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wyvernfriend's review against another edition
3.0
This is a story where werewolves meet aliens. Ukiah Oregon is named after where he was found, running with wolves. He's now growing up and finding his way. He works as a private investigator using skills that appear to be supernatural. He also comes across as being a bit out of touch with the human world. He finds himself in conflict with a group of people who seem to want him, along with the FBI who aren't sure what to do with him.
He finds that his destiny isn't what he might think and that there are complex things going on in his life, not all of which are possibly for the betterment of humanity.
It's interesting but it just didn't quite speak to me.
He finds that his destiny isn't what he might think and that there are complex things going on in his life, not all of which are possibly for the betterment of humanity.
It's interesting but it just didn't quite speak to me.
whattamess's review against another edition
3.0
So much to love. So much to unlove.
Love: the plot. I sunk my teeth right into the plot. It was great! Unique. Worth 4-5 stars.
Unlove: pagefillers. ACK! I seriously can't stand page fillers. Lots of recapping events in the beginning, then we had the detailed menu and pantry inventory. About 80% in, the story felt too long. All thanks to the page fillers, because word count is THAT important. 2 stars.
I noticed most of the high ratings come from the early 2000's. Come close to 2020 and you can see how society's reading tastes have changed. I have 2 more books by Wen Spencer, so I think I will keep my rating in the middle of the road with this one.
unrulyshoggoth's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
elusivity's review against another edition
3.0
Steady-paced beginning, fascinating premise, leading to frantically-paced, far less interesting action-thriller type ending.
Ukiah is a good-hearted young man apparently raised by wolves then taken in by his lesbian-couple moms, who now works with his partner Max as private detectives. He has uncanny abilities, such as photographic recall, rapid healing, and ability to analyze things by touch down to DNA level. I started off thinking this may be another werewolf story, but quickly found things are much stranger.
The alien species is very original in that their very cells mimic life, and have memories encoded down to DNA-level. When aliens /clones bleed or suffer dismemberment, the blood and body parts still strive to survive, and immediately mutate into different sized animals according to the amount of cells they contain -- i.e. field mice, mongoose -- a creepy-cute detail I've never seen elsewhere. These smaller life forms can be absorbed by other clones to share the original's memories, to change to the original's appearance, or be tortured then fed to grow into a full clone of the original. All of which happens to Ukiah's poor mice, as Hex attempt to thwart Ukiah.
I really liked the details and well-established relationships this book began with: Ukiah himself, quiet and pure, Max, his lesbian mothers, his little sister, his strange abilities and how they are used in his daily work. At mid-point, however, a switch is thrown and and the sense of depth and solid-world quality took a sudden backseat to plot. New characters are hastily introduced, mostly very thinly sketched. Events pull back sharply from the careful close-up of Ukiah's life, the mystery of his origin, to a global conspiracy spanning hundreds of years, involving a huge crowd of people, expanding outwardly all the way to Mars. The transition is jarring, and I think to the novel's detriment.
Still, an interesting read.
Ukiah is a good-hearted young man apparently raised by wolves then taken in by his lesbian-couple moms, who now works with his partner Max as private detectives. He has uncanny abilities, such as photographic recall, rapid healing, and ability to analyze things by touch down to DNA level. I started off thinking this may be another werewolf story, but quickly found things are much stranger.
Spoiler
In fact, Ukiah is genetically engineered product of human and an alien, Hex, intent to taking over Earth. Hex comes from a species that propagate itself by injecting DNA into living beings, which then transforms into Hex clone, with Hex's thoughts and memories, which are then capable of creating more Hex clones. Ukiah and the Pack that eventually finds him are all descended from one such clone who was somehow able to maintain its own thoughts, hated Hex, and opposed it in every way possible, whose legacy is its memories and cell-level hatred of Hex, which were passed down to the Pack and to Ukiah.The alien species is very original in that their very cells mimic life, and have memories encoded down to DNA-level. When aliens /clones bleed or suffer dismemberment, the blood and body parts still strive to survive, and immediately mutate into different sized animals according to the amount of cells they contain -- i.e. field mice, mongoose -- a creepy-cute detail I've never seen elsewhere. These smaller life forms can be absorbed by other clones to share the original's memories, to change to the original's appearance, or be tortured then fed to grow into a full clone of the original. All of which happens to Ukiah's poor mice, as Hex attempt to thwart Ukiah.
I really liked the details and well-established relationships this book began with: Ukiah himself, quiet and pure, Max, his lesbian mothers, his little sister, his strange abilities and how they are used in his daily work. At mid-point, however, a switch is thrown and and the sense of depth and solid-world quality took a sudden backseat to plot. New characters are hastily introduced, mostly very thinly sketched. Events pull back sharply from the careful close-up of Ukiah's life, the mystery of his origin, to a global conspiracy spanning hundreds of years, involving a huge crowd of people, expanding outwardly all the way to Mars. The transition is jarring, and I think to the novel's detriment.
Still, an interesting read.
lgarrity's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
marcelozanca's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
nixwhittaker's review
5.0
He is called wolf boy because he was raised by wolves. He is soon to find out that his origins are much more alien than that.
A very unique alien invasion story and certainly worth the read.
A very unique alien invasion story and certainly worth the read.
kcollett75's review
3.0
First of the Ukiah books; I should learn to trust Wen Spencer—she always sucks you in.
heliotropepajamas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
This whole series is such a comfort read for me - I think this was my fourth or fifth re-read. I'm probably biased because my whole family is from Pittsburgh and this story is very grounded in that location. The genre is rather interesting - kind of like take urban fantasy but make it sci-fi, which I absolutely love. I usually describe it to friends as "werewolf biker gangs in pittsburgh" which is usually enough to hook them.
On this reread the romance between Indigo & Ukiah seemed more abrupt than usual, but I can roll with it. Looking forward to the rest of the series, since I actually prefer the later books.
On this reread the romance between Indigo & Ukiah seemed more abrupt than usual, but I can roll with it. Looking forward to the rest of the series, since I actually prefer the later books.