Curse of Misty Hollow

Wargs, Book 1

By: D Allen Rutherford

Narrated by: Drew Henderson

Matthew Kershaw, a professor and cryptozoologist, is intrigued when he gets a call from an old college friend upset about an attack on a forest ranger in an Idaho valley. A pack of exceptionally large wolves with strange features mauled the ranger, but someone like Kershaw needs to get to the bottom of it. Canceling his plans for the summer, he heads to the scene. The idea of discovering a new species of wolf excites Kershaw, who's convinced that tales of animal totems, animal spirits, skin-walkers, and their brethren that he's heard about since he was a little boy must be rooted in truth.

While Kershaw believes that a species of wolf could remain undiscovered deep in the wilderness, he thinks the assignment at hand will most likely end up being a simple wolf population survey. He has no idea that life is about to turn treacherous, and he'll soon be in the middle of a conflict between real-life transgenic wolves and human-animal hybrids (werewolves).

©2015 D Allen Rutherford (Dale Allen Rutherford) (P)2016 D Allen Rutherford (Dale Allen Rutherford)

Interesting but slow

If you could sum up Curse of Misty Hollow in three words, what would they be?

slow to start

Any additional comments?

If you are seeking an action packed story, look elsewhere. The story was very detailed and thought provoking but failed to leave me wanting more.

they have way to many meals. lol

like there are 4x as many meal scenes then there is action. I think it was a lot of character development in this book to set up the action in the next book. I hope.

Interesteting Take on Werewolves, Lame Love Story

Would you try another book from D Allen Rutherford and/or Drew Henderson?

I'll try to finish this Trilogy if it becomes available on Audible

Could you see Curse of Misty Hollow being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes, I think it would make for a great movie if you downplay the love story and make it suspenseful.

Any additional comments?

I like the new take Rutherford takes on the werewolf myth bringing it to modernity. However the book is filled with impossible coincidences. Like this thing that has happened once in the history of mankind happened to this guy and he happened to run into the wrong place at the right time. That's fine to kick off a series of events, but it's like half the characters and it gets unbelievable at points. Then the character interaction issue. They talk like salespeople, "Thank you, no thank you, no really thank you the pleasure is all mine..." Insert "sorry" or some other such interaction. Everyone is overly polite and formally gracious all the time. The worst offender is the love story. It reads like a Hallmark commercial, very unrealistic, not very romantic at all and doesn't add anything to the story.

From the first paragraph I was hooked.

I love science fiction and the more realistic it is the better. The writer goes to great lengths to explain every detail not in a boring way but as dialogue between the characters. The writer does not butcher the science in this book he uses it as tool to shape your imagination and turns the werewolf fantasy into a reality.

Genuinely the worst book I have ever read or heard.

The story was written as if a grade schooler wrote it. The author has an incredibly limited vocabulary, and it seems as if he just took sentences from a science textbook, modified it, and tried to pass it off as everyday conversation. I’m a scientist and we don’t talk like an uptight after school special. Additionally, the author’s concept of gender roles is abhorrent. What is “a girlish hug,” and why do the “ladies” get overly emotional and just talk about shopping? Finally, the narration did not convey any of the adrenaline that should accompany the life or death situations in the book.