Hellboy: The Fire Wolves (novel) [Paperback]

Tim Lebbon (Author), NA (Author)

Book Description

Series: Hellboy | Publication Date: April 21, 2009

Hellboy is called to Amalfi, Italy, by Franca, a young member of the Esposito family. She fears that a dark curse on her family is about to claim her cousin as its next victim. Hellboy makes his way to their large home, and he encounters a flaming demon - a fire wolf - which he successfully fights off. Hellboy and Franca make their way to Pompeii, where Franca remembers seeing an image of the fire wolf whilst on an archaeological dig. Hellboy unearths the shriveled corpse of a demon hunter who was buried during the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius, and it tells him of the fire-demon that escaped the grip of the volcano leading to that devastating eruption. Attacked again by the fire wolf, Hellboy and Franca have to make their way back to Amalfi to confront Adamo Esposito, the family elder. But already the volcano is rumbling again, and an eruption even more devastating than that historical catastrophe looks very, very close!

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse; 1st Dark Horse Books Ed edition (April 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595822046
• ISBN-13: 978-3809421092
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,260,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been published for ten years now, and you can find out loads about me at my website www.timlebbon.net. I'm the author of over thirty books, including the Noreela series of fantasy books (Dusk, Dawn, Fallen and The Island), the NY Times Bestselling novelisation of the movie 30 Days of Night, and several books with Christopher Golden, including The Map of Moments and the forthcoming Secret Journeys of Jack London for Harper. I've also written several screenplays and some TV proposals. I've won several prestigious awards, and some of my work has been optioned for the big screen.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hellboy turns up the heat!, April 16, 2011

By 

Marc "BookMarc Blogpants" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hellboy: The Fire Wolves (novel) (Paperback)

'Hellboy: The Fire Wolves' is Tim Lebbon's second Hellboy novel in the series of unrelated prose novels that are available from all good booksellers now! It's not related in any way to his first Hellboy novel 'Unnatural Selection' and neither is it related to the other novel in the series 'Hellboy: The Ice Wolves'.
What is it with Hellboy and wolves? Fire Wolves, Ice Wolves and there's plenty of werewolves in his past too (there's one on the loose in Lebbon's other Hellboy novel). Just the sight of a wolf nowadays must make Hellboy howling mad!
Before I get into details of the story and my opinions on that I would like to express a few thoughts concerning the cover of the book. I love the overall color scheme and layout as it's very stylish and easy on the eyes. I hate that wolf. It just doesn't look scary enough to me. Although you might need a closer, enlarged look at it the wolf is actually a mosaic come to life but it still could of looked more horrifying.
Pompeii, AD 79, is where the story begins and sets the foundations for the rest of the novel. Mount Vesuvius is erupting and a fire wolf, a demonic presence that lives within the volcano, is on the rampage. An old woman, a demon hunter, casts a spell to trap the wolf as she dies and leaves a mosaic telling the story of what occurred. The wolf is trapped, the volcano rests and all is fine until...
Modern day and the spell has been broken and that, of course, means Hellboy is on the case. Rather than being a straightforward story of Hellboy taking on the Fire Wolves what we begin with is a seemingly separate story about a family curse. As such Hellboy is placed in the role of detective and he has to figure out what the hell is going on. Of course, this goes against his nature as he would rather just beat the crap out of something and Big Red's frustrations, and considerable efforts to be tactful, are played out well throughout the novel. As the mystery unravels and the link to the fire wolves and their overall plan becomes clear the story picks up pace and becomes more action packed. I actually loved the pacing of the story and having read other works by Tim Lebbon I can tell you it's one of his strong points as a writer; he can have you carefully reading every word in a calm manner or have you hurtling through each page in relation to the action taking place.
The story itself is a good one and Lebbon certainly has a grasp of who Hellboy is which is refreshing as other authors have severely lacked in this are in relation to the Hellboy prose novels. Throughout the novel there are various references to previous Hellboy cases/situations/characters that would go over the head of any first time Hellboy reader. Not that I think the story would be diminished in any way for those not in the know as it's akin to those superhero movies whereby, for instance, they'll mention the non-hero name of a character that isn't in the movie...to the person in the know it brings an appreciative nod of the head and a wry smile but those not in the know don't feel like they're missing out on anything.
I should point out that Hellboy works alone in this novel as he did against the Ice Wolves. In both these cases Liz Sherman would have been a great help as she has the ability of pyrokinesis. In many ways I guess having her a focal character in either novel would have watered down the plot due to her unique ability. I do prefer it when either Liz, Abe Sapien, or both, are involved as the characters play off each other well and add that little extra bit of dimension to the proceedings.
'Hellboy: The Fire Wolves' was a very good novel. It never quite achieved greatness but it is certainly a must for Hellboy fans and those who wish to branch out into a Hellboy prose novel could do far worse than to start with this offering.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More Like the Ember Wolves, December 22, 2010

By 

Mike - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hellboy: The Fire Wolves (novel) (Paperback)

First off, judging by the other reviews, it seems everyone else is talking about something else entirely, as Lobster Johnston is not in this book at all. So, here's a real review for the Fire Wolves.

I have been ordering the Hellboy novels at random, and I've enjoyed every one of them. Except this one. Don't get me wrong, it has its high points, but overall it is a letdown.

The beginning of the story is beautiful with its descriptions, the mystery is rather intriguing, and it's nice to see Hellboy fail at his actual assignment early on, which helps to drive the plot. Going to Pompeii and under the mansion where he is assigned, it's exactly what Hellboy should be.

From there, it goes downhill. The mystery is revealed too early, and what should have been 3 chapters at most is stretched throughout half the book. The lack of diversity of creatures also makes this book suffer as well.

Only die-hard Hellboy fans should get this. The only reason I would recommend this book to anyone else is that it ties in with one of the stronger novels, The Ice Wolves. However, the connection is slight, and can be used as just a reference to some other unpublished Hellboy adventure.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just right for a die hard Hellboy fan, January 21, 2010

By 

Felipe J. Pena "Salsamanp" (Ossining, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hellboy: The Fire Wolves (novel) (Paperback)

Ordered this book for my wife and she knocked it out in a couple of days. Quick shipping. Book in greate shape. Excellent trasnsaction.