Novellas in Collection – 3.5 out of 5
- "Infusion," narrator Malcolm Danvers (short story, released 2005)
- "Savage," narrator Clayton Danvers (novella, released 2003)
- "Ascension," narrator Clayton Danvers (novella, released 2003)
- “Kitsunegari," narrator Jeremy Danvers (novella, published 2009 in Men of the Otherworld)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Length: 11:08 hours, purchased on audible
Summary:
Among the humans live werewolves. Men only, who are born with the gene that manifests after puberty. They exist under the radar, living longer than humans, their aging slowed by the werewolf gene. Their society is loosely policed by the American pack – a singular, barely functional group that is dedicated to keeping the existence of werewolves a secret by killing all mutts (non-pack werewolves) whom they happen to cross.
In the 1940’s, Malcolm, a werewolf, is seduced by a strange Asian woman who gets pregnant after one night and runs away with their son, Jeremy. The son is a wolf, but not completely. Unlike Malcolm, he is quiet, almost a pacifist, and Malcolm can’t seem to beat the werewolf back into his boy. But Jeremy sees the bigger picture when, for the first time, a young boy turned werewolf is discovered by the pack living by himself, abandoned in the Bayou of Louisiana. Clayton was seven, or so about, when Jeremy found him living in the swamp, socialized him, and took him home to upstate New York. Clayton survives as the only child werewolf, growing into a passable human, and takes Jeremy’s side as father and son clash over who will take over the American pack.
On Narration:
This audiobook is read by Charles Leggett. I haven’t listened to his narration before, but he’s very competent with the voices, which are almost exclusively male in this collection. His Cajun accent seems alright, but I’m not very familiar with the way it’s supposed to sound. His general reading is sincere and believable. My only criticism is that I had a hard time between the external and internal dialogue from Clayton’s point of view. For example, when Jeremy takes Clayton to the airport, Clayton recognizes a plane, but I did not realize he said it out loud until Jeremy responded. Kind of makes you wonder how much of the internal dialogue was really internal.
Domestication of Wolves to Men:
There are spoilers in this Review. If you have already listened to this audiobook, read the book, or hate surprises, please click below:
