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Pack
From the author of FantasticLand comes a supernatural thriller set in a sleepy Nebraska town that mixes the novels of Anne Rice and the pulpy, bloody works of Donald Ray Pollock.
Cherry, Nebraska, population 312, is just off the highway between the sticks and the boonies. It’s where Dave Rhodes and his friends have lived all their lives. They own businesses, raise families, pay taxes, deal with odd neighbors and, once or twice a month just like their fathers before them—transform into wolves. It’s not a bad life, but when one of the group members goes astray, it sets in motion a series of events that will threaten to destroy the delicate balance that has kept Dave and his clan off the radar. Between a son getting ready for his first transformation—called The Scratch—a wife with sordid secrets, a new sheriff who knows nothing of the creatures in his midst, and a mysterious man in a bow tie with a shady agenda, the middle of nowhere is about to get very dangerous.
Interspersed with historical documents and newspaper clippings, and court documents that reveal the past of Cherry, Nebraska, a past informed by spirits, the devil, and crooked cops. In the vein of Donald Ray Pollock and Glen Duncan, Pack is at its heart is the story of family’s survival in an unforgiving world. Mike Bockoven’s second novel moves at breakneck speed with prose that hits like an injection of battery acid. Raw, real, and funny, Pack exposes the horror and tenderness that festers in the forgotten corners of the American Dream.
Cherry, Nebraska, population 312, is just off the highway between the sticks and the boonies. It’s where Dave Rhodes and his friends have lived all their lives. They own businesses, raise families, pay taxes, deal with odd neighbors and, once or twice a month just like their fathers before them—transform into wolves. It’s not a bad life, but when one of the group members goes astray, it sets in motion a series of events that will threaten to destroy the delicate balance that has kept Dave and his clan off the radar. Between a son getting ready for his first transformation—called The Scratch—a wife with sordid secrets, a new sheriff who knows nothing of the creatures in his midst, and a mysterious man in a bow tie with a shady agenda, the middle of nowhere is about to get very dangerous.
Interspersed with historical documents and newspaper clippings, and court documents that reveal the past of Cherry, Nebraska, a past informed by spirits, the devil, and crooked cops. In the vein of Donald Ray Pollock and Glen Duncan, Pack is at its heart is the story of family’s survival in an unforgiving world. Mike Bockoven’s second novel moves at breakneck speed with prose that hits like an injection of battery acid. Raw, real, and funny, Pack exposes the horror and tenderness that festers in the forgotten corners of the American Dream.
272 pages, Paperback
First published July 3, 2018
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1127 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
October 22, 2019
i read a lot of arcs. and i read a lot of monsterporn. and between the two, i have become accustomed to encountering - and reasonably numb to criticizing - spelling errors, misused or missing words, grammatical disharmony, etc. my brain is perfectly capable of reading around errors and grasping the author’s intentions, so at first, the shockingly high number of mistakes in this book were no biggie: “This was a stroke of improbably luck,” characters planning to meet at “the abandon tire store,” “I will call ever hour,” “sandles,” “Do you’re little trick,” “bare this burden,” “throwing all décor out the window” (props on including the accent aigu*, but this is not the word you’re looking for), etc.
and it happens - you drop your copyediting guard and the word "knight" sneaks in instead of "night," They had come in the middle of the knight…, that's fine. you forget to close your apostrophes in a bit of back-and-forth dialogue so that a character is asking and answering their own question for some reason, OR you misattribute a quote so it looks like the werewolf is accusing the sheriff of murder, “You and your people killed them,” OR you have a character speaking who isn’t even in that scene, OR all of the above and ALSO sentences in which the verb tenses don’t agree, or a seeming unfamiliarity with compound words: “high tailed,” “in tact,” “race track,” “shout out,” “bad ass,” “entry way,” “batted clean up,” &etc &etc &etc.
again, it’s annoying to come across such high numbers of errors, but it’s just cosmetic damage - i can fill in the blanks and figure out what’s meant to be there.
however.
when the errors aren’t just superficial copyediting errors and are more significant continuity errors, well then it becomes a problem i'm unwilling to overlook and i start wondering what other aspects of the author's intentions are not being honored and - more importantly - i start wondering why other people are getting paid for jobs that i should have.
this is not an ARC. there is no excuse for this:
i’m not in love with the echo here - being told the town “may never fully heal” only one sentence removed from the statement that the town “never recovered,” but that’s just a super-fussy nitpick. what i cannot tolerate is a child who was miscarried out of grief in one paragraph being born as a happy occasion in the next. that is unacceptably sloppy.
and on the very next page, same sloppy shit. it’s the start of a new chapter, involving a gathering of several characters, and it opens with:
The man with the Irish accent was expected to speak in front of the assembled group in the “family room” of Dave and Josie’s house, but he had not yet arrived.
it goes on to list who is there and where they are sitting and the general tone of the room. and THEN:
No one was talking and no one wasn’t looking at the stranger in their midst.
the stranger. meaning “the man with the Irish accent.” who cannot be the recipient of all these looks because, you will recall, HE HAD NOT YET ARRIVED. and he won’t arrive until the next page.
&etc &etc &etc &etc &etc &etc &etc
and maybe i’m being a dick and i should just focus on the book itself and not the editing, but it became legit distracting to me. i was so looking forward to it - i loved LOVED bockoven's debut - FantasticLand, and i love grit lit, and the idea of grit lit with werewolves was tickling all my fancies, but this book just didn’t do it for me, in the end. and i’ll never know if my tepid reaction to it was because of the book or because of my growing resentment with how poorly it was edited.
either way, it has left me sad.
* french seems to be a problem throughout. i still have no clue what a wolf “tearing the last man apart in a bloody decoupage” is meant to suggest, since the fine art of decoupage involves affixing elements together, collage-style, not tearing them apart.
************************************
1/27/19
dear talos - if i can find at least 100 typos and continuity errors in this non-ARC, finished book, will you hire me? it's a fair challenge - i didn't count them as i was going along, but i found A LOT. i have my own red pen and i'm ready to earn my keep.
************************************
1/23/19
HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE
*********************************
6/10/18
WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT
come to my blog!
and it happens - you drop your copyediting guard and the word "knight" sneaks in instead of "night," They had come in the middle of the knight…, that's fine. you forget to close your apostrophes in a bit of back-and-forth dialogue so that a character is asking and answering their own question for some reason, OR you misattribute a quote so it looks like the werewolf is accusing the sheriff of murder, “You and your people killed them,” OR you have a character speaking who isn’t even in that scene, OR all of the above and ALSO sentences in which the verb tenses don’t agree, or a seeming unfamiliarity with compound words: “high tailed,” “in tact,” “race track,” “shout out,” “bad ass,” “entry way,” “batted clean up,” &etc &etc &etc.
again, it’s annoying to come across such high numbers of errors, but it’s just cosmetic damage - i can fill in the blanks and figure out what’s meant to be there.
however.
when the errors aren’t just superficial copyediting errors and are more significant continuity errors, well then it becomes a problem i'm unwilling to overlook and i start wondering what other aspects of the author's intentions are not being honored and - more importantly - i start wondering why other people are getting paid for jobs that i should have.
this is not an ARC. there is no excuse for this:
When Adam’s body was found in a ditch, torn apart by what appeared to be wild animals, it tore the town apart. Men wept, women wept, children wept and a malaise descended over the town, from which it never recovered. Nellie miscarried their child out of grief. At Adam’s funeral, Kane gave the eulogy and opined that his brother’s death “would leave a mark on this town that may never fully heal.”
