is still readjusting to civilian life after his Afghanistan battlefield experiences. He splits his time between a sizzling girlfriend and a passionate new journalist--both eventually targeted by demonic forces for their youthful female blood.
Ray's only chance to save the two women, and destroy the monstrous dark cloud enveloping the city, is to revert to the beast within himself. He's the last man standing in a long line of reluctant beach-dwelling shape-shifters. Or, werewolves.
ONCE WERE WOLVES is dramatic, tense, scary, sexy, humorous and fast. Jump in now.
ONCE WERE WOLVES is an urban tale of a collapsing economy, werewolves, zombies, evil billionaires, deadly riots, Golden Gate Bridge mayhem, a failing daily newspaper--to which a severed giant's head is delivered--and surviving World War II Nazis with a life-extending blood formula. And, yes, vampires of a new breed.
Ray, in his early 30s, is still readjusting to civilian life after his Afghanistan battlefield experiences. He splits his time between a sizzling girlfriend and a passionate new journalist--both eventually targeted by demonic forces for their youthful female blood.
Ray's only chance to save the two women, and destroy the monstrous dark cloud enveloping the city, is to revert to the beast within himself. He's the last man standing in a long line of reluctant beach-dwelling shape-shifters. Or, werewolves.
ONCE WERE WOLVES is dramatic, tense, scary, sexy, humorous and fast. Jump in now.
299 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
About the author
Jim Toland
2 books1 followerJIM TOLAND is a legendary former San Francisco Chronicle editor whose byline has appeared in that newspaper, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, Newsday and Quill, among other publications.
Author of three other fictional books — Fire And Fog, Maleficus and City Limits — Toland teaches journalism at San Francisco State University. He has also written several non-fiction travel guides and contributed to other books. A native San Franciscan, Jim Toland attended inner-city public schools.
After Balboa High, he worked on the docks, then as a beer truck driver and later as a bartender. He served honorably as an Army hospital orderly in a physical rehab unit at Fort Lewis, Washington. He later attended City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State where he studied creative writing and journalism. He earned a bachelor’s degree in the latter.
Jim Toland lives in San Francisco where he writes, teaches, and consults in media and communications. He was tagged as chief writer and content consultant for President Bill Clinton’s Y2K Education Website. He has also written and edited an education website and print newsletter for The New York Times.
Author of three other fictional books — Fire And Fog, Maleficus and City Limits — Toland teaches journalism at San Francisco State University. He has also written several non-fiction travel guides and contributed to other books. A native San Franciscan, Jim Toland attended inner-city public schools.
After Balboa High, he worked on the docks, then as a beer truck driver and later as a bartender. He served honorably as an Army hospital orderly in a physical rehab unit at Fort Lewis, Washington. He later attended City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State where he studied creative writing and journalism. He earned a bachelor’s degree in the latter.
Jim Toland lives in San Francisco where he writes, teaches, and consults in media and communications. He was tagged as chief writer and content consultant for President Bill Clinton’s Y2K Education Website. He has also written and edited an education website and print newsletter for The New York Times.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 22, 2017
Intriguing
I was confused through most of the book but was still intrigued enough to keep reading to figure out what was really going on. I loved this mystery and suspense in figuring out what really was happening in the city. Loved how the author just gave little by little leaving reader's wanting to know more. Loved it....
I was confused through most of the book but was still intrigued enough to keep reading to figure out what was really going on. I loved this mystery and suspense in figuring out what really was happening in the city. Loved how the author just gave little by little leaving reader's wanting to know more. Loved it....
