The Black Wolves of Boston

I would have rated this book a solid 4 except that Baen has apparently decided to stop proofreading their products. I cannot believe how many missing words there were in this novel, both in the ebook and print versions. Every time I found one of those mistakes, I was taken out of the story for a few moments.

Also: Pet peeve - Boston Common constantly being referred to as Boston Commons. Where was the editor??

The story itself is really interesting. I think the world-building was a bit rough in the beginning, but I enjoyed the major characters a LOT. And there are some great quirks involved with them. I have no idea what the over-arching big bad is, yet. The novel left me interested enough to read the next when it comes out.

i love wen spencer’s writing style and i lived in the boston area for quite a while, so there was a lot working in this book’s favor for me. i get why a lot of reviews mention that this is their least favorite book of spencer’s (this is only the second one i’ve read by her so i don’t really have any idea how it rates for me yet), but i enjoyed it a lot. i got really attached to the characters, and that’s kind of all it really takes for me usually? and i did really like how grounded the worldbuilding was. it’s not the most plotty book or anything if that’s what you’re looking for, but it was a pretty chill read.

Silas Decker is a vampire more than three centuries old, and finding it increasingly hard to keep rebuilding his life as people die and the world keeps changing. Living alone with no friends and few acquaintances, he sees less and less reason to keep trying.

Eloise is a Virtue, a soldier of God against evil. She's made being that soldier the only thing she is, lest human connections weaken her.

Seth is the sixteen-year-old Prince of Boston, a werewolf, the only survivor of his murdered family. His only living close relative is his cousin Jack, and the Wolf King, Alexander, is keeping Seth in New York, not letting him return to Boston for reasons he doesn't clearly explain.

And then there's Joshua, an ordinary college-bound high school show more student in small town, upstate New York, working hard to make his high school transcript look impressive for the colleges he wants to apply to. As part of that plan, he volunteers for the prom committee--and one awful Friday night, he finds himself badly hurt and covered in blood, with the rest of the prom committee dead and torn to pieces around him. Traumatized by events and further confused by a dream, or vision, or perhaps just a conversation, he had while undergoing an MRI, Joshua runs away to Boston, seeking someone he hopes will help him understand what's happened to him.

Because Joshua is now a werewolf, too.

This is a well-thought-out fantasy world, that makes good internal sense. It has action. It has great characters, who discover they need each other. It has a plot that really works.

It's also a novel set in Boston, at least to a significant degree, which does not contain the errors about Boston that kick one out of the story if one actually knows the city. I have a little list of otherwise very good writers who think they know Boston because they've studied maps and, perhaps, stayed awake in history class. (A hint I suspect applies to any geographic area: Before you use the official, found on a map name of a road in a story, check out whether that's what people who live in the area actually call it. Especially if it's a state highway running through multiple towns and counties.) Avoiding those mistakes adds a layer of reality and believability that strengthens a fantastical story. If you are using a real place in your story, and it's not a place you know intimately, check your details. All of them! Because yes, readers will notice.

But even more important than avoiding those dumb errors, which will after all only affect the readers who recognize them, is the fact that Spencer gets the characters right. Seth is affected by the trauma he experienced at thirteen, by the fact that he's the Prince of Boston and being educated that way, and has responsibilities--but also by the fact that he is, in the end, still only sixteen. Decker is lonely. Eloise has cute herself off emotionally and lived as a loner because she thinks it's the only way to do her job properly. Joshua, a year older than Seth, has not had either his emotional trauma or his education and training, and is in many ways younger. He's frightened and confused by what's happening to him.

And these four people have to come together to combat a plot by Wickers, a faction of witches that practice human sacrifice to gain magical power, to destroy Boston.

The plot, the characters, and the setting are developed convincingly and drew me in irresistibly. It's just one heck of a fun book.

Highly recommended.

I bought this book. show less

Great book. The theme is quite similar to Eight Million Gods (among others) - despised and attacked youngster suddenly discovers a) there's magic in the world and b) they are important in this new world. The actual story is quite different, though. One major difference is that here we see things from multiple viewpoints - Joshua, certainly, but Decker, and Seth, and Elise (and others) have chapters from their POVs, so we're not limited to what Joshua thinks about events or connections. Which is good, because he's been the outsider so long he's convinced no one could really want him around. Stories great and small intertwine - the lost child and the newborn wolf and Boston's destiny and the Wicker threat and...wolves (or at least show more Joshua's wolf) really like pie. A lot of fun to read - just make sure you've got the time, or a lot of willpower, or you'll be sitting there reading when you should be somewhere else.

Reread - Very rich, _very_ complicated. Who knows what when, plots and plans and schemes for good or ill... Joshua spends 90% of the book confused and the remaining time frightened and/or fighting. Seth has a more solid base, and at least understands what he is, but he still gets caught up in various schemes. Decker is great - he is exactly what Joshua needs and vice versa. And even Elise and Jack, who sort of get dragged along with the rest, have rich histories and perceptions. I enjoyed this when it was a standalone, I'm delighted Wen has written a sequel. Next! show less

Silas Decker is a vampire more than three centuries old, and finding it increasingly hard to keep rebuilding his life as people die and the world keeps changing. Living alone with no friends and few acquaintances, he sees less and less reason to keep trying.

Eloise is a Virtue, a soldier of God against evil. She's made being that soldier the only thing she is, lest human connections weaken her.

