Night of the Wolf

Rating:
Summary: I haven't read it yet... But read my review anyway...
Review: Just thought I'd warn you, the first book was just so-so and to disregard any reviews by Anne Rice. She's Alice Borchardt's sister! GASP!

Rating:
Summary: Maeniel the gray wolf and the assassination of Julius Caesar
Review: Like many who read "The Silver Wolf" I was initially disappointed that Alice Borchardt's second volume in the "series" was a prequel that went back over a millennium from the time of Charlemange to the last days of the Roman Republic. Obviously the focus is on Maeniel, telling the tale of how the gray wolf accepted his human side, which has to do with his encounters with two women: Imona, the daughter of a king, and Dryas, the warrior priestess of Caledonia. The other major plot line has to do with Lucius, a Roman of some wealth who becomes involved in the perilous politics of the time and who also comes to know Dryas. As the two tales become entwined, so do the various supporting characters who flesh out the narrative, such as Philo, the Greek physician; Mir, the old Druid; Cut-Ear, the warrior from Gaul; Gordus, the champion gladiator.

Ultimately "Night of the Wolf" becomes a most inventive tale of how Julius Caesar came to be assassinated on the Ides of March. One of the strengths of this novel is that this is not clear until the final chapters of the tale. The author takes her time moving the pieces into place until Caesar's death is best of all possible worlds for our band of characters. Those who have a passing familiarity with the assassination of Julius Caesar should be impressed by the characterizations Borchardt provides for the main players. You have to be impressed by a book that makes Calpurina a more interesting character than Caesar, Cleopatra, Antony and Brutus put together. Obviously Borchardt is making a harsh historical judgment on the failings of these characters, which only adds to the uniqueness of her tale as far as I am concerned, providing a fresh take on an old story.

For the first third of this book I was thinking of rating it a three, mainly because I found the long passages describing the actions of the wolf to be slow going. It seemed to me nothing particularly important was happening and I wanted the wolf to turn into Maeniel or for the narrative to get back to the other humans so we could get back to some dialogue. But when I got to the last third of the novel I was completely caught up in the narrative, impressed by the unique characterizations of the famous people in the tale, and thinking "Night of the Wolf" provided a five star ending. That is why my ranking ends up balancing out to a four. The important thing is that I do not need comments from Anne Rice to want to read the next book in her sister's series on these werewolves in ancient times.

Rating:
Summary: a highly biased recommendation
Review: Like the title says, I'm rather biased in favor of both wolves & Ms.Borchardt so please remember to tkae all this _cum grano salis_(with a grain of salt). I read this book from my local library, just as I've done with Ms.Borchardt's other works & I enjoyed reading them all. If I had been the publisher I might have recommended adding a subtitle "Maeniel: the early years" but I believe readers wil be smart enough to deduce this for themselves. What I wouldn't give to have been there at that time just to be with Maeniel, Regeane & the pack. Summing up I say this is a book very much worth reading so go out & get yourself a copy. What her sister Anne Rice did for vampires, Ms.Borchardt does for werewolves. A-WOOO!

Rating:
Summary: Night of the Wolf by Alice Brochardt
Review: Night of the Wolf by Alice Borchardt

In this, the second book in Alice Borchardt's Silver Wolf series, we find the author taking us further back in time. The first half of the book is about Maeniel, the mysterious bridegroom from The Silver Wolf. The book takes us back to his origins and the time of Julius Cesar. We learn how he became a shape shifter and watch as he struggles to understand and learn the ways of men.

The second half of the book focuses on Lucius, a wealthy Roman citizen, and Dryas, a Caledoni queen with a desire for the death of Julius Cesar. While I enjoyed both halves of the book, there seemed to be almost two complete, or rather incomplete, stories taking place. I was able to follow the plot, but at times was left wondering why I was doing so. Still, I found the second half of the book entertaining and I particularly liked the character Philo. Philo seemed to be what Mir and Blaze (the last druid priests of Gaul) should have been.

Aside from the fact that the book was supposed to be about him, there seemed to be little point of Maeniel being in the second part of the story. He was given a bit of a role at the end, as if to justify his continued existence, but was mostly left hanging out with his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

The ending to me seemed weak and a bit muddled. I often find this in books though. (Attention authors: If you are going to take several hundred pages to set up the ending, please feel free to take more than a page to actually end the book.) I think part of the problem was that it did not seem like a good place to end. Many of us passed either History or English or Drama in high school and know that Julius Cesar dies. I was quite ready to continue on with Dryas's journey and see what awaited her when she reached home. I think another few chapters would have made a big difference.

Rating:
Summary: Night of the Wolf by Alice Brochardt
Review: Night of the Wolf by Alice Borchardt

In this, the second book in Alice Borchardt's Silver Wolf series, we find the author taking us further back in time. The first half of the book is about Maeniel, the mysterious bridegroom from The Silver Wolf. The book takes us back to his origins and the time of Julius Cesar. We learn how he became a shape shifter and watch as he struggles to understand and learn the ways of men.

