THE WERELING #2: PREY.

THE WERELING #2: PREY by Stephen Cole.

A wereling is a resister whose humanity and compassion prevails in the 'wolf'. Which seemed to mean that when the change was on him, Tom could hold on to some struggling, screaming human part of his nature that loathed what he he had become.

And Tom wants nothing more than to be a normal teenager again. He and Kate have made it to New York and escaped Kate's werewolf mother, for now. But it's not the safe haven they had hoped for. Something sinister is stalking the streets, preying on the vulnerable - people with no place to stay, no money, no one to ask for help - people like Tom and Kate. They are here to find the medicine man, Jicaque, who can free Tom from his wereling instincts, but before they can track Jicaque down it looks like they might be next on the menu ....
..... Outer back cover

FIRST SENTENCE (Chapter 1): The full moon shone on Tom Anderson through the truck window.

MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 155): "It is not for me to say whether a race shall die or live," Jicaque retorted, "but to preserve the proper balance of life ....."

MY THOUGHTS: Categorised as juvenile fiction, though Prey isn't overly graphic or lengthy in its descriptions of blood and gore there was more, a lot more, of it than I would have expected which combined with the fact it occasionally strays into some pretty adult issues makes it, in my opinion, only really suitable for older teenage readers up. And yet, that said, I'm curious as to just how many older teenagers/young adults would find this too tame, the issues raised not quite sophisticated enough.

Trying hard not to include any spoilers, I think I'll leave it as there was nothing fresh in the telling of this story, its central themes of something (or someone) preying on the vulnerable to what ends I won't say and, the search for a cure having been featured in several other books of this genre not too mention the 'gladiatorial' element which was recently featured on a tv series starring a ghost, a vampire and, a werewolf

Part 2 in a trilogy, do I think I would have gained anything by reading part 1 first? Not something I can say for definite but I strongly believe not.

KEEP IT OR NOT?: Ex-library stock, not a book I'll be keeping.

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