Customer Reviews

The Pack: Winter Kill

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my first experience with author Mike Oliveri and I'm quite impressed. His dialogue is some of the tightest, most crisp I've read in a long time, reminiscent of the great Tom Piccirilli. I had no knowledge of the background of these characters which apparently were part of a limited comic book series, but I had no trouble catching up with the new problems in their lives.

Oliveri writes with an incredible economy of words, and while this book is a bit short for a novel, I always prefer quality over quantity and his book has it in spades. The pacing, the realistic violence, and the palpable suspense had me hooked on every page. The $13 price tag for a paperback is bit much, however, but the thicker paper stock, book design, and story make it worth owning. There were a couple typos that should have been discovered during the editing stage, so hopefully Evileye will clean things like this up for the next installment.

I did find it a little confusing and maybe a bit misleading how the back cover claims the book "reimagines the werewolf mythos in a way you'll never see coming". This statement makes it seem as if the book is groundbreaking in some way, and while I totally enjoyed the story, anyone who has read a lot of werewolf material will know that this book certainly did not "reimagine" the mythos nor give you a twist that you can "never see coming". Those claims are a bit exaggerated. Don't get me wrong though, this is still one of the best reads of the year and I will gladly come back for another tale.

Hi, I was lead to this by Jason Starr's "The Pack" which recommends this graphic novel. I love graphic novels and have been reading them for, well that would date me too much, a very long time.
This one does stand out as an original tale. Not only that but beautifully done. I have grown tired of the romance werewolf's tales, but this is not that! "Winter Kill" actually has given me hope that there are some writers out there who do not stick to the cookie cutter werewolf story. I have a renewed interest again in the werewolf stories.
If you are tired of all the romance ones, pick this up. It is different, exciting, and I loved it.
Jenn

For the sake of transparency, I have known Mike Oliveri since high school, where the pinhead worked as our IT guy and scholastic bowl coach. But I promise I won't hold those experiences against him in this review.

I went into "Winter Kill" not really knowing what to expect. I had read Mike's first novel "Deadliest of the Species" years ago and had read several of his short stories. I've never been much of a sci-fi/horror person, but I wanted to check out this latest project and see what it was all about.

Upon reading the book, which happened in about three sittings, I found myself amazed with the end result. All I knew heading in was that it was a book about werewolves, but it's really so much more. "Winter Kill" is at its core a thriller about gun smuggling, racial prejudice and a sense of mystery surrounding a Minnesota family and their guests, both welcome and uninvited.

The werewolf mythology of the book takes a back seat to the drama and great storytelling that unfolds around it. Until the book's ultimate climax, there is little that leads the reader to any hairy conclusions about the book's mythical beasts.

The storytelling of "Winter Kill" drives this book to success. Mike has found a voice as a writer and uses it to captivate the reader and draw them into the events unfolding around them. His narrative style uses short chapters and smooth-flowing dialogue and exposition, which makes "Winter Kill" an enjoyable read for any adult with even the slightest interest in literature.

Knowing there's more to come from "The Pack" series leaves me with a sense of great anticipation. This book will hopefully be the launching pad for a continued line of solid products and success for this prospering author. It also offers a great visual story for any brash, young Hollywood directors out there looking to capitalize on the supernatural craze emanating from American pop culture right now.

Personal relationships and histories aside, I would unbiasedly recommend this book to anyone who asks.

Even though this book was very good I just could not give it five stars in fairness to the reason I bought the book...Werewolf's. The first part of the book is more of a good guys, bad guys struggle and the werewolf's don't come in until very late in the novel.In spite of that I found myself caught up in the story. This book is very well written and i have to say I think I will give Volume 2 a try when it comes out. If you like a good police vs. bad guys book you will enjoy this one with the interesting twist about three-fourths of the way through.

Most of the characters would feel right at home in an Elmore Leonard novel... the rest are werewolves. While this odd pairing wouldn't seem a comfortable mix, don't worry - the terse writing does justice to both elements. I have read a lot in the crime genre and have only rarely dabbled in horror but I think fans of either will be satisfied because the plot charges along while planting the seeds of a larger story. These story threads could have been incorporated to make a much longer and more complete novel but since the author and publisher seem to have multiple volumes in mind, the brevity of this book can be forgiven. While the cover art is rudimentary, the physical book is well-crafted and will stand up to multiple readings unlike a lot of the thrown-together crud you see now. I look forward to seeing what else happens in the world of "The Pack".

This one surprised me... The Pack: Winter Kill (Volume 1) by Mike Oliveri. While at a conference last month, a friend of mine (who is also a friend of the author) gave me a copy of Winter Kill to read. While I tend to like the occasional supernatural thriller, I must confess that the werewolf genre isn't one I'm automatically drawn towards. But the book isn't that big, and my friend told me it was pretty good. He wasn't kidding... I started Winter Kill one evening as I went to bed and finished it on my bus ride home from work the next day.

The story isn't overly complicated or drawn out. The action starts within the first couple of chapters and continues at a constant pace throughout. Oliveri also doesn't waste many words on being overly melodramatic or over-describing a scene. All the characters have a role to play, and what appears on the page is necessary to keep the story moving. And the ending, while hinted at somewhat throughout the story, has a twist that I wasn't completely ready for. Had I not read the last line of the back cover before starting, I don't think I would have seen it coming at all.

There's obviously plenty of room to fill in the backstory of how the characters got to be the way they were, and I'm willing to give Oliveri room to leave some things unclear here, knowing that there are other installments to come. In fact, in this case it makes me a little more excited for the next episode to appear, as I really do want to see where he lets this series go. In any case, I think I've found a new author that I'll look forward to reading.

And no, I bear him no malice over the fact that he named one of the bad guys "Duff", and that Duff meets with a gruesome end. I'll just assume my friend put him up to it. :)

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Author
Payment: Free

This book totally rocks! It got me hooked right from the start. It's one of those books that the moment you finish it, you want to read it again right away because it's that good! Mike Oliveri did a tremendous job.

Oliveri does a great job of bringing the monster genre back to what it once was; intense, scary and satisfying. But it's more than just creature-craziness, this book leads you down a twisting turning path of crime and mystery before it hits you over the head with some of the most visceral werewolf attacks I've ever read. And this is just the beginning, as part one of an ongoing series of prose and graphic novels. Sick of sparkly EMO vampires, and super-buff hunky man-wolves? Want real monsters and no sappy drivel? Than read this book. Oliveri knows what monster and horror fans want, and is serving it up steaming hot and ready to consume!

Any time I hear werewolves are involved I start off skeptical. However all that skepticism was wiped away almost as soon as I started to read it. Just make sure that you start reading it on a Friday. You won't be able to put it down till your finished and you'll want to make sure you can rest on Sunday.

THE PACK: WINTER KILL is a fantastic thrill ride blending crime drama and horror genres into a provocative narrative. I cannot recommend this novel highly enough. WINTER KILL will appeal to anyone with a thirst for ballsy action and character-driven procedurals... and for those who love a good monster story, particularly those who enjoy a good werewolf story, well you're in for a treat. This is quite possibly the best werewolf story since Robert McCammon's Wolf's Hour.

And best of all? The promise of more to come.

Oliveri's a consummate storyteller and in THE PACK: WINTER KILL he has hit upon a collection of characters that will serve him well.