His words were prophetic. Shreiner’s closed six months after Adam’s death, and other businesses followed suit. Even the happy occasion of Adam’s son Bruce being born could not make a dent in the town’s mood.
i’m not in love with the echo here - being told the town “may never fully heal” only one sentence removed from the statement that the town “never recovered,” but that’s just a super-fussy nitpick. what i cannot tolerate is a child who was miscarried out of grief in one paragraph being born as a happy occasion in the next. that is unacceptably sloppy.
and on the very next page, same sloppy shit. it’s the start of a new chapter, involving a gathering of several characters, and it opens with:
The man with the Irish accent was expected to speak in front of the assembled group in the “family room” of Dave and Josie’s house, but he had not yet arrived.
it goes on to list who is there and where they are sitting and the general tone of the room. and THEN:
No one was talking and no one wasn’t looking at the stranger in their midst.
the stranger. meaning “the man with the Irish accent.” who cannot be the recipient of all these looks because, you will recall, HE HAD NOT YET ARRIVED. and he won’t arrive until the next page.
&etc &etc &etc &etc &etc &etc &etc
and maybe i’m being a dick and i should just focus on the book itself and not the editing, but it became legit distracting to me. i was so looking forward to it - i loved LOVED bockoven's debut - FantasticLand, and i love grit lit, and the idea of grit lit with werewolves was tickling all my fancies, but this book just didn’t do it for me, in the end. and i’ll never know if my tepid reaction to it was because of the book or because of my growing resentment with how poorly it was edited.
either way, it has left me sad.
* french seems to be a problem throughout. i still have no clue what a wolf “tearing the last man apart in a bloody decoupage” is meant to suggest, since the fine art of decoupage involves affixing elements together, collage-style, not tearing them apart.
************************************
1/27/19
dear talos - if i can find at least 100 typos and continuity errors in this non-ARC, finished book, will you hire me? it's a fair challenge - i didn't count them as i was going along, but i found A LOT. i have my own red pen and i'm ready to earn my keep.
************************************
1/23/19
HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE
*********************************
6/10/18
WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT
come to my blog!
April 13, 2018
Cherry, Nebraska is a small town - a really small town. There are approximately 312 people who reside in Cherry. It's the type of town where you either know everyone or you are related to them. You know everyone's business. It's the type of town used to keeping secrets. They know that there are things that go bump in the night - or in this case, howl in the night. Dave Rhodes and his friends contribute to their community. They own businesses, are teachers, mow lawns, help their neighbors and every so often - turn into wolves.
Everything seems fine on the surface but then one of their own, makes plans to betray them which turns the tide and their lives upside down. When two bodies are found, the current police chief decides he has had enough. He declares that it's time to retire and go on vacation and leaves town. The newly hired police chief has no idea what he is walking into. He thought leaving the mean streets of Detroit behind and coming to the country would make his life easier - a small town equals less stress, right? Wrong.
The dead bodies are only the beginning. Soon family secrets and relationship issues are brought to light. Two mysterious men show up in town. One wearing a bow tie with an agenda of capturing a live werewolf, and one who informs them that he has more in common with them than they think.
Pack has a little bit of everything - coming of age, a story of survival, good vs. evil, infidelity, betrayal, a feeling of community, bonding, family, and one heck of a bloodbath. I found this book to be well written and entertaining. Throughout the book, there are sections which detail the town of Cherry's history. It appears that werewolves have lived in this town for a long time. The pacing is great, and the book never felt slow or drawn out. I enjoyed the characters (even the not so like-able characters) and found this book to be pure enjoyment.
Fans of paranormal fiction or werewolf genre should really enjoy this character driven book. There are some bloody scenes but there are also funny and touching moments as well.
Thank you to Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
Everything seems fine on the surface but then one of their own, makes plans to betray them which turns the tide and their lives upside down. When two bodies are found, the current police chief decides he has had enough. He declares that it's time to retire and go on vacation and leaves town. The newly hired police chief has no idea what he is walking into. He thought leaving the mean streets of Detroit behind and coming to the country would make his life easier - a small town equals less stress, right? Wrong.
The dead bodies are only the beginning. Soon family secrets and relationship issues are brought to light. Two mysterious men show up in town. One wearing a bow tie with an agenda of capturing a live werewolf, and one who informs them that he has more in common with them than they think.
Pack has a little bit of everything - coming of age, a story of survival, good vs. evil, infidelity, betrayal, a feeling of community, bonding, family, and one heck of a bloodbath. I found this book to be well written and entertaining. Throughout the book, there are sections which detail the town of Cherry's history. It appears that werewolves have lived in this town for a long time. The pacing is great, and the book never felt slow or drawn out. I enjoyed the characters (even the not so like-able characters) and found this book to be pure enjoyment.
Fans of paranormal fiction or werewolf genre should really enjoy this character driven book. There are some bloody scenes but there are also funny and touching moments as well.
Thank you to Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
March 27, 2018
With a splash of intrigue, Author Mike Bockoven played on my imagination with a sudden immersion into the supernatural world of werewolves. Call these the modern-day werewolves. They were not of the genre that harkened back to the bloodthirsty beasts of Hollywood that were driven by the phases of the Moon. The character-driven scenes produced a storyline that commanded attention as the pot began to boil. The narrative drove an exciting plot that was well well-written. The ending had been delivered in grandiose style.
Somewhere in the central part of Nebraska is a small town that goes by the name of Cherry. It has everything you need: one food market, one gas station and a bar. It also has something that's unexpected, a gathering of werewolves. When the mood was right, they could make their transformations at will. Otherwise they lead normal lives just like other townfolk. Each to their own personality and life.
Their existence in Cherry had been discovered. A company had been hired to bring in some of these living oddities for testing. What made them tick? It was hoped that discovering the secrets to their supernatural power could be marketed to the highest bidder. The military would be the first choice.
There'd be no way to avoid it. It would all come down to a showdown between those that wanted to protect the town and its people against those that did not care who died in the process. There was a lot at stake. Neither side was about to give in. It was either kill or be killed. A bloodbath was in the making.
My thanks to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
Somewhere in the central part of Nebraska is a small town that goes by the name of Cherry. It has everything you need: one food market, one gas station and a bar. It also has something that's unexpected, a gathering of werewolves. When the mood was right, they could make their transformations at will. Otherwise they lead normal lives just like other townfolk. Each to their own personality and life.
Their existence in Cherry had been discovered. A company had been hired to bring in some of these living oddities for testing. What made them tick? It was hoped that discovering the secrets to their supernatural power could be marketed to the highest bidder. The military would be the first choice.
There'd be no way to avoid it. It would all come down to a showdown between those that wanted to protect the town and its people against those that did not care who died in the process. There was a lot at stake. Neither side was about to give in. It was either kill or be killed. A bloodbath was in the making.
My thanks to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
July 3, 2018
{NOTE: Read this months ago and reread yesterday/today. Recommended for horror or werewolf lovers, or anyone who likes realistic quirky stories}
Mike Bockoven’s newest offering “Pack” takes the not-so-normal and turns it into something that helps us accept the paranormal as everyday life. The book describes a small town that not only has accepted the idea of werewolves but treats the pack as an integral part of the community. When one of the pack steps outside of the boundaries governing their behavior, the decisions made bring outside attention and threaten everyone in the town.
“Pack” continues with some of the reporting aspects that made his previous novel “Fantasticland” an incredibly realistic read. The story is told through the eyes of multiple characters and embellished through his “Selective History of Barter County” chapters. These historical entries reveal bits and pieces of the past, events which were important and shaped the town as it is today.
