Pages: 400 pages
ISBN: 0553807382
Publisher: Spectra
Publication Date: August 25, 2009
When a monk uncovers a lair of werewolf young, he unleashes a power unseen in demons or men. The Teutonic Order—the most powerful military organization in Christendom—has clandestinely raised these ferocious beasts to serve as instruments of God. Known as wolfbreed, the lupine creatures are able to cloak themselves in human form. Trained to slip into villages unnoticed before commencing their slaughter, they are all but unstoppable. Only one, called Lilly, has cunningly fled her brutal master…
Young Uldolf doesn’t remember the massacre eight years earlier that claimed his village, his arm, and his kin, leaving him to be raised by his uncle’s kind family. But he knows the pain of loneliness, and when he sees what he believes is a beautiful young girl, injured and cowering in the woods, he runs to her aid and carries her home.
Uldolf and his family will do anything to protect the terrified girl…but the danger they face is greater than they can possibly imagine. For death is the only life young Lilly has ever known. Can their care pierce the darkness she harbors in her soul? Or will her secret cause her to lose everything she has to gain…
An innovative mix of historical fiction, romance, and the paranormal, here is a riveting tale of loyalty, love—and what it truly means to be human.
S. A. Swann has written a spellbinding fantasy of the Teutonic Knights and the great Northern Crusade, set in a little-known period of history amidst the gloomy forests of Prussia and Lithuania. Vivid and visceral, dark and delicious, this one kept me turning pages from start to finish.
This may be the werewolf book of the year.
15 Comments
Genrewonk » Various and sundry · March 25, 2009 at 8:01 am
[…] I’ve put up a home here for Wolfbreed, although that book is probably also going to get its own web presence. (it’s […]
Genrewonk » Character Driven vs. Plot Driven · April 8, 2009 at 8:01 am
[…] Wolfbreed, I think, is a powerful counterexample to pose against this false Character/Plot dichotomy. It has action all over the place, plot up the wazoo, even opens on a dramatic attack on a medieval castle— and the plot engine is tied up all in one person’s guilt, love, and desire for redemption. Without that one character, there would literally be no story. […]
Genrewonk » Context ahoy · August 28, 2009 at 7:40 am
[…] Sun. If you’re out there, look me up. Also, go to the dealer’s room and buy a copy of Wolfbreed, I’m pretty sure Larry Smith will have a few […]
Genrewonk » Happy Birthday to me · September 1, 2009 at 8:01 am
[…] the September issue of Locus and there’s a real nice writeup of Wolfbreed: [Swann] finds his way to an ending that manages to be both eloquent and satisfying, as guilt […]
Genrewonk » Tonight · September 4, 2009 at 8:06 am
[…] at 6:00 PM at the Learned Owl in Hudson, Ohio. I’ll be doing a signing of my new book, Wolfbreed. It’s a new venue for me, outside of my usual stomping grounds, wish me […]
Genrewonk » Review-O-Rama · September 15, 2009 at 8:01 am
[…] or two, as did a commenter there. But it led me to ponder the elements of genre as they apply to Wolfbreed. To illustrate the point, here’s Jane again from the comments: I had a hard time reviewing […]
Genrewonk » We gots badges · October 19, 2009 at 12:51 pm
[…] show them off. I’ve linked the graphics to the reviews in question. It does seem that Wolfbreed is actually striking a chord in part of the romance […]
Genrewonk » My cover can kick your cover’s ass · October 21, 2009 at 8:15 am
[…] like this even better than the cover for Wolfbreed. Though in both cases I think the cover captures the spirit of the […]
Genrewonk » Spectra Pimps Wolfbreed · November 2, 2009 at 8:51 am
[…] Fall 2009 issue of the Spectra Pulse Newsletter features Wolfbreed. I get a nice writeup and they put up a chapter from Wolf’s Cross. If you can think of a […]
Genrewonk » More Reviews and Blog updatery · November 3, 2009 at 8:08 am
[…] off, speaking of Wolfbreed, I’ve put up a sample chapter for your […]
Genrewonk » And then there was one. . . · January 6, 2010 at 9:09 am
[…] and if you want to help out, buy a copy of Wolfbreed or Prophets. If you can’t afford to buy a book, tell all your friends to buy them, that […]
Genrewonk » Me, babbling. . . · February 12, 2010 at 9:23 am
[…] night, I was on the Nightstalkers internet radio program. I talked about werewolves, writing and Wolfbreed. (Ain’t I alliterative?) With the exception of one technical glitch with my phone (I think […]
Genrewonk » I has CDs! · March 24, 2010 at 7:37 pm
[…] just got author copies of the audio version of Wolfbreed. While I can’t live without mp3s now, and the first thing I did with this was rip it into […]
Genrewonk » Opening Week: Setting the Scene · April 28, 2010 at 8:03 am
[…] here’s the opening passage from Wolfbreed. In the darkest woods in Burzenland, south of the Carpathian mountains, a knight of the Order of […]
Genrewonk » Swann about the web · February 7, 2011 at 9:41 pm
[…] also added to the review pages for Wolfbreed; new mentions at Bookworm Blues and (you have to love this title for a werewolf-themed blog) […]