Review: Among Wolves

Among Wolves by R.A. Hakok
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There's a lot to admire in Hakok's Among Wolves (not least the Amazon ranking) - for it is a Young Adult Sci-fi Dystopia that knows how to tell a story. Specific sciency things are glossed over or stretched to points of believability, but this is small fry, for the way the story unfolds offers us sneak peeks and tidbits, while focusing on character, and when certain events are unveiled, you can forgive a little far-fetchedness.

The world has come to a stop; all that remains is a group of teens and the adults left in charge of them, buried deep within the safety of a mountain. Outside is dangerous and snow-ridden. Changes are occuring within the small community, and revelations are not far away. Supplies are in short supply, and the tension is rising. We follow Gabriel's story; he is a scavenger, who, along with Marv (one of the remaining adults) heads out to pick through the remains of the nearby small towns and buildings. Pickings are slim, as they are forced further and further.

Refreshingly, we also witness the end of days, following one of the key figures in its downfall. It gives the story a more rounded feeling than you sometimes get from these apocalyptic adventures (including my own). Reading this taught me a few things about how I could about my own stories. But that aside, I enjoyed the pacing. It took its time, with nice, full-length paragraphs and sparse dialogue. I imagine if I did this, it would be full of description, but here it's often movement. Sometimes not a lot happens, but there's always movement, and at other times reflection. There'll be no awards won for imaginative synonyms or metaphors, but that's okay. For what this is, and who it's for, it works.

I've seen some complaints about the ending, but if you're picking it up, you already know it's book one in a series. Even considering that, there's more than enough within the pages to tell a full story, with plenty of twists and turns and surprises, right up til the end.

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