Problem is, this too-much-of-a-good-thing thing didn’t erase my fondness for new interesting takes on supernatural critters; it just made me skeptical that there was anything new under the sun. So when Tor.com promised me that Mongrels was a take on werewolves I hadn’t seen before, I was intrigued. Add to that my desire to like Blackfeet horror author Stephen Graham Jones, whose short stories have been JUST TOO HORRIFYING for me, and it was a marriage made in book heaven.

If your question is “how much cannibalism though?” the answer is “honestly? still less than in at least half the Stephen Graham Jones short stories I’ve read.” So, I mean, you know if that’s a thing you can handle or not.

Our hero is an orphan boy being raised by his aunt Libby and uncle Darren. They are both werewolves, and the boy just wants to be — if he hasn’t turned by his late teens, he never will. As the family wanders across the American South getting whatever jobs will keep the lights on and sending the boy to school for brief stints when it’s possible, he learns more and more about the life of a werewolf and — most often — all the ways a werewolf can be caught and/or killed.

If like me you are the kind of reader who enjoys some social commentary in your werewolf literature, Mongrels is the book for you. Though the rootlessness and ruthlessness of the ways Darren and Libby and their nephew survive arise from their werewolf heritage, there’s a lot in this story that just reads poverty. Food insecurity follows them across the South, although they are werewolves and can, given the right circumstances, hunt their own. The boy is given different identities in every state (and indeed, he lacks a name, leaving his true identity shrouded in uncertainty), in and out of school  depending on what the laws of the state will permit.

Mongrels is in some respects a picaresque, which is not my favorite type of book and kept this from being a forever-favorite. But it’s a take on werewolves that feels fresh and does not shy away from the utter creepiness of the transformation process. Despite the episodic nature of the storytelling, there’s plenty of emotional through-lines for you to sink your teeth into, plus an ending that yr extremely picky correspondent found satisfying.

QUESTION TIME: Would you rather starve than resort to cannibalism? Does your answer change if you are a wolf at the time? Also, are you tired of werewolves and other supernatural critters or do you rejoice in those stories endlessly?

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In brief: Go and buy Lonely Werewolf Girl and read it. When you inevitably love it, go buy Curse of the Wolf Girl because it’s just as funny, sweet, and delightful as its predecessor. Scottish werewolf Kalix MacRinnalch, who cannot live with her family, struggles with depression and self-harm, and is addicted to laudanum, has come to stay with two London students, Daniel and Moonglow. She is allowed to do this as long as she attends college in town, where she must learn to read properly and do math. Joining her is Fire Elemental princess Agrivex, whose guardian Malveria needs a break from her maddening good cheer and thoughtlessness. There are also other MacRinnalch werewolves, werewolf hunters, sorceresses, and fairy queens with lipstick that never wears off.

(Or, I presume, comes off on cups. I do not mind popping into the ladies’ room to apply fresh lipstick, but I hate getting it on coffee cups or water glasses.)

As with all of Millar’s books, Curse of the Wolf Girl proceeds at a rapid pace, leaping from one set of characters to the next with careless abandon. In a way this is a shame–I love Vex, for instance, and was always sorry when the scene shifted away from her multi-gold-star remedial college experiences. But it’s what I’ve come to expect from Millar’s books, that slightly frantic shifting of the scene that allows for so many interlocking plotlines, and it was good when slightly less interesting characters were around. Like Kalix’s mother. I got bored of her, though fortunately she was not around much.

I have probably said this before, but one of the things I admire about Millar’s plots is that he can give equal importance to fighting off werewolf killers and throwing a successful fundraising event. Although the werewolf hunters are of more interest to some characters, many of them have little attention to spare for this as they are planning outfits and performers and lipstick. The climactic scene, which is perhaps a smidgen too reminiscent of the climax of Lonely Werewolf Girl, at Beauty and Delicious’s gig, has werewolf hunters and opera singers. Which, I was going to say you can’t miss with that combination, but actually I think you could rather easily. Let me say instead, Martin Millar can’t miss with that combination. Because he is great.

Go forth and read Martin Millar! If you require added inducement, be aware that Neil Gaiman also loves his work. So. I am recommending him, and Neil Gaiman is recommending him. What could you possibly be waiting for?

Many many thanks to Ana, who kindly sent me her ARC to read earlier this summer.

Other reviews:

Beyond Books
Wands and Worlds
Alone and Unobserved

Did I miss yours? I will add a link if so!

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