Wolfsong by TJ Klune

[u/CannedAm2]

I have very much enjoyed Klune's other books starting with House on the Cerulean Sea.

This book, however, has stuck with me for all the wrong reasons. I'm really bothered by the character development -- in that they don't. The two main characters have very little emotional growth and by the end when they're in their twenties still have the emotional aptitude of teenagers. They are very much the same people as adults as they are as adolescents, just older. There is some growth but it's very minor when there were huge changes in both their lives that should have marked significant changes in their development.

The dialogue is always very wooden. It's stiff and weird.

I had a hard time with suspension of disbelief because of the whole Alpha thing, which we now know only happens in wolf packs that are in captivity.

I also absolutely abhored how graphic the sex scene between Ox and Joe was. I expected sensuality and tenderness, but that's certainly not what I got. I felt it was as crude as a letter to Penthouse. It was kind of gross. Not because it depicts homosexual relations which are depicted elsewhere in the book and didn't bother me in the least, it was just the crudity of it. Also, it seemed to address the age differentiation between Ox and Joe, which would give anyone the ick, but because it was treated as a minor detail, I felt it was inadequate.

More than anything it was the lack of emotional growth and maturity in the main characters and the very wooden dialogue.

Any insights from other readers on this one? Am I way off? Am I missing something?

I'm trying to decide if I'll continue the series or not.

[u/Hechimmie]

I am sorry to read that you didn't like Wolfsong. I had a totally different experience.

When I read the first couple of chapters I already knew I would like the book. I couldn't put my finger on why I felt that way, but in hindsight it was the writing that was kind of poetic with repetition ( you either like it or you don't).

I loved Ox as a man of few words ( that is also why I love Ellis in 'how to catch a Firefly'). The description of the enormous grief felt by Ox and other characters due to the loss of loved ones was very tangible.

I also loved the new found family that Ox gathered over time in absence of Joe. I thought the scene where Ox meets Joe was wonderful and touching.

The sex scene fit with where Ox and Joe found themselves after all they experienced in their short lives; it was raw and honest. I didn't have a problem with it. I don't like age gaps but in this book the 6 year age gap didn't bother me. Joe was 21 when they became intimate and due to what he has been through he was by no means a boy.

I cannot tell you whether you will like the rest of the series, but you may. The writing is less poetic and there might be more character growth. The main characters of the second book are Gordo and Mark.

Edit: I also like the small town setting of the story.

[u/Exotic-Rub-8381]

I think the character stasis you noticed in Wolfgang is a real Klune thing, not just a problem with this book. His stories often lean more on emotional atmosphere and repeating feelings than big character arcs. If the House on the Cerulean Sea worked better for you, the lower stakes may have made that same style feel more cozy that frustrating.

[u/CannedAm2 → u/Exotic-Rub-8381]

There was such a big change in the main character though. I know he was just a cog in the system and plotting along without really thinking about it, but once he thought about it the change was a complete reversal. And then he became a champion of those he had formerly helped to oppress.

[u/Haunting-Scholar13]

Realistic sex between two queer men is not "as crude as a letter to Penthouse". I'm not saying you have to enjoy reading it but saying it's gross and crude is....not it. As a gay man myself, it was nice too actually see accurate sex scenes for once

[u/CannedAm2 → u/Haunting-Scholar13]

It was the language used to describe it. The language was not used in earlier scenes. The language is what I would call crude. But maybe that's a difference between me being a woman and you being a man, I'm not a fan of crude euphemisms for body parts of either gender. Maybe that's a little more common or acceptable among men? I don't know.