Gone to the Wolves

By: John Wray

Narrated by: Nick Mondelli

Kip, Kira, and Leslie are outliers, even in the metal scene they love. In arch-conservative backwoods Florida in the 1980s, just listening to heavy metal can get you arrested—but the risk is worth taking, because music is what leads them to each other.

Different from one another as they are, the three of them form a family of sorts, one that proves safer and more loving than the broken homes they come from. Together, they make the pilgrimage from Florida's swamp country to L.A.'s fabled Sunset Strip—but the beautiful new life they've dreamed of soon proves a mirage. Kira finds herself drawn to ever darker and more extreme strains of metal, drifting toward a place where her two friends, for all their love, can't follow. On a trip to Europe for her twenty-second birthday, in the middle of a show, she simply vanishes. Years later, the shocking truth about her disappearance reunites Kip and Leslie, whose search for her takes them from California to the snowbound woods of Norway. But bringing Kira home will require a greater sacrifice than either could imagine.

In his most absorbing and ambitious novel yet, John Wray dives deep into the wild funhouse world of heavy metal and death cults in the 1980s and '90s. Gone to the Wolves lays bare the intensity, tumult, and thrill of friendship in adolescence—a time when music can often feel like life or death.

©2023 John Wray (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

very good occasionally conflicted

I adore the book, and it's setting. The characters however I am conflicted about. The characters are very three-dimensional and well thought out, however frequently intensely unlikeable. This makes them no less authentic, but reduces my investment in their well-being.

it also occasionally veers sharply into ethereal storytelling. This occasionally makes it harder to follow what is happening.

All in all, expensive knowledge of the setting sets, an excellent tone. would recommend

Just OK

I love the subject matter, I was a metal head in the 80's and a lifelong metal head. I know and listen to these bands. So I was very excited to read this book.
I feel that the music references were acceptable but not great. I liked the setting, Florida was the right scene. But the characters were often difficult to relate with and the experience was in general not relatable. I guess I was hoping for some nostalgia but didn't feel it.
I was back and forth on the performance but land on a solid good.
I will recommend to some of my old metal buddies with a caveat that they may find it a bit unrelatable but still entertaining.

What a wild ride!

The writing is so well done. The author paints a picture that puts you right in the book along with the characters. The way he describes sound and the impact it has on the characters is profound. I enjoyed the banter, the scenes, and the characters very much! However, the end got a little… toooooooo wild for me. I enjoyed it until I was scratching my head thinking— well that escalated quickly! I would read this again but stop about 3/4 of the way through.