The Frenzy War Gregory Lamberson

Overview;

Two years have passed since the events of The Frenzy Way.  Captain Tony Mace has been publicly disgraced, unable to provide a final account for the Manhattan werewolf. A department scapegoat he is about to be recalled into action when a terrorist group enters Manhattan with the goal of eradicating the entire werewolf species, turning the city into a bloody war zone.  

“Jason looked up, fear evident in his eyes even as his face contorted.”

Review;

Gregory Lamberson’s Frenzy War builds naturally on the ideas first presented in The Frenzy Way.  The few surviving characters are brought back with new additions.  Tony Mace has a full squad backing him up this time, and terrorist group The Brotherhood of Torquemada’s members are fully developed as well.  Mace is the anchor the story revolves around and allows the reader a great window into this world.  From the new cast a standout is Rhonda a werewolf caught up in the war.  Until I picked up this series I always thought of werewolf fiction as the hardest classic monster to write.  Mr. Lamberson has me rethinking this.

Lamberson has an incredibly eye for detail.  His supernatural work contains elements of police procedural, which adds plausibility to the fantastical elements.  His character creation is also superb.  I read horror to provoke a reaction, and Lamberson delivers. A found myself rooting for some of the characters strongly hoping they would survive.   A key to this is Lamberson’s willingness to spend time with the psychological effects of this violence on those around it, not just the graphic gore, though that is included as well. 

The plot has a few great logical reveals and as a reader I never felt cheated.  The action sequences are well conceived and play out cinematically.  His ability to clearly keep track of multiple characters in massive sequences is astounding.  The Frenzy War is a more ambitious novel than The Frenzy Way, and while I generally like smaller scale stories more I found myself enraptured in Lamberson’s story.

In the End;

The Frenzy War further solidifies Gregory Lamberson as one the defining writers in contemporary horror.  He knows how to give horror fans the conventions they love, without falling into cliché.  I devoured this book and if you have any interest in the synopsis I am confident you will as well.