This is not your typical story of werewolves. It is not a tale of young love nor a bloody trail of horror. Except for their ability to change into wolves, members of the pack are no different than other residents. The author humanizes what is normally presented as scary and spins our way of thinking in the opposite direction. It is easy to empathize with the characters in their struggle to preserve a way of life that has been crafted by their ancestors for almost 200 years.
Bottom line – this is a creative story that assumes the paranormal is real. While most writers work toward this goal, Mike Bockoven’s “Pack” seems to effortlessly achieve this level of realism. Highly recommended. Five stars.
My thanks to NetGalley for an advance reading copy of this book.
Mike Bockoven’s newest offering “Pack” takes the not-so-normal and turns it into something that helps us accept the paranormal as everyday life. The book describes a small town that not only has accepted the idea of werewolves but treats the pack as an integral part of the community. When one of the pack steps outside of the boundaries governing their behavior, the decisions made bring outside attention and threaten everyone in the town.
“Pack” continues with some of the reporting aspects that made his previous novel “Fantasticland” an incredibly realistic read. The story is told through the eyes of multiple characters and embellished through his “Selective History of Barter County” chapters. These historical entries reveal bits and pieces of the past, events which were important and shaped the town as it is today.
This is not your typical story of werewolves. It is not a tale of young love nor a bloody trail of horror. Except for their ability to change into wolves, members of the pack are no different than other residents. The author humanizes what is normally presented as scary and spins our way of thinking in the opposite direction. It is easy to empathize with the characters in their struggle to preserve a way of life that has been crafted by their ancestors for almost 200 years.
Bottom line – this is a creative story that assumes the paranormal is real. While most writers work toward this goal, Mike Bockoven’s “Pack” seems to effortlessly achieve this level of realism. Highly recommended. Five stars.
My thanks to NetGalley for an advance reading copy of this book.
June 27, 2018
I read Mike Bockoven's Fantasticland a few months ago & loved it, so I was very excited to get my hands on Pack. The styles of these books are very different, and I was looking forward to seeing how this one went.
Pack has a solid opening with werewolf secrets & bloodiness, and was a promising start to the story. For me, it went downhill from there. There was surprisingly little actual werewolf time, and most of the novel was spent talking & planning. There's also a lot of crying, and I didn't really understand why.
This is marketed as a supernatural thriller, but it's really a family drama in a small town with a supernatural element. It's pretty slow-paced. I was hoping for some horror-esque scenes, but there weren't any. A lot of time is spent on background information that didn't feel entirely necessary to me, but I appreciate what the author was trying to do.
Many of the characters fell flat for me. Most of the men who were the main characters were interchangeable, and the women were really just secondary characters. I appreciate the attempt at a strong female character, but I felt like she wasn't written in a way that made me believe it. It felt as if we were supposed to dislike her the first half of the novel, and then change our opinions of her.
Overall, I just struggled to connect with this story. I may have gone in with my expectations too high, but it was a letdown for me. I will still read more from Mike Bockoven. Thank you to Skyhorse Publishing for sending me a copy of Pack to review.
Pack has a solid opening with werewolf secrets & bloodiness, and was a promising start to the story. For me, it went downhill from there. There was surprisingly little actual werewolf time, and most of the novel was spent talking & planning. There's also a lot of crying, and I didn't really understand why.
This is marketed as a supernatural thriller, but it's really a family drama in a small town with a supernatural element. It's pretty slow-paced. I was hoping for some horror-esque scenes, but there weren't any. A lot of time is spent on background information that didn't feel entirely necessary to me, but I appreciate what the author was trying to do.
Many of the characters fell flat for me. Most of the men who were the main characters were interchangeable, and the women were really just secondary characters. I appreciate the attempt at a strong female character, but I felt like she wasn't written in a way that made me believe it. It felt as if we were supposed to dislike her the first half of the novel, and then change our opinions of her.
Overall, I just struggled to connect with this story. I may have gone in with my expectations too high, but it was a letdown for me. I will still read more from Mike Bockoven. Thank you to Skyhorse Publishing for sending me a copy of Pack to review.
June 15, 2018
3.5 Stars
Review:
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review.*
I've been wanting to read about werewolves lately---not the sexy shifter paranormal romance kind though, something more traditional and dangerous---so I jumped at the chance to read this one. This book turned out to be a unique combination of vicious werewolves, small town life, and an imperfect family coming together when it mattered despite their struggles.
I really liked the werewolf aspect. The way their transformation and time out running as wolves was described. How they would lose some of their human mind and become more violent and wolf-like while transformed. That some of them could talk and walk on two legs. The traditions they had as a pack. That they recognized how dangerous their ability was. They were kind of in the middle-ground between the sexy shifters populating the paranormal genre and traditional murderous weres, which I appreciated. I would, however, have liked a little more explanation about the werewolf stuff and how it worked in this world because I found myself lost at first and confused about some of the details throughout.
The complex family aspect was another thing I really liked. Dave and Josie's marriage was falling apart, but they were still trying to work things out between them. Willy was a crappy person and crappy father to Dave, but Dave still risked things to save him because he was still Dave's father and Dilly's grandfather. Dilly was struggling to come to terms with the things he had learned about his parents and the realization that they weren't as perfect as he had thought. But despite all the problems, they still had each others' backs and came together. It was a very imperfect, flawed, realistic portrayal of family, of how you can still care about a person even when they treat you poorly because family is complicated sometimes, of the way families can be messy and screwed up but still band together. And it wasn't just about blood; it was about neighbors and community and chosen family, whether you really chose them or not.
The small town made for a good setting and brought a lot of ambience and personality to the story. It was a major part of the plot and the main characters' motivations since they knew people in this town, and people them, and it was their home, and that meant something to them.
One thing I didn't like so much was the omniscient POV. It's not my favorite. But it seemed well-written and gave a well-rounded view of things.
Also, I must admit I thought this would be a standalone, so it threw me off when I got to the end and realized it's the first in a series (or rather, it might be). This one was wrapped up everything well enough that it could work as a satisfying standalone, but there were questions left unanswered and certain things left unresolved.
Last but not least, there was some violence that might bother the squeamish, but it wasn't as graphic as it could've been, nor was it the focus of the story.
Overall, this was an enjoyable book with flawed characters I was rooting for and a unique combination of werewolves, family, and small town life!
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes vicious werewolves, small towns, and imperfect families.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
---------------------
Initial Thoughts:
Grisly yet touching with a unique combination of vicious werewolves, small town life, and an imperfect family coming together when it matters despite their struggles. Full review closer to release date!
Review:
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review.*
I've been wanting to read about werewolves lately---not the sexy shifter paranormal romance kind though, something more traditional and dangerous---so I jumped at the chance to read this one. This book turned out to be a unique combination of vicious werewolves, small town life, and an imperfect family coming together when it mattered despite their struggles.
I really liked the werewolf aspect. The way their transformation and time out running as wolves was described. How they would lose some of their human mind and become more violent and wolf-like while transformed. That some of them could talk and walk on two legs. The traditions they had as a pack. That they recognized how dangerous their ability was. They were kind of in the middle-ground between the sexy shifters populating the paranormal genre and traditional murderous weres, which I appreciated. I would, however, have liked a little more explanation about the werewolf stuff and how it worked in this world because I found myself lost at first and confused about some of the details throughout.
