Wolf Man: Hunter's Moon, The (2007)
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Fiction Review by The Gravedigger
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11.20.07
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Author: Michael Jan Friedman
Well, I had a mixed reaction to this new story of Lawrence Talbot, who turns into the wolf man when the moon is full.
The story begins with him awakening and slowly remembering who he is. He's brought back to life, after being rescued from his tomb eight years after his father bashed in his brains with a silver-tipped cane. He finds himself befriended by The Knights of the Wolf, who want to protect him. He's warned, though, that another group, The Enclave, seeks his destruction. A story is recounted of the very first Wolf Man, a viking who happened upon a Coastal English village of devil worshippers. He and his vikings nearly kill everyone but he ends up cursed - and slaughters his entire crew after he transforms into the ravening beast. He flees into the wilderness, lives hundreds of years until he's destroyed and passes on the curse.
There is also a love-interest for Talbot, Antoinette, who is a member of the Knights. He ends up falling in love with her, though she's not quite what she seems.
What's interesting about this book is that he tries to control his wolf aspect through dream visualization, in which he confronts a wolf. I also liked that he's a strong character, trying to control himself and his destiny. He's not moping around, depressed about his curse. That did get a bit silly by the time the Wolf Man character made it to ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.
On the other hand, this new novel disregards the continuity of the Universal movies. This takes place right after the first movie, with him being rescued from his crypt by the Knights of the Wolf. In the movies he was resurrected from his crypt in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN and then continue his adventures in HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and HOUSE OF DRACULA. There were Universal Licensed books in the late 90's that acknowledged the chronology, the first and best of these Jeff Rovin's RETURN OF THE WOLFMAN, which brought Talbot to the present day world. This chronology problem could have easily been solved/explained if, at the end of the book, he ends up back entombed in his crypt.
Still, if you are a die-hard WOLF MAN fan then you'll enjoy this book, as it does take the character in an unexpected direction.
From www.darkhorse.com
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Rating: nan out of 10.0 - votes cast total
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