WEREling by Steve Feasey and Contest

Wereling
by Steve Feasey
Pub: April, 2010/Feiwel and Friends
288 pages
Teen Fiction/Urban Fantasy



Summary:
Fourteen-year-old Trey Laporte is not a kid anymore. Not after the day he wakes up in agony—retina-splitting, vomit-inducing agony. His clothes are torn. His room is trashed. 
 
Enter Lucien Charron, the mysterious, long-lost “uncle” with freakish fire-flecked eyes and skin that blisters in the sun. Suddenly, Trey finds himself living in a luxury penthouse at the heart of a strange and sinister empire built on the powers of the Netherworld—vampires, demons, sorcerers, and djinn.  
 
And there is a girl—Alexa Charron—who is half vampire, half human, and insanely pretty, with powers all of her own. Trey is falling for her.  
 
Trey is training night and day to control the newly discovered power lurking inside him. Now, demons are closing in on every side, and the most psychopathic bloodsucker to rock the Netherworld wants to destroy him. Above all,  he  must face one terrifying question:
Is he a boy . . . or is he a beast?



This is one of those good news/bad news situations. Wereling is well written with complex characters, imaginative creatures and vivid description. On the other hand, it was slow and lacked action and suspense. 

The first 70 to 100 pages sets up the story and that was just too long for me. His uncle has a lot of explaining to do and he takes his time about it. Our hero doesn't even change into a werewolf until half-way through the book. 

By the time we find out the big bad guy's dastardly plan I was kind of like "Okay..." There was no build-up, no suspense. 


The same problem occurred when they went to his hideout. The bad guy gives them the location of the hideout, they know it's a trap, and we get the old B-Horror Movie trick of building you up....and then nothing happens. Yikes, what could be behind the door? Cue scary music...Oh, nothing's behind the door. Yikes, what's behind that other door? Cue scary music...Oh, nothing again.


Okay, eventually there was something behind the door (metaphor for potential scary moment) but by the time we got to the door that had something frightening, I shrugged a "Whatever" and moved on.

Shyamalans Disease. Symptoms Include: Smothering Suspense Like a Whiny Spouse, Complaining That The Critics "Just don't get it!", Being a Narcissist Who Writes Himself Into All of His Movies 

Wereling is actually a three book series that is already out in the UK under the titles Changling, Changling: Dark Moon, and Changling: Blood Wolf. I definitely felt that this was a set-up book but with the writing being so good, the sequels have great potential. 


For more on the plus side, Trey and Alexa's romance is cute, although doesn't go anywhere...yet - did I mention the set-up book idea? - the vampire "uncle" (he's really an old friend of Trey's parents) mentoring his werewolf "nephew" was a clever twist, and the monsters are intriguing. 


Another great bit is the Demoncylopedia: A Guide to the Netherworld and Its Creatures at the end of the book. It has fascinating history and description of the various creatures and even a blurb on Flora and Fauna of the Netherworld. Very clever and engaging


The Cover: I like it. He looks creepy. You've got the moon in the clouds thing going on and the capitalization of WERE in Wereling is a nice touch. The UK cover is good too - a bit darker and more of a comic book feel.


First Lines: Trey Laporte opened his eyes, wincing against the assault of the late-morning sunshine on his retinas. Sitting up in bed, he clutched his hands to his head as a mortar shell of pain exploded inside his brain.

When I read the first line, I thought, "Great, another beginning with a teenager waking up in bed. Boring. But the second line lets me know something's wrong so I want to read on. And I like the "...mortar shell of pain..." line.

Bottom Line: Wereling didn't deliver as much action and thrills that I was looking for but for those who aren't as needy in that area, the premise, writing and characters are solid. 

 

Websites:

http://www.stevefeasey.com/

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