It's been a good year for books in 2007, the undoubted highlight being Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar. Mr Millar has been one of my favourite writers for years now, but his last novel did nothing for me at all - to be blunt, I thought it was awful. However, it was the only the first Millar book that I had judged as anything less than brilliant, so the chances of it happening again were slim. Sure enough I wasn't disappointed - this book is quite simply the best thing he, or perhaps anyone, has ever written. It centres around the MacRinnalch Clan, a Scottish werewolf dynasty and, more specifically, Kalix MacRinnalch, an outcast of said clan. Not convinced? No, nor was I, but after all of ten pages I was drawn into yet another of Millar's beguiling worlds. The werewolves themselves are a disparate bunch - Dominil the ice-cold intellectual, Thrix the successful fashion designer and the indie-rock twins Beauty & Delicious, to name but a few. But if there is one reason above all others to buy this book it is the presence of Malveria the Fire Queen, ruler of the Hiyasta, a race of fire elementals. This enchanting character is a fierce warrior, but nevertheless can be reduced to tears by the most minor of fashion faux pas. Throw into the mix her niece, Agrivex, a typical teenage girl, and you have a pair of characters that really enhance the story and provide some of the best 'laugh out loud' moments in thre whole book.
Despite the presence of werewolves & elementals the bulk of the action takes place in London, which manages to give the story a more gritty feel than one would expect, given the subject matter. But I shall write no more on this - buy this book, read it, then come back here & tell me how right this review is!
Happy Christmas.