Wolfsangel – The Myth of the Werewolf Reborn
Published May 2010 by Gollancz
‘Savage, dark, strange and unpredictable’ – Joe Abercrombie
‘Genuinely strange, eerie, evocative. A classic’ – Adam Roberts
‘A unique take on the werewolf mythos, on the Norse pantheon and on magic itself. An enthralling, mesmerising book’ – Mike Carey
Superior thunderous and full-blooded historical fantasy, broiling and smoking with mystery, beautifully written’ – Graham Joyce
‘A hardcore fantasy epic, mixing Norse saga with brutal violence, uncompromising action and an original take on the werewolf mythology. The intricate plotting had me hooked from the start, and the book ends on a bang that will leave you desperate for more! Now, where can I buy a Moonsword?’ – Andy Remic
‘A fresh take on the werewolf myth that savages your expectations at every turn. Brutal and relentlessly original’ – Chris Wooding
‘Sent chills down my spine. Dark, bloody and dangerous, you can almost smell the sweat and iron coming off the pages. There are a lot of werewolves coming our way this year, but Wolfsangel could well be the standard by which they will be judged for some years to come’ – Stephen Deas
‘A spellbinding and unputdownable fusion of historical and fantasy fiction that is sure to enchant devotees of both genres’ – RJ Ellory
Hi Mark,
As a huge fan of your contemporary novels, do you think I will I like your fantasy work? Did you let that wonderful sense of humour of yours bleed into it, or did you play it straight?
Full disclosure: I don’t typically read fantasy novels aside from a few classics from the pulp era. But, like you, I did spend too much of my youth (and adulthood) obsessing over Gary Gygax’s wonderful world of dragons and dungeons.
I did thoroughly enjoy Michael Chabon’s take on medieval pulp adventure: ‘Gentlemen of the Road’. His medieval jewish swashbucklers were, for me, the perfect blend of classic pulp and modern wit.
The cover art for Wolfsangle is… to be perfectly honest… a little off-putting. It’s not something I would want to be seen reading on the subway. An Otis Erol illustration might have been more intriguing to me.
Like I said, huge fan of your contemporary novels… all of them… so I will probably give this book a shot.
Greg
Greg. Thanks for the kind words about my contemporary stuff. To be honest, if it’s laughs you’re after then you’ll probably prefer The Elfish Gene – my memoir of my D&D obsessed youth.
Wolfsangel doesn’t have any jokes in it, in fact I went through taking them out as it’s quite natural for me to write them. Some of the characters have a sense of humour but the whole book is pretty dark.
Covers are difficult territory for fantasy novels and, to be honest, for contemporary ones too. The cover for Girlfriend 44 in the UK was, to me, horrible. However it was right on the market.
I like the Wolfsangel cover. I think it’s a really professional job that does exactly what it’s meant to do, but I can see why a non-fantasy reader might not want to be seen with it! It depends what you’re looking to do with the cover. I might have liked something with a much more ‘high arty’ look to it. It would have flattered my vanity. However, this would be to miss the point of a cover. It’s not so the author can impress his smart metropolitan friends. First and foremost a cover has to tell the reader what kind of book they’re getting. This is a fantasy novel though – as you can see by the reviews I’ve linked to on the blog – a slightly unusual one. That’s why it looks like a fantasy novel. The cover says to the reader ‘this is like something you’ve read before’, which encourages them to pick it up. Then, hopefully, they read the blurb and the reviews on the back cover and realise it’s a little bit different. If you give people – and I include myself in this – something radically outside their comfort zone you don’t actually get to the point when your genre-busting writing tears their head off and leaves them weeping on the floor calling you a genius (that’s the idea anyway). They just don’t pick it up. This is perfectly illustrated by what you’re saying. It doesn’t look like the kind of thing you normally read so you don’t want to read it. We’re all like that. The fact that, as a non fantasy fan, the novel doesn’t appeal to you is probably, in all honesty, a good thing.
I’ve never really liked much fantasy art, to be honest. I find much of it very conservative. Still, someone has to keep the airbrush industry going. My choice for a cover would be Aubrey Beardsley or something based on the Norse runes and the original Viking art. A nice 8th century style wolf’s head would have suited me. However, that would appeal to me and three professors in Iceland.
Do buy the book, though. I’m very proud of it and I have hopes that it will do well. Maybe then I can pioneer the $400 collectors edition with hand scratched runes!
Thanks again for your comments. If you like my comic writing, I’ll shortly be posting a load of my articles on here.
Thanks for the reply!
Please don’t take my comments on the cover too harshly. You are right that I’m not the typical consumer of fantasy novels, and you’re also correct that I do generally find fantasy novels in general have slightly embarrassing covers, but obviously they work for some people. On the other hand, Nordic runes and a medieval wolf crest would have been pretty awesome.
I read and thoroughly enjoyed The Elfish Gene. You were already on my ‘authors to watch’ list at that point, since I had previously enjoyed “Girlfriend 44″ (the first chapter alone was worth the cover price) and “Infidelity for etc etc” before it. The Elfish Gene took me by surprise. I was very happy to see that I shared many similar formative experiences with an author who I liked and admired.
I have to tell you: the combined impacts of Gary Gygax’s passing, the end of my bachelor days, and reading The Elfish Gene had the effect of totally reignited my adolescent obsession with AD&D. So, yes, Mark, you are partially to blame for my regression and subsequent inability to get anything done at work…. My wife will be contacting your lawyer.
Hi Mark,
I am a freelance translator, and just received an order from a client, a publisher, to translate a new novel. He said, “You’re gonna like it. It’s a great fantasy. A rare one. So make the time. Even, give it first priority on your deadline list. They will publish it in May. And around June or July, we’ll release the Indonesian version.” Then he sent me the manuscript. I am reading it now, coming to p#60 of 356 of a doc. file.
I think I don’t want to wait until I reach the end to make acquaintance with the author. So, here I am, saying hello to you and sharing my eagerness about Wolfsangel. I love it. Can’t wait to start working on it.
My last work was Andrew Davidson’s The Gargoyle. I enjoyed every bit of the novel. It sells very well here, and reviewers gave me credit for the excellent translation. (I think I mention this just to impress you…lol. Does it work?)
Cheers
Good morning, Mark…
I was up till 2 in the morning facing my laptop, reading your book to p#167.
The dark magic and the gods business are so serious I am glad Vali has humorous look on them. Even in war and raid he makes me smile. I love his character and hope his tenderness and witticism would endure the harshness of fate. Wouldn’t they?
Reading your vivid description about the berserk, I couldn’t help thinking like
Asterix and Obelix: “The vikings are crazy.” But the significance is clearer to me since I can relate to Vali and Adisla.
Well, Mark, I am honored to be the first reader here and the translator, though I may not be a good reviewer.
Ary
Great to be working with you and I’m really glad you like the book.
Any questions – my English can get pretty colloquial at times – just send them through and I’ll try to explain!
Mark
Hello Mark, thanks for your response.
I appreciate your generous offer to assist me later with the translation. I suppose it would be better through e-mail then. Would you please send me your address?
Btw. I finished reading the book just now, and gulped. Wow….(*where’s the second book? It will come out soon after the 1st, right? Great.)
Well, good luck. I’ll be in touch.
Ary
Ary. I’m on Facebook as MDLachlan. That’s the best way to contact me!
Love the book, love the story, love the twins, love the wolfs, love the dark… and very hope… there more romance in second books. Congratulations for it Mark.
“n_n”
Thanks for the kind words! Second book is a bit more of a thriller but still has a bit of the love story woven in. Third book will deal much more with the relationship of Vali, Adisla and Feileg.