|
-
News
- Features
- Events
Calendar
- Editorials
- Monthly
Zine
- Offworld
Report
- Our Daily
RSS Feed
- Movie/TV
Reviews
> Recent movies
> Movies by year
> Movies by title
- Book
Reviews
> Recent books
> Books by year
> Books by title
- Home
- Worlds
- Biography
- Bibliography
- Appearances
- Reviews
- Blog
- Community
- Press
- Links
Become
an Advertiser
- Web
Site Directory
- Search
the Net
- StephenHunt.net
- WoodenRocket.com
- Check
your E-mail
- Non Sci-Fi
News
|
Barking by Tom Holt
02/02/2008 . Source: Laura Kayne 
pub: Orbit. 404 page hardback. Price: £12.99 (UK), $26.00 (CAN). ISBN: 978-1-84149-285-8. 404 page enlarged paperback. Price: £ 7.99 (UK), $16.00 (CAN). ISBN: 978-1-84149-285-5) . Buy Barking in the USA - or Buy Barking in the UK  check out websites: www.orbitbooks.co.uk and www.tom-holt.com
There are monsters in London and Duncan Hughes may well be one of the worst. A lawyer who lacks the predator instinct, Duncan just treads water, logging hours and charging his clients too much, until after fifteen years, his school-friend Luke Ferris reappears in his life. It transpires that Luke is also a lawyer, senior partner in a firm composed of all of his old school gang members. All except Duncan and now Luke wants him to rejoin his pack. After being fired from his existing job, Duncan has no choice but to accept. But fifteen years can change more than even Duncan realises, as he discovers that he is signing up for more than a new job. It turns out that the predator instinct is alive and well at Ferris and Loop. The whole firm are werewolves.
Duncan just has time to deal with this change. Increased strength, invulnerability and long life are great, howling at the moon once a month and having sudden desires to run in circles or chase cars not quite as welcome when he is hit by another sudden re-appearance. This time it is his estranged ex-wife. Only she's also been undergoing some changes. Sally's new lifestyle involves flying, an aversion to garlic and sleeping in a coffin, not to mention being at war with the werewolves.
As Duncan tries to figure out whose side he and everyone else is on, he comes up against zombies, unicorns, shape-shifters and accounts that just won't balance. He knows he doesn't have to be barking mad to cope, but it certainly seems to help. As he solves one mystery, another appears and as Duncan begins to learn who his real friends are, he discovers that you really can't trust anybody. Not your oldest friend and sometimes not even yourself. It gives him a whole new meaning regarding death and taxes. Until he realises that to save himself he finally has to start thinking like a lawyer.
There is no background given as to why London is full of werewolves, vampires and zombies. Nor not much information on how their factions grew or how people become one, besides being bitten, how lawyers became involved or even why the werewolves and vampires are enemies besides the comparison of werewolves to dogs and vampires to cats. But the lack of background, history, philosophy or world-building does not detract from a fun and humorous story. As the reader follows Duncan through the twists and turns that his life takes, more and more mysteries are uncovered and eventually solved. Why are all factions after him? Why haven't the vampires killed him yet? Can anyone ever catch a unicorn? The pace is fast, the storytelling funny, the characters brilliantly human and flawed, the context original and engaging. 'Barking' is easy to read, fun, clever and entertaining. If you ever thought lawyers were inhuman, here is the proof! Read, enjoy it and never look at lawyers or huge black dogs in quite the same way again!
Laura Kayne
|
|
