Mari D. (luv2cnewthings) reviewed on 10/3/2013 + 55 more book reviews

Anne Rice does it again with another mesmerizing tale this time involving werewolves.

It all begins with our protagonist, Reuben, who is blessed with many gifts. He has a good family, good looks, a good education, and moneyall that he thinks he is lacking is talent. Dont get me wrong, he isnt the Prince Brat, like our most beloved Lestat (Interview with a Vampire) was and he isnt as humble as Toby ODare (Songs of a Seraphim; Angel Time), but like the character Marchent Nideck says, he isnt a cynic at all eitherbut then why should he be?

Nonetheless, going back to the thought of talent, he most certainly didnt have a talent for science or math to his mother, Graces dismay. In fact, she got him his first job at the San Francisco Observer and it is due to this occupation that he meets Marchent Nideck the heiress to Felix Nidecks entire estate. An estate that not only included a fortune, but a mansion tucked away in a huge Redwood forest with beach views and access somewhere in California. However, as our protagonist stated, there is always some kind of mystery or haunting tale...something dark and tragic about a house like this and this one was enshrouded with Felix Nidecks disappearance. Perhaps that was the real reason why Billie, the editor at the Observer, sent Reuben on this particular assignment.

Reuben falls in love with the area; he falls in love with the estate, and even falls in love with Marchent. (Some might argue about this, but after all, what is love?) Unfortunately, before he can turn everything into happily ever after a set of violent events take place and he is left with the wolf gift.

Therefore, we follow Reuben as he attempts to understand the transformation, control it, and even develop it. The transformation unsurprisingly gives the recipient super human strength, but it also brings with it an overwhelming sense of seeking out evil. At this point some might call it a curse instead, but Reuben himself states, A curse, [is] a metaphorIts the way we describe our worst unhappiness and he was by no means unhappy. (387)

The need to seek out evil makes him become the proverbial Judge, Jury and Executioner of several high and low profile crimes throughout California. In turn, we also accompany him as he struggles with whether or not his actions were right or wrong. (The underlying theme becomes more apparent: Does evil truly exist? i.e.: The Antique Ring by Nathaniel Hawthorne) Even if Reuben or we as the reader or representative of the public at large arent remorseful for the killing of an evildoer, his brother, Jim an ordained Priest wont let any of us forget as he stated:

You killed them in their sins! You terminated their destiny on this earth. You snatched from them any chance for repentance, for redemption. You took that from them. You took it allYou snuffed out forever the years of reparation they might have lived! You took life itself from them and you took it from their descendants, and yes, even from their victims, you took what their amends might have been. (217)

Concurrently, he also finds love with the wolf gift. Maybe it is true love this time since he was certainly not in love with Celeste she was his mother in a younger form and in the legal industry instead of medicine and the time with Marchent was too short to know if it was love.

All the while, struggling with the control of the transformation yields another accidental transformation and researching it solves the mystery of Felix Nidecks disappearance as well as the representation of a new kind of evil.

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