May 9, 2013
It's 2016 in San Francisco, on the eve of the presidential election. The U.S. economy is showing no signs of recovery; in fact, it has gotten worse. The Occupy movement has expanded, with a violent off-shoot wing called Swarm. Occupiers are camping on Ocean Beach. Ray Corvus, a reporter for the San Francisco Daily News and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, is trying to keep up with two major news stories in the city. The naked, bloodless bodies of three young women have been found in the Bay, with strange puncture wounds—can they possibly be the victims of a vampire? And, a recent Occupy protest turned into a riot, killing scores of people, in the aftermath of which Bradford Pelton, president and CEO of Observe World Bank, has gone missing. The stories turn out to be related. Pelton is funding an underground medical research lab run by World War II-era Nazis who have discovered the fountain of youth by draining the blood from healthy young women, genetically engineering it, and injecting it into those who can afford to pay for eternal life. But, Corvus has a family secret of his own; he is the latest in a line of werewolves and a shape-shifters, able to change himself into his adversary's worst nightmare when properly provoked. Before Corvus can unravel the mysteries, both of the women in his life—Jenna, a beautiful, high-class call girl, and Linda, a young, idealistic journalism intern—end up in the crosshairs of the bloodsuckers.
The metaphors are all a little heavy-handed, and the author makes no attempt to hide his opinions about wealthy corporations and "one-percenters": they are the new vampires, literally and figuratively sucking the lifeblood out of the ninety-nine percent to feed their own greed. He is also way too fond of italics, but the story does manage to hang together for a moderate thrill ride.
The metaphors are all a little heavy-handed, and the author makes no attempt to hide his opinions about wealthy corporations and "one-percenters": they are the new vampires, literally and figuratively sucking the lifeblood out of the ninety-nine percent to feed their own greed. He is also way too fond of italics, but the story does manage to hang together for a moderate thrill ride.
May 12, 2013
Strange things are happening in San Francisco –– more than usual in a town known for strangeness –– in Jim Toland’s , “Once Were Wolves.”
Set in 2016, the story twists and turns, (like the city’s famous crookest street) with murder and mayhem. Ray Corvus, an almost unemployed washout reporter, is going to get stories of a lifetime. Lily-white bodies of young bloodless women are found bobbing in the bay. Vampires running amok? “Do you believe in that?” asks a police detective. Maybe not like in “Dark Shadows,” but certainly in Toland’s creepy scenario.
Along with murders occupy anarchists move their movement up a notch with the kidnap of one per center banker, Bradford Pelton. Did I hear cheering?
Like a tour guide, Toland, takes readers from the Golden Gate Bridge to Ocean Beach and Sturo’s Baths and then, to the outer limits as we rush along with Corvus and the cops’ desperate attempt to stop killings and free Pelton.
The reporter’s mundane life heats rapidly as sex and seduction prevail with a few hotties playing a significant role in Corvus’ own investigations. All the while Ray has to care for an old demented uncle who has more clarity than most.
“Once Were Wolves” story has as many peaks and valleys as San Francisco has about world in chaos
This dark story left me feeling, “Don’t look over my shoulder. I might not like what I see”, but I had to look!
Look forward to another Jim Toland noir.
City of Redemption
Set in 2016, the story twists and turns, (like the city’s famous crookest street) with murder and mayhem. Ray Corvus, an almost unemployed washout reporter, is going to get stories of a lifetime. Lily-white bodies of young bloodless women are found bobbing in the bay. Vampires running amok? “Do you believe in that?” asks a police detective. Maybe not like in “Dark Shadows,” but certainly in Toland’s creepy scenario.
Along with murders occupy anarchists move their movement up a notch with the kidnap of one per center banker, Bradford Pelton. Did I hear cheering?
Like a tour guide, Toland, takes readers from the Golden Gate Bridge to Ocean Beach and Sturo’s Baths and then, to the outer limits as we rush along with Corvus and the cops’ desperate attempt to stop killings and free Pelton.
The reporter’s mundane life heats rapidly as sex and seduction prevail with a few hotties playing a significant role in Corvus’ own investigations. All the while Ray has to care for an old demented uncle who has more clarity than most.
“Once Were Wolves” story has as many peaks and valleys as San Francisco has about world in chaos
This dark story left me feeling, “Don’t look over my shoulder. I might not like what I see”, but I had to look!
Look forward to another Jim Toland noir.
City of Redemption
June 9, 2013
I loved "Once Were Wolves" because it excited me AND made me think. Toland created a flawed hero in Ray Corvus who intrigued, scared and thrilled me. You have to love a guy who fights demons inside and outside himself. Plus, the setting of a not-far-off futuristic San Francisco is fascinating. This is one of the best stories I've read in a long, long time.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews