Wolfhound Century by Peter Higgins

Published by Orbit on March 26, 2013 

Wolfhound Century leaves the reader with a bucketful of unanswered questions. I imagine a sequel is in the works. Until it arrives, I'm not sure whether to call Wolfhound Century fantasy or science fiction. The strong elements of fantasy may turn out to have a science-based explanation -- there are some hints of that -- but for the moment, they have no explanation at all.

Angels have been at war for four hundred years. Some have fallen to Earth (or an alternate version of Earth), landing in the Vlast (an alternative version of Russia). When Archangel fell, he became stuck in the planetary crust. His goal is to escape from his prison and return to the stars as the dominant force in the universe. Before that can happen, he must destroy the Pollandore.  What is the Pollandore?  That's one of the unanswered questions.

Josef Kantor, like his father before him, is a rebel who supports a free and independent Lezarye. He is plotting a coup to bring down the Vlast's leadership. But does Kantor have a hidden agenda?

The hero of Wolfhound Century (to the extent that one exists) is Vissarion Lom, a police investigator stuck in the provinces who has been denied promotion for eleven years due to an "attitude problem." Lom is summoned to the Ministry of Vlast Security in Mirgorod and tasked with finding Kantor. He is bedeviled in that duty by ... well, perhaps they are best described as "unseen forces." But Lom is different from most police officers. For that matter, he's different from most people, for reasons that only start to be revealed toward the novel's end.

Wolfhound Century is full of characters, and they are all bestowed with unique and detailed personalities. They make the novel worth reading. Lom's friend, Vishnik, roams Mirgorod, documenting its decay with his camera. Vishnik is one of the few with knowledge of the Pollandore. The only people who can set the Pollandore free are Maroussia Shaumain and her batty mother, while Kantor and Lavrantina Chazia, the evil Commander of Vlast's Secret Police, would like to destroy it (if only they knew how).

Initially, I had my doubts about reading yet another book featuring warring angels. I soon became absorbed in the story. This isn't just another book about warring angels (whether, in fact, they are angels in the usual sense of the word is one of the many questions left unanswered). Despite the angels and some giants and various evil forces that populate the story, Wolfhound Century isn't clearly grounded in the supernatural, although it might be. Fortunately, the focus is rarely on angels. Ultimately, the novel is about humans reacting to adversity.

Peter Higgins' writing style is impressive. His prose is lively and rich. The story maintains a brisk pace without sacrificing characterization. My most significant reservation about Wolfhound Century is that, upon reaching the end, I wondered what I had just read. It's frustrating to know that I'll need to read the next book to find out.

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