The Wolf King

Night of the Wolf was a bit disappointing, but Ms. Borchardt made up for it with this book, which is really a continuation of the Silver Wolf as it covers Regeane and Maeniel's married life and the intricacies that come with Dark Age (Charlemagne-era) politics. It certainly is different from today's politics. For the most part, Regeane is happily married, but of course trouble is stirring, and this lovely wolf couple have to deal with it.

I was happy to see the reappearance of a few familiar faces (Lucilla and Hugo, for example) and overall I found this novel to be quite satisfying with a bloody but exciting ending. It's a really great look into Dark Ages politics and philosophy (I'm glad I didn't live in this time, at least. It's so show more barbaric compared to our own!) Whether on its own or as part of the Silver wolf trilogy, this book was a definitely solid and enjoyable read, and educational since there's not that many novels set during the Dark Ages. Two thumbs up! show less

This is the third book in a series. Unfortunately, I have not read the other two. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I had read the other two first, but I don't think it was necessary to read them in order to follow the story.

I felt like the book started very abruptly, and ended abruptly too. I would have preferred to be eased into it a little more in the beginning, and to have more closure at the end.

I enjoyed the first part of the book the most. When Regeane and the Saxon were in the monestary with the possessed priests, it was really exciting. The story seemed to shift between the viewpoints of several different people. I enjoyed the story of Hugo and Chiara the most. Regeane was also interesting. I felt the sections show more focused on Maeniel were boring. As the story progressed, it was hard for me to keep all the characters straight. There was so much corruption among the various kings and their courts, that I wondered how anyone survived in those times. People were always getting killed and/or raped. The character of the bear spirit was by far the most interesting to me. I still am not sure if it was supposed to be an evil spirit, or just the spirit of something so different than humans that it doesn't know what to do about them. show less

This was an interesting book, but was difficult to track if you had missed the other books in the series. It does not have the same feel as your normal historical fiction, vampiric/lycanthorpic fantasy, or even your modern horror novels. It reads decently, which is why I give 2.5 stars, but does need the first books of the series to fill in all the blanks.

Borchardt should stick to simple eroto-historical works; this book tries to do too much.

Another book in the "Silver Wolf" series. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed "The Silver Wolf", but it was alright.

Skip it. Not worth reading

Summary from amazon.ca:
Borchardt mixes fantasy, horror, romance, suspense, action-adventure, political intrigue, and realistic evocation of Italy in the late eighth century. She uses lyrical descriptive passages to set scenes and immerse the reader in her characters' experiences. When a runaway Saxon slave rescues Regeane, the silver wolf, from a deadly blizzard, "the wind was howling around him and the world was sinking into a cold, gray blueness as the sun set somewhere beyond the clouds." He wraps her in his flea-harboring bearskin, reflecting that "this girl didn't have nearly the healthy temperature he did; maybe the little bastards would die. At any rate, the extermination of his vermin companions was the only benefit he was show more likely to derive from this particular adventure." He's wrong about that.

Regeane is Maeniel's mate (he's the long-lived werewolf leader of the pack, whose earlier life was featured in Night of the Wolf). Once thawed, Regeane confronts a demented abbot and a gang of (literal) cutthroats to save him. The werewolves and the Saxon head for Geneva to pledge allegiance to Charlemagne, who's about to cross the Alps to challenge King Desederius of the Lombards for control of northern and central Italy.

Soon Maeniel is in Desederius's territory and in danger. Regeane follows, despite his prohibition. They're fated to reencounter Regeane's sniveling cousin Hugo, who seeks revenge. He has become host to a powerful bear spirit who wants the wolves for his own purposes. The new Hugo has a lot in common with the Steve Martin/Lily Tomlin character in All of Me; he provides comic leavening to the sometimes grim action. Other returning characters include Pope Hadrian's tough, practical, but vulnerable mistress Lucilla; her protégé, the singer Dulcinia; and the ageless werewolf earth-mother Matrona. show less