The Water Wolf

by Thomas Sullivan

A professional dispeller of myths and manipulation, Lane Andersen journeys to Ireland to investigate the legend of the Water Wolf, who guards the gates of hell, where he falls in love with a woman of inhuman origins and discovers an underground world where the evil that killed his father waits for him. Original.

Genres: Horror, Paranormal, Mystery, Thriller

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 3, 2006

About the author

Hello, fans and friends. If you're new to this page, I am a writer with some 90 published novels and short stories. My work is broadly ranged from a USA Today Bestseller to a Pulitzer Prize nommed literary satire (THE PHASES OF HARRY MOON, hardcover, Dutton) to thrillers in print, audio and e-books, including my new blockbuster original CASE WHITE in e-book. Links for all my novels are on my web site below. I’ve spoken on writing in broadly ranged venues from American schools to the House of Literature in Oslo, Norway.

Recreation is a big part of my life. I spend a couple of hours a day in the woods, cc skiing, blading, hiking or in the pool working out. I also write a free monthly column over on Storytellersunplugged.com and send out a free newsletter (Sullygrams...) once a month as well. Both can be accessed at my author's web site, along with photos and more bio. If you'd like to visit my web page, here’s the link: http://www.thomassullivanauthor.com/ You can also friend me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.sulli... .

Thanks for your interest...

Best, Thomas "Sully" Sullivan

Reviews

[Charity Myhre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hands down the best novel I have read in months!!

[Linda C · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a horror story this did not pull it together. Lane Anderson's father steals a stele tablet from a tunnel in Peru and it gets him killed on the day Lane is born. He is later left with others to raise as his mother continues her drug filled hippy lifestyle. When Lane connects with her later near her death he acquires the stele and follows its message to Egypt and acquiring another piece of the puzzle which in turn leads to Ireland. In Ireland, born on the same day as Lane is Sosanna, whose parents are the embodiment of local legends. The third piece of the puzzle is in her pond and together the pieces unleash the monster. Though the writing is good, it just didn't deliver the impact I was hoping for.

[Dark Recesses]

The Water Wolf
By Thomas Sullivan
Onyx (Imprint of New American Library)
Mass Market Paperback $7.99
Review by Nickolas Cook


After reading only a few pages of THE WATER WOLF it was easy to see why author Thomas Sullivan was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize (The Phases of Harry Moon- 1988). Indeed, it didn't take long to figure out Sullivan is a writer that almost defies description or genre. His artistry with the English language is not to be denied. He is a consummate creator; one that surely must make every writer who reads him turn green with at least a smidgen of envy. In fact, if there were any justice in the world of literature, Sullivan would have a world wide following of millions, and stand tall on the best seller's list with every release.
His newest novel, THE WATER WOLF, takes place in Ireland, the land of whiskey, fog and dirty limericks; but more importantly, the land of fairies and unexplainable ancient powers beneath the earth.
Lane Anderson is a best selling non-fiction author, and debunker of mysteries, with a zealot's belief in science and reason. Growing up in the uncertain care of a free spirited hippy mother in a flower power commune, he has turned away from all things spiritual as untenable trusts reserved for the gullible of the world. But when he discovers an ancient connection of eons old tunnels that may very well span the earth, and a series of unexplainable ancient pillars of stone that hold a force trapped beneath the earth, a force that claimed his father's life while he was still a newborn, his trail of mysteries brings him to Ireland, where he falls in love, fights for his life, and talks with the spirits, while still trying to deny anything beyond reason and logic.
It was a joy to read this novel. It had all the earmarks of honest to goodness literary horror. What do I mean by that? Simply that it uses the tropes, but does not allow them to become the focus of the story. It is a horror novel, but it's so much more than a facile attempt at titillation. This story is purely character motivated. In many ways it's a novel about Lane Anderson's lost faith, his unspoken disappointment with the lack of mysteries in his life, and, by book's end, his need for faith in the one place he has never looked before. To explain more would be to give away the book's denouement. And after all of Sullivan's wonderful character development, mood setting, careful pacing, and atmospheric use of the language, that would be unforgivable.
As a reader, this is a damned good book that deserves a larger readership.
As a writer, I guarantee if you're looking to learn to write something with pathos and maturity, you need look no further than THE WATER WOLF. I would not hesitate to stick this next to Straub, Barker, or King any day of the week, folks.


