FOXSYLVANIA

– – Before vampires were pretty and made babies with human girlfriends, Anne Rice showed us how things should have been in her acclaimed Vampire Chronicles series that began in 1976.  Rice’s vampire Lestat was cunning, ruthless, rather classy, and quite magnetic, his exploits detailed in a series that had considerable literary merit.  Even folks not ordinarily into vampires found Rice’s  tales a powerful draw.  The giddy ride ended when Rice began writing books about angels and the life of Christ, leaving us literate horror fans to cry in our root beer.

That long dry spell may be alleviated with Rice’s return to horror at least  to a degree in her upcoming release, The Wolf Gift, coming in February on Valentine’s Day (–what could be more appropriate?)!  Called both a return and a departure, Rice’s new work marks a return to the horror genre, but with spiritual  elements as the lead male werewolf character is a kind of protector or guardian.  The book is also a departure in that Rice has never done the lycanthrope scene before.  She is, however, expected to bring her intelligent blend of class and romanticism to the effort while delivering the jolts.

While details about the work are few, it sounds promising.  Perhaps most interesting is the fact that the featured werewolf, a reporter operating in California, suffers no “disconnect” following a transformation; rather, he can recall all of his actions the previous night when in the wolf state.  This werewolf would also appear to suffer less angst about his status, and rather to see the potential in the “gift.”  We learn how the central character became a werewolf, and follow his growth in that condition and as part of a greater scheme.

So I’m looking forward to reading this one, and won’t wait until it’s on the bargain table…The Wolf Gift is not a present I’m likely to return!