The complex family aspect was another thing I really liked. Dave and Josie's marriage was falling apart, but they were still trying to work things out between them. Willy was a crappy person and crappy father to Dave, but Dave still risked things to save him because he was still Dave's father and Dilly's grandfather. Dilly was struggling to come to terms with the things he had learned about his parents and the realization that they weren't as perfect as he had thought. But despite all the problems, they still had each others' backs and came together. It was a very imperfect, flawed, realistic portrayal of family, of how you can still care about a person even when they treat you poorly because family is complicated sometimes, of the way families can be messy and screwed up but still band together. And it wasn't just about blood; it was about neighbors and community and chosen family, whether you really chose them or not.
The small town made for a good setting and brought a lot of ambience and personality to the story. It was a major part of the plot and the main characters' motivations since they knew people in this town, and people them, and it was their home, and that meant something to them.
One thing I didn't like so much was the omniscient POV. It's not my favorite. But it seemed well-written and gave a well-rounded view of things.
Also, I must admit I thought this would be a standalone, so it threw me off when I got to the end and realized it's the first in a series (or rather, it might be). This one was wrapped up everything well enough that it could work as a satisfying standalone, but there were questions left unanswered and certain things left unresolved.
Last but not least, there was some violence that might bother the squeamish, but it wasn't as graphic as it could've been, nor was it the focus of the story.
Overall, this was an enjoyable book with flawed characters I was rooting for and a unique combination of werewolves, family, and small town life!
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes vicious werewolves, small towns, and imperfect families.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
---------------------
Initial Thoughts:
Grisly yet touching with a unique combination of vicious werewolves, small town life, and an imperfect family coming together when it matters despite their struggles. Full review closer to release date!
October 24, 2022
This was just okay. I didn't end up caring for many of the characters, so it didn't hold my interest very well. Also, the narrator was competent, but his Irish accent was sometimes there, sometimes not.
Maybe 3.5/5 total combined rating.
Maybe 3.5/5 total combined rating.
March 21, 2018
This novel provides an interesting (and sometimes violent) take on the werewolf story, and is an enjoyable science fiction/horror reading experience. This is the first book I have read by this author, but I will be curious to see where he goes next in his writing.
October 17, 2018
Hush little baby, don't say a word and never mind that noise you heard...it's just a beast under your bed...in your closet, in your head.
I don't like most of the Shifters novels out there, but this one is different. I like that it was different. This felt like it came from the real-world with a supplement of paranormal elements…rather than coming from the paranormal world supplemented with real-world elements. If that makes sense…it's also very graphic, especially the shifting scenes.
Overall though, I felt like it lacked heart, or maybe it just needed a tad less testosterone…I'm not really sure. Also, there are a few plot inconsistencies where things didn't get fully explained. Other than that, while not as terrific as Fantasticland, Pack is still a mostly enjoyable listen. The dialogue was easily digestible and well done in Audio format, but it would have been even better with additional narrators. Oh yeah, there is also a shout-out to Metallica...gotta love that.
๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏๏
~~~~~MY RATING~~~~~
☆3.3☆STARS - GRADE=B-
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๏๏๏~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~๏๏๏
Plot~ 3/5
Characters~ 3.3/5
The Feels~ 3/5
Pacing~ 3.2/5
Addictiveness~ 3.5/5
Theme or Tone~ 3.5/5
Flow (Writing Style)~ 3.7/5
Backdrop (World Building)~ 4/5
Originality~ 4/5
Ending~ 3.2/5 Cliffhanger~ hmmm…sort of…
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Book Cover~ Love it!
Narration~ ☆4☆ for Peter Simonelli, he wasn't half bad…I just wasn't really into his exceptionally deep voice.
Setting~ Cherry, Nebraska
Source~ I Own Audible Audiobook
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I don't like most of the Shifters novels out there, but this one is different. I like that it was different. This felt like it came from the real-world with a supplement of paranormal elements…rather than coming from the paranormal world supplemented with real-world elements. If that makes sense…it's also very graphic, especially the shifting scenes.
Overall though, I felt like it lacked heart, or maybe it just needed a tad less testosterone…I'm not really sure. Also, there are a few plot inconsistencies where things didn't get fully explained. Other than that, while not as terrific as Fantasticland, Pack is still a mostly enjoyable listen. The dialogue was easily digestible and well done in Audio format, but it would have been even better with additional narrators. Oh yeah, there is also a shout-out to Metallica...gotta love that.
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~~~~~MY RATING~~~~~
☆3.3☆STARS - GRADE=B-
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๏๏๏~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~๏๏๏
Plot~ 3/5
Characters~ 3.3/5
The Feels~ 3/5
Pacing~ 3.2/5
Addictiveness~ 3.5/5
Theme or Tone~ 3.5/5
Flow (Writing Style)~ 3.7/5
Backdrop (World Building)~ 4/5
Originality~ 4/5
Ending~ 3.2/5 Cliffhanger~ hmmm…sort of…
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Book Cover~ Love it!
Narration~ ☆4☆ for Peter Simonelli, he wasn't half bad…I just wasn't really into his exceptionally deep voice.
Setting~ Cherry, Nebraska
Source~ I Own Audible Audiobook
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June 23, 2022
Truthfully, this falls between 2-3 stars. There were moments when I briefly thought “Oh, this is pretty good”, then other moments that got 100% side-eye. At no point was there ever a clear description of what the transformed wolves actually look like. So my brain was constantly flashing between images of large wolves (like when they’re running/hunting as a pack), and images of the “wolfman” type monster (fight scene when one of the wolves punches a fist through an enemy’s head). There also seemed to be too much storyline squashed into too few pages. And those pages were peppered with glaringly obvious editing errors. Overall I feel like this had potential to be excellent, but ended up falling flat.
March 19, 2020
This was my second binge listen of quarantine. This is about a small town in the Midwest where a majority of the residents are werewolves. When they shapeshift or 'scratch' it's an event for the males in the town. They run through the woods all night and then crash in the morning and sleep most of the day.
There's a coming of age storyline where a young man 'scratches' for the first time and has to find his place in the pack. When the town becomes at risk of discovery, the pack must band together to keep everyone safe.
The characters are fairly shallow and the story moves quite slowly at times but that worked well for a marathon audiobook session. I recommend this for anyone that would enjoy a coming of age, small town werewolf story.
There's a coming of age storyline where a young man 'scratches' for the first time and has to find his place in the pack. When the town becomes at risk of discovery, the pack must band together to keep everyone safe.
The characters are fairly shallow and the story moves quite slowly at times but that worked well for a marathon audiobook session. I recommend this for anyone that would enjoy a coming of age, small town werewolf story.
July 3, 2018
Pack by Mike Bockoven
Told in a folksy narrative with historical tidbits this werewolf genre novel takes place in a tiny central Nebraska town where werewolves coexist rather normally with humans. An incident occurs that puts the small pack on the radar or unethical researchers and then trouble descends not only on the pack but on the town. Getting to know the people, their backstories and the way they interact together was interesting and different from many books I have read that are werewolf based. There is no real romance but there is suspense and some horrific situations that ended with me wondering if this book is perhaps the first in a series that will revisit Cherry in the future and might see the pack leaving for some time to visit other places in the world. There is definitely a mystery that I would like to hear more about related to Josie and her son so do hope there will be at least another book with these characters in it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.
3-4 Stars
Told in a folksy narrative with historical tidbits this werewolf genre novel takes place in a tiny central Nebraska town where werewolves coexist rather normally with humans. An incident occurs that puts the small pack on the radar or unethical researchers and then trouble descends not only on the pack but on the town. Getting to know the people, their backstories and the way they interact together was interesting and different from many books I have read that are werewolf based. There is no real romance but there is suspense and some horrific situations that ended with me wondering if this book is perhaps the first in a series that will revisit Cherry in the future and might see the pack leaving for some time to visit other places in the world. There is definitely a mystery that I would like to hear more about related to Josie and her son so do hope there will be at least another book with these characters in it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.