--Nickolas Cook

[Pat aka Tygyr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was part of the "Pandora" book bundle which I highly recommend. Lane Anderson's parents were "different". His dad died stealing an artifact the same day Lane was born. His mom moved around a lot with him. When he was 10 years old she left him with others to be raised. Now an adult Lane writes books debunking myths and magic. Out of the blue his mom shows up and gives him the Peruvian artifact his dad died for. Studying it he is led to Egypt and a second artifact (pylon) which he takes. Then he goes to Ireland to find the third artifact. The Irish don't take well to those who don't believe in their legends. Lane finds the third artifact atop a pole in a pond on the property of an ancient graveyard. The graveyard keeper is married to a water nymph and they have a daughter. The daughter and Lane are attracted to each other. To try to woo the daughter away from Lane a local man steals the artifacts, climbs the pole and attaches the 3 artifacts together. He is killed for his trouble. The pond mysteriously empties and now marching feet can be heard. What have the artifacts unleashed? The graveyard keeper says it is the end of the world. Can Lane undo this? Save the World? He still doesn't believe in all this stuff.

[Coreena McBurnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as a part of the Pandora Box Set collection. I was happy to come across this book, it was well written and intriguing. I loved the vast scope of Lane's journey, his quest to find answers to figure out himself, his own past, and to find the pylon that will prove or disprove the myths his parents held dear.

There was a great juxtaposition between science and myth, belief and non belief, Lane and the young Irish woman. Sullivan used these ideas well to play with the horror genre and pull the reader into his epic story -- one that spanned the globe and time. The story focused on a small town in Ireland and a few people there, but was able to extend to so much more. I appreciated how he made the story scary but not gory.

Sullivan is clearly a skilled writer with an amazing vocabulary. I always thought that my vocabulary was pretty good, but Sullivan used many words I'd never heard of before -- I was happy to be reading on my ereader where I could easily look up words. I could see how this could be a barrier to people reading his books.

[Dorine · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can I say? This book took me forever to read because I kept putting it down. But I felt the need to try to get through it - probably because I like the author's blogs & newsletters. He's an interesting guy. I kept telling myself that it had to get better, but it just kept getting more complicated. And I know I'm no Rhodes Scholar, but there was at least one word on just about every page that I had look up, sometimes several words on the same page. Needless to say, one of the reasons it took me so long was because I was continually looking up definitions. I'm all about learning new words, but this felt too much like an assignment. The descriptions of scenes were so intricate it was too hard to imagine. If this were made into a movie by a good producer/director, I may have enjoyed it. The book - not so much.

[Jim Kratzok · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this book as part of the Amazon Kindle compilation - Pandora but will be reviewing it separately.

This is a tough one to review. The writing quality was excellent, I could easily visualize the characters, hear the dialog, it was all good. But I just didn't care for the story. Yes it was a vivid portrayal of Ireland and the people of the village and how they were affected by the churchyard and its contents. But I just didn't care. I don't like horror stories based on old religions and slithery evil things. Too much like Lovecraft, whom I abhor.

But it was a fine piece of writing and worthwhile because of that. If you're a horror fan and go for all that stuff, you'll love this book.

[Rayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as a part of the Pandora Collection. This book has taken the longest to finish. I was so bored with it. I skimmed a good portion of it and nearly didn't finish it. Only saving grace was that I wanted to know the outcome.

[Sarah Fulmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Water "giggles" through sculls in this book. It made me late getting back from lunch three days in a row. It creeped me right the hell out. Fantastic!

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I nearly didn't finish this one. It was quite boring.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of the book quite well, but would have been happy for it to end sooner (not something I usually want in a book).

[Janet Boyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the style of this one. The flow the mystery the descriptions
I just really enjoyed reading Water Wolf.
I will check out other books by Thomas Sullivan.