Gemini Rising is a terrific piece of fiction and one of the best werewolf novels I’ve ever read. I love how the author used the mythic story of Romulus and Remus and the creation of Rome in order to tell an origin werewolf story. Like most of the other aspects of this novel, the premise was very clever and well done.

The novel starts in the pre-Roman era. A wolf-god impregnates a woman and dies when his two offspring are born. They are originally taken in by a wolf before being adopted by a man and woman who can’t have their own children. The story fast forwards to Romulus and Remus in their early teens and the wolves within them begin to manifest. Romulus fully embraces this aspect of himself. Remus, on the other hand, rejects being a werewolf, which sets the brothers at odds. Romulus has a grand plan to raise an army of werewolves and overthrow the king, but Remus won’t have any of it.

I loved how the author retold this mythical almost exactly the way it happened according to legend, yet still incorporated the brothers being werewolves. The characterization in this novel was very strong as was the plot. I like the struggle between the brothers and how there wasn’t one who was obviously right or obviously wrong. Each one of them had elements that I could agree with or disagree with. The buildup and the climax were strong. There was little that I found to quibble about and mostly just enjoyed the ride. This is a must read novel.

Carl Alves - author of Conjesero ( )