The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I'll cut to the quick explaining why this will be a brief review: Novels are meant to be read and enjoyed, not picked apart like a game book. Adventure modules and sourcebooks are not novels, and novels are not gaming material. Okay, so this "novel" violates that last bit, but I'm trying to make a point: this isn't a roleplaying supplement that you can pick through to get any game worthy "rules" from, it's a story, take it for what it is.

This book picks up where the other volume did, no surprise there. This time, however, in the advancing of the series overall plot, this reader felt a connection much easier to the characters than in the earlier book. (It may be that Gherbod didn't show up in this volume, but I think he'll get better with time. =])

In "Red Talons," we are presented the dual time framed story of the title's character... and her struggle to overcome her past. Its a better read than I expected to find when dealing with a character who's all wolf. I felt reading her story was the strongest of these "novels" in the series so far. I did have to take her associations to human-based ideas (such as airplanes and subway stations) with a grain of salt, as it seems to have been tritely described. Including that, I still feel that this is a very powerfully written story.

The "Fianna" section takes us backwards to the beginning of the series, and quickly gives us access to scenes that were not presented in the earlier books. (This was written by "Get of Fenris"'s section author, so it takes us back to that frame of reference.) This section, by far, advances the metaplot the furthest as we find out one character's reason for turning his back on the tribal moot. "Fianna" certainly has its funny places, but its tone ominously foreshadows the remainder of the series.

I enjoyed this volume better than the others, so far, and it is actually making me want to finish the series to know its outcome.

While better, in character and some of it writing, I know that this series has a ways to go before its style can be rated better. However, its substance is getting better each book of the series I read.

Tribe Novels: Silent Striders & Black Furies
Tribe Novels: Silent Striders & Black Furies Capsule Review by Alex deMorris on 01/09/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) This series gains some semblance of speed as the books further the metaplot and create reasons to continue reading. Product: Tribe Novels: Silent Striders & Black Furies Author: Boulle, Philippe and Eric Griffin Category: Novel Company/Publisher: White Wolf Publishing, Inc. Line: Werewolf: the Apocalypse Cost: 6.50 Page count: 288 pages Year published: 2001 ISBN: 1-56504-884-9 SKU: WW11152 Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Alex deMorris on 01/09/02 Genre tags: Modern day Horror Gothic Other	I'll cut to the quick explaining why this will be a brief review: Novels are meant to be read and enjoyed, not picked apart like a game book. Adventure modules and sourcebooks are not novels, and novels are not gaming material. Okay, so this "novel" violates that last bit, but I'm trying to make a point: this isn't a roleplaying supplement that you can pick through to get any game worthy "rules" from, it's a story, take it for what it is. This book picks up where the other volume did, no surprise there. This time, however, in the advancing of the series overall plot, this reader felt a connection much easier to the characters than in the earlier book. (It may be that Gherbod didn't show up in this volume, but I think he'll get better with time. =]) In "Red Talons," we are presented the dual time framed story of the title's character... and her struggle to overcome her past. Its a better read than I expected to find when dealing with a character who's all wolf. I felt reading her story was the strongest of these "novels" in the series so far. I did have to take her associations to human-based ideas (such as airplanes and subway stations) with a grain of salt, as it seems to have been tritely described. Including that, I still feel that this is a very powerfully written story. The "Fianna" section takes us backwards to the beginning of the series, and quickly gives us access to scenes that were not presented in the earlier books. (This was written by "Get of Fenris"'s section author, so it takes us back to that frame of reference.) This section, by far, advances the metaplot the furthest as we find out one character's reason for turning his back on the tribal moot. "Fianna" certainly has its funny places, but its tone ominously foreshadows the remainder of the series. I enjoyed this volume better than the others, so far, and it is actually making me want to finish the series to know its outcome. While better, in character and some of it writing, I know that this series has a ways to go before its style can be rated better. However, its substance is getting better each book of the series I read.

Tribe Novels: Silent Striders & Black Furies