The Wolves of Midwinter

August 26, 2013
Reuben Golding is a new werewolf (following the events of 2012’s The Wolf Gift). He now lives in a Northern California mansion with his mentor, Felix, and other shapeshifters, occasionally killing evildoers as the vigilante called Man Wolf. Readers expecting urban fantasy action will be surprised: this is mostly a moody family drama, as Reuben plans for the birth of his child by his ex-girlfriend Celeste and copes with the transformation of his new lover, Laura, into a shapeshifter. Reuben and his brother, Father Jim, a priest, also struggle with issues of faith, justice, and the afterlife. Meanwhile, Felix plans a giant Christmas celebration for the entire village and frets about his ghostly niece, Marchent. New conflicts and antagonists are introduced and dealt with in a late rush, and Reuben’s forays as Man Wolf are perfunctory, taking up fewer pages than the party planning. Still, the book is not without charm: Reuben and Felix are sympathetic protagonists, and the series mythology, suggesting that the fair folk may be evolved human ghosts, is fascinating.

September 1, 2013
Second in Rice's series (The Wolf Gift, 2012) featuring a cultured pack of do-gooder werewolves. Reuben, a newly minted Man Wolf, has moved into the Northern California mansion he inherited from the lovely, mysterious and now late Marchent. The mansion, situated in a vast woodland, is also home to several older (in some cases ancient) men who are, when the occasion requires, werewolves. Among these "Distinguished Gentlemen" are Marchent's uncle Felix, a giant named Sergei, the well-mannered Thibault, and the leader and conscience of the pack, Margon. The Gentleman are inducting the beginner werewolves, including Stuart, a young gay man, and Reuben's latest ladylove, Laura, into new, immortal life. The group is preparing for a gala Christmas party they hope to make an annual tradition. The party will be followed by the midwinter rites, which the werewolves (known as Morphenkinder) have celebrated since time immemorial and which, in some packs, involves human sacrifice. Not Margon's pack, however. His men (and women) wolves have a special instinct for sniffing out and mauling evildoers, particularly those who abuse and molest children. In fact, one night, after Reuben's wolf persona emerges involuntarily, he rescues a kidnapped little girl, then devours most of her captor. The Gentlemen must put the public off the scent of their true identities, whence the party. But Reuben's human entanglements pose complications. Marchent, who was murdered, is haunting Reuben, and Felix must enlist the aid of another supernatural group, the Forest Gentry, a kind of ethereal, chamois-clad tribe, to entice her troubled spirit away from the house. Reuben's hated ex-girlfriend is about to give birth to his baby, and his father has decided to temporarily move into the mansion, where he will be the only resident who is not only mortal, but not privy to the werewolves' secret. This complex fantasy world relies on an elaborate substructure of lore and history, and the action slows as points of exposition are repetitiously belabored. Fans will welcome Rice's return to the realm of eccentric immortal predators.

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August 1, 2013
Queen of otherworldly darkness Rice continues The Wolf Gift Chronicles, reuniting readers with Reuben Golding and his fellow werewolf companions as they prepare for their Midwinter festivities. Reuben is stunned to discover that his girlfriend, Laura, has decided to receive the Chrism that will turn her into a werewolf as well. He is further shocked to learn that his hostile ex-girlfriend, Celeste, is pregnant with their child, and he marries her so that the child won't be born out of wedlock. As if Reuben's love life weren't complicated enough, he starts seeing the ghost of Marchent, the lover whose brothers turned Reuben into a werewolf after they murdered her. Reuben realizes that Marchent hasn't let go of the physical world, and he has to persuade the Forest Gentry, a group of old and powerful ghosts, to aid her. In this complex and emotional tale, Reuben continues to use his powers as a werewolf to help people in trouble, though he unwittingly leads a loved one into danger. Readers crazy about The Wolf Gift (2012) will enjoy seeing Rice flesh out and expand Reuben's world on northern California's misty coast. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Given the acclaimed first Wolf Gift title's spot on best-seller lists, the second in the series launches with a 250,000 first printing and a hefty national promotional campaign to match.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

May 15, 2013

Rice, who successfully immersed herself in the world of wolfen powers in last year's The Wolf Gift, here continues the story of Reuben Golding, the transformed Man Wolf. In a stately mansion on Northern California's rough coast, Reuben seeks instruction about his new condition from the Morphenkinder. But it's Christmas, and he discovers that they have their own way of celebrating the holiday.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2013

Rice, in her signature elegantly descriptive style, does not disappoint in this follow-up to 2012's The Wolf Gift, slowly doling out details about recurring characters like an hourglass, one grain at a time. Since being attacked by and subsequently turned into a werewolf, Reuben has found a home in a mansion on the Northern California coast with a cultured group of other Morphenkinder. As he prepares to celebrate his first Midwinter, a lavish Christmas party is planned for the whole town. Humans, unaware of their fellow guests' lupine secret, enjoy the grandiose party until the festivities end in a violent fight with a group of rival wolves. Meanwhile, Reuben struggles with building his new werewolf life while keeping his family close. He is sensitive and prefers to use his wolf gift to protect and defend others, even at the risk of exposing his secret. VERDICT Future conflict with the rival wolves, Reuben's family, and authorities are themes Rice devotees will eagerly anticipate in a third installment. The author's richly detailed vignettes and Victorian overtones will please fans of The Witching Hour, while readers interested in supernatural lore without heavy romance or graphically violent plotlines will want to follow this series. [See Prepub Alert, 4/29/13.]--Amanda Scott, Cambridge Springs P.L., PA

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.