3-4 Stars
September 12, 2018
mike bockoven is a genius
he's 2 for 2
this was the best werewolf story i've ever read which isn't saying much since i haven't read a lot of werewolf stories but this was so good!!! i loved the characters, they were so well written and i loved getting pieces of their back story that made me love them even more, and a character i hated... so well written to evoke such emotion. i feel like this needs a second book, i want to continue this journey, the world felt so authentic
he's 2 for 2
this was the best werewolf story i've ever read which isn't saying much since i haven't read a lot of werewolf stories but this was so good!!! i loved the characters, they were so well written and i loved getting pieces of their back story that made me love them even more, and a character i hated... so well written to evoke such emotion. i feel like this needs a second book, i want to continue this journey, the world felt so authentic
May 15, 2018
A rural town’s darkest secret is revealed, when their neighbors get the “scratch”, howling into the night in Mike Bockoven’s gripping thriller “Pack”.
The novel transports readers to a sleepy town called Cherry. But who’d trade in big dreams, for a quiet existence in this sleepy village 60 miles from the nearest Walmart?
It may have helped a pack of werewolves stay off the radar for generations, allowing them to run through the woods and howl into the night, whenever they need “the scratch”.
Self-imposed rules keep the pack members in check, until one’s crime of passion draws outside attention. Soon, mysterious forces wage war in a town with just two dining choices - Subway or the simply named “Bar”.
A lawman fleeing his urban past confronts the supernatural, while the pack members learn they’re not as alone in the world as they thought - including an unexpected wolf in their midst.
Bockoven excels at creating a universe that seems lived in. If you’ve spent much time in rural Midwest communities, Cherry feels familiar and its denizens never become caricatures.
If the guy who fixes your car, or plows your place during a blizzard happens to be a werewolf - what of it? These are folks content to live a peaceful existence, and there’s no need to speculate about what happens in the woods.
Two-thirds of the way through, I found myself wishing for a sequel, knowing a world of supernatural thrills exists outside this town. I hope Bockoven gets the chance to explore the pack beyond Cherry. Regardless, it’s a testament to his character driven saga, that readers will inevitably want to dig deeper.
Pack’s final act is a heavy metal thrill ride, epic and intimate, that’ll leave readers howling for more. Go ahead, get the scratch and become part of the pack!
The novel transports readers to a sleepy town called Cherry. But who’d trade in big dreams, for a quiet existence in this sleepy village 60 miles from the nearest Walmart?
It may have helped a pack of werewolves stay off the radar for generations, allowing them to run through the woods and howl into the night, whenever they need “the scratch”.
Self-imposed rules keep the pack members in check, until one’s crime of passion draws outside attention. Soon, mysterious forces wage war in a town with just two dining choices - Subway or the simply named “Bar”.
A lawman fleeing his urban past confronts the supernatural, while the pack members learn they’re not as alone in the world as they thought - including an unexpected wolf in their midst.
Bockoven excels at creating a universe that seems lived in. If you’ve spent much time in rural Midwest communities, Cherry feels familiar and its denizens never become caricatures.
If the guy who fixes your car, or plows your place during a blizzard happens to be a werewolf - what of it? These are folks content to live a peaceful existence, and there’s no need to speculate about what happens in the woods.
Two-thirds of the way through, I found myself wishing for a sequel, knowing a world of supernatural thrills exists outside this town. I hope Bockoven gets the chance to explore the pack beyond Cherry. Regardless, it’s a testament to his character driven saga, that readers will inevitably want to dig deeper.
Pack’s final act is a heavy metal thrill ride, epic and intimate, that’ll leave readers howling for more. Go ahead, get the scratch and become part of the pack!
dnf
September 20, 2018DNF @ 17%
Pack is described as a supernatural thriller and is likened to Anne Rice (Interview with the Vampire) and Donald Ray Pollock (The Devil All the Time). I am typically not a big werewolf story reader, but my brain went a little wild with excitement over the idea of combining Rice and Pollock, two of my favorite authors. First of all, a supernatural thriller this is not. Small town, werewolf family drama? Absolutely. The characters weren’t very memorable and the storyline itself just felt uneventful and it took me many weeks to even get to the measly 17% I made it to. I know that publishers request lines not be included from review copies, so I won’t, however, the state which the review copy was in absolutely played a part in preventing me from finishing this. Maybe that’s unfair, but this read like the very first draft before a single change was made and before spell-check was even run. There were so many glaring errors (spelling, grammar, you name it) that it was unfortunately too distracting. Here’s hoping the finished copy got a high coat of gloss applied with all the errors buffed out.
I received this book free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Pack is described as a supernatural thriller and is likened to Anne Rice (Interview with the Vampire) and Donald Ray Pollock (The Devil All the Time). I am typically not a big werewolf story reader, but my brain went a little wild with excitement over the idea of combining Rice and Pollock, two of my favorite authors. First of all, a supernatural thriller this is not. Small town, werewolf family drama? Absolutely. The characters weren’t very memorable and the storyline itself just felt uneventful and it took me many weeks to even get to the measly 17% I made it to. I know that publishers request lines not be included from review copies, so I won’t, however, the state which the review copy was in absolutely played a part in preventing me from finishing this. Maybe that’s unfair, but this read like the very first draft before a single change was made and before spell-check was even run. There were so many glaring errors (spelling, grammar, you name it) that it was unfortunately too distracting. Here’s hoping the finished copy got a high coat of gloss applied with all the errors buffed out.
I received this book free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
did-not-finish
July 10, 2018(Review copy received via Edelweiss. Sampled. Included in my newsletter 10/06/18)
In an out-of-the-way corner of Nebraska, there's a community that's ordinary in every way, except that everyone turns into a werewolf once a month. When a group member goes astray, a chain of events is set in motion that may threaten the pack's secrecy.
Will I finish reading it? For me, this lacks the immediate spark of Bockoven's previous novel FantasticLand. In that book, the author used multiple voices and an 'oral history' structure, and it worked wonderfully; here, there's a more bog-standard third-person narrative and a lot of the sort of blokey American stuff that really turns me off. (Can you say 'blokey' when it's American?) Sadly, I'm not feeling enthused. (I really do recommend FantasticLand, though!)
In an out-of-the-way corner of Nebraska, there's a community that's ordinary in every way, except that everyone turns into a werewolf once a month. When a group member goes astray, a chain of events is set in motion that may threaten the pack's secrecy.
Will I finish reading it? For me, this lacks the immediate spark of Bockoven's previous novel FantasticLand. In that book, the author used multiple voices and an 'oral history' structure, and it worked wonderfully; here, there's a more bog-standard third-person narrative and a lot of the sort of blokey American stuff that really turns me off. (Can you say 'blokey' when it's American?) Sadly, I'm not feeling enthused. (I really do recommend FantasticLand, though!)
April 18, 2019
So this book had so much potential. I read Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven earlier this year and absolutely loved it. It was horrific and funny and it's definitely stuck with me since then. So when I found out the author had another book out, I was eager to read it.
Normally werewolves aren't my thing. I'm not an urban fantasy fan, but I thought that since I loved Fantasticland, I would eat this up too. Umm. Nope..
