Wolf Moon

Have you ever come across a bad guy so villainous that their heinous misdeeds actually put a damper on the entire book? Yep, that was my experience with this one. The story is about Kern, a shapechanger/werewolf who has never found his place in the world because his kind are viewed as murderous monsters. He has full control over his shapechanging ability, but he has to move from place to place and keep his secret well-hidden for fear of being hunted down and killed.

Which is exactly where Kern finds himself at the beginning of Wolf Moon, being chased down by a mystical bear that has been summoned by a magical harper. He seeks refuge in a little out-of-the-way inn, and suddenly finds himself surrounded by people who actually care about show more him, something he hasn't felt in a long time.

Things take a turn for the worse, as the so often do, and the events that follow were so devastating to me on a personal level that I nearly didn't want to continue reading the novel, despite being almost done with it. I understand the villain has to do evil, and perhaps it is a testament to Lint's writing that he could inspire such emotions, but the book was nearly spoiled in the same way that Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys was.

I still enjoyed Wolf Moon, however, probably due to the fact that I liked Kern and Ainsy so much, and so I'd still recommend it to fans of the genre. show less

Kern is a werewolf and, injured by a hunter, has been found and taken to an inn run by Ainsy. As he and Ainsy fall for each other, Kern feels he needs to keep the fact that he is a shapeshifter to himself, as it ruined his last relationship. Unfortunately for him, the hunter who tried to kill him once is still after him.

I really liked this. I'd call this one YA and it's not very long so it is quick to read. I also liked some of the supporting characters in the book.

I read this years ago and really enjoyed it and it did survive re-reading.

Kern Kendrigen is running from people who would destroy him because of assumptions about his shapeshifting nature. He finds a refuge in an inn until a harper with evil and destruction in his mind comes along and starts destroying his life. I like the story for it's look at how he lives with being a werewolf and the hard choices he has to live with.

The characters in this weren't sufficiently developed by the time the nasty mind control bard causes them problems, The first encounter between the shapechanger and the Inn folk is all tell, she was this, he was that, get them in a relationship and get on with the plot. I didn't care enough for them that the nastiness described was just reading about icky stuff, not concern and involvement. This is a story which could certainly use more indirection too - we know from the first that the werewolf is just a nice misunderstood shapechanger and the bard is a baddy with mind control.

Way too predictable and therefore tedious in spite of all the excitement and incident. "Can a lonely werewolf find happiness at the inn?" Duh, of course. Of course the lonely overworked female inkeeper will fall for the lonely fugitive werewolf. Having the villain be a harper is a bit of a novel touch and gained the book an extra half-star in my estimation. If we hadn't known on the first page that the harper was an evil magician it might have even created a bit of suspense.

Werewolves are creatures that can only destroy, creatures to be hunted and killed, or so the story goes. This starts with such a wolf being hunted, when he falls over a cliff into a river he ends up at a remote inn in man shape. He is healed and treated as a friend but what will happen if they find out what he is?

One of his earlier books, more YA than his later Newford tales, Charles de Lint once again takes traditional folklore and fantasy but puts his own unique style into the tale. I love his work and don't think that any lover of myth and folklore will be disappointed by this.

One of de Lint’s earlier works, this tale takes place in a realm of his imagining that’s rather like old Ireland isn’t quite- it contains North American moose, for one thing. It’s a realm where bards roam the land and magic and werewolves exist.

The werewolf- Kern- is the protagonist of the story. Driven from his home by his parents when he first changed, he’s been on the run ever since. But when Kern is chased over a cliff into a river by a harper and his magical beast, the river (and some elvish people) takes him to a remote inn, he finds his resolve to stay a loner melting. He has finally made friends- and found love.

But the bard and his beast are still on his trail. Kern doesn’t know why the harper bears him ill will, show more but it’s clear that he’ll do whatever it takes to hurt Kern. How can Kern deal with this?

While this book doesn’t have the polish and fire of de Lint’s later stories, it does have magic. The isolated winter world he’s created surrounds the reader, and the peril that Kern faces is downright creepy. And the hero is a werewolf, while the honored bard is the villain. That’s something you don’t find very often! show less