Seth is the sixteen-year-old Prince of Boston, a werewolf, the only survivor of his murdered family. His only living close relative is his cousin Jack, and the Wolf King, Alexander, is keeping Seth in New York, not letting him return to Boston for reasons he doesn't clearly explain.

And then there's Joshua, an ordinary college-bound high school show more student in small town, upstate New York, working hard to make his high school transcript look impressive for the colleges he wants to apply to. As part of that plan, he volunteers for the prom committee--and one awful Friday night, he finds himself badly hurt and covered in blood, with the rest of the prom committee dead and torn to pieces around him. Traumatized by events and further confused by a dream, or vision, or perhaps just a conversation, he had while undergoing an MRI, Joshua runs away to Boston, seeking someone he hopes will help him understand what's happened to him.

Because Joshua is now a werewolf, too.

This is a well-thought-out fantasy world, that makes good internal sense. It has action. It has great characters, who discover they need each other. It has a plot that really works.

It's also a novel set in Boston, at least to a significant degree, which does not contain the errors about Boston that kick one out of the story if one actually knows the city. I have a little list of otherwise very good writers who think they know Boston because they've studied maps and, perhaps, stayed awake in history class. (A hint I suspect applies to any geographic area: Before you use the official, found on a map name of a road in a story, check out whether that's what people who live in the area actually call it. Especially if it's a state highway running through multiple towns and counties.) Avoiding those mistakes adds a layer of reality and believability that strengthens a fantastical story. If you are using a real place in your story, and it's not a place you know intimately, check your details. All of them! Because yes, readers will notice.

But even more important than avoiding those dumb errors, which will after all only affect the readers who recognize them, is the fact that Spencer gets the characters right. Seth is affected by the trauma he experienced at thirteen, by the fact that he's the Prince of Boston and being educated that way, and has responsibilities--but also by the fact that he is, in the end, still only sixteen. Decker is lonely. Eloise has cute herself off emotionally and lived as a loner because she thinks it's the only way to do her job properly. Joshua, a year older than Seth, has not had either his emotional trauma or his education and training, and is in many ways younger. He's frightened and confused by what's happening to him.

And these four people have to come together to combat a plot by Wickers, a faction of witches that practice human sacrifice to gain magical power, to destroy Boston.

The plot, the characters, and the setting are developed convincingly and drew me in irresistibly. It's just one heck of a fun book.

Highly recommended.

I bought this book. show less

A somewhat disjoint and confusing young werewolf story with some new twists and old standbys. Werewolves, of the pack sort are necessary for the stability of reality in large population centers, feral werewolves are just monsters. Vampires still are dead during daylight hours and not visible in mirrors but garlic and crosses aren't problems. Wickers are the bad agencies but there is strife in werewolf packs. I enjoyed it, but the young werewolf story is sort of buried.

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

It’s been a while since I’ve read Wen Spencer, but when I discovered she had a new series out, I wanted to give it a try. I’m so glad I did. The Black Wolves of Boston is just what I needed.

This novel is urban fantasy with a family focus and humor despite serious stakes while some very horrible things happen. Sure, the werewolves are nearly unkillable, but that leaves all too much wiggle room for the Wickers (blood magic users) to exploit. The concept of werewolves has neat twists, making the weres more mystical than beast, both an advantage and a disadvantage at times.

The characters are distinct and interesting in their own right whether the primaries or many of the secondary characters. show more Joshua is adorable and a bit young for a graduating senior, but understandably so between his over-protective parents and bullying at school. His older sister rejected him from the start and so their relationship is a bit antagonistic, but under the teasing and jibes, she has come to love him and will move mountains, or virtues as the case may be, to find out where he is and help him.

Seth has his own issues between the massacre of his family, being trained to be a werewolf prince, and the foiled aspirations of the Wolf King’s son being taken out on him. He’s a good person, maybe too good, who carries the weight of the world…or at least of Boston…on his back. While Joshua is young for his age, Seth is much older than his sixteen years and champing at the bit to be allowed back in the land he’s magically bound to.

Which brings me to Elise and Decker, the other main characters. She’s a virtue charged with destroying evil in all its forms. She’s descended from angels and can call down the Grace of God to protect her. He’s a God-touched diviner turned vampire, making him not as evil as his coffin-bed would imply. He works with Elise to protect Boston until Seth returns, a relationship much more complex than either realize.

Then there’s a host of secondary characters, both good and bad, with Jack, Seth’s cousin a little of both. Elise can contest to that, their attraction complicating an already complex situation.

I spent so much time on the characters because that’s the heart of the story for me. They’re a family of blood and choice, working out all sorts of issues while the world literally hangs in the balance. I enjoyed the time spent in their company and hope to see more of their laughable moments, growing bonds, and heroic sense of responsibility.

This isn’t an idyllic view of the world but rather a peace carved out in the midst of horror, small moments that make the characters strong enough to face the next challenge ahead of them. It seemed a good balance to me. The only sour parts were two underlying messages of money solving everything, and age and power offering uncontested authority in the novel’s world. At the same time, the characters are taught strength comes with control and responsibility while ties to others drives the narrative far more than the characters are corrupted by the convenience of wealth…at least for the good guys.

Ultimately, this isn’t a particularly deep novel. It glosses over many big issues instead of addressing them and replicates the toxic US school environment a couple of times, but it doesn’t claim to be solving the world’s ills. It’s a fun read that’s uplifting in spirit, and a good example of the value in working together and making friends. I look forward to seeing how this team balances the demands of the Wolf King who sees the big picture to the exclusion of the individual and the need to protect those they love. show less