Lonely Werewolf Girl Review

According to Booklist, Lonely Werewolf Girl is:

The MacRinnalch clan of Scottish werewolves is at war with itself. Attacked by his 17-year-old daughter, Kalix, the thane has succumbed, leaving the succession in question. Neither eldest son Sarapen nor younger, cross-dressing scion Markus have enough votes in the werewolves’ Great Council to become thane, and the late thane’s mother offers her vote to whomever brings her Kalix’s heart. Kalix, despondent over losing her lover to exile, is on the verge of suicide before either bounty hunters or the secret society that hunts werewolves finds her. After she’s rescued by college students Moonglow and Daniel, things take a curious turn to, among other things, her sister Thrix, a werewolf enchantress and couturier for fashion-obsessed fire-elemental warrior queen Malveria. This complex romp features scores of characters, multiple races, enchanting fashion trappings, business, family dynamics, music, sex, enduring love, romance, business, eating disorders, drug addiction, back-alley fights, epic battles, politics, and, most prominently, the contrary nature of werewolves, not to mention 236 (!) chapters. And it’s so compelling you don’t want to it end. The grungy, gory, glorious world that World Fantasy Award winner Millar has created is unforgettable.

Yes, that’s a bit wordy. Yes, the book is on the longer side. Yes, it replies on a theatrical type of tone. But is it worth it? My God, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I’ve never read anything like this book. While there is a myriad of characters and subplots weaving back and forth amongst 700+ pages, you’re never lost. And you’re never bored. Martin Millar has a style that is devoid of complications–simple sentences, simple descriptions, simple dialogue. It all lends to the novel. Very, very well. It’s a gritty tale with spots of extremely bright humor. I was engrossed while reading, but I often found surprise laughs and it’s hard not to smile with the pithy quality of its characters’ mannerisms and dialogue.

The characters of Millar’s universe are singular, especially the werewolves. They are driven by politics, duty, laudanum and fashion, respectively it. Each character has their own, individual motivation. Some of them are very straightforward and plain, while others grow more complicated as the story and history develop, but whether you’re following the emotional turmoil of Kalix who leads you where her anxiety takes her, or whether you’re observing the icy Dominil (one of my absolute favorite characters) as she fights with a pair of wanna-be rocker wolves just to abate her years of boredom, you’re entertained.

The plot is much the same, as it is driven by these distinctive characters. I would think that there would be a problem with keeping up with this extensive cast’s subplots, but it wasn’t difficult at all, which I think is another benefit of Millar’s style. And as far as the story is concerned, nothing ever quite happened the way I expected to. I always enjoy this in a book and this is doubly so for Lonely Werewolf Girl. The settings range from lavish kingdoms in a different dimension to Kalix’s favorite bush in Kensington Park; each location was true to the characters in it and the thread og story it supported. I never questioned a locale, but I never questioned any element of this book, which is why I’m such a fan. As such, I give it a very shiny A+, 100 to be exact.

I strongly suggest you check this book out, and don’t let its length deter you. It is worth every page.

Style: 25/25

Characters: 25/25

Plot: 25/25

Setting: 25/25

If you’d like to know more about Martin Millar, please visit his site here where you can learn more about his other works (which I fully intend to buy), his blog and other such fun things (like buying one of the original cover LWG signed by Mr. Millar; squee!)!