Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Del Rey (2006), Edition: First Edition, 532 pages
Description
Lola Galley, 28 and already a scarred veteran, is assigned to defend a curfew-breaker who mutilated a good friend of hers. She doesn't want the case, but she's used to doing things she doesn't want. Only something happens: her maimed friend is murdered before her client can be tried.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ascexis
Urban fantasy, where werewolves are substantially in the majority, and those born without the lycanthropic twist in their dna are known, derisively, as barebacks.
Whitfield takes a fab inversion of a uual idea, and does wonderful things with it. The Barebacks are drafted at 18 into governement
Gloria's motives are dubious, her methods more so. There are a few moments when the plot twisted in a way I hadn't expected -- and really, wasn't convinced by. Not a particularly happy ending for anyone, but one of those ending that is satisfying, having come to know the characters and world during the book. As a character story, and a world, and a murder mystery, it was a riveting read, and I really liked the noirish style.
Whitfield takes a fab inversion of a uual idea, and does wonderful things with it. The Barebacks are drafted at 18 into governement
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agencies for the control of weres at full moon. A world with a self-imposed curfew and lockup for all were-wolves, it would have been tempting to take the pov of one of the many other characters in the book, but it's written from the pov of one of the bareback cops/prosecutors/investigators, who I think, from the outside, wuld be very unsympathetic. From the inside, you're drawn in.Gloria's motives are dubious, her methods more so. There are a few moments when the plot twisted in a way I hadn't expected -- and really, wasn't convinced by. Not a particularly happy ending for anyone, but one of those ending that is satisfying, having come to know the characters and world during the book. As a character story, and a world, and a murder mystery, it was a riveting read, and I really liked the noirish style.
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
Interesting take on the werewolf story.
Lola Gailey is a non. A non-werewolf in a world where werewolves are normal. The non's are conscripted into DORLA - the Department for the Ongoing Regulation of Lycantrophic Activity. They investigate breaches of regulations by lycantrope and they're
Lola is investigating what started out as mutilation and ended up as murder of a friend and co-worker in a city that comes across as more American than English.
In a world both like and unlike ours, pretty well worked out and interesting, and a lot of the motivations of the characters is quite logical, it came across as being quite first-novelish and didn't quite capture my full attention. Still it was a good read and an interesting different look at the werewolf myth.
Lola Gailey is a non. A non-werewolf in a world where werewolves are normal. The non's are conscripted into DORLA - the Department for the Ongoing Regulation of Lycantrophic Activity. They investigate breaches of regulations by lycantrope and they're
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considered lesser people. They also have a tendency to die young.Lola is investigating what started out as mutilation and ended up as murder of a friend and co-worker in a city that comes across as more American than English.
In a world both like and unlike ours, pretty well worked out and interesting, and a lot of the motivations of the characters is quite logical, it came across as being quite first-novelish and didn't quite capture my full attention. Still it was a good read and an interesting different look at the werewolf myth.
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LibraryThing member peterannis
Not the best book I have ever read but just above average. It started fairly well took some perseverence to get through the middle sections and had a reasonable but somewhat predictable ending. There are paralells between fantasy fiction framework of this book and the lot of minorities in real life.
LibraryThing member seldombites
This is the author's first novel, and she's sure done a great job! Bareback is a riveting story about life for a 'bareback' DORLA agent in a world of 'lycos'. Forced into service rounding up 'lunes' (lycos who have furred up in the open on moon-nights) and faced by prejudice on all sides, life is
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not easy for those saddled with the 'bareback' disability. This book certainly has a different view of the world and because it is so far from reality, the author is able to deal with issues of prejudice, disability and human rights without it feeling like you are being preached at. Definitely a good read. Show Less
LibraryThing member jcorrea
I love how the author makes this story seem so realistic and believable in this alternate reality. The characters are believable flawed and damaged, making them so much easier to relate to. A good read overall.
LibraryThing member Pagemistress
An intriguing take on werewolves wherein humans are the minority. On the dark and gritty side, but also oddly compelling, the narrative depends more on the inner landscape of the protagonist than it does on the usual tropes of werewolf fiction. Well worth the read.
LibraryThing member Ani_Na
This is one of the best novels I've read, especially of the fantasy genre. It's not *really* a fantasy book at all - more of an alternative history, which deals with romance, friendship, abuse, rape, and torture. Most of all, it probes the effects of discrimination and hatred on both the oppressor
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and the oppressed. A few portions, especially near the beginning, are a little "first novel". But Whitfield has not only bright ideas but a powerful grasp of language. There were phrases that took my breath away with their beauty and insight. I'd highly recommend Benighted for serious study or a weekend read. Show Less
LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
What a refreshing, but dark, take on this new obsession with werewolves! In this world, 99.6 percent of the population are shape-shifters. Lola is one of the few "bare-backs". She charged with keeping order on those moon nights, and while her organization might be small, it has a lot of power. As a
Its an interesting world, more authoritarian than reality. It is slowly revealed through the story, as Lola goes about uncovering a murderer. The people she encounters are also quite interesting - from her sister who doesn't quite know how to handle Lola, to Lola's boyfriend Paul, who becomes involved with the case she is working on.
As always in books such as this, there are themes of them vs us, and might makes right. Lola had to do what she did, but she does not go unscathed.
The book does have a few weaknesses- mainly the world. When 99 percent of the population relies on .4 percent of the population to keep things safe for one night a month, you would think that this group of people would be held in greater esteem or things done differently. The author relies too much on history (the inquisition and such) and creates a world that doesn't work, logically. The other thing that bothers is the ending - the resolution came out of nowhere and it didn't work with the plot that was created early on in the book.
