I realized a funny thing while reading Anne Rice's new novel, The Wolf Gift. It read exactly like a superhero origin story.
I admit I've never read one of her novels completely. I started Interview with a Vampire many times, but I have never been able to finish it. I think it was as much me as it was her. Her writing style made it easy for me to become distracted. However, I read enough to believe that I understood her style: florid, with long descriptions. Never having finished one of hers, though, I thought I'd start with her newest series.
For the most part, I enjoyed the book. It tells the story of a journalist who gets bitten and turned into a werewolf. However, as with the Vampire series, Rice's werewolves are unlike most werewolves you've seen before. They don't look particularly like wolves, nor are they harmed by silver. They are, however, drawn to evil.
The writing, like I said earlier, made me think of an origin story. The main character gets his powers, tests them out, learns about them, and ultimately learns how they came about, both how he got them, and whence they originally came. And it wasn't at all what I expected of Rice. Yes, there were moments where she got florid, and she overused the word "boiling." There was actually a moment where something happens between the main character and his eventual girlfriend that almost made me quit the book.
But I didn't quit, and I did enjoy the story. While I had enjoyed it throughout, the events about two-thirds of the way through the book grabbed me and I couldn't put it down until I finished. All in all, I recommend it, especially if you haven't read her books before, and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
