LocalLit book review: ‘WereWoof’ doesn’t take itself too seriously

As I’ve said previously, I really liked the deep character development in Norm Cowie’s werewolf novel – “Mooned” — and almost philosophical musings into what it means to be human.

Cowie’s “WereWoof” opens up like an episode of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.”

A dog named Trug happily runs through the woods, marking trees. A master vampire runs a novice through basic training. A rabbit named Nevin attacks a wolf.

Trug, a boy, finds out he’s been marking the desk legs in his bedroom. Nevin is also a boy – and one of Erin’s friends. Erin is a teen vampire who’s trying to fit into her new identity with all the adolescent angst she can muster.

But Erin’s not a full-blooded vampire yet. The vampire who is turning her needs to get one more bite.

And it just gets even more fun from there.

Although “WereWoof” appears to be a sequel to Cowie’s teen vampire novel “Fang Face,” reading “Fang Face” is not a prerequisite for “WereWoof.”

Here is the Amazon description for “WereWoof”: “When their friend Erin is taken by vampires, Trug and his friends strike an uneasy truce with a pack of werewolves to find the pointy tooth villains and save her. Everything unravels when the werewolves betray them, Nevin and Trug are converted into weredogs and their bat goes missing.

“Now the two weredogs have to use their newfound powers of Kibbles and Bits to battle turncoat werewolves and bloodsucking demons without the benefit of opposable thumbs.”

Overall, “WereWoof” has no clever turns of phrases or memorable heart-stopping prose. It doesn’t have the Gothic mood of a Hammer film or the paranormal romance of a “Twilight” movie.

Rather, “WereWoof” is a fun story on the level of the 1950s “scary” flicks: “I Was a Teenage…” fill in the blanks. It’s about as scary as an R.L. Stine Goosebumps book.

But 2020 has been plenty scary for a lot of people. And the past 12 months have been serious on unprecedented levels.

Not every reader wants a serious philosophical inquiry. Some readers just need some serious distraction. They want to giggle and forget their troubles.

“WereWoof” accomplishes that.

Buy it on Amazon.

For more information and some free short stories right on the website, visit normcowie.com.

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Contact Denise M. Baran-Unland at 815-280-4122 or dunland@shawmedia.com.