The Wolf Gift

The Wolf Gift Chronicles (1)

By: Anne Rice

Narrated by: Ron McLarty

Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Vintage Anne Rice—a lushly written, gothic … metaphysical tale. This time, with werewolves.” —The Wall Street Journal

A daring new departure from the inspired creator of The Vampire Chronicles (“unrelentingly erotic . . . unforgettable”—The Washington Post), Lives of the Mayfair Witches (“Anne Rice will live on through the ages of literature”—San Francisco Chronicle), and the angels of The Songs of the Seraphim (“remarkable”—Associated Press). A whole new world—modern, sleek, high-tech—and at its center, a story as old and compelling as history: the making of a werewolf, reimagined and reinvented as only Anne Rice, teller of mesmerizing tales, conjurer extraordinaire of other realms, could create.

The time is the present.

The place, the rugged coast of Northern California. A bluff high above the Pacific. A grand mansion full of beauty and tantalizing history set against a towering redwood forest.

A young reporter on assignment from the San Francisco Observer . . . An older woman welcoming him into her magnificent family home that he has been sent to write about and that she must sell with some urgency . . . A chance encounter between two unlikely people . . . An idyllic night—shattered by horrific unimaginable violence, the young man inexplicably attacked—bitten—by a beast he cannot see in the rural darkness . . . A violent episode that sets in motion a terrifying yet seductive transformation, as the young man, caught between ecstasy and horror, between embracing who he is evolving into and fearing what he will become, soon experiences the thrill of the wolf gift.

As he resists the paradoxical pleasure and enthrallment of his wolfen savagery and delights in the power and (surprising) capacity for good, he is caught up in a strange and dangerous rescue and is desperately hunted as “the Man Wolf” by authorities, the media, and scientists (evidence of DNA threatens to reveal his dual existence) . . . As a new and profound love enfolds him, questions emerge that propel him deeper into his mysterious new world: questions of why and how he has been given this gift; of its true nature and the curious but satisfying pull towards goodness; of the profound realization that there may be others like him who are watching—guardian creatures who have existed throughout time who possess ancient secrets and alchemical knowledge. And throughout it all, the search for salvation for a soul tormented by a new realm of temptations, and the fraught, exhilarating journey, still to come, of being and becoming, fully, both wolf and man.

©2012 Anne Rice (P)2012 Listening Library

Critic reviews

“Rice weaves her trademark meditations on the role of supernatural creatures in society into an often thrilling, page-turning yarn.” (Booklist)

“The Wolf Gift is vintage Anne Rice—a lushly written, gothic…metaphysical tale. This time, with werewolves.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“Rice has never shied away from tackling Big Issues…The Wolf Gift marks a return to form while still giving a nod to spiritual matters…[A] delectable cocktail of old-fashioned lost-race adventure, shape-shifting and suspense.” (Elizabeth Hand, The Washington Post)

Great story except…..

I really enjoyed this story. The plot was well written and unfolded at an adequate pace. I will say there is a beauty and the beast element here that I was not a fan of. Without giving away any plot points, I did not care for this aspect of the story that continued to be a plot point throughout the rest of the book. Although this element was done in the most tasteful way possible for the activities described it really deflated the story for me from that point on.

Not a very good book

Starts out with a very interesting concept but then devolves into interview with a werewolf. Ugh.

Extremely disappointing

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No - I'd be too worried that it might turn them off her earlier brilliant works!

Would you ever listen to anything by Anne Rice again?

Only if it has been written before 2004.

Any additional comments?

The Vampire Chronicles were amazing. I resisted reading them for SO long as I was not at all interested in the vampire genre, but I quickly became an Anne Rice fan, and converted many others! I also adore

Sumptuous!

My hunger for Rice's images - sights, sounds, smells - and characters of pure psycho emotional conflicted flesh, lured me to The Wolf's table starved, deprived. The Wolf Gift is a lavish feast for those of us who love her writing. This was my first Audible of a Rice novel and HEARING The Wolf Gift may have mutated my dorsal root gangilon. Needless to say I'm downloading her other Audible books starting now.

Love Anne Rice

I have read this book half a dozen times and purchased this audio version. what can I say? Just wonderful.

Great start, smooth progress, bumpy ending.

What made the experience of listening to The Wolf Gift the most enjoyable?

Ron McLarty's performance was very good.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The ending would have been a bit different. I won't give it away, but it could have been more open to what I think a lot of us would like to see... a coming together of the different beings in Ms. Rice's books.

What does Ron McLarty bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voices he uses to create the characters and to portray them in different states of being were quite good.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Running on the scent of evil... The Wolf Gift.

A Wolfen Saga to Enjoy

I use the word "Saga" loosely, as I hope Anne Rice is working on sequels. This book introduces a very interesting take on a werewolf family storyline. I enjoyed Ron McLarty's performance except for the women, but this did not distract noticeably from appreciating the storyline. I will listen to this one more than once.

Classic Anne Rice, with a new twist.

This is the Anne Rice I knew and loved. Beautiful prose, picturesque settings, enchanting characters and fascinating story. Now that she's "back", I can hardly wait for her next novel. The narrator performed superbly,so much so that I immediately searched for anything else narrated by him.

Insightful and enjoyable

I️ really do love this book. The struggles the characters deal, and their development are so easy to believe and understand. I️ love how vivid and subtle she builds this story. Would highly recommend!

I love Anne Rice...always have, always will...

I think was exceptionally well... I feel like I know the characters, I will follow the man wolf in his next adventure...