So A Pack is basically about.. a werewolf pack. What else can I say? Clue is in the title and the cover art. At the beginning of the book, one of the members kills a woman he has been seeing and the pack decides to cover the murder up by.. killing him? As the pack is living in a small town where nothing happens, naturally the news of two bodies being found torn up after what looks like a savage attack makes waves. Unfortunately for the pack, the news draws the attentions of a scientific group who are eager to capture one of the werewolves and perform experimentation on them. The pack has to work together to defeat the evil guys and protect themselves..
So it started out okay. I was interested in learning more about the pack and their history, and how they came to be. But the majority of the story is just them bickering amongst each other and vaguely referencing stuff that's happened, but not really explaining what has happened. Like a couple of times, one person will start telling another person about something that has happened, then the book will cut away, and then later on another character will reference the conversation without fully explaining what the conversation was about and how it went down, and you feel like the book is holding you at a distance. For example, . I couldn't connect with the characters because the author wouldn't let me.
Also, there were a lot of grammatical errors, and at times part of the story didn't add up. Like when That particular mistake only happens once, but I was so confused for a couple of chapters.
By the end, I just didn't care how it ended as long as it ended and I could stop reading it. Urgh, I hated it.
Normally werewolves aren't my thing. I'm not an urban fantasy fan, but I thought that since I loved Fantasticland, I would eat this up too. Umm. Nope..
So A Pack is basically about.. a werewolf pack. What else can I say? Clue is in the title and the cover art. At the beginning of the book, one of the members kills a woman he has been seeing and the pack decides to cover the murder up by.. killing him? As the pack is living in a small town where nothing happens, naturally the news of two bodies being found torn up after what looks like a savage attack makes waves. Unfortunately for the pack, the news draws the attentions of a scientific group who are eager to capture one of the werewolves and perform experimentation on them. The pack has to work together to defeat the evil guys and protect themselves..
So it started out okay. I was interested in learning more about the pack and their history, and how they came to be. But the majority of the story is just them bickering amongst each other and vaguely referencing stuff that's happened, but not really explaining what has happened. Like a couple of times, one person will start telling another person about something that has happened, then the book will cut away, and then later on another character will reference the conversation without fully explaining what the conversation was about and how it went down, and you feel like the book is holding you at a distance. For example, . I couldn't connect with the characters because the author wouldn't let me.
Also, there were a lot of grammatical errors, and at times part of the story didn't add up. Like when That particular mistake only happens once, but I was so confused for a couple of chapters.
By the end, I just didn't care how it ended as long as it ended and I could stop reading it. Urgh, I hated it.
July 3, 2018
Here is the thing about Pack, even if you took out the werewolves you would still have a beautiful ode to small-town Nebraska life. Bockoven has created rich characters with depth, and a community that feels like home, it just happens to have werewolves. i can't think of a higher compliment to his skill as a writer than to acknowledge the easy way he tells a tale and creates a world that makes it seem believable and natural that this small-town has werewolf inhabitants.
There is no characterization or storytelling lost in an effort to max out the paranormal factor, its all tied up soundly making for an enjoyable, well rounded, read. Pack is destined for a wider audience them just paranormal fiction fans because of this.
There is no characterization or storytelling lost in an effort to max out the paranormal factor, its all tied up soundly making for an enjoyable, well rounded, read. Pack is destined for a wider audience them just paranormal fiction fans because of this.
November 2, 2018
A nice look into the close-knit community which results from small town life...and being a werewolf pack. Some of the residents of Cherry have the ability to change into monstrous wolves, but that isn't their biggest problem. One of their members has crossed a line and must be dealt with. This results in schisms already lurking below the surface of the group to blossom into conflicts.
Then they are discovered by groups from the outside world and their internal squabbles seem pale in comparison.
Bockoven does a good job of detailing the difficulty living and working in a small town where everyone knows everyone and their business. The relationships between the characters ring true.
Then they are discovered by groups from the outside world and their internal squabbles seem pale in comparison.
Bockoven does a good job of detailing the difficulty living and working in a small town where everyone knows everyone and their business. The relationships between the characters ring true.
September 1, 2021
Fun read, great characters that are people you've met, fun werewolf stuff
Doesn't re-invent the wheel, but polishes it
Doesn't re-invent the wheel, but polishes it
June 24, 2018
Honestly, I started reading this book, because my friend recommended it. I didn’t think I’d like it at all. I loved every single page of Pack. Bockoven does a great job of pulling his readers into small town Nebraska life, where it’s an hour to drive to get a Mcdonald’s hamburger. Pack tells the story of family by blood and choice working together to protect each other and their way of life.
July 12, 2025
Roswell had aliens. Loch Ness had Nessie. Boggy Creek had the mighty Sasquatch.
Cherry did not have werewolves.
Mike Bockoven's "Pack" is based on a fairly interesting premise - werewolves live among us and all of us are cool with that as long as everyone keeps it to themselves - even though ultimately the "evil corporation wants to capture them for experimentation and other nefarious purposes" angle is nothing new. Overall, the book moves about as quickly as you'd expect a book taking place in the middle of Nowhere, Nebraska to move, noting that you'd "be hard-pressed to find a quieter place to live in the whole of the United States." Sure there are some bigger and louder and more scintillating scenes - particularly when the typical "men's club" of the pack begins to slowly morph into something much more impressive. But again, it's "a great place to live if you already know everybody and are into classic rock" … where the tunes you love most are brought to you by none other than 105.3, The Wolf, Central Nebraska’s Classic Rock station. Yep, can't make that kind of stuff up!
This town’s not cursed exactly… but… I don’t know. Something isn’t right.
The strength of Bockoven's book is certainly then the characters. From the folks of Cherry, Nebraska down to the new sheriff by way of both tragedy and also then Detroit PD, they're all good people.... well, until the villains start showing up. They're combined in a way that doesn't come off as forced and even nasty ol' Willie winds up being a character we ultimately find some sympathy for. And in terms of some of the "well isn't that convenient?" moments - like Kenny having a "hidden" garage full of vehicles just when they're needed or even how the hell Stu doesn't wind up dead after about five minutes of his own tense escape - work out fine and come across as thoroughly believable. Even though, dang, this town sure seems small as hell. I kept asking myself how anyone managed to survive financially because it sure seemed like everything you needed besides a drink or an oil change could only be found out of town!
Rule number one, is there are no secrets in the pack.
But its genuinely interesting to look at werewolf lore from the angles we see it at. Of course the entire surprise at what Josie eventually presents to not only the pack but The Council (note all caps!) seems a bit far-fetched, but I'm always up for a new twist to my most favorite of monsters ever. Even being allowed to follow along with Dilly - that poor kid and that name! Thank the gods he was big and strong and didn't have to worry about being picked on! - when he went out on his first scratch. Now this reference to "the scratch" is both thoroughly explained and also included in some double entendres at various points if you keep your eyes open (like the sheriff saying he was "basically setting up from scratch") … and it was truly interesting. The way the norms and traditions of conservative Nebraska are seen as well in the actions and behavior during this ceremony is equally intriquing.
His head was buzzing with dirt and wind and scents and moss and bark and sweat.
Even the flashbacks, provided in whatever form including eventually a diary, add to the mystique of knowing that this group has existed as long as they have in this location. OK, they're very naive about their kind, not knowing that there are packs throughout the world, but it still gives things a good historical connection. What I wish we had seen more of would be then the origin of this group, namely, how did we get werewolves in Nebraska anyway? Do they have to bite each other? Is it a genetic thing passed from family-to-family (and if so, how does this not turn into a serious inbreeding situation in this case)? Like I said, that would have been a topic I would have really enjoyed a chance to cogitate on.
