Customer Reviews

Frostbite: A Werewolf Tale

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I will admit - I am a latecomer to the works or Mr. Wellington. I picked up the novel Frostbite on nothing more than a desire for some werewolf fiction. I finished the book the same day and went back to buy everything the man has written that was available. I find his books very addictive.

Frostbite presents a pretty unique turn on what modern media thought a werewolf might be. Taking form straight from an age that struggled through legends of fangs and fury, Wellington's werewolves take the form not of wolves but of dire wolves - something akin to the relationship between a tiger and a sabre-toothed tiger. Unique transformation scenes scream for a big-screen adaptation.

The book reads very fast, with the short chapters you feel like your rushing through the story at break-neck speeds. Things sometimes appear disjointed, leaving the reader with a little less than perfect understanding, specifically with regards to the main characters. But Frostbite is nothing if not a springboard for the second of Wellington's werewolf tales: Overwinter. When immediately following Frostbite and you feel that ache of things left unsaid, the resolve of the story is continued in the sequel to a satisfying is somewhat expected climax.

If you have a bit of difficulty finishing Frostbite, try to hold out and read Overwinter before passing judgment.

Frostbite is fast-paced and full of action, it did not disappoint. The characters are interesting and the brand of lycanthropy in the book is so devastating to their lives that it's hard not to sympathize with them. The settings are fleshed out and vivid. The only thing I didn't care much for were the transformation scenes, they were just too simple. Otherwise, Frostbite is a fresh and fun new addition to the werewolf genre.

There was always something about werewolves that scared me more than the vampires, zombies and other denizens of dark imagination. Maybe it was because most of the other classic monsters managed to retain some human-ness that held out the possibility of being reasoned with. Or in the case of shambling zombies, they could just be outran. But werewolves? Now there was a creature that was pure animal, unreasoning and beyond control.

Frostbite was a book I purchased almost a year ago and hadn't got around to reading until I noticed a sequel has now been published. It's a good thing I knew there was a sequel, otherwise my review would have been negative based on some of the loose threads left at the conclusion of Frostbite. For instance, what was the meaning of the "belts" found in Powell's smokehouse/sweat lodge? or why did the possibly mystical character of Dzo suddenly disappear three-quarters of the way through the book? It's good to know that David Wellington holds out the promise of answers in the next book in the series.

The book itself starts out with main character Chey lost in the northern forests of Canada and about to encounter a wolf who will change the course of her life with a scratch across her ankle. Suddenly Chey must decide whether to return to civilization and a miserable existence or living free accompanied by the only man who can understand her - the werewolf who passed the ancient curse to her. Complicating the situtation is Chey's boyfriend who may have been using her as bait to kill Montgomery Powell, the other werewolf.

Author David Wellington does an admirable job describing the forests as experienced through wolf senses. He jettisons some of the traditional werewolf lore like full moon transformations (in Frostbite, the werewolves change each time the moon rises) and keeps others, such as werewolves' aversion of all things silver. He also adds some interesting twists, like lycanthropy is actually a 10,000-year-old curse that turns afflicted humans into the now-extinct dire wolf, a bigger, nastier version of modern wolves.

This is a fast-paced novel that are bored with the "domestication" of vampires and the like can turn to when they want a book that will speed up their pulses and keep them reading well into the night.

This well-written werewolf novel from horror writer David Wellington delivers a welcome twist on an increasingly familiar genre. In a market seemingly saturated with vampires and lycanthropes, Wellington, rather than sticking with a formulaic approach, presents an engrossing story about the life of a recently "turned" werewolf--from the werewolf's perspective.

Cheyenne Clark is on her own in the frozen wilderness of the Canadian Northwest Territories when a flash flood sweeps away most of her gear. With no human settlements for dozens of miles in any direction, her situation is desperate, and it becomes more so when she is chased up a tree by a strangely aggressive wolf with icy green eyes. Though she escapes with her life, her leg is badly gouged by the wolf's claws. In the morning, the wolf is gone.

The rest of the story is an interesting blend of standard werewolf lore and less conventional story elements. Naturally, the wolf that chased and injured Cheyenne was a werewolf, so naturally, she becomes one too. Pretty basic. What's not so basic is the love/hate relationship Cheyenne develops with her wolf side as well as with the werewolf who turned her. As Cheyenne learns to live with her curse and the unexpected abilities that come with it, she must face the demons of her past as well as the uncertainty of her future.

As a werewolf tale, the book's intrigue is marred by the fact that it simply isn't very scary. It focuses on the relationship between the werewolf and herself rather than on the traditional horror-movie conflict between werewolves and people. While this provides some interest and depth, it ultimately limits the book's appeal. There's little in the story that compels the reader to find out what happens next.

Surprising (and not unwelcome) for a book in this genre is the scarcity of gratuitous violence and gore. If the author had managed to utilize effective storytelling to add tension to the story without resorting to the blood-and-guts imagery so prevalent in similar books, Frostbite could have been a terrific addition to the ever-growing library of werewolf stories.

Even with its weaknesses, the book is entertaining and downright thought-provoking at times. Lycanthropy aficionados will appreciate the relational elements of the story. But horror fans looking for a leave-the-lights-on-after-dark werewolf thrill-fest may be disappointed.

