Sharp Teeth

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Description
Capturing the pace and feel of a graphic novel, this spellbinding debut blends dark humor and epic themes with card-playing dogs, crystal meth labs, surfing, and carne asada tacos.

Reviews

Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.

Publishers Weekly (11/26/2007)
Barlows gut-wrenching, sexy debut, a horror thriller in verse, follows three packs of feral dogs in East L.A. These creatures are in fact werewolves, men and women who can change into canine form at will (Dog or wolf? More like one than the other/ but neither exactly). Lark, the top dog in one of the packs whos a lawyer in human form, has a master plan that may involve taking over the city from the regular humans. Anthony Silvo, a dogcatcher and normally a loner, finds himself falling in love with a beautiful and mysterious woman (Standing on four legs in her fur, / she is her own brand of beast). A strange small man and his giant partner play tournament bridge and are deep into the drug trade. A detective, Peabody, investigates several puzzling dog-related murders. The irregular verse form with its narrative economies proves an excellent vehicle to support all these disparate threads and then tie them together in the bittersweet conclusion. "5-city author tour. (Jan.)" Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal (01/15/2008)
Down and out in Los Angeles, Anthony reluctantly takes a job as a dogcatcher, though his sympathies lie more with the death-bound dogs in the pound than with his coworkers. When he falls in love with a woman he meets, apparently by accident, he becomes unwittingly drawn into her worlda dark supernatural world of werewolvesand into the lives and ambitions of the rival packs of shapeshifters who haunt the fringes of society. Pulsing with feral intensity, Barlow's debut depicts the lives of seemingly ordinary people who have crossed the boundaries between human and beast and between predator and prey. Written in a free verse style that perfectly complements the action as it moves from slower-paced narratives to short, jagged scenes of graphic violence and heartbreak, this groundbreaking work commands attention from a wide audience, including genre fans and modern fiction aficionados. A superb addition to any fantasy or modern horror collection. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 10/15/07.] Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal (06/01/2008)
Adult/High SchoolBarlow's debut novel innovatively mixes horror, noir, and epic poetry, creating a uniquely thrilling read. Ruled by competing packs of werewolves, the seedy underside of LA is far stranger than anyone ever imagined. Lycanthropes hire themselves out as hit men and pushers, both driving and feeding off the criminal world. At the center of the story is Anthony Silvo, a self-professed loner and dogcatcher who falls in love with a mysterious woman; she leads a second life as a werewolf and works for Lark, the leader of the most dangerous werewolf pack on the streets. Her growing relationship with Anthony causes her to regret the wild choices of her past and seek out a new life. Meanwhile, Lark suspects that competing packs of lycanthropes are after his power and he prepares for a massive, citywide conflict. Other subplots include a detective's investigations into werewolf-related murders and a comic bridge tournament that might have ties to the LA drug trade. Some readers might be initially intimidated by Barlow's free-verse poetry, but, after a page, they will be swept into the rhythm. It's also to Barlow's credit that the touching moments between the woman and Anthony work as powerfully as the most graphic violence in the story. The dark humor and grim story line will immediately draw in fans of other neo-horror novels, such as Christopher Moore's "You Suck: A Love Story" (Morrow, 2007), but Barlow's deeper style is wholly his own."Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA" Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

ISBN: 0061430226 | EAN: 9780061430220
Publisher: Harper  | Publication Date: February, 2008

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