In his heightened state, he could hear the sunrise.
However, what ultimately brought my experience down and really, really hurt this book was that the execution was simply not good. For a while it hovered at an area I'd try my best to call "below expectations but not all that bad"… but by the end, the author seemed to totally lose the thread. There are far too many extremely obvious mistakes - the misnaming the sheriff (he was talking to Dave, not named Dave), the wrong person being somewhere (Kenny being in the garden and then Kenny showed up later), the constant use of just basically unacceptable vocabulary mistakes (your press the BRAKE in your car, not the goddamn BREAK!), and much more, including a miscarried baby eventually being born ("Nellie [Adam' wife] miscarried their child out of grief" vs. "Even the happy occasion of Adam’s son Bruce being born").
We’re screwed worse than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.
To me it seems like the book was not thoroughly beta-checked or perhaps just unacceptably edited, if at all. It becomes extremely distracting and typically falls just about the time you're in the middle of a tense moment and the last thing you need to see is the Irishman's name misspelled! Those of us that do editing work have an expression for this level of "quality", namely, "this one is going to cost you extra!" As such, despite what I'd call a good effort in terms of plotting and character-building - and an absolutely gorgeous cover - I can't really rate this book even at 3 stars. I'll call it "less than 3" and leave it at that, but it really, really needs some work.
Cherry did not have werewolves.
Mike Bockoven's "Pack" is based on a fairly interesting premise - werewolves live among us and all of us are cool with that as long as everyone keeps it to themselves - even though ultimately the "evil corporation wants to capture them for experimentation and other nefarious purposes" angle is nothing new. Overall, the book moves about as quickly as you'd expect a book taking place in the middle of Nowhere, Nebraska to move, noting that you'd "be hard-pressed to find a quieter place to live in the whole of the United States." Sure there are some bigger and louder and more scintillating scenes - particularly when the typical "men's club" of the pack begins to slowly morph into something much more impressive. But again, it's "a great place to live if you already know everybody and are into classic rock" … where the tunes you love most are brought to you by none other than 105.3, The Wolf, Central Nebraska’s Classic Rock station. Yep, can't make that kind of stuff up!
This town’s not cursed exactly… but… I don’t know. Something isn’t right.
The strength of Bockoven's book is certainly then the characters. From the folks of Cherry, Nebraska down to the new sheriff by way of both tragedy and also then Detroit PD, they're all good people.... well, until the villains start showing up. They're combined in a way that doesn't come off as forced and even nasty ol' Willie winds up being a character we ultimately find some sympathy for. And in terms of some of the "well isn't that convenient?" moments - like Kenny having a "hidden" garage full of vehicles just when they're needed or even how the hell Stu doesn't wind up dead after about five minutes of his own tense escape - work out fine and come across as thoroughly believable. Even though, dang, this town sure seems small as hell. I kept asking myself how anyone managed to survive financially because it sure seemed like everything you needed besides a drink or an oil change could only be found out of town!
Rule number one, is there are no secrets in the pack.
But its genuinely interesting to look at werewolf lore from the angles we see it at. Of course the entire surprise at what Josie eventually presents to not only the pack but The Council (note all caps!) seems a bit far-fetched, but I'm always up for a new twist to my most favorite of monsters ever. Even being allowed to follow along with Dilly - that poor kid and that name! Thank the gods he was big and strong and didn't have to worry about being picked on! - when he went out on his first scratch. Now this reference to "the scratch" is both thoroughly explained and also included in some double entendres at various points if you keep your eyes open (like the sheriff saying he was "basically setting up from scratch") … and it was truly interesting. The way the norms and traditions of conservative Nebraska are seen as well in the actions and behavior during this ceremony is equally intriquing.
His head was buzzing with dirt and wind and scents and moss and bark and sweat.
Even the flashbacks, provided in whatever form including eventually a diary, add to the mystique of knowing that this group has existed as long as they have in this location. OK, they're very naive about their kind, not knowing that there are packs throughout the world, but it still gives things a good historical connection. What I wish we had seen more of would be then the origin of this group, namely, how did we get werewolves in Nebraska anyway? Do they have to bite each other? Is it a genetic thing passed from family-to-family (and if so, how does this not turn into a serious inbreeding situation in this case)? Like I said, that would have been a topic I would have really enjoyed a chance to cogitate on.
In his heightened state, he could hear the sunrise.
However, what ultimately brought my experience down and really, really hurt this book was that the execution was simply not good. For a while it hovered at an area I'd try my best to call "below expectations but not all that bad"… but by the end, the author seemed to totally lose the thread. There are far too many extremely obvious mistakes - the misnaming the sheriff (he was talking to Dave, not named Dave), the wrong person being somewhere (Kenny being in the garden and then Kenny showed up later), the constant use of just basically unacceptable vocabulary mistakes (your press the BRAKE in your car, not the goddamn BREAK!), and much more, including a miscarried baby eventually being born ("Nellie [Adam' wife] miscarried their child out of grief" vs. "Even the happy occasion of Adam’s son Bruce being born").
We’re screwed worse than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.
To me it seems like the book was not thoroughly beta-checked or perhaps just unacceptably edited, if at all. It becomes extremely distracting and typically falls just about the time you're in the middle of a tense moment and the last thing you need to see is the Irishman's name misspelled! Those of us that do editing work have an expression for this level of "quality", namely, "this one is going to cost you extra!" As such, despite what I'd call a good effort in terms of plotting and character-building - and an absolutely gorgeous cover - I can't really rate this book even at 3 stars. I'll call it "less than 3" and leave it at that, but it really, really needs some work.
July 16, 2018
I absolutely love the books of Mike Bockoven. His books are so unique and scary. Cannot wait for his next book!
January 20, 2022
A somewhat dull story about a pack of redneck werebros having a big fight with an agency who wants to dissect them. Oh and there’s a new sheriff in town too. Wait, who is the protagonist of this book? It’s told from so many characters’ POV that I struggled to engage properly with any one of them. I think it’s Dave, the alpha of the pack?
I have to say this upfront: This book tried to do what Mongrels did and failed. The story featured a strong family element, ageing elder and coming-of-age teen but lacked the poignancy and bittersweet soul of Mongrels. It didn’t have the heart and while it had more action and some lore, it was overall, a struggle to get through and came nowhere near the world-building and believability of Mongrels.
The cast lacked diversity - they were just a bunch of hick white bravado males and while there were a few female characters, some nasty stereotypes snuck in there eg. Mother equal infidelity, scrapbooking and cooking thanksgiving dinners or tough lesbian sisters with pretty wives who gives you looks that make you think they’re into you if you didn’t know better. And being held captive and tortured until they’re rescued. Oh and the pain of childbirth is talked about a lot which annoys me, because it doesn’t define women and isn’t what most modern woman draw comparisons to constantly.
Writing was technically okay, a little clumsy when analogies were reused or similar words were used to many times in a sentence. Eg. He was happy to go and got happily into the car. The car had more metal that a storage unit and the car had more metal than a modern house. This is more an editorial complaint and shouldn’t matter to the story.
Audiobook specific: I rushed to start this after enjoying fantasticland so I dove straight into the audiobook and let me tell you, it was an incredible mistake. This is the worst reading I’ve ever struggled through. The tone and intonation of the narrator is so dull but worse, the most unbelievably bad Irish accent features for most of the story. Oh my lord. Could you not screen the actor for the ability to do the accent? THEN LEAVE IT OUT! I couldn’t tell if it was a Swedish or Native American character at first but in no way is that Irish. It’s a cross between Ringo and Ernie (from the Muppets). It’s atrocious and ruined my listening.
