Talulla Rising is book two in Glen Ducan's The Last Werewolf trilogy. The first book, The Last Werewolf, came out in 2011 to much fanfare. I didn't think it lived up to the hype, but I still think it's a book that horror fans might like to check out. It's certainly nowhere near the literary heights of horror classics like Dracula or Frankenstein, but it does bring a grown-up werewolf to the contemporary literary scene.

Let me start with what I liked about Talulla Rising:

I like the world Duncan has created, even if I don't always admire how he executes the story. It's a world where werewolves and vampires are physically repellant to one another. Most humans seem oblivious to the monsters in their midst, but a small paramilitary organization is out to capture or kill them. Vampires get "vampire burnout" from living forever and not being able to eat real food or have sex or walk in the sunshine: vampires are depressives,"centuries of no sunlight. Seasonal Affective Disorder on a massive scale." Werewolves live about 400 years and even Jake Marlowe from book one was ready to be done with it after only 200 years of eating, shagging, and walking in the sunshine. There is some good, dark humor throughout the story.

Jake's advice to Talullah that she keep reading will tug at the heart and library card of most bibliophiles: "Literature is humanity's broad-minded alter-ego, with room in its heart even for monsters, even for you. It's humanity without the judgement. Trust me, it'll help." She thinks of his words after noticing the pages of Moll Flanders fluttering on the table near an open window. How can anyone not appreciate that sentiment or image?

Duncan also won me over with the idea of species sympathy: "a feeling of accommodating something you never imagined you'd have room for. At the time I'd thought: that's what God wants us to do, find room for each other the way He finds room for Everything." Least you think this book has gone soft or religious, the sprouting of Talulla's species sympathy gets its energy from a moment in the past when she secretly sniffed her best friend's recently worn underwear.

This species sympathy is part of a huge shift that's underway in Talullah Rising and which I'm assuming will play out in book three, By Blood We Live (click here to read a NYT interview where Duncan mentions the title).

Overall, however, Talulla Rising lands a bit lower on my rating scale than did its predecessor, The Last Werewolf.

There's some poor, uneven writing throughout, particularly in the first 100 pages or so when it seems that Duncan was still looking for Talulla's voice. In the beginning she sounds exactly like Jake Marlowe (the last werewolf character of book one) and even uses male slang to describe her own masturbatory act. I've never heard a woman say she "jerked off." Perhaps it's a British thing.

I'd need to give the book a second reading to sort out the vast array of sexual violence and stereotypes about women, men, rape, and motherhood (there's lots of angst about motherhood). In short it seems that Talullah's voracious female libido has to be counterbalanced by rape, prostitution, domestic violence, and/or the pornographic subjugation of women. It's like feminism never happened. I'm all for a healthy libido and it would be refreshing to see a woman character have one that can stand on its own.

Another sexual device that I found offensive is Talulla's teasing speculation about not if, but when she'll have sex with another woman. Sure, Jake Marlowe had sex with a few guys over the 200 year span of his werewolf existence, but this hint of woman-on-woman sex came off like a cheap Hollywood ploy designed to keep some people watching (or reading).

And speaking of characters, don't get me started on Mr. Walker. He's a walking, talking, plastic stereotype and the plot twist regarding him toward the end, with the help of the babysitter, is a cheap deus ex machina.

I had a hard time suspending my disbelief with the non-supernatural aspects of this novel. I'm hoping book three will rely less on stereotypes and cheap tricks and have more species sympathy.

If you really liked The Last Werewolf, you'll no doubt want to rush out to your local bookstore and pick up Talulla Rising. If you thought The Last Werewolf was just so-so, I recommend you check it out of the library. If you didn't like The Last Werewolf, I imagine you'd like the follow-up even less so, but you never know. ( )

Not the purported reimagining of the werewolf story some people seem to think this trilogy is. More of a Jason Bourne kind of supernatural thriller with Vampires and Werewolves, actually somewhat reminiscent of the Underworld movies except with more of a werewolf bent. I'm surprised so few people picked up on this. Not a bad thriller but I found it was the kind of read I could let my mind wander and feel like I hadn't missed much when I came back to focused reading. I never had to re-read anything. Except for maybe Talulla herself and the twins I never felt invested in anyone including Walker. I couldn't have cared less who dropped off the map and the whole thing ended up in a kind of sappy love theme when I think Duncan actually had something as long as he kept the werewolves more amoral, but species protective. They end up kissing cousins with vamps and humans alike. Yuch.

I was sorta entertained. I'll probably read the next one. ( )

Narrated by Penelope Rawlings, who drove me absolutely batty with her Boston accent. And not in a good way, either. ( )

This was a good one that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book.

This was the second book of what I am assuming is a series because it did not tie up a lot of loose ends. I will read more books by this author.

If you like werewolves and vampires, you will definitely like this book. ( )

Love that Duncan finally found Tallula's unique voice, and fully developed her as a badass stand-alone character. This book kept up the breakneck pace of THE LAST WEREWOLF and I *still* felt like I couldn't read it fast enough. Here's to hoping the (inevitable) sequel lives up to its predecessors! ( )