Way of the Wolf (Vampire Earth Series #1)

by E. E. Knight

Overview

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440625497
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/02/2003
Series:	Vampire Earth , #1
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	76,613
File size:	400 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

E.E. Knight graduated from Northern Illinois University with a double major in history and political science, then made his way through a number of jobs that related to neither.

 

Read an Excerpt

It came, full of awful speed and power. A cloaked figure charged into the light, seeming to fly over the ground in a blur of motion.

"Hood!" a Wolf shouted, squeezing off a shot and working the bolt on his rifle. The caped-and-cowled figure made a leap twenty feet from the barn, crashing bodily through the old planks and beams as if they were papier-mâché.

The Reaper landed on all fours, arms and legs splayed like a spider. Before a gun could be turned in its direction, it sprang at the nearest Wolf, a shovel-bearded wedge of a man named Selbey. It was upon him before he could bring up his gun. The Hood's satchel-sized mouth opened to display ebony pointed teeth. Inhumanly large jaws sank into Selbey's arm, thrown up in defense. The Wolf's scream matched those from outside as the thing opened its mouth to bite again.

Valentine grabbed a candle-flare from Patel's two remaining at the south door. He thrust the candle into the lantern, waiting for it to sputter into life. It caught on after an eternity, and he ran towards the Hood.

The thing raised its blood-smeared face from the twitching victim to receive the burning end in its eye. It howled out its fury and pain and slapped the candle out of Valentine's hand with the speed of a leopard's paw. The flaming wand fell to the ground as the thing rose. The Reaper's menacing black shadow seemed to fill the wall of the barn. Death reached for Valentine, who struggled to draw his blade from its sheath in time.

Table of Contents

Introduction

"The history of Vampire Earth is something I've worked on for about eight years. The world is a stew containing ingredients from all the pulp influences of my youth: R. E. Howard's Conan, H. P. Lovecraft's erudite heroes, C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower, and Louis L'Amour's tough Apaches and Western villains. As I grew older I learned to appreciate Tolkien and Lewis, Bradbury and Heinlein. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then I'm flattering those and many others with my milieu. One interesting thing I discovered in my research is that many cultures have vampire legends, not just European ones as described in Stoker's Dracula. The creatures I describe come from many of these sources, as well as my own imagination. I hope that readers will enjoy experiencing my work as much as I enjoyed creating it."

Editorial Reviews

The Way of the Wolf is a winner. If you're going to read only one more post-apocalyptic novel, make it this one.

Fred Saberhagen

To begin with, The Way of the Wolf isn't exactly fantasy, it isn't exactly science fiction and it isn't exactly horror. To be honest, that's one of its strengths. It uses the tropes of each of these genres to full affect, the whole of the work greater than the sum of those parts. There are even, as the author readily admits, cinematic elements and elements of American literature insinuated into the story. To say that there is a little bit for everyone may be an overgeneralization, but I feel safe to say (it)... for fantasy, science-fiction and horror readers at large.

"Though information about the setting is slowly revealed, the setting itself has depth. This is a real place, if only on the pages of this novel (and hopefully more novels set in the same setting that will come). There is no trickery, the author has visited this world. He has laid it forth for us in the novel, so we can travel there too. I will not compare this to some of the giants of the industry, past or present, because that would be hardly fair, this being a first novel, but I must say that the worldbuilding, as evidenced in the writing, is evocative and believable.

"Is this an instant classic? I'm sorry, but no. Is this an excellent first novel which offers us a glimpse at an emerging talent? Absolutely. E. E. Knight has offered up a novel that is at least the equal to anything out there now, and surpasses many other works.
—atFantasy.com

Ronald Fraser

David Valentine will stay in my mind for weeks to come.This is a book about his education, his initiation as a warrior. In spite of his toughness, his mercilessness with his enemies, there is a saint-like naivete about him that makes him irresistible.

"The last part of the book is highly suspenseful. I read the last hundred pages in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down." (eBook Reviews Weekly)