Overall, not a positive experience. Maybe if I hadn’t read Mongrels and didn’t make that comparison then I would have enjoyed it more but I was honestly too preoccupied with what the story WASN’T and the terrible narration that I didn’t really enjoy it.
I have to say this upfront: This book tried to do what Mongrels did and failed. The story featured a strong family element, ageing elder and coming-of-age teen but lacked the poignancy and bittersweet soul of Mongrels. It didn’t have the heart and while it had more action and some lore, it was overall, a struggle to get through and came nowhere near the world-building and believability of Mongrels.
The cast lacked diversity - they were just a bunch of hick white bravado males and while there were a few female characters, some nasty stereotypes snuck in there eg. Mother equal infidelity, scrapbooking and cooking thanksgiving dinners or tough lesbian sisters with pretty wives who gives you looks that make you think they’re into you if you didn’t know better. And being held captive and tortured until they’re rescued. Oh and the pain of childbirth is talked about a lot which annoys me, because it doesn’t define women and isn’t what most modern woman draw comparisons to constantly.
Writing was technically okay, a little clumsy when analogies were reused or similar words were used to many times in a sentence. Eg. He was happy to go and got happily into the car. The car had more metal that a storage unit and the car had more metal than a modern house. This is more an editorial complaint and shouldn’t matter to the story.
Audiobook specific: I rushed to start this after enjoying fantasticland so I dove straight into the audiobook and let me tell you, it was an incredible mistake. This is the worst reading I’ve ever struggled through. The tone and intonation of the narrator is so dull but worse, the most unbelievably bad Irish accent features for most of the story. Oh my lord. Could you not screen the actor for the ability to do the accent? THEN LEAVE IT OUT! I couldn’t tell if it was a Swedish or Native American character at first but in no way is that Irish. It’s a cross between Ringo and Ernie (from the Muppets). It’s atrocious and ruined my listening.
Overall, not a positive experience. Maybe if I hadn’t read Mongrels and didn’t make that comparison then I would have enjoyed it more but I was honestly too preoccupied with what the story WASN’T and the terrible narration that I didn’t really enjoy it.
January 2, 2020
Pack is a little hard to review, it actually wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I was nervous going into it especially with a lot of people mentioning a lot of grammar mistakes but I am happy to say that those errors must have been ironed out on final release. The story was fast paced for sure with an interesting bunch of characters, my favourite having to be the Irishman with his colourful language.
I am such a sucker for anything werewolf related so I'm always happy to read different takes on the genre. Pack was a little too action based for my taste and not enough wolfing out, however I did like the idea of a pack just wolfing when they felt the need to and rating it on a scale of 1-10! Then the antagonist was certainly a straight talking cold blooded SOAB, in fact he was straight out savage. It just felt very busy after the half way mark and went into a different direction that I thought it would. However the fast paced made it easy to read right to the end!
An interesting take on the werewolf genre however the story just went into a different direction than I would have liked personally but certainly high action with a cool pack of characters to get behind!
I am such a sucker for anything werewolf related so I'm always happy to read different takes on the genre. Pack was a little too action based for my taste and not enough wolfing out, however I did like the idea of a pack just wolfing when they felt the need to and rating it on a scale of 1-10! Then the antagonist was certainly a straight talking cold blooded SOAB, in fact he was straight out savage. It just felt very busy after the half way mark and went into a different direction that I thought it would. However the fast paced made it easy to read right to the end!
An interesting take on the werewolf genre however the story just went into a different direction than I would have liked personally but certainly high action with a cool pack of characters to get behind!
March 27, 2020
I always enjoy a good action story. A good one is a fast read to find out what happens now. A bad one is when I know what's going to happen and how it will come about and that's the end of that story. The REALLY good ones I read ahead because I'm so tired I can't keep my eyes open but I really REALLY want to know what happens next. The next day I'll pick up the story where I left off and re-read what I skimmed because it's a good story and I don't want to miss any of it.
"Pack" wasn't good enough to read ahead but it was good enough to keep me reading through the many annoying typos and non sequiturs in the text, and that's a good recommendation. In addition to the action, the characters are more developed than simple cardboard cutouts. I liked these people, rooted for them to beat the bad guy in the end, and being the good story that it is - that's exactly what they did.
BUT! I want to know the Legend of the Alpha Male - but not so much that I am impatiently waiting for the next installment - if there is a next installment.
Enjoy
"Pack" wasn't good enough to read ahead but it was good enough to keep me reading through the many annoying typos and non sequiturs in the text, and that's a good recommendation. In addition to the action, the characters are more developed than simple cardboard cutouts. I liked these people, rooted for them to beat the bad guy in the end, and being the good story that it is - that's exactly what they did.
BUT! I want to know the Legend of the Alpha Male - but not so much that I am impatiently waiting for the next installment - if there is a next installment.
Enjoy
June 30, 2018
This was an interesting story about a group of werewolves who have lived for several generations in a small town in Nebraska. After a couple of events, the group finds themselves being hunted and must protect themselves and their town. Character development was okay and it was nice to have some of the chapters broken up with the inclusion of town history. However, if you are reading this because you like werewolves, you are going to be disappointed. This story is more about family. Now while I enjoyed the story, there were several typos and timeline inconsistencies. Since I was reading a galley, I assume/hope they were caught and fixed. I tried to not let this detract from my enjoyment of the story.
A copy of this book was provided by Skyhorse Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
A copy of this book was provided by Skyhorse Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
June 1, 2023
Ever since I was a child I've loved werewolves. They were my favorite old school monster. And this book captures what I love about them while also telling a story about family, commitment and community.
While the wolves in question are the protagonists of this novel, they still provide a an unnerving sensation during their transformation as the author describes the process extremely well.
Shady corporations, an Irish "tourist", and a small town that knows what's happening but has long accepted it are all included in this book. And it makes for one hell of an emotional, action packed, and terrifying werewolf story.
This is probably my favorite werewolf story in a long time and I appreciated the author taking the tropes of these creatures and turning them around, giving us new lore and legend for these creatures. I highly recommend it if you're into werewolves or small town horror.
While the wolves in question are the protagonists of this novel, they still provide a an unnerving sensation during their transformation as the author describes the process extremely well.
Shady corporations, an Irish "tourist", and a small town that knows what's happening but has long accepted it are all included in this book. And it makes for one hell of an emotional, action packed, and terrifying werewolf story.
This is probably my favorite werewolf story in a long time and I appreciated the author taking the tropes of these creatures and turning them around, giving us new lore and legend for these creatures. I highly recommend it if you're into werewolves or small town horror.
June 28, 2023
I had this on my audible wishlist and bought it during the sale. I didn’t remember what it was about or even why I added it in the first place. And then I started listening to it. After getting into the book did I realize I added this to my tbr because the author had written Fantasticland (and dear god do I find that story fun and, for lack of a better word, fantastic).
This story however did not win me over in quite the same way. I didn’t hate it, but I just didn’t feel as drawn into the events - into the lives of these folks, this town, and the hunt for the werewolves.
As always, I am happy I had the chance to experience the story, though it makes me long to reread Fantasticland again.
This story however did not win me over in quite the same way. I didn’t hate it, but I just didn’t feel as drawn into the events - into the lives of these folks, this town, and the hunt for the werewolves.
As always, I am happy I had the chance to experience the story, though it makes me long to reread Fantasticland again.
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