By Glen Duncan
Knopf, $25.95, 352 pages
Talulla Rising picks up almost exactly where The Last Werewolf finishes up. Talulla, the new last werewolf, is in a cabin deep in Alaska’s wilderness, weeks away from giving birth to the first ever werewolf baby. When the night finally comes it is interrupted by invading vampires who steal away her son. The rest of the book recounts her adventure attempting to rescue him.
This book is another solid piece by supernatural-master Glen Duncan. The voice of the werewolf is once again brought back to life, this time in Talulla. Everything readers of The Last Werewolf loved will can be found again in this book. There is sex, violence, humor, and most importantly the loneliness of being the last of a species.
There are two issues with this book that kept it from being better than its predecessor. First, it is exactly the same. When reading through the book, it is like Jacob Marlowe is still alive and living again in this book. There is no distinction between the voice, thought pattern, decisions, or emotions of Talulla and Jake. The other issue is the amount of sex Duncan has included. There is enough here to rival any romance novel on the market, so much so that is felt forced. Reading through the book it seemed Duncan felt the need to include sex for sex’ sake, and not for the betterment of the story.
Overall, Talulla Rising is a great follow up to The Last Werewolf, and for any fan of Duncan’s work or similar writers, this will make a great addition to their shelf.
Reviewed by Andrew Keyser
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