This is a great book to read - very dark, and at times, thought provoking.
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result, it is hated by most of the population. Its an interesting world, more authoritarian than reality. It is slowly revealed through the story, as Lola goes about uncovering a murderer. The people she encounters are also quite interesting - from her sister who doesn't quite know how to handle Lola, to Lola's boyfriend Paul, who becomes involved with the case she is working on.
As always in books such as this, there are themes of them vs us, and might makes right. Lola had to do what she did, but she does not go unscathed.
The book does have a few weaknesses- mainly the world. When 99 percent of the population relies on .4 percent of the population to keep things safe for one night a month, you would think that this group of people would be held in greater esteem or things done differently. The author relies too much on history (the inquisition and such) and creates a world that doesn't work, logically. The other thing that bothers is the ending - the resolution came out of nowhere and it didn't work with the plot that was created early on in the book.
This is a great book to read - very dark, and at times, thought provoking.
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LibraryThing member justabookreader
Lola May Galley is human. When the moon rises, she does not go lyco. Instead of growing fur and howling at the moon, she sets out with others from the Department for the Ongoing Regulation of Lycanthropic Activity (DORLA) to catch stray lycos and criminals who haven't locked themselves up properly.
During a full moon, a friend loses a hand when a lune goes bad and then he ends up murdered before the attacker is brought to trial. She finds herself wrapped up in a case that runs much deeper than she thought with societal implications that leave her terrified and almost numb.
I know vampire and werewolf stories are starting to run thin, and even I myself, who happens to like stories with these creatures, am getting a bit tired. Yet, after reading In Great Waters, I found I liked Whitfield's writing and wanted to read more. I found Benighted and became entranced with her world. She takes the normal werewolf story and turns it upside down. It is now the humans living in poor conditions, fighting prejudice at the hands of a world run by werewolves, and living degrading and horrifying lives. Being born a bareback (the negative term given to those children born head first and human) means living a life only to attend to lycos. They are given no other choice and for them it is a sad, scary, dangerous, and mostly short life.
Lola was the only non-lyco born in her family and she lived her entire life wondering what it would be like to turn with the full moon. When she finds herself in a relationship with a lyco, she ends up finding answers to questions that she never thought about. The devastating consequences make for a good, and sad, story. There are some, more like many, disturbing moments in this book. When Lola talks about her childhood I felt like she shared a bit too much and I wished she would take some of it back but it was already on the table at the point. It took me a while to like Lola even though I felt for her from the start. She does things that she hates, and begins to hate herself with good reason. It's unfortunate that she feels, and in many cases is right, that she has no other choice. For someone in her position, it is only a life of servitude and nothing more even if she is made to feel free. It is the life she was born into and nothing will change her. She becomes more hardened against the outside world and that's just to keep herself sane.
Whitfield is a good writer and I enjoyed this one much more than In Great Waters. Even if you're tired of werewolves, I'd say give this one a chance. It's an interesting, if sad and disturbing, world to get drawn into. There are a lot of themes at play, many of which I haven't even touched on here, that leave you wondering more about societal ramifications than actual werewolves. It's a dark world to get drawn into.
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She is a human in a world run by werewolves. She is looked down upon for being born non-lyco (considered a disability by most in her world), and like all others with her disability, she spends her days and nights working for the lycos in a lyco run world.During a full moon, a friend loses a hand when a lune goes bad and then he ends up murdered before the attacker is brought to trial. She finds herself wrapped up in a case that runs much deeper than she thought with societal implications that leave her terrified and almost numb.
I know vampire and werewolf stories are starting to run thin, and even I myself, who happens to like stories with these creatures, am getting a bit tired. Yet, after reading In Great Waters, I found I liked Whitfield's writing and wanted to read more. I found Benighted and became entranced with her world. She takes the normal werewolf story and turns it upside down. It is now the humans living in poor conditions, fighting prejudice at the hands of a world run by werewolves, and living degrading and horrifying lives. Being born a bareback (the negative term given to those children born head first and human) means living a life only to attend to lycos. They are given no other choice and for them it is a sad, scary, dangerous, and mostly short life.
Lola was the only non-lyco born in her family and she lived her entire life wondering what it would be like to turn with the full moon. When she finds herself in a relationship with a lyco, she ends up finding answers to questions that she never thought about. The devastating consequences make for a good, and sad, story. There are some, more like many, disturbing moments in this book. When Lola talks about her childhood I felt like she shared a bit too much and I wished she would take some of it back but it was already on the table at the point. It took me a while to like Lola even though I felt for her from the start. She does things that she hates, and begins to hate herself with good reason. It's unfortunate that she feels, and in many cases is right, that she has no other choice. For someone in her position, it is only a life of servitude and nothing more even if she is made to feel free. It is the life she was born into and nothing will change her. She becomes more hardened against the outside world and that's just to keep herself sane.
Whitfield is a good writer and I enjoyed this one much more than In Great Waters. Even if you're tired of werewolves, I'd say give this one a chance. It's an interesting, if sad and disturbing, world to get drawn into. There are a lot of themes at play, many of which I haven't even touched on here, that leave you wondering more about societal ramifications than actual werewolves. It's a dark world to get drawn into.
Show Less
Awards
Waverton Good Read Award (Longlist — 2006)
Original language
English
Original publication date
2006-08-08
Physical description
532 p.; 5.53 inches
ISBN
0345491637 / 9780345491633