Werewolf: Watcher
I remember The World of Darkness. Being big into horror in the early 1990s made certain of that. I was never into it at all -- I didn't have the friends, time, or inclination for RPGs -- but since it was horror-related, and since some of the other authors I was reading at the time were writing novels for White Wolf, I at least knew what it was.If not for the fact that Charles Grant wrote this novel, I probably wouldn't have read it at all. Aside from the fact that the license means little to me, and that werewolves have never been a fascination of mine, that cover sure doesn't make me want to read the book. It's about as evocative as a slice of white bread toast.
I had concerns that not being familiar with the story behind the RPG would be a detriment, but to Grant's credit, he managed to bring in the specific details of the world and explain them enough to get a sense of what was going on behind the scenes. There's some talk of the Garou and the 13 Tribes that isn't really explained all that well, but it's clear from the story that this is some shadowy organization involving werewolves, which is honestly all we need to know.
Aside from the fact that the book's subject matter didn't appeal to me, the book simply wasn't all that interesting. I know Grant had characterization and setting skills, but here the entire book felt flat. Stuff happened, people died, conspiracies raged, and I couldn't find it in me to care about them at all. By the last quarter of the novel, I was eager to see how it was going to end, but not because I was caught up in the characters at all.
Grant was a talented writer, and his books are worth reading, but I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone start here with him.
