Wayne Turmel

Disclosure: An electronic copy of this book was provided for review by the author, via Library Thing.
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This third entry in Turmel’s Werewolf P.I. series again pits shape-changing protagonist Johnny Lupul against bad guys who are out to lay hands on a powerful paranormal item from the collection of his eccentric employer – this time a grimoire which can supposedly be used to bind demons, and the Head Bad Guy in search of it is none other than a 500-year-old witchfinder by show more the name of Matthew Hopkins.

Or so it seems.

Whoever (or whatever) Hopkins is, he controls a small but growing cadre of modern witch-hunters – determined to “rid the earth of witches, demons, and idolaters”, but for the moment they are satisfying themselves with protesting, picketing, and occasionally vandalizing psychic fairs and other events they consider demonic. Lupul’s attempts to deal with Hopkins and his group is complicated by the fact that an internet reporter with a paranormal-themed podcast has laid hands on a video of Lupul transforming and fighting another supernatural opponent.

Turmel keeps the action fast and throws several twists into the plot as Lupul and his friends battle their way through the text. There’s plenty of gore, help from some unexpected sources, and a major turnaround in the direction of the plot before everything is resolved. What may be more important is that he also opens the door for a completely different direction for the character. Johnny is being urged, by several people who care about him, to investigate something far more personal than ancient artifacts. Go to Romania, he is told. Find your people.

Fans who have followed the full Werewolf P.I. series – Johnny Lycan & the Anubis Disk, Johnny Lycan & the Vegas Berserker, and now Johnny Lycan & the Last Witchfinder – will definitely want to read the author’s note at the end of this book. And maybe ask Grandma Mostoy to take another peek at her tarot cards to see which path is going to open up next. show less

Disclosure: An electronic copy of this book was provided in exchange for review by publishers Black Rose Writing, via Library Thing.

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Johnny Lupul is just your average young guy making a living as an enforcer for a prominent Chicago bookie, until he comes to the attention of an ϋber-rich recluse with a morally-questionable obsession – and thank goodness for that because where would paranormal superhero types be without them?

Because, you see, Johnny Lupul is also a show more werewolf. Turmel makes this perfectly clear in a media res opening that would make Mickey Spillaine proud: “The Russian tasted like borscht and cheap cigarettes.” Thus begins sort of a werewolf noir, in which Lupul is charged with recovering a bronze disk stolen from his employer. Just your average looted treasure -- probably a reproduction, in fact, but “don’t get any blood on it”. And Anubis? He was only the Egyptian god of the dead, in charge of leading souls to the underworld. Nice guy, but you probably wouldn't want to piss him off, what with him having the head of a jackal and all.

Thus is launched the main plot, which moves along nicely and is peopled by several interesting supporting characters as Lupul figures out (a) who has the disk, (b) how to get it and ultimately, (c) how to keep it from working its malignant magic on him. (Maybe it wasn’t a reproduction after all.)

There’s also the disturbing revelation that Lupul isn’t the only werewolf in Chicago, and that one of them is definitely trying to kill him. After the issue of the disk seems to be resolved, the story veers into werewolf-vs-werewolf territory, and Lupul reveals a surprising gentleness and some thinking chops as he tries to locate, isolate, and deal with his foe, as well as with an assortment of quirky humans who populate his world. It seems at this point that the Anubis Disk has faded into the background, but it does make a reappearance as part of the climax, though Turmel sort of glosses over just what it was that brought it back in Lupul’s temporary possession, and what that is going to mean in the future.

Because this is definitely set up as the beginning of a series. In fact, there were references to events in Lupul’s background that made this reviewer go looking for a prequel, just to clarify the issue. No prequels, but the author’s note at the end promises a sequel.

Turmel has given some thought to lycanthropy, noting that “it’s not like you’re perfectly normal, minding your own business and then ‘Oh, crap, it’s the moon. Aaaaooooo’.” According to Lupul, it’s a cycle with mental and behavioral transformations as well as physical ones, and it’s not done casually or without cost. Turmel deals with practicality as well (like what happens to ones clothes when one transforms), whether the wolf-form (Lupul calls him “Shaggy) retains any consciousness of being human (and vice versa) when one physical form is in ascendance. It’s an interesting look at a fantasy trope that too often goes straight for the shock value and doesn’t linger over details.

There are a few bumps in the road. First is Turmel’s inexplicable choice of the title. “Johnny Lycan & The Anubis Disk” makes it sound like a YA adventure, along the lines of “Nancy Drew and the Enchanted Castle”. It’s definitely not YA. One could assume the author intends to use the “Johnny Lycan &” tag to identify future adventures, but it still reeks of amateur night. “Johnny Lupul &” would do just as well. Or, what the hell, just ditch subtlety and call the character Johnny Lycan. In addition, the publisher’s page refers to the hero is “a private eye” – a detail that is not addressed at all in the text, and which is simply indicative of sloppy editing somewhere along the line.

If one can overlook these admittedly picayune details, it’s a high-energy adventure, and fans of the urban fantasy genre will certainly enjoy it. show less

Werewolf UF is a lot less common than vampires, and even then they're usually the bad guys, so it makes a refreshing change to have a werewolf protagonist.

Jonny was adopted from an east european orphanage into a loving american home, but once his Shaggy (as he calls it) side starting making an appearance, he quickly learnt how to live with himself and master some self-control. Not that there weren't incidents, but for the last while he's been doing ok. He's renting a room from a friend and show more Gramma whom Shaggy had saved. Bill knows IT and finance, which helps Jonny cope. The story opens with Jonny helping a former employer, whose daughter had been kidnapped by a local gang. Successfully recovering her, his payoff is interrupted by a local kingpin who wants Jonny to recover and object - the Disk - for him.

Jonny's very upfront and blase about Shaggy, but not to the point of revealing him in public. And while Bill knows, nobody else does, except of course eventually Jonny has to explain. It is a nice balance between an established world, and an introduction. General werewolf mythology is adhered too, with a modern take that doesn't hit any continuity errors along the way. Jonny's a bit over-the-top clueless regarding technology for no particular reason, but it allows a couple of other characters to be involved.

I enjoyed this, it doesn't take itself too seriously, is well paced and inventive enough to be entertaining without being too challenging to get to grips with understanding the world show less

Disclaimer: An electronic copy of this book was provided in exchange for review by publishers Black Rose Writing, via Library Thing.
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This second entry in the Werewolf PI series cranks up the violence level but skimps on the background that made the debut volume (Johnny Lycan & the Anubis Disk) stand out from its urban fantasy peers.

This time around, Johnny is dispatched to Las Vegas to pick up yet another arcane artifact purchased by his eccentric employer, only to find that the show more person who was beaten out at auction for the goodie is not willing to give up so easily. The item in question is an egg-shaped crystal which may or may not be an alien artifact; in any case, it proves to have some unusual powers. The would-be buyer sends some pretty serious muscle out to grab what he couldn’t purchase, including another not-quite-human creature, the Berserker of the title. There’s a whole lot of fighting (with and without the assistance of Johnny’s werewolf persona), a few modern-day witches, a brief romance, and the discovery of a possible way to control the beast with which Johnny shares a body.

So in that sense, the universe being developed for this series does get a bit more fine-tuning. This reviewer simply wishes that Turmel had been able to figure out how to include a bit more of the background he set up so skillfully in the first volume. A reader coming in without that background is apt to flounder a bit, trying to identify all the players without a program, so to speak.

The series continues to be an interesting take on the paranormal / superhero genre, and readers will just have to wait for the third installment to see how Turmel is going to give new readers a leg up on understanding the ground rules for Johnny and Shaggy. show less