Friday, March 6, 2015

Wolf Who Rules by Wen Spencer

Wolf Who Rules is the sequel to Tinker so this review contains ***SPOILERS*** if you have not read the first book in the series.  This is a series that it really pays to read in order so I highly recommend that you read Tinker before you read anymore of this review.

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but in Tinker's case it is more like the road to Elfhome is paved with good intentions.  Her actions may have saved Pittsburgh from an alien invasion, but it also caused the city of Pittsburgh to move permanently to Elfhome.  Suddenly everything Tinker thought she knew has been turned upside down because not only did Pittsburgh not stay on Earth, there is also a strange no mans land that seems to blur all the realities together in a blue haze that feels freezing cold.  Solving the mystery seems the obvious thing for Tinker to do, but Wolf Who Rules and Tinker are no longer the only magic wielders in town.

Reinforcements have been called in from the other clans and it is a supremely uncomfortable time for Wolf Who Rules and Tinker - he because of the pressure he faces from the other clans, and she because she is so ignorant about what it means to be an elf - let alone a high ranking elf.  Facing pressure from all sides, Tinker throws herself into the task of solving the mystery of what happened with the gate, while studiously trying to avoid the unwanted attentions of the human population and visiting elves.  Dark plans are still at play, and there is more than one enemy for Tinker to face.  Even in her dreams she is not left in peace, nightmares seek her out and torment her with their baffling clues and hidden meanings.  Tinker and Wolf Who Rules are about to face some of their greatest challenges yet - and they better be ready.

In a weird way that will sound like a backhanded compliment, Wolf Who Rules is a  more challenging read than I usually enjoy - one that required me to pay attention and think about what I was reading.  This is a huge change from some of the "lighter" and "fluffier" science fiction and fantasy I have been reading lately and it made a nice change of pace to have an author who challenges you to puzzle out the clues and guess what was coming next rather than spoon feeding you the plot and the answers.  For some readers this may prove to be too much effort, but if you give up too soon you miss out on some of the real gem moments when people get what is coming to them, or when you realise that you may have misjudged someone more than a little.

Describing too much of the story will ruin the surprising twists and turns so I won't give you too much detail!  Wolf Who Rules is a great follow up to Tinker, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series to see where this series leads us next.  At more than 400 pages this is another committed read - but I found it well worth the effort.

 If you like this book then try:
  • Tinker by Wen Spencer
  • Eight million gods by Wen Spencer
  • Alien taste by Wen Spencer
  • Moon called by Patricia Briggs
  • Night shifted by Cassie Alexander
  • Cry wolf by Patricia Briggs
  • Kitty and the midnight hour by Carrie Vaughn
  • Dark descendant by Jenna Black
  • Blood price by Tanya Huff
  • Urban shaman by C.E. Murphy
  • Spiders bite by Jennifer Estep
  • Dead witch walking by Kim Harrison
  • Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway
  • Prowlers by Christopher Golden
  • Children of the night by Mercedes Lackey
  • Cast in shadow by Michelle Sagara
  • Summon the keeper by Tanya Huff

Reviewed by Brilla

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