When it comes to paranormal fiction, less is more, at least in my opinion. I have little patience with stories in which every character has super powers and any physical law can be suspended in order to twist the plot in the desired direction. I far prefer a fictional world closer to reality. Paranormal stories should begin with a simple premise, a bit of magic or a well-defined special ability, and then explore the implications of that premise in the characters’ lives.

For this reason, I really enjoyed D.M. Atkin’s and Chris Taylor’s M/M paranormal romance Faewolf. The book belongs to the outrageously popular shape shifter sub-genre, but the wolf/man character, Brian Ferris, is no superman. Indeed, he is not really a man at all. He is an intelligent wolf with the ability to take human form. One delight of the book is the skill with which the authors make this point clear.

Brian, or Saoi as his conspecifics named him, struggles to maintain his human facade as a ecology graduate student in order to research the decline of his race, but he is happiest and most comfortable as a wolf. His powers, other than a preternatural ability to heal quickly, are basically those shared by all wolves: keen senses, rapid reflexes, and the ferocity of a predator. On the other hand, he has magical weaknesses, most notably a sensitivity to iron. And he is emotionally vulnerable, almost an outcast, marked by his decision to live apart from his pack in order to pursues his search for knowledge.

Brian inhabits a rustic cabin in the Santa Cruz forest with only the barest of human comforts―basically, his den―and he is shy and awkward when it comes to human relationships. Kiya White Cloud, on the other hand, is a gregarious, openly gay college freshman who falls in lust with Brian the first time he sees the graduate teaching assistant. Kiya is a more realistic character than most M/M romance heroes. Sure, he’s gorgeous and horny, but he is also immature, vain, and somewhat irresponsible. He acts like the nineteen year old he is.

Kiya is half Lakota Sioux. He grew up on a South Dakota reservation and is attending UC Santa Cruz on scholarship. On his own for the first time, he is finally free to explore his attraction to men and his submissive tendencies. Like many young people, he makes some bad choices with regard to partners. When he gets involved with Ted, a handsome but sadistic older student with psychopathic tendencies, Kiya realizes his mistake and tries to extricate himself from the relationship, but Ted will not let him go.

Faewolf follows the conventions of M/M romance. Kiya and Brian are drawn to each other but face obstacles: first, their relative statuses as student and teacher, and later the murderous Ted and a set of even more vicious bounty hunters seeking the magical pelt of a faewolf. As he and Kiya become closer, Brian desperately tries to conceal the secret of his true identity. Kiya, though, comes from a culture in which animals are often bearers of wisdom and magic. It is far easier for him to accept that Saoi and Brian are the same individual than Brian had ever dreamed.

The sex scenes in Faewolf are steamy and tender by turns. Prospective readers should be aware that there are several scenes in which Kiya has sex with Brian in his wolf form. The authors manage to portray this cross-species coupling as simultaneously natural and outrageously transgressive. These scenes are among the best in the book.

I have to mention that the writing in this novel does not seem to be up to Circlet’s usual high standards. There is a distracting overabundance of adverbs. Hardly a page goes by in which some character or other does not “smirk”. However, the stylistic flaws do not detract much from the emotional impact of the story. I suspect that Circlet, eager to enter the popular romance market, might not have subjected Faewolf to editing as rigorous as it deserved.

If you enjoy M/M paranormal romance, but you’re tired of alternative worlds in which every character is the scion of some different magical or cursed race, you’ll find Faewolf a welcome breath of fresh air. I did.

Faewolf by D.M. Atkins & Chris Taylor
(Circlet Press, May 26, 2009; ISBN 0758209819)
Available at: Amazon

© 2009 Lisabet Sarai. All rights reserved. Content may not be copied or used in whole or part without written permission from the author.