The Wolf Gift

The Wolf Gift Chronicles (1)

By: Anne Rice

Narrated by: Ron McLarty

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Vintage Anne Rice—a lushly written, gothic … metaphysical tale. This time, with werewolves.” —The Wall Street Journal

A daring new departure from the inspired creator of The Vampire Chronicles (“unrelentingly erotic . . . unforgettable”—The Washington Post), Lives of the Mayfair Witches (“Anne Rice will live on through the ages of literature”—San Francisco Chronicle), and the angels of The Songs of the Seraphim (“remarkable”—Associated Press). A whole new world—modern, sleek, high-tech—and at its center, a story as old and compelling as history: the making of a werewolf, reimagined and reinvented as only Anne Rice, teller of mesmerizing tales, conjurer extraordinaire of other realms, could create.

The time is the present.

The place, the rugged coast of Northern California. A bluff high above the Pacific. A grand mansion full of beauty and tantalizing history set against a towering redwood forest.

A young reporter on assignment from the San Francisco Observer . . . An older woman welcoming him into her magnificent family home that he has been sent to write about and that she must sell with some urgency . . . A chance encounter between two unlikely people . . . An idyllic night—shattered by horrific unimaginable violence, the young man inexplicably attacked—bitten—by a beast he cannot see in the rural darkness . . . A violent episode that sets in motion a terrifying yet seductive transformation, as the young man, caught between ecstasy and horror, between embracing who he is evolving into and fearing what he will become, soon experiences the thrill of the wolf gift.

As he resists the paradoxical pleasure and enthrallment of his wolfen savagery and delights in the power and (surprising) capacity for good, he is caught up in a strange and dangerous rescue and is desperately hunted as “the Man Wolf” by authorities, the media, and scientists (evidence of DNA threatens to reveal his dual existence) . . . As a new and profound love enfolds him, questions emerge that propel him deeper into his mysterious new world: questions of why and how he has been given this gift; of its true nature and the curious but satisfying pull towards goodness; of the profound realization that there may be others like him who are watching—guardian creatures who have existed throughout time who possess ancient secrets and alchemical knowledge. And throughout it all, the search for salvation for a soul tormented by a new realm of temptations, and the fraught, exhilarating journey, still to come, of being and becoming, fully, both wolf and man.

©2012 Anne Rice (P)2012 Listening Library

Critic reviews

“Rice weaves her trademark meditations on the role of supernatural creatures in society into an often thrilling, page-turning yarn.” (Booklist)

“The Wolf Gift is vintage Anne Rice—a lushly written, gothic…metaphysical tale. This time, with werewolves.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“Rice has never shied away from tackling Big Issues…The Wolf Gift marks a return to form while still giving a nod to spiritual matters…[A] delectable cocktail of old-fashioned lost-race adventure, shape-shifting and suspense.” (Elizabeth Hand, The Washington Post)

Typical Rice brilliance - I'm hooked!

Already a fan of Anne Rice, I was expecting a werewolf version of her Vampire Chronicles. Instead, I was cast into an entirely new world of Rice's typical storytelling brilliance! As she did with her vampires, refining the folklore into a more believable creature of myth, thus she had now accomplished with the werewolf. Already having charmed us with the greatest vampire version ever written, likewise, Anne Rice now bestows upon us a new legendary gift, that of the man-wolf! I hunger for more of The Wolf Gift!!!

I'd rather have read the print version

I don't care for Ron McLarty's narration of his story. Anne Rice chose to write in 3rd person and I have to respect this decision. She is a master of First Person. The choice of third person, and the choice of this narrator who is not incompetent, just not the right person for the job, leads to a distracting problem. Every time a character muses/is thinking/wondering, the audio version makes it sound as if the character were asking me a question. I began shouting "Why Ask ME?" by Part 2. Considering Anne's characters are about the most introspective and navel gazing bunch of monsters there ever were, it really is an issue. If you are choosing a first book of Anne's to read, this isn't it. It is a good book, but it has faults. We all, I think, are happy that she returned to Horror, and I am too biased to comment more on this book. It is worth reading, and is much better then a lot of the deluge of paranormal "novels" out there today.

Was Alright!!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This is definitely not the Vampire series in intensity I was expecting from Ann Rice.
Overall it was alright just not the depth I was hoping for!!

Anne Rice strikes again.

if you want another good read because you're bored or whatever. this is something you'll listen to and not be bored.

Great concept

Loved the morality questions that arise from the wolf transformation. Could not put it down.

excellent werewolf tale

love Anne Rice's vampire chronicle so thought I'd try the wolf chronicle and was not disappointed.

Good Book

Really enjoyed listening to this book. Good and entertaining. Good narration and easy to listen to.

Amazing ! A+

What a wonderful narrative, but if that is not enough the story is absolutely fascinating

Characters of Great Depth and Historical Insight

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Because I adore the attention to detail in each character, namely Reuben with his inner transformation that transcends the physical one.

What did you like best about this story?

The comprehensive depth of the characters, their turmoils and triumphs.

Which scene was your favorite?

All the scenes in which the man-wolves used their strength to bring justice to the malicious and freedom to the oppressed.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Those moments involving cuneiform tablets and the mystery and imagination they evoked as a doorway to an ancient history where wisdom is not lost.

Any additional comments?

The morphenkind are heroes with incredible depth, forged through countless years of struggle, both carried in memory and past on to the newest members of their kind.

A Werewolf Lover's Dream! Amazingly Written!

Amazingly written as only done by Anne Rice herself! The Wolf Gift is a Must Read for All Werewolf Lover's. Mistakenly passed on to Reuben. The Chism transforms him into another form and into Laura's arm's! You have to read for yourself or better yet Ron McLarty's narration is Mesmerizing!