I'm bringing something new to the blog today with Michael Loring's Dehumanized, a dark and heavy read presenting a new view of werewolves. Keep reading to get a brief glimpse into this book along with my review of it as well as the chance to win a copy. Visit the other blogs hosting this tour who are listed here to get other reader's impressions of this book too!
Ryan Zachery lived his life the way all high school teenagers should - carefree, and oblivious to anything around him. He had an attractive girlfriend and hope for the future. One night when he was walking home he was attacked by an unknown assailer. He awoke in the hospital to learn he had been infected by lycanthropy, a disease he had heard about but had ignored.
Taken by armed guards and dragged away from his parents who did not understand what was happening, Ryan was thrown into a US camp made for those 'suffering' from lycanthropy. Treated like prisoners, he and other lycanthropes were abused by the guards and by their own kind. Scientists regularly performed experiments that promised to treat the disease, yet only caused pain. If Ryan or any of the other roommates acted up or demanded answers, they were thrown into solitary, nicknamed the 'dungeon', and ignored until they became docile once more.
But at the night of the full moon, the beast within him is freed. The beast hates the prison and Ryan. When an experimental procedure allows the beast and Ryan to communicate, the two enemies become unlikely allies who will stop at nothing to tear down the walls keeping them prisoner. With the beast's help, Ryan learns how to change at will. When even his own kind begin to fear him, he creates a plan to release all lycanthropes. They caged the beast, but now he will show them that he will never be dehumanized.
But at the night of the full moon, the beast within him is freed. The beast hates the prison and Ryan. When an experimental procedure allows the beast and Ryan to communicate, the two enemies become unlikely allies who will stop at nothing to tear down the walls keeping them prisoner. With the beast's help, Ryan learns how to change at will. When even his own kind begin to fear him, he creates a plan to release all lycanthropes. They caged the beast, but now he will show them that he will never be dehumanized.
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THE BOOK:
Dehumanized caught my attention from the start and never really let up in its intensity and ability to draw a reader into the darkly dystopian-like world Mr. Loring created. This book falls into the Adult YA genre so much of the action is on an emotional level where the inner turmoil of the main character is most apparent. For fans of romance there's a bit of that too, but there's a sense of desperation and uncertainty surrounding it as it comes at a time when hope is in short supply.
Ryan starts out as any other teenager until the night he's bitten and becomes infected with lycanthropy. The views on lycanthropy and how it's dealt with are what sets this book apart from what I normally read. There's nothing sexy or romantic about this, it's a curse. He, and others like him, end up in a walled-off community that has the feel of a concentration camp for all its cruelty and bleakness. This part of the story is sad, at times vicious, with unending feelings of hopelessness that goes on a bit too long as Ryan's emotional state plummets into an abyss from which it seems he'll never find a way out of. Ryan fears making any attachments as life is precarious with the many medical experiments being conducting and the guard's cruelty, but he can't help but be drawn to new cell mate Anna though he fights their connection every step of the way. The hope she gives him is the first step in what hints at being a radical change for all of their futures.
The second step is Ryan's newfound ability to transform at will after a medical procedure gone wrong. The reader gets a greater understanding of what happens both physically and mentally during a transformation and it makes you more sympathetic towards those with lycanthropy. Ryan now becomes truly one with his other half and through that bond starts gaining the courage to forge a different path for himself and others like him. After all the unrelenting oppression of the story there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel and I look forward to the rest of the journey just starting to be hinted at here.
This is an intense read with a unique viewpoint that sucks you in from the first page with its vivid depiction of a dark and dystopian society with nefarious plans underfoot and a society of people merely pawns. It's a dark and oftentimes depressing journey to reach an ending that is just a beginning and I look forward to what this talented author has planned next.
My rating for this is an A-
*I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
AUTHOR INFO:
Michael Loring was born in Bristol, Connecticut, but has lived in a variety of places such as Florida and Tennessee. He likes to think of himself as an amateur Lycanthropologist, studying werewolves ever since he was eight years old when he first saw An American Werewolf In London. He spent most of his life switching between home school and public school, always focusing on his passion of writing no matter what. His interest in writing was sparked in the second grade when his teacher encouraged him to write short stories for the class, earning him more than one award at school assemblies for Creative Writing. He currently resides back in his birthplace of Connecticut with a house full of women who like to drive him up the wall until he finishes his chores. Though they seem to avoid him during the night of the full moon for some unexplainable reason…
Website | Twitter: @MichaelLoring
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What an interesting book! Thanks for sharing.
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