Well written World War Two werewolf novel

"The Wolf's Hour" was a surprising and memorable read.

This is not modern urban fantasy, with hip, kick-ass characters, struggling against their wolf nature while trying to save the world from demons in just three days.

This is a book with the self-confidence to save the world over several months (and seven hundred+ pages) AND interweave an "origins of" story as it moves along.

The hero, Michael Gallatin is a man more likely to rip an enemy open that engage in witty reparté. He is a serious, focused man, totally committed to his mission. Turned into Werewolf as a child in post-revolutionary Russia, Gallatin now works for the British Secret Service, fighting to destroy the Nazi war machine.

On the surface "The Wolf's Hour" is the kind of book I would normally pass over: it was written in 1989, the plot sounds like "Indiana Jones goes wolf", the Nazis are bad, the allies are noble, there a snow-bound Russian palaces, castles full of evil Nazis, brave resistance fighters, beautiful women who can shoot, drive tanks or fly planes, and larger-than-life evil bastards with no redeeming features.

And yet this book WORKS.

It works because McCammon can write. He knows how to build a scene and evolve a character. If it takes weeks to get from Paris to Berlin, McCammon takes you on the journey and helps you feel the passage of time and understand the sustained stress imposed by the situation and the focused determination needed to win. He describes places in a way that gets under my skin, whether it's the snow-covered corridors of an abandoned Russian palace, the grotesque grandeur of a Nazi castle or the unbearable inhumanity of a Concentration Camp. He delivers wonderful set-piece action sequences. He allows his hero enough introspection to make him to give him a worldview and not just killer reflexes.

It works because the evil things that McCammon's Nazis do are not fiction but horrifyingly real and he does not flinch away from them. They fuel the anger of Gallatin's wolf and make the Nazis far more monstrous than any werewolf could be.

It works because of the skillful way that McCammon weaves the story of how Gallatin became both a wolf and a man into the story of how Gallatin takes on the Nazis in a way that adds depth to Gallatin's character and delivers a welcome change of pace.

Finally, it works because Simon Prebble is the perfect narrator for the twenty-two hour-long audiobook.

There are things I could have lived without. The sex scenes seem somehow dated, although you could think of them as period, and the scenes with Hitler seemed to add little except caricature.

If you are looking for a change of pace and want to spend some time in another era (actually TWO other eras) and a different perspective on the supernatural thriller, then "The Wolf's Hour" is worth a listen.

12 people found this helpful

WWII Werewolf

It sounds like a daft premise, a werewolf spy trying to beat the Germans, but it was actually a great listen.

Michael is a British spy trying to find out what operation Iron Fist is. The story goes back and forth between his early years as a werewolf and the current situation working with the resistance. I enjoyed the werewolf parts as the war sections were quite harrowing, particularly the concentration camps.

3 people found this helpful

A British spy with a secret...

Where does The Wolf's Hour rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is my favourite novel of all time, I first read it around 20 years ago, and even now it keeps me gripped to every page. However, the narrator doesn't hold the suspense very well and his characterisation of each character never changes, even from male to female or accents from different countries, which I found a huge let down

Who was your favorite character and why?

Michael Gallatin...A British spy with a secret

Any additional comments?

This novel is crying out to be made into a Hollywood movie, with the strength of the lead character this could be a huge success...

2 people found this helpful

Great Story, Great Characters very weak Werewolf

I wanna start by saying that I loved this book the story is exciting, very well paced and very well written.
The characters are interesting and compelling you really want to know about who they are, were they come from and why they are like they are, you care about them and you feel invested in them, especially the main character Michael Galantin the lycanthrope, Michael is a great human character but as a lycanthrope it's a disappointment, a big disappointment, being a fan of the werewolf genre, this werewolf is very weak and very lame, a werewolf even in his human form is more powerful than any human, they have heightened senses, superhuman strength, stamina, agility, durability, reflexes and speed not to mention super healing factor, werewolf Michael as none of this things apart from the sense of smell and vision, every time he fights against human opponents he gets a beating before overcoming his adversaries thanks to his fighting skills and then it takes him forever to heal is injuries and that greatly annoyed me every time he was fighting and I suddenly remember he was a werewolf, he should be able to mop the floor with his adversaries easily.
The narrator is ok but the characters have all the same voice there's almost no nuances in the characters voices.
So has I said A Great Story and Great Characters and I greatly recommended it but the Werewolf.... Very disappointing.

1 person found this helpful

Captain America with hair and teeth

What great potential. The general premise of the story simply turned into a boys Captain America Comic book with hair and teeth. The characters were all a combination of James Bond super baddies meet Captain America. Boring ruthless killers comic killers. Super-duper schemes to kill the good guy.

Perhaps most annoying was that this fellahs "super power", which is that turning into a savage, unstoppable killing machine, goes unused at the most obvious times.

Trapped in a deadly utter darkness while facing down an enemy? Why turn into a wolf who can see, smell and hear better, when you can stumble about in the dark?

Heck no, lets use it to eat rats!

The werewolf genre is so sadly represented, that this is commonly rated as one of the best efforts.

When you start with a supernatural element, try to make some aspect of the plot and characters plausible. No Barbarella, no oddjob, no Captain America.

1 person found this helpful

Brilliant

This book was much better than I thought it would be. It has introduced to me a new genre and was so good I immediately bought the second installment.

Well rounded characters and a good plot make for a great listening experience.

surprisingly good

it's an unusual storyline, a spy/lycanthrope and I want sure I was going to like it but it works surprisingly well. Good storytelling and interesting characters and well narrated too, it's a thumbs up from me.

Like James Bond but a werewolf

I did enjoy this book, the narration was spot on and it was an entertaining journey.

Pros - some of the dark aspects of the book were done really well and was immersive. The story building and joining together of the characters was serious and fun and compelling.

Lots of action and dramatic scenes.

Not so good-

At times the plot became ludicrous with life changing injuries being forgotten at the end of chapters, the super villains were taken straight from early James Bond. Not actual example but close to it “So Bond {insert new hero name#you will never escape from this shark infested custard so I’ll tell you my whole plan and all the weaknesses”

The plot ensures that the impossible is possible and I just wish it was hammed down and not so desperate to create big and loud action scenes. Sometimes less is more.

Over all I will listen to book two but this series is dated, to be taken with pinch of salt and not for people who don’t enjoy many sex scenes as there is an abundance of them.

A Great Read

Just loved this book. Yes, a lycanthropic secret service war hero is an unlikely premise for a book but it really works…. You won’t be disappointed.

Brilliant !

Enthralling story with memorable characters .
Superbly written and wonderfully brought to life by Simon Prebble .