Advance Review: ‘Under The Wolf Moon’ Howls
by Benjamin Hall
Summary
The four treasures are being sought by Mab the Shadow Queen. Can Oli, Xander and their werewolf pack stop Mab with the help of their supernatural allies? Also will their human ally Harper prove to be more than she seems? Finally what will the Wolf Moon reveal?
Overall
9.2/10The opening chapter of the 2024 update to Under The Wolf Moon starts things off at a run. Presumably, it is beginning at the end point of the first in the series. While this means it is a good idea to read the first one beforehand it is not necessarily a full-on requirement. There are enough familiar elements for those who like the fantasy genre to easily find some common ground to land themselves on. Nevertheless, the formation of the opening does make it a tad hard to get a handle on the plot when starting with this one first. Yet, this puzzle aspect to reading it out of order can increase the fun for those who want a little more mystery to first time reading experiences.
Providing the location and character who is the point-of-view are key features of this book. Meaning that even if one is not familiar with the characters one always knows where the location is and whose perspective it is.
There are still some small typos in this update (at least in the review copy). However, the few obvious ones are only slightly jarring.
There are various pop culture and mythological references in this story. They range from television shows and movies to supernatural creatures of various folklore. This range of references helps balance the mixture of realism and fantasy. Not to mention this range also assists with allowing for a large amount of different characters since some may know one type of reference while others may not. It is also worth mentioning that the characters never seem to act in stereotypical surprise about not getting a reference.
The pacing of the story may seem arguably breakneck. Yet, it is really no different in pace than a movie part of the Star Wars franchise due to doing the transitions in the same type of way (Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back [1980]).
There are trigger warnings at the very beginning of the book. They are vast enough that it is clear this book is literally not be for everyone.
The new edition of Under The Wolf Moon is due out from its author River J. Hopkins on October 31st.