Lots of action and characters that will keep you guessing. Frostbite is among my favorite werewolves stories. Don't read it at night or you will have werewolf nightmares lol. The author delivered an excellent story. I recommend this book to werewolves fans.

Frostbite is an intriguing werewolf tale set in the arctic Canadian forest that relies on the formulaic style of start with the end, then go back and explain what led up to it, which makes for a somewhat disorganized pacing. However, once the novel gets going, the characterization is compelling enough to drive readers through the story.

For those werewolf aficionados, the novel observes traditional werewolf mythology: transformation by moonlight, a lethal aversion to silver, super-strength, and crazed bloodlust during transformation, and its "werewolves" are actual wolves, and not wolf-men. However, the "mythology" behind the Lycanthropy curse and its origins is never explained.

There are a few minor plot holes that strain suspension of disbelief--such as how Chey's cell phone could still work after being caught in a flash flood--and certain character motivations (not all of which are answered by novel's end) but overall, the novel is well-crafted with engaging characters that drive the story.

Part One opens when Cheyenne "Chey" Clark is caught in a sudden flash flood in the Canadian Drunken Forest. After barely escaping this natural disaster, she is chased and treed by a pack of wolves who abandon her at the onset of a more dangerous predator--a werewolf. The larger wolf's bloodlust forces Chey to climb higher in order to avoid its attempts to savage her, but not before one its claws slices her ankle.

Chey's resulting sickness carries her through the forest searching for help until she stumbles upon a campfire tended by Dzo, a peculiar man in a mask. Despite his obvious eccentricities, Chey is forced to rely on Dzo's aid as he takes her to his friend Monty Powell's cabin, whom Chey immediately suspects of being the werewolf who attacked her. Readers are left to wonder why--in spite of this uncanny realization--Chey offers no resistance to sleeping in Powell's cabin.

Upon waking, Chey discovers her injury alarmingly healed and escapes after overhearing a conversation about her imminent murder. On the run, Chey experiences her first werewolf transformation and finds herself hunted by Powell. After a suspenseful confrontation between them, Powell confesses the tale of how he inherited the werewolf curse, and Chey comes to the reluctant realization that she needs his guidance in order to survive.

Part Two delves into Chey's biographical history from age seven to present, and the freak car accident resulting in her father's murder by a werewolf, prompting her vengeful mission to find the animal responsible. New characters are introduced provoking ultimately unanswered questions about believability--paving the way for a potential sequel--including an apparently public, quasi-military "werewolf research organization" into which Chey is drafted.

Part Three thrusts readers back into the present as the werewolf hunters invade the forest in search of Powell. The fast-moving conclusion focuses on Chey's internal struggle to accept her newfound identity and learn from Powell--her father's murderer--or side with the human world who may quite possibly damn her now that she has been turned.

I gave the book 4 stars because I'm a huge werewolf fan, and found Chey's tale much more interesting than others, but there are several questions I would have liked answered, specially about Dzo, whose originas are foreshadowed but never discussed.

I love werewolf books and this one was an awesome find. I love the trilogy! The best for me thus far. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys shape shifter books with a hard edge.

I happened to pick up the sequel to this book in one of the closing Border's stores, and figured i should start with the first and bought the kindle version. took me about a day and a half to finish, it never got boring. it's definitely not 'horror' material in any way but it is definitely a thriller and a great book! very recommended.

It's kind of hard writing a review for this because I still can't make up my mind as to how much I liked it. I did like it & plan to read the sequel, but the more I think about the book the more flawed it seems in the long run.

First the good. I absolutely loved that Wellington put a new-ish spin on werewolves & it was nice to read something that wasn't along the lines of the current "tortured soul who is a dangerous creature who won't harm a soul". The werewolves in this book are incredibly dangerous & I love them all the more for it. There's no touchy-feely nonsense about these supernatural creatures. I also liked how well the surroundings were described, considering that the book takes place in a forest- a location where there aren't very many differences to play up on.

Unfortunately there was one thing in the book that just got to me: how the story was laid out. For example, we're told about halfway into the book that this is a world where werewolves are known to exist, yet up until that point we're given no indication of that & I really felt like that part was incredibly underdeveloped. I felt like this part, along with other story elements, could have been brought up earlier in the book without losing any impact. It just made for a bit of an uneven reading experience at times & sort of came across like the author had written the beginning part of the book before he'd had the rest of it plotted, then added other elements (werewolves are known to the world, Chey's past) after thinking up these parts, if that makes any sense. In other words, I wish that we'd had a little more world & character building in the first third of the book.

Overall this was a fun enough read & I breezed through it relatively quickly. I'm curious enough about the story to want to read the next book, but I do hope that the plotting is a little better laid out now that Wellington's got the basic story already outlined.

I thought this was a pretty good book. It did have its slow spots but I feel like it's the start to something more of a series. More often than not, Chey was always cold and naked looking for food or clothes. This did became tedious, however, the ending wrapped up pretty good, the gore wasn't over done and I like how these werewolves change, it's something different. I look forward to the next book.