Rating: 
Summary: Disconnected.
Review: The historical fiction, the storyline, and the characters are all very intriguing. But I found this book a difficult read (and I've been known to finish 400 pages in a day or two). I had to go back more than once to reread paragraphs because the action changed abruptly, or because I couldn't follow who was actually speaking in a train of dialogue. There were also a lot of characters, some of whom just seemed to get in the way of the story rather than contribute to it. If these rough areas were smoothed out, I wouldn't hesitate to give it five stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Will appeal to readers of many genres
Review: The runaway slave finds the scantily clad unconscious woman in the freezing snow. The Saxon ponders how soft and stupid the descendants of Caesar have become. Still, he saves the life of Regeane, carrying her to the nearby abbey at the pass, which he planned to avoid because of the brutal rumors of non-human occupants. The two stragglers receive an unfriendly welcoming by the monastery's residents and the Saxon is taken to the dungeon for torture and probable death.The two prisoners learn that a demonic spirit Bear controls everyone. Regeane's "wolf-mate" Maeniel rescues them from hell, but the Bear realizes that Regeane is a werewolf and wants control of her to add to his already powerful arsenal. The Bear follows the trio using and discarding weak mortals while Maeniel does an errand for the Emperor Charlemagne. The third entry in Alice Borchardt's "Wolf" series, THE WOLF KING, is a powerful entry in a strong supernatural historical series that makes werewolves and other paranormal creatures seem genuine. The story line is exciting from the first page to the last and the tidbits from the Charlemagne era add depth to the plot. It helps to have read the first two books (see THE SILVER WOLF and NIGHT OF THE WOLF) to better understand the motives of the stars. Still, this novel is a well-written stand-alone tale that will please sub-genre fans. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: good supernatural story dissolves into disjointed politics
Review: The Wolf King is the final book of a three-book series on lupine shapechangers. Silver Wolf was a worthy entry to the series, and while readers get to see Regeane again in the Wolf King, this final book is not of the first one's quality. The story becomes somewhat disjointed, and one can easily lose track of all the characters and how they tie into the plot. It's entertaining, to be sure, and worth it if you have enjoyed the rest of the series. I found the ending most disconcerting. I wasn't sure when the climax was going to come, but the ending seems to have come either long before or longer after. It feels unresolved, but if I think back, the best part of the book revolved around the mysterious character of the Bear and the reappearance of Regeane's half-brother Hugo. This riveting story was completed some time before the final chapters.
Rating:
Summary: good supernatural story dissolves into disjointed politics
Review: The Wolf King is the final book of a three-book series on lupine shapechangers. Silver Wolf was a worthy entry to the series, and while readers get to see Regeane again in the Wolf King, this final book is not of the first one's quality. The story becomes somewhat disjointed, and one can easily lose track of all the characters and how they tie into the plot. It's entertaining, to be sure, and worth it if you have enjoyed the rest of the series. I found the ending most disconcerting. I wasn't sure when the climax was going to come, but the ending seems to have come either long before or longer after. It feels unresolved, but if I think back, the best part of the book revolved around the mysterious character of the Bear and the reappearance of Regeane's half-brother Hugo. This riveting story was completed some time before the final chapters.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing well written story
Review: This novel is set in Europe in the time of Charlemagne. Regeane and Maeniel are werewolves as are many of the other characters. Maeniel has sworn allegiance to Charlemagne and is helping him to defeat the Lombards. Regeane, in her efforts to save him, becomes involved in something much more mysterious. The characters in this novel are very vivid and the story line is very absorbing. I couldn't put this book down. I probably would have understood more if I had read the first two books, but the novel does stand alone. I am going to have to order the first two books right away.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing well written story
Review: This novel is set in Europe in the time of Charlemagne. Regeane and Maeniel are werewolves as are many of the other characters. Maeniel has sworn allegiance to Charlemagne and is helping him to defeat the Lombards. Regeane, in her efforts to save him, becomes involved in something much more mysterious. The characters in this novel are very vivid and the story line is very absorbing. I couldn't put this book down. I probably would have understood more if I had read the first two books, but the novel does stand alone. I am going to have to order the first two books right away.
