Earlier this year I reviewed The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan, which was an amazing read. Talulla Rising is book two out of a planned trilogy (anyone know the name of the trilogy? Leave a comment). We rejoin Talulla in Alaska, she is mourning Jacob and pregnant with his child. With her is the unlikely companion, Cloquet (her human familiar --- I love that). Talulla is in the late stages of her pregnancy, not quite sure exactly what will come out. Not sure if she will give birth as a woman, or as a werewolf. Being the last of her kind, since the passing of Jacob, she doesn't exactly have anyone to ask so she turns to Google for the mating/birthing habits of wolves. Lu is concerned that she will not have the ability to be a good mother. Specifically, she is concerned that she will kill and eat her child. Part of the curse is not only to kill but to love killing. So what if she kills them and enjoys it...
Her motherly instinct is soon tested upon the birth of her son, whom is snatched by vampires in an incredibly cruel and gruesome manner. The remainder of the story is the tale of Talulla's struggle to find and save her son. Of course, there is more to the story, but you will get no spoilers from me.
Talulla Rising did not have the same effect on me that The Last Werewolf had. I enjoyed Jacob as a character, he was someone that I both loved and hated. Jacob is not completely missing from this novel. Quotes from his journal as woven through this novel so that he does seem present. Talulla, on the other hand, took a bit more time getting used to. The writing is, of course, amazing. Duncan can truly make an internal dialogue gripping.
I recommend this book... to those literary fiction lovers who are tempted to dip their toes into genre fiction.
My favorite quote... there are several actually:
"It was like the devil putting his arms around you from behind and you leaning back into it and enjoying the lovely surprising warmth."
"My idiot heart couldn't stop reaching into the emptiness where Jake should have been ..."
"We'd exchanged horrors like wedding vowels."
Talulla Rising is available now.
The next installment of the trilogy - By Blood We Live - is due out in 2013.
