Review: The Last Werewolf

Jake is, for lack of a better word, complicated. He’s a werewolf, and after the recent death of a certain Berliner, he’s the last werewolf. Unable to cure himself or turn anyone else, Jake has spent the last 200 years on the run from various organizations who seem to have an inordinate interest in killing him.

There was once a time when Jake cared — about his few friends, his own life, and the origins of the werewolves themselves. For years he searched for the journals of one Alex Quinn, an eccentric 19th century archaeologist who claimed to have written down the werewolf origin story.

But it’s all come to nothing. The journal—if it ever existed—is lost in time, as is Jake himself. Now that’s he’s the last, it’s only a matter of time before they hunt him down too. Better to end things on his terms.

Killing himself would be easier, however, if Jake could just get out of his own way. But he has an inexplicable need to tell his story, and ferret out the answers to questions he’s been asking himself for two centuries. What makes a monster? What makes a human? Can the two intersect, or is Jake doomed forever?

The review

This book was far more metaphysical—and more graphic—than I expected. And in many ways it was better than I expected — definitely a change from the kind of werewolf stories that have been published recently.

Jake is a fascinating character, a monster obsessed with keeping hold of his few remaining strands of humanity. His desire to end his life is just as strong as his desire to keep it, which makes for an interesting blend of caution and recklessness.

There are many great lines scattered throughout, including a fantastic allusion to Jane Eyre (one chapter begins with the phrase, “Reader, I ate him.”) Another quip that stuck out to me happens earlier in the story when Jake says, “You can’t live solely for someone else without sooner or later hating them.”

I’m fairly certain that the novel is bound solely with tension and suspense. Mysterious happenings, enemies who might not be enemies, friends who turn into enemies, all narrated through the mind of a occasionally long-winded werewolf. I was so tense reading the story that I ended up with knots in my back.

The reviews I read on other blogs tended to focus more on exclaiming over the novel’s raunchiness, and completely skipping over the deeper aspects of the story. It wasn’t what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised by this gory, gruesome love story. If you’re not squeamish or opposed to some rather steamy love scenes, and want to sink your teeth into some good metaphysical ramblings, consider getting a copy of The Last Werewolf.

Kick-ass Quotes:

“You forgot sex could do this, cast the divine fragment back into the divine whole for a moment, then reel it out again, razed, beatified.” (p. 175)

“ ‘You know why they invented the phrase “case closed”?” ”
“ ‘What?’ ”
“ ‘So that the audience would know it wasn’t.’ ” (p. 73)

Has a book ever surprised you by being about more than what reviewers/friends were saying?

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