Review: Wereworld: Rage of Lions by Curtis Jobling

Young Werewolf Drew Ferran is the future king of Westland.

He has the makings of a great warrior - but first he must master the blade and the beast.

When Lady Gretchen is abducted by the Werelion Prince Lucas, Drew and his friends embark on a perilous chase to stop the prince fleeing to his homeland of Bast. As Drew encounters terrifying new Werelords along the way, he is led to the exotic city of Cape Gala, where the forces of Onyx, the Beast of Bast, await.

Now Drew must summon all of his courage and strength - because the Catlords are ready to attack . . . 

My first review of the 2011 was Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf by Curtis Jobling. I opened that review with the following paragraph:

“Imagine a fantasy world on par with that created by Tolkien for his Lord of the Rings books, and then take away the orcs, elves, dwarves, etc. and throw in a werewolf. And some werelions. Oh yes, and whilst you're at it wererats, werefoxes, wereboar and even a wereshark. Add to this a huge amount of writing talent and the end product is Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf by Curtis Jobling, the most exciting fantasy story I have read for years.”

Following that review I received a few emails from readers stating that they were going to go and buy the book based on my review, and specifically because of that opening Lord-of-the-Rings-mentioning statement. This played on my mind as I moved on to other books, and part of me wondered whether I had got a little too carried away in the excitement of the moment – had Rise of the Wolf really been that good? Nobody came back to me later calling me an idiot so I my worry gradually dissipated, until of course I received a copy of the sequel, Rage of Lions, from the generous people at Puffin. Would it live up to that dramatic opening paragraph of my review, or would I end up with egg on my face?

Oh my god! It is an amazing book. It is everything that Rise of the Wolf was, but turned up to 11. Rise of the Wolf now seems like Caffeine-free Diet Coke in comparison to this full-fat, seven spoonfuls of sugar, caffeine-laced beauty of a book. Why did I ever doubt myself? And what an easy book to review. Go back to my review of 1st January, read it carefully, and then just think bigger, better, faster, more:

More world building – I love this fantastic world of Lyssia and its people, and in this book we get to see so much more.

More fight scenes - aside from the world building, writing full-on action scenes that leave your heart ready to burst is one of Curtis Jobling’s huge strengths
.
More Werelords (including a Ram, a Bull, and just wait until you read about the Cats of Bast).

More necromancy, darkness and despair (things get dark in this book – it is The Empire Strikes Back to Rise of the Wolf’s Star Wars)

More twists and turns than a twisty turning thing and more crossing, and double-crossing as the various factions in Lyssia vie for power, or change their allegiances to suit their own selfish purposes.

More jaw dropping moments – just wait to the final chapters of the book. You chin will be glued to the floor and you will be weeping with frustration at the thought of having to wait for the next instalment.

More details regarding the characters we already know – Mr Jobling answers the minority of critics who felt his characters needed more development in the first book.

Thank you Mr Jobling for these few more hours of sublime reading pleasure! What sort of bribe would you accept for an early read of the next book in the series.