The second half of the book focuses on Lucius, a wealthy Roman citizen, and Dryas, a Caledoni queen with a desire for the death of Julius Cesar. While I enjoyed both halves of the book, there seemed to be almost two complete, or rather incomplete, stories taking place. I was able to follow the plot, but at times was left wondering why I was doing so. Still, I found the second half of the book entertaining and I particularly liked the character Philo. Philo seemed to be what Mir and Blaze (the last druid priests of Gaul) should have been.

Aside from the fact that the book was supposed to be about him, there seemed to be little point of Maeniel being in the second part of the story. He was given a bit of a role at the end, as if to justify his continued existence, but was mostly left hanging out with his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

The ending to me seemed weak and a bit muddled. I often find this in books though. (Attention authors: If you are going to take several hundred pages to set up the ending, please feel free to take more than a page to actually end the book.) I think part of the problem was that it did not seem like a good place to end. Many of us passed either History or English or Drama in high school and know that Julius Cesar dies. I was quite ready to continue on with Dryas's journey and see what awaited her when she reached home. I think another few chapters would have made a big difference.

Rating:
Summary: Forgive me Ms. Borchardt
Review: Night of the Wolf was probably the worst novel I have read in many years, and I read more than 50 per year. After reading the other reviews perhaps it would have helped to have read some of her other wolf books first, but I doubt it. Her story line was full of inconsistancies - almost as if she had forgotten what she had just written, her descriptive prose was awkward, repetitive and oh so boring, and her characters could have been interchangeable cardboard cutouts. I tried to give up on reading this book roughly every 50 pages or so, but I haven't given up on a book in over a decade so I guess you could say it was a matter of principal that I perservered and kept reading. Besides, it had to get better, right? Wrong. I sincerely regret wasting my time. There are too many marvelous new and old authors to ever try this author again, so consider yourself warned. I wish I had been.

Rating:
Summary: Not too bad
Review: Night of the Wolf wasn't too bad. The first part of the book kind of turned me off but eventually it got better. The steamy scenes were unnecessary and ruined a good fantasy, but other than that it was pretty good. It was disappointing not continuing with Regeane from The Silver Wolf, and jumping backwards in time, but I suppose it turned out more interesting than The Silver Wolf. The King Wolf jumps back again to Regeane, and though I have not read it yet, I will eventually, but I'm in no hurry right now; it wasn't one of those books that totally grabbed me. I suggest reading Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy, it's much more addictive than Alice Borchardt.

ShatteredCrystalChalice

Rating:
Summary: Very uneven
Review: The author creates the brilliant character of Maeniel, and then lets him go to waste. He becomes nothing more than a man who boinks his way through life and is actually even made into a figure of fun with his transformations.

The second half of the book is dominated by Rome and Dryas, and thus really not that interesting. The love story with Lucius is a total anti-climax, and Caesar, Cleo and Antony are all like cardboard cutouts. The ending is abrupt and leaves us hanging. The whole bizarre story with Calpurnia is just too silly, but it is critical to the whole plot. I like Maeniel much better when he was in love with Imona, and his relationship with Dryas is absurd.

It starts out as erotic, and by the end it becomes, gee, they had a great time. We also get tons of characters with various depravities, but little point in introducing them.

I wonder if the author became as bored with the book as I did at the end. I mean, we all know Caesar is about to be assassinated, but there would have been more suspense! The history of the period is not really brought to life, for all the gladiatorial nonsense which has been done far better elsewhere.

I adored the Silver Wolf, but she was a much more sensual character, with real depth, and Maeniel likewise gets to do far more exciting things than hunt and sniff women. Apart from being a good hunter and lover, Maeniel just dwindles to almost nothing at the end of this novel.

I hope he will improve in the Wolf King; he was certainly a lot more interesting in the Silver Wolf.

Rating:
Summary: And another thing....
Review: The author keeps referring to Dryas as an Amazon. But then when Dryas refers to her people she speaks of women and men living together in some sort of harmony. The Amazons of Myth never cohabitated in harmony with men...the Amazons used them as breeders to populate the female race then they tossed the men aside or used them as slaves--as well as any male offspring.

Rating:
Summary: A delightful historical fantasy
Review: The Druids worry as the forces of Julius Caesar's troops overwhelm the island. Desperate to save their heritage, Archdruid Mir sends assassin Dryas to kill Caesar. However, before departing for Rome, Dryas must murder the werewolf Maeniel who has brutalized the Celts and the Romans when his beloved Imona vanished after a battle. Maeniel searches for his missing lover who taught him to embrace his human side as much as his wolf side.

However, instead of slaying the shapechanger, Dyras becomes a partner to Maeniel. Traveling together, they journey onto the continent, heading to the Imperial City for a final confrontation with Caesar on the Ides of March.

NIGHT OF THE WOLF is an interesting dark mixing of history, Shakespeare, and fantasy into an entertaining tale. The story line is filled with action, but slows down when Dryas provides soliloquies on a woman's right to hold any job such as soldier and assassin. References from the Bard add to the tale, yet the characters of Caesar and his wife seem stale. Maeniel makes the novel as his dual personality fight in a way that modern psychiatry would enjoy observing. That split personality ever warring with itself turns the NIGHT OF THE WOLF into a fun to read historical fantasy.

Harriet Klausner