While not quite as captivating as Ms. Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, The Wolf Gift is ultimately a welcome addition to the horror genre. Ms. Rice’s monsters are as angst-ridden and as complicated as one would expect. Reuben Golding is neither beast nor man and must learn to navigate his way in this new world as best as he can. It is this journey and the unexpected twists and turns along the way that make Ms. Rice’s latest novel so intriguing. What Ms. Rice does so well in all her novels is explore the definition of humanity as it applies to those not normally considered part of society; The Wolf Gift is no exception. As Reuben explores his new powers, the line between good and evil is very narrow indeed. His conflict over distancing himself from his loved ones to protect them versus the need he has to surround himself with those same loved ones is as understandable as it is heartbreaking. As outlandish as the entire scenario might be, the reader has no difficulties empathizing with Reuben and his fight for normalcy. After all, love and happiness are what everyone seeks. A reader should be warned that Ms. Rice’s werewolves are not the neutered Twilight version. They are meant to savagely and bloodily destroy anything they want, and that is exactly what they do. The amount of blood shed, bones crushed, and flesh devoured could upset even the most iron-stomached reader. Ms. Rice pulls no stops in presenting images of a profoundly dangerous and powerful man-beast and the destruction he can so easily cause and so readily does.Of almost equal disturbance however is the sexuality, nee lasciviousness on the part of the werewolves. Like most wild animals, they are driven by their need for food and for sex. Ms. Rice makes sure that there is very little that is left to the imagination in all of these descriptions, whether the scene is one of Reuben hunting or of him performing a more intimate act. While readers will have no issues with these scenes, except for the explicitness of them perhaps, Ms. Rice’s version of werewolf transformation is a bit more questionable and less understandable. Surprisingly, Ms. Rice allows her werewolves the pleasure of orgasmic transformations, and there are a lot of them. As expertly as they are written, these scenes make the reader feel voyeuristic and slightly dirty for having been privy to such intensely personal scenes. It is an interesting albeit unfamiliar reaction to a novel. In The Wolf Gift, Anne Rice returns to her macabre roots with a complex and utterly gruesome tale of a man turned werewolf. Part coming-of-age novel, part horror story, Ms. Rice transports readers to coastal California through her lush and vivid descriptions, pulse-pounding pacing, and intricate cast of characters. Fans everywhere will welcome the Queen of Goth’s refreshingly frank take on yet another well-known monster.Acknowledgement: Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf Publishing for my e-galley.