Rating: 
Summary: Historical fantasy
Review: This novel is set in the time of Charlemagne (Charles the Great). In particular, it is during his invasion and conquest of Lombardy in the later 8th century. His grandfather, Charles Martel ("the Hammer"), had defeated the Saracens near Poitiers in 732, and again near Narbonne in 737. Charlemagne set out to create a Christian empire. The novel skips back and forth between characters and locations as various subplots run in parallel. It includes shape changers (wolf to man), spirits, church politics, petty kings and robber barons, and fratricide. Sexual content and violence give the novel a PG-13 rating. Charles Martel's son, Pepin the Short, himself descended from Clovis I, had married Big Footed Bertha, daughter of the Count of Laon, also a descendent from Clovis I. He seized the throne from Childeric and formed an alliance between the Franks and the Pope. He was survived by two sons, Carloman II and Charlemagne. It was common practice during that time period to murder nephews in order to prevent rival claims on the throne (an alternative was to have them castrated or mutilated). When Carloman died, his widow fled to Lombardy with her two young sons to protect them from their uncle, and that becomes one of the sub-plots. History does not record what actually happened to the nephews other than the fact that they fell into Charlemagne's hands. It is known that he later forced his oldest son, Pepin the Hunchback, to take vows and become a monk. On an historical note, Charlemagne had at least 20 children by various wives and mistresses. It is known that Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious, King of France, later deposed his nephew Bernard, at that time King of the Lombards, and had Bernard's eyes burned out.
Rating:
Summary: A worthy continuation of THE SILVER WOLF
Review: This starts with Regeane's being rescued after an avalanche by a Saxon only to find herself and her rescuer in the clutches of a most evil group of beings. Here, we're first introduced to the Bear entity which at first appears purely malignant and evil, but is developed most interestingly as the story develops. As in the earlier book, we become involved in the political intrigues of the historical period. There's more humor, grisly though it sometimes is, in this book as the bear spirit encounters and then possesses Hugo. This humor is welcome, because the number of characters with their various intrigues does become a bit much, especially with a couple of inordinately long chapters that leave no convenient breaking points. There's less emphasis on the relationship between the woman Regeane and her wolf identity, and I miss that. However, fans of the original book should welcome this one.
Rating:
Summary: A worthy continuation of THE SILVER WOLF
Review: This starts with Regeane's being rescued after an avalanche by a Saxon only to find herself and her rescuer in the clutches of a most evil group of beings. Here, we're first introduced to the Bear entity which at first appears purely malignant and evil, but is developed most interestingly as the story develops. As in the earlier book, we become involved in the political intrigues of the historical period. There's more humor, grisly though it sometimes is, in this book as the bear spirit encounters and then possesses Hugo. This humor is welcome, because the number of characters with their various intrigues does become a bit much, especially with a couple of inordinately long chapters that leave no convenient breaking points. There's less emphasis on the relationship between the woman Regeane and her wolf identity, and I miss that. However, fans of the original book should welcome this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Old Yeller....someone shoot this dog.
Review: We can give Ms. Rice's sister credit for two things. A book deal and the ability to string together sentences, plot and development to a conclusive end. What exactly those sentences are about, what the plot of this book was or what its developing into.....well.....shhhhh! Only Alice knows. And she's keeping it a tight secret. It would be nice to be let in on it because there are so many things going on in this book that there was the possibility for a good story.
Does she have an editor? Someone to create a cohesive thought from this? The book has about 15 major characters who talk and talk and talk about a war, loyalty to a King and at various points are either werewolves or marauding spirits. I often accuse books of being simplistic in their writing style therefore dumbing down the content of the plot but in truth this book suffers from the opposite. A writer who is capable with words but not plot and characters. The whole fantasy/gothic market seems to be hot and a werewolf trilogy seems logical---which is probably what Anne said to Alice one day. God save us from nepotism!
However there should at the very least be structure and control to writing. This lacks that and therefore meanders and weaves and delves without exploring or truly opening up anything. I found it difficult to read in just form. Can't recommend it. Thank God it was from the library and not a purchase, then this review would've been truly upset.
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