The Last Werewolf- Review

Title:  The Last Werewolf
Author:  Glen Duncan
Source: Library

Goodreads Summary:

Meet Jake. A bit on the elderly side (he turns 201 in March), but you’d never suspect it. Nonstop sex and exercise will do that for you—and a diet with lots of animal protein. Jake is a werewolf, and after the unfortunate and violent death of his one contemporary, he is now the last of his species. Although he is physically healthy, Jake is deeply distraught and lonely.

Jake’s depression has carried him to the point where he is actually contemplating suicide—even if it means terminating a legend thousands of years old. It would seem to be easy enough for him to end everything. But for very different reasons there are two dangerous groups pursuing him who will stop at nothing to keep him alive.

Here is a powerful, definitive new version of the werewolf legend—mesmerising and incredibly sexy. In Jake, Glen Duncan has given us a werewolf for the twenty-first century—a man whose deeds can only be described as monstrous but who is in some magical way deeply human. 

My thoughts:

I loved the fact that Jake, and all werewolves in this book, were  "real" werewolves- ones with sharp teeth and no nobility, werewolves that  chomp and chew and is the nightmare version of a werewolf.  Sure, Jacob was my favorite character in Twilight (Team Jacob!) but I didn't really like the tidying up of the supernaturals in that series.  Which seems to be the trend now.  And sometimes that is fine too.  I just appreciated a real, honest to goodness werewolf. 

That being said, the book was kind of slow for me.  It trudged along, like Jake's 200 some years of existence, and maybe that was how Duncan intended us to feel- the length and weight of those days and years in Jake's soul.  He had given up at the start of the book, and was ready to throw in the towel -but then something happens to rekindle his interest in sticking around.  I don't want to ruin it so I won't say more on that topic.  The book became very exciting midway through, which is good since I was almost bored to death the first 45 pages- it was all Jake and sex with prostitutes it seemed like.  But it started to shape up after page 45-50ish, and then really picked up steam midway through.  I started out disliking Jake, and then began to really like him!

This book was hard core werewolf enough for me, and I love horror books- my only wish is that it had just a bit more action and excitement.