Wolfhound Century by Peter Higgins, Wolfhound Century #1Investigator Vissarion Lom has been summoned to the capital in order to catch a terrorist --- and ordered to report directly to the head of the secret police.
A totalitarian state, worn down by an endless war, must be seen to crush home-grown insurgents with an iron fist. But Lom discovers Mirgorod to be more corrupted than he imagined: a murky world of secret police and revolutionaries, cabaret clubs and doomed artists.
Lom has been chosen because he is an outsider, not involved in the struggle for power within the party. And because of the sliver of angel stone implanted in his head.
Last year I read some very positive news about Wolfhound Century but hadn't had the time to catch up with it. I was very intrigued by the synopsis and the cover art definitely helped to create a alluring sense about the book. The cover alone inspires a Soviet kind of feeling and the synopsis turns the Soviet world into an alternate version. I had this book high on my to read list and as I was just a few pages in Wolfhound Century proved to be a winner. Wolfhound Century is written by Peter Higgens whose stories have featured in various anthologies and magazines. This is his first full length book.
The first thing that will readily fall to note to every reader is the dark and grim atmosphere that Peter Higgens manages to create in Wolfhound Century. Most of the influence on the world of Wolfhound Century comes from the Soviet part, the world is pure fiction, but it does feel like it could have played out in the communist Russia. The inhabitants are controlled closely and only several things are allowed to happen. For me the best thing that was added to this setting was that Peter Higgins doesn't mention a specific age where his story takes place. It does lend a heavy hand towards the past, second world war, but also has some futuristic / science fiction elements that really make it stand out and which helps to make this world truly creative and inventive.
In the story of The Wolfhound Century the is on the police investigator Vissarion Lom. Just like the whole setting and the world itself that is embodied in The Wolfhound Century, Vissarion Lom's character is one of those that completely build the story and makes the whole book come together. With the emphasis directly on Vissarion Lom's character, Peter Higgins doesn't spare the reader one moment to stray away from the pages. Even though you get introduced to Vissarion Lom's character step-by-step I knew that there had to be more going on about his character. He just couldn't be your average Joe detective and luckily Vissarion Lom was far, far from it! I like it when authors dare to go into new directions with their characters, I do have to say that it might seem that Vissarion Lom is a bit of the urban noir detective but this soon starts to change when you learn more and more about the past that he had to go through and the things that make him special. This latter combined with the worldbuilding truly complement each other. Terrific. What makes Vissarion Lom's character even stronger is that he doesn't stop developing all along the way of the book. In the beginning of the book his doing his job just as any officer true to this cause is, however as the plot starts to unfold Vissarion Lom starts to learn more and more of the new world that surrounds him in Mirgorod compared to his first rather provincial Podchornok. Besides Vissarion Lom there are also a bunch of secondary character and the first and foremost of them is the terrorist that Vissarion Lom is tasked to bring to justice. Joseph Kantor. Joseph is definitely one of the better bad guys that I have read about so far, or perhaps his character comes over very strong because he is the direct opposite in many fronts compared to the protagonist Vissarion Lom. From the first time you are introcuded to Kantor, you know he is bad news and doesn't stop when the only way forward is leaving yourself in the wake of corpses... The second one is childhood friend of Vissarion Lom, the rather eccentric ex-professor Raku Vishnik. Being new to the city or Mirgorod, Vissarion Lom has only one choice is he wants to find Joseph Kantor and that is to call upon Raku Vishnik for information. I do have to give it to Peter Higgins that he has created a set of amazing and interesting characters, be it protagonist or secondary ones, each of them is completely different and all have something alluring and special working in their favor, and it is that special something that keeps you glued to the pages dying to find out just what it is!
The storyline as you might have make up from the above paragraph focuses on detective VIssarion Lom, who has gotten a new job opportunity to catch a dangerous criminal. This might sound like a straightforward plot line but don't pin the story down too much on this as once you start reading and discover the dynamics of the world that Peter Higgins is building it proves to be quite on the contrary. Unpredictable and very engaging. Vissarion Loms' introduction to the capital of Mirgorod makes him see things in a different daylight. You are led to believe that the sole purpose in Wolfhound Century is for Vissarions Lom to stop Joseph Kantor. But... not for the full 100% as there are also other people playing their own dangerous games and to top this all off an fallen Archangel is whispering to a selected few... There are much deadlier players a foot in this game... This slow burning of the plot produced a nice awe-inspiring feeling when I neared the ending of the book.
I am always a huge fan when an author shows both the opposing parties in a book and to my huge pleasure Peter Higgins does it as well. I do have to mention that you do have to execture your story in the right manner to keep flow and pacing of the story just right. Reveal to much and the story become to predictable, reveal to little and it doesn't have any added value and can become frustrating. Do it the right way and it can immensely enlarge the whole reading experience ten or maybe even a hundred fold. What I like about showing both sides is that you get to learn how the good guys act and plot their plans but also how the bad guys reacts and counter and scheme their plan. In case of Wolfhound Century you see Vissarion Lom navigating through a thick, highly corrupted world where you can trust almost no one, trying to catch a criminal. One the otherhand you have the bag guys, Joseph Kantor but also his alley on board the secret police, that makes up for a nice plot twist in the end. Peter Higgins showed the bad guys side in the right proportions definitely adding an extra few layers of depth to his story.
Wolfhound Century is a truly unique read. The world that Peter Higgins has managed to create in this solid debut is filled with a lot of bold ideas, that all work well in a singular state but when combined they all complement each other further making the world that much more interesting. I can't recall having ever read a story set in such a world. Using an 1940's Russian setting in his own created world definitely helped to create a dark and gritty sense to the story that resonates through each and every page, there aren't moments of a ray of sunshine through the thick clouds, no this is a true noir fantasy story. The characters that Peter Higgins uses in his story are all fleshed out into the finest details and everyone of them stands out. Many a reviewer mentioned that this was one of the better debuts of 2013 and I do have to agree. If you look on the whole, I wouldn't have dared to say that this was a debut, it's written with such a confidence. The pacing and writing style that Peter Higgins uses really pulls you into his interesting world. I can only say that you have to give this book a try. It might take a few pages to adjust to the setting of the book, but once your in, your in till the finish! Recommended. Wolfhound Century is an excellent example of author with cool ideas that dare to take that extra step required to bring something new to the genre fiction.
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