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Rating: 
Summary: Medieval Werewolves - Fantastic!
Review: 'Black Wolf' is Dave Gross' follow-up to his short story in the "Sembia - Halls of Stormweather" anthology. It centers on Talbot Uskevren, the son of a noble family who has recently become a werewolf.
Gross' story is well written and well paced, filled with an impressively diverse cast of characters including the young hero Talbot, his rival Rusk (the werewolf who infected him), a bizarre shark-like vampire, an old gypsy wise-woman, a moon-worshiping religious cult and an extended pack of rustic werewolves. The novel features countless nods to the classic 1930's film "The Wolf Man" - most noticeably in the names of some of the main characters - Talbot, Maleva and Chaney. The most impressive aspect of the novel is the nearly equal focus on the world of the villains - complex characters with strong motives, not merely an unspoken devotion to some evil code of conduct. The scenes set among the forest-dwelling werewolf pack are frequently more engaging than the trials of the book's hero.
The only weak spots come from spotty editing - Some descriptive lines and phrases are repeated almost verbatim within a few paragraphs, as if the author has forgotten that he's already said it. These flaws are minimal though, and don't mar the engaging storyline that carries the book.
Particularly high praise goes to Mr. Gross for raising "Black Wolf" above the bar of standard 'role-playing novel' fare, usually overstocked with evil wizards, dragons and mystical quests. Even the inclusion of a monkey-like pair of 'cute animal' characters named Otter & Lommy is handled with refreshing restraint.
Those who haven't read the former books in the series will at least want to read the "Black Wolf" chapter of "Halls of Stormweather" to jump-start their familiarity with the land of Sembia.
Rating:
Summary: OVERALL SCORE: (B-)
Review: 'Black Wolf' is the follow-up to the short story in the "Sembia - Halls of Stormweather" anthology. It centers on Talbot, the youngest and somewhat estranged son of a noble family who has recently become a werewolf, and the two strange concurrent plots about why he was infected with lycanthrope. The plot regarding the 'weird vampire thing' was somewhat disappointing, hard to follow and boring. The plot regarding Rusk and the God Malar, was by far the more interesting part of the story, and the book would have been much better if it would have only had this plotline. OVERALL SCORE: (B-)
READABILITY: (B-), PLOT: (B-), CHARATERS: (B-), DIALOGUE: (B-), SETTING: (B+), ACTION/COMBAT: (A-), MONSTERS/ANTAGONISTS: (C+), ROMANCE: (C), SEX: (n/a), AGE LEVEL: (PG)
Rating: 
Summary: A good werewolf story
Review: I enjoyed all of the Sembia series and was really looking forward to this novel coming out. I was not too disappointed, but it could have been better. This story revolves around Talbot Uskevren, Chaney and Rusk. Talbot is a good werewolf, Chaney is his shady companion and Rusk is an evil werewolf who infected Talbot in the first place. They do battle with a weird vampire, his swordmaster brother and a sap named Darrow. I felt that too much of the plot revolved around Darrow who was just introduced then it did around Talbot. I thought that I would get to know Talbot better by the end of this book, but that was not the case. Another bad point is that alot of pages went into Rusk and his animal pack out in the woods than the main character. However, there were some good fight scenes and the faiths of Malar and Selune were made more present to the reader. I just wish Talbot was discussed more. The other supporting characters got too much space. This is still a good read, especially for FR fans. One more thing, alot of the characters in this book are based on The Wolfman (a 1941 Universal horror film). We have Talbot, Chaney and Maleva. All these had a part in that film which I also recommend.
Rating:
Summary: A good werewolf story
Review: I enjoyed all of the Sembia series and was really looking forward to this novel coming out. I was not too disappointed, but it could have been better. This story revolves around Talbot Uskevren, Chaney and Rusk. Talbot is a good werewolf, Chaney is his shady companion and Rusk is an evil werewolf who infected Talbot in the first place. They do battle with a weird vampire, his swordmaster brother and a sap named Darrow. I felt that too much of the plot revolved around Darrow who was just introduced then it did around Talbot. I thought that I would get to know Talbot better by the end of this book, but that was not the case. Another bad point is that alot of pages went into Rusk and his animal pack out in the woods than the main character. However, there were some good fight scenes and the faiths of Malar and Selune were made more present to the reader. I just wish Talbot was discussed more. The other supporting characters got too much space. This is still a good read, especially for FR fans. One more thing, alot of the characters in this book are based on The Wolfman (a 1941 Universal horror film). We have Talbot, Chaney and Maleva. All these had a part in that film which I also recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: A great intro to the forgotten realms
Review: The only reason that this book gets 4 stars rather thatn 5 is beacause it really doesn't focus on Talbot, the hero, as much as it should have. Otherwise, that is the only flaw. This book gives some really good insight into the god Malar, even though he never appears. If you have read Jewels of the Turmish (if not please don't) Malar is quite poorly portrayed. In JotT he creates undead to fight his battles, which is hard to swallow since he is a god of the forest/hunt. Werewolves really fit well into hius philosophies and for the first time I think Dave Gross nailed this semi-evil god right on. The goddess Selune is also discussed, but not quite as much, but enough to get an idea of her powers in the realms. There is some great characterization, the villains are excellent and the poor schmoe Darrow is the perfect anitithesis to Talbot. The secondary characters are engaging (notably Quickly and the High Cleric of Selune) as well. I hope Gross will crank out another gem like this soon. This is the first Sembia book I have read, and I will make certain to read the others.
Rating:
Summary: A great Wolf Book!
Review: The only reason that this book gets 4 stars rather thatn 5 is beacause it really doesn't focus on Talbot, the hero, as much as it should have. Otherwise, that is the only flaw. This book gives some really good insight into the god Malar, even though he never appears. If you have read Jewels of the Turmish (if not please don't) Malar is quite poorly portrayed. In JotT he creates undead to fight his battles, which is hard to swallow since he is a god of the forest/hunt. Werewolves really fit well into hius philosophies and for the first time I think Dave Gross nailed this semi-evil god right on. The goddess Selune is also discussed, but not quite as much, but enough to get an idea of her powers in the realms. There is some great characterization, the villains are excellent and the poor schmoe Darrow is the perfect anitithesis to Talbot. The secondary characters are engaging (notably Quickly and the High Cleric of Selune) as well. I hope Gross will crank out another gem like this soon. This is the first Sembia book I have read, and I will make certain to read the others.
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