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  • The Wolves of London

  • Obsidian Heart, Book 1
  • By: Mark Morris
  • Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
  • Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (1,494 ratings)
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The Wolves of London cover art

The Wolves of London

By: Mark Morris
Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
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Summary

Alex Locke is a reformed ex-con forced into London's criminal underworld for one more job.

He agrees to steal a priceless artefact - a human heart carved from the blackest obsidian - but when the burglary goes horribly wrong, Alex is plunged into the nightmarish world of the Wolves of London, unearthly assassins who will stop at nothing to reclaim the heart.

As he races to unlock the secrets of the mysterious object, Alex must learn to wield its dark power - or be destroyed by it.

©2014 Mark Morris (P)2014 Audible Studios

Critic reviews

"Mark Morris is a stellar talent, equally able to touch the heart and chill the spine. He has a maestro's gift of weaving subtlety and brutality into the perfect symphony. If you haven't read him before, now's the time!" (Christopher Golden, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Snowblind)
"A new novel from Morris is always cause for celebration, and this first in a brand new trilogy ushers in his greatest, most complex and compelling work yet." (Tim Lebbon, New York Times best-selling author of Coldbrook)
"Mark Morris is one of the best horror writers we have. If you re not reading him, you're missing out" (Michael Marshall Smith, New York Times best-selling author of The Intruders)

What listeners say about The Wolves of London

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Other reviewers seem confused - Compelling start..

The problem with looking at reviews before starting a book is that comments often stick with you and sometimes interfere with your perception and enjoyment of a book. Several reviewers words stuck with me throughout my listen but left me shaking my head as I finished it...

I didn't find this book to be a Rivers of London rip off.
I liked the slow but steady introduction of supernatural elements rather than a single plunge.
I enjoyed the narrator.
The author is very able to write.
The story does meander during the second half of the book, but except for a few odd sections I didn't find this to be a problem.
The story doesn't resolve in one book - boo hoo.
This book isn't trying to be Dr Who.

It feels like the majority of the "most helpful" reviews have read a different book or were very confused at what they were getting in to: "I found the supernatural elements to be unbelievable"... I rest my case.

For some reason this really annoyed me - probably because I enjoyed the book so much. It wasn't perfect but is definitely the start to a trilogy that I look forward to following.

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80 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Can't wait for the next one!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I had no expectations when I bought this book but I was blown away! I loved it! The only bad part was getting to the end and realising that I wo have to wait for the next. I only finished it this afternoon and have already recommend it to three people.

What other book might you compare The Wolves of London to, and why?

I don't like to compare because it's no really like anything I have read before. It's a really dark urban fantasy set in London. The obvious comparison would be Ben Aaronovich's Rivers of London series and if you like that then you should enjoy this. However this is much darker, I love the concept of the obsidian heart and want to find out more.

What about Ben Onwukwe’s performance did you like?

He brought the characters to life and made be believe it. Great performance.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was scared, worried and at times disgusted and relieved, there were some tense moments, I care about the characters and want to find out more about them.

Any additional comments?

This book was an unexpected gem and is well worth a listen.

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35 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Promising but bloated

I bought this because Amazon recommended it to me after I enjoyed Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series.

I can see why they are similar - urban fantasy, London etc. - but I didn't enjoy this book as much. It doesn't have the wit or warmth of Rivers of London and the characters feel a bit two dimensional. I am particularly unconvinced by Alex Locke, the main character, and I found it difficult to have much sympathy for him.

To my tastes, the book is overwritten and needs a good editor. Morris crams in as many similes and metaphors as possible and it sometimes feels as if it was written as part of a creative writing course. The detail with which he describes light switches, for example, can be exhausting and interferes with the building tension. If someone stripped out 75% of the adjectives, and let us see more of the plot, then it would be a much better book.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

This is a serial, not just a series.

Where does The Wolves of London rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

5 out of 10

Who was your favorite character and why?

They are okay but no one was heart-grabbing.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No, apart from the below comment

Any additional comments?

Be prepared for a massive cliff-hanger at the end. This is supposed to be the first of a series, and yes, it delivers in that respect. BUT that cliff-hanger is annoyingly like a marketing ploy to push the listener/reader hard towards buying the next one. Which, since I was annoyed, and the characters didn't engage me stongly enough to care, I won't be buying.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A slow burner, but worth persevering with........

If you could sum up The Wolves of London in three words, what would they be?

The words I'd use to describe this particular tale are; imaginative, dark and probably confused. The author has taken on a well traveled trope and done some clever and imaginative things with it, however within this process things get a little untidy. I think the premise is excellent and readers who have compared it unfavorably to the brilliant 'Rivers of London' series are doing this book a bit of a dis-service. Although the overall setting for both stories is same in as much as the are both London-centric and have a supernatural bent to me that's where the similarity ends. I find the Wolves of London a lot darker than the 'Rivers' series and am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next installment.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Terrifying!

If you could sum up The Wolves of London in three words, what would they be?

Scary.Eery.Fantasy.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Wolves of London?

Well I would hate to spoil for any potential listeners, but I will say that the performance of the narrator was the highlight of the book and made the listen great!

What does Ben Onwukwe bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

As a South Londoner by origin myself, a poor accent of the region simply would not do for me. Mr Onwukwe didn't disappoint! Great narration, perfect accent (he was probably a londoner at one point in his life too) and excellent character switching during dialogue.Also, in the scary moments of the book, he narrated with eery and terrifying panache!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the darkness and the soldier from the past appeared at the conservatory window at Bennies! A huge chill wes sent down my spine. Fortuitously, it had been halloween the night I was listening to it which was a bonus!

Any additional comments?

Great book. Clever storyline, chilling, eery and ominous: buy it and don't listen alone! Look forward to book two of the obsidian heart....

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Wolves of London

Would you try another book written by Mark Morris or narrated by Ben Onwukwe?

Ben Onwukwe always provides a good and interesting interpretation of the characters, I think that he kept me motivated to complete the book.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I felt the actions and some of the emotions of the characters were sometimes unrealistic and one dimensional. I also hated the way in which time travelling is used as a means of reviving characters etc. I also did not like the way in which there is no resolution within part 1 when there could have easily been resolution.

Did The Wolves of London inspire you to do anything?

No

Any additional comments?

It is trying to be the Rivers of London but without the irony and wit

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Clumsy

So - I should start by telling you that i'm not a fan of horror - if a book I enjoy has some bloody and/or scary bits to it I'm cool with that, but I don't understand the appeal of it just for it's own sake. So maybe I picked the wrong book.

I found this book clumsy and cloddish - the story felt contrived, there was plenty of scary icky nastiness and it seemed to me to be there just because it could be, but didn't serve any purpose in driving the book forward.

I think I was looking for something in the spirit of the Rivers of London, or the Shadow Police - which I've enjoyed very much. This wasn't what I wanted, but the narration was pretty good.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Tedious

Would you ever listen to anything by Mark Morris again?

No

What about Ben Onwukwe’s performance did you like?

Nicely read.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The story might have been OK if it was one quarter the length

Any additional comments?

The story is told in the first person. The protagonist seems incapable of entering a room without a page or more of description, and incapable of even the most trivial action without a page or more of introspection.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A great beginning...

... The tale started out well, but then as the narrator talked through each escapade we got further and further from the original story. There didn't seem to be any link between each and there were no clues or answers to why any of it was happening. This may appeal to some, but not for me.

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5 people found this helpful