Coffee and Thorn Book Tour: Wolf Weather by Miles Watson

Iseult

About the Book

Imagine if you had lived a life of cruel discipline from the time you were a child, and were constantly called upon to do battle for an emperor you had never seen. Now imagine that emperor orders you far off the map, into a frozen land where the sun never shines and the only light comes from the grinning moon. Imagine that once there, hundreds of miles from the warmth of civilization and the sun, you encounter supernatural beasts somewhere between wolf and man; cunning creatures who slaughter your comrades and lay siege to the fort you have built with your own hands. Imagine that one by one, your fellow legionnaires are torn to bits and consumed, or worse yet, turned into beasts themselves…until at last, only you remain. The sole survivor and inhabitant of Fort Luna. Now imagine that’s where the story begins.

My Review

Set in a fantasy world, Wolf Weather tells the story of Crowning, the last surviving legionnaire in Fort Luna. Trapped in a world of perpetual snow and darkness, held captive by his discipline, Crowning holds the fort for the Emperor against the monstrous wolf creatures that have claimed his fellow soldiers. 

This is a very interesting novelette. The Emperor that Crowning serves and his country of origin are merely hinted at. Why the legions have been sent into a world of perpetual night is not explained, but it seems an act of hubris on the Emperor’s part. How the soldiers managed to get so far into the hostile territory and cut down trees to build their forts is hard to imagine. 

But at 15000 words, world building is peripheral to this story. Like a werewolf fantasy version of  I Am Legend, Wolf Weather is a character study. A man living in a nightmare, from which there is no hope of escape, holding firm to his orders so he can retain his humanity when he’s surrounded by chaos and monsters. 

The author includes a fascinating afterword about werewolf and vampire fiction, and how he came to write this story. As a life long fan of werewolves, I share his disappointment at how werewolves are often treated as lesser in comparison to vampires. However, I think it is interesting how similar to vampires the creatures are in this book. The distorted amalgam of man and beast described in this story, with their mocking desecration of the people they had once been, reminded me much more of vampires from various fictions, including I Am Legend (as previously mentioned) and 30 Days of Night, than the powerful, rage fueled, graceful predators that I associate with werewolves. 

However, quibbles aside, Wolf Weather is a taut atmospheric horror story. There’s lots of layers here, hinting at themes like colonization and Sisyphean routine when facing an existential threat. Like a nightmare, you know all action is hopeless, but you can’t look away as Crowning follows the prescribed path to inevitable oblivion.

About the Author

Miles Watson is one of the most successful independent writers of his generation. He holds undergraduate degrees in Criminal Justice and History and a Masters of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction, and served in law enforcement for nearly ten years before moving to Los Angeles, where he has worked on over 200 episodes of television and half a dozen feature films. But his first and last passion is writing. His various works have won the following:

  • CAGE LIFE – Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Runner Up (2016): Zealot Script Magazine “Book of the Year” (2017); Best Indie Book Award – Mystery & Suspense (2018)
  • KNUCKLE DOWN – Writer’s Digest S.P.B.A. Honorable Mention (2019); Best Indie Book Award – Suspense (2019)
  • DEVILS YOU KNOW – Eric Hoffer Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing Finalist (2019)
  • THE NUMBERS GAME – Pinnacle Book Achievement Award – Novella – (2019)
  • NOSFERATU – Pinnacle Book Achievement Award – Novella – (2020)
  • SINNER’S CROSS – Best Indie Book Award – Historical Fiction – (2019); Book Excellence Award – Action (2020); Literary Titan Book Award – Gold Medal (2020); Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards – Finalist (2020); Readers Favorite Five Stars (2021)
  • THE VERY DEAD OF WINTER – Literary Titan Book Award – Gold Medal (2022); Pinnacle Book Achievement Award (2022); Book Excellence Award Finalist (2023)