Man’s quest for genetic perfection has led to the creation of new subspecies, evolutionary steps up from humanity. Wolfen were the pinnacle of scientific achievement, redefining the limits of what it means to be human. Their counterparts, in turn, grew into the ultimate predators. Incapable of higher thought, converts were unstoppable in their need to breed and devour, and when they escaped, they brought the world to its knees.

Almost two decades later, humanity is on the brink of extinction and only the heartless survive. Rescued by two Wolfen brothers, Sinna must now brave the treacherous wastelands of North America in order to reach safety and the promise of a better life. But when an unexpected gambit forces them to separate, a genetic advantage becomes a liability, and the worst monsters turn out to be the ones who don’t have claws.

In the game of survival, Wolfen were created to be champions. No longer. The enemy keeps evolving, rendering old tactics ineffective, and the only rule left is to endure at any cost.

I don’t even know where to begin with this book. All I can really say is how great this story is. I became enthralled with it from the beginning and if it weren’t for my still having issues reading ebooks for long periods of time, since my concussion, I would have devoured this book in one day. It’s hard to describe a book you love without giving away too many details or spoilers. But I’ll do my best and I promise, no spoilers, because I want more of you to read this book.

The book begins in a medical facility in Chernobyl. Within the confines of this facility there a ton of doctors observing groups of children. It seems that after a lot of experimentation, they have successfully created what they believe to be three different species of humans: Converts, Inerts and Wolfen. Those who are Wolfen are the pride and joy of the facility. They are those who have successfully been created using the hybrid DNA and many of their behaviors suggest a pack-like mentality that is comparable to that of a wolf pack. Converts are those whose DNA has become corrupted and they are mutated. They are highly aggressive carnivores and show no signs of social order. These specimen are kept away from the others because of their violent outbursts. And then there are the inerts. These are the children who have had no transition into either of the other two subspecies. They don’t show signs of increased pheromone levels or accelerated healing abilities, like the Wolfen children and they do not possess the mutated appearance or violent behaviors of the converts.

Sounds like I just gave away the whole book, right? Wrong. This is just the ground work that is explained in chapter one and it’s not the whole story. As with most stories that include man trying to play God, something goes wrong and their facilities become compromised and overrun with converts. But that’s just the beginning, because the converts manage to break free and wreck havoc on the world. They are an all consuming force to be reckoned with. Much like a zombie-apocalyptic book, the characters in this story find themselves unable to trust others. This is a story about survival of the fittest and how important it is to know who you can truly trust. But it’s also an adventure and I enjoyed every step of it. I’m just sorry I’ve finished the book already.

Is it perfect? No.

I say this because I absolutely despised one of the characters and every time their point of view popped up, I found myself skimming. I was cheering others on to kill the character and be done with it. I felt no sympathy for their sob story and I didn’t feel there was anyway they could have possibly redeemed themselves. But even though I’m not exactly happy about that character’s fate, there was far too much good in this book for that to affect how I feel about the book as a whole. In fact, despite that character’s strong presence and my utter dislike for them, I am still giving this book five stars. I enjoyed it that much. I cannot wait to read more from this author and since there’s an opening for there to possibly be more to this book than a single book, I can only hope one day she’ll write a sequel.

Great book and I hope some of you will take a chance to check it out for yourself. It’s a great example of how civilization can de-evolve in time of a crisis and how it takes the right group to make a change in this kind of post-apocalyptic world. This book has a dynamic trio leading its ranks and their story is a must read in my book.

Reviewer’s note: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating

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Pick up your copy on Amazon: Wolfen by Alianne Donnelly