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A review by lisawreading
Talulla Rising by Glen Duncan
4.0
Talulla Rising is the sequel to The Last Werewolf, one of my favorite books of 2011. Like TLW, Talulla Rising is a bloody book about monsters and the meaning of life, with a tremendous amount of no-holds-barred, very gruesome violence perpetrated to different degrees and with different amounts of enjoyment by just about everyone we encounter.
TLW ended quite shockingly,
Talulla Rising picks up just a few months after the end of the previous book, with Talulla sequestered in remote Alaska, suffering through her Curse's response to the pregnancy and fearful about birth, motherhood, and the looming question of how to stay alive and how to keep her baby safe. Needless to say, it doesn't go well, violence pops in at the most inopportune time, and Talulla is forced into a non-stop, desperate course of action that continues the bloodshed (and occasional dismemberment) that we've come to expect in these blood-soaked werewolf books.
I won't give away any other plot details, but will say that I was surprised to hear that Glen Duncan had written a sequel to TLW, as I thought it wrapped up as a stand-alone novel. Likewise, after finishing Talulla Rising, I thought the story was done (despite a few loose plot threads), but just read that a third and final book is planned. Of course I'll read the next one. Glen Duncan is a powerful and magnificent writer, who twists and turns the English language in all sorts of unexpected and beautiful ways. While the writing itself was more remarkable in the first book, perhaps because TLW seemed a much more contemplative narrative than Tallula Rising, Duncan's skill with words is evident in TR as well.
A final note: With a female protagonist, the emphasis on the werewolf's monthly Curse takes on new meaning, as Talulla suffers through the rage and physical changes imposed on her body, a slave to her biology, yet also undeniably delighting in her power and fearlessness. Talulla's thoughts and fears regarding motherhood are also quite interesting, and her self-doubt about her maternal instincts -- while taken to the the extreme, as most new mothers don't literally fear eating their young -- is not unusual for someone experiencing a first pregnancy and the crushing changes, both physical and emotional, that ensue.
My recommendation: Read The Last Werewolf, and then read Talulla Rising, but be warned. These books are not for the faint of heart. No hearts and flowers in this story about new motherhood. Well, maybe a few hearts, but they tend to get eaten.
TLW ended quite shockingly,
Spoiler
with the titular last werewolf, Jake Marlowe, ending up not being the last after all. Jake met Talulla, and their shared love and bloodlust was both powerful and scary. TLW ends with Jake's death, and Talulla is left to carry on by herself, heartbreaken, hunted, and pregnant with Jake's baby, a situation thought impossible until now.Talulla Rising picks up just a few months after the end of the previous book, with Talulla sequestered in remote Alaska, suffering through her Curse's response to the pregnancy and fearful about birth, motherhood, and the looming question of how to stay alive and how to keep her baby safe. Needless to say, it doesn't go well, violence pops in at the most inopportune time, and Talulla is forced into a non-stop, desperate course of action that continues the bloodshed (and occasional dismemberment) that we've come to expect in these blood-soaked werewolf books.
I won't give away any other plot details, but will say that I was surprised to hear that Glen Duncan had written a sequel to TLW, as I thought it wrapped up as a stand-alone novel. Likewise, after finishing Talulla Rising, I thought the story was done (despite a few loose plot threads), but just read that a third and final book is planned. Of course I'll read the next one. Glen Duncan is a powerful and magnificent writer, who twists and turns the English language in all sorts of unexpected and beautiful ways. While the writing itself was more remarkable in the first book, perhaps because TLW seemed a much more contemplative narrative than Tallula Rising, Duncan's skill with words is evident in TR as well.
A final note: With a female protagonist, the emphasis on the werewolf's monthly Curse takes on new meaning, as Talulla suffers through the rage and physical changes imposed on her body, a slave to her biology, yet also undeniably delighting in her power and fearlessness. Talulla's thoughts and fears regarding motherhood are also quite interesting, and her self-doubt about her maternal instincts -- while taken to the the extreme, as most new mothers don't literally fear eating their young -- is not unusual for someone experiencing a first pregnancy and the crushing changes, both physical and emotional, that ensue.
My recommendation: Read The Last Werewolf, and then read Talulla Rising, but be warned. These books are not for the faint of heart. No hearts and flowers in this story about new motherhood. Well, maybe a few hearts, but they tend to get eaten.