Customer Reviews

Laws of Nature (Prowlers, Book 2)

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Christopher Golden is an author you can trust. He is a great storyteller and has a clear, cinematic style to his work. This sequel to his first PROWLERS novel, follows young Jack Sawyer on his journey to destroy the menacing Prowlers; a race of shape-shifting werewolves that live among humans. Jack is guided by a deceased friend and others in the "Ghostlands". He has the ability to see the other side and tries to avenge their deaths by the prowlers. This time, Jack and Molly, follow a bloody trail to a small rural town where the Prowlers seem unusually active. A great read and an action packed horror thriller. I can't wait for the next in the series. Thank you Mr. Golden!

Prowlers, for the uninitiated, are creatures who are similar to werewolves, but stripped of magical powers. Prowlers do have longevity in life, are impossibly quick and strong, and are feral and all too willing to use humans as their main dietary means. There are very few prowlers who show great restraint and are willing to treat humans as equals, Bill Cantwell being a prime prowler example of this. Prowlers are ancient monsters who can take on human form to blend in and lull their favorite prey. They aren't compelled to change forms when the moon is full, and any bullet - not just silver - can hurt and kill them. And they can't infect you with a scratch or bite. They just pretty much scratch and bite you because they enjoy mutilating and then snacking on you.

Prowlers: Laws of Nature picks up a few months after the horrific events in the first Prowlers book. All of the main characters are back (even Artie the ghost). Things have settled down a bit in Boston, though Jack, Molly, Courtney, and Bill are still keeping a wary eye out for possible prowlers. Meanwhile, they toil in Jack and Courtney's popular Bridget's Irish Rose Pub. Molly has only about 6 weeks left before she goes to Yale, and Jack has mixed feelings about this. He feels glad for her opportunity yet doesn't want her to go. He's kinda crushing hard on her.

Added to his confused feelings for Molly is the guilt he feels because she was the girlfriend of his recently murdered best friend Artie, who hasn't really gone (he's now a ghost who occasionally pops in to check up on Jack). Jack's crippled but cute older sister Courtney is also is struggling with her attraction for Bill Cantwell, who is her pub's bartender and longtime family friend but who's also a prowler.

Things heat up when Courtney shows Jack and Molly an Internet report of a mutilation murder which occured in the small town of Buckton, Vermont. Jack and Molly decide to drive to Buckton, and they go loaded for bear. In Buckton, they are treated mostly with veiled hostility by the insular townspeople. The only one who is halfway decent to them is the innkeeper Tina. But Jack and Molly's suspicions are proven out when they do encounter a pack of prowlers who make Buckton their home base and who've been plying their killing trade right outside of the rural town for untold bloody decades. For all this time, Buckton had been exempt from prowler activity (that old thing about not taking a dump where you eat).

But something has changed. And that something involves a missing journal (which chronicles the history of this pack of prowlers) being frantically sought by the pack leader, who'll stop at nothing to gain possession of it. And this journal seems to be hidden somewhere smack dab in the middle of Buckton. Meanwhile, back in Boston, Bill and Courtney deal with their own troublesome bundle of fur when they are menaced by revenge-minded Prowlers who belonged to the late Owen Tanzer's old pack (see Prowlers, the first book).

Once again, Christopher Golden steps on the gas and doesn't let up until the final page. This is another action packed horror thriller that'll keep you awake and inhaling coffee at weird hours of the night. Jack and Molly are two great protagonists who are very, very easy to root for (the other pair, Courtney and Bill, are also very sympathetic). Away from their comfort zone of Boston and friends, Jack and Molly are severely disadvantaged and must resort again to Jack's access to the Ghostlands to get anywhere. And the local constabulary, severely pressured to solve the murders, aren't making it easy for them. It all ends with an all out, bloody, no-quarter-asked-or-given scrap, with bullets flying, grenades exploding, flesh ripping, and werewolves biting the dust.

Prowlers: Laws of Nature is a great read that you will speed thru in a heartbeat. In doing so, you might even feel regret about the passing of one particular prowler (no, it's not Bill Cantwell). The good news is, there are two more books after this one. In fact, I recommend all four books in this series, which is my favorite among Christopher Golden's works.