Wolf Who Rules: Pittsburgh gets weirder

Wolf Who Rules by Wen Spencer

Wen Spencer’s Wolf Who Rules (2006) is the second book in her ELFHOME series, blending urban fantasy and science fiction in an alternate Pittsburgh. In my review of the first book, Tinker, I explained that while I loved the premise and setting, I didn’t think Spencer fully capitalized on its potential. I wanted more weird Pittsburgh—the cultural oddities of a city stuck in an elven dimension were intriguing but underexplored. I found Tinker‘s plot overburdened with infodumps and the protagonist’s characterization leaning heavily into Mary Sue territory, with unsettling relationship dynamics and inconsistencies in tone. With so much potential though, and because I already own the other books at Audible, I decided to continue on in the ELFHOME series.

Wolf Who Rules explores the aftermath of Tinker‘s climactic events. Pittsburgh is now a potentially permanent part of Elfhome and it’s gotten weirder. The river, for example, has turned into some sort of discontinuity and seems unstable. Another major source of tension in Wolf Who Rules is the uncertain jurisdiction over Pittsburgh. Ordinarily, Pittsburgh’s human government holds authority, but now that the city is permanently stuck in Elfhome, the elves believe they should take control. This power struggle is complicated by romantic entanglements: both a prominent Pittsburgh police officer and Windwolf, the elven prince, are in love with Tinker. Another problem is that there are more of the elves’ mortal enemies in the city than expected. Windwolf’s clan won’t be able to eradicate them without help from other clans who are going to want to share power in exchange for their help. The humans citizens aren’t too happy about their elven allies planning to commit genocide. So, to put it mildly, the political situation is fraught.

It’s up to Tinker, the genius, to make everything right. Fortunately she has the help of some clever relatives and friends, though she isn’t always sure about their loyalties. She also needs to learn to control her new magical abilities. Along the way, she’ll discover some shocking truths about her family that cause her to have an identity crisis.

Like the previous book, Wolf Who Rules is well-written, has an intriguing setting, and is often entertaining and funny. The ending is quite exciting.

Tinker remains an engaging protagonist—clever, courageous, and resourceful—but still a Mary Sue. Despite being a savvy genius, she sometimes makes baffling choices.

The story features too many elements that I personally don’t like: troubling dream sequences (often related to Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz), boring magic-teaching segments, and instances of rape, torture, sudden brutal death of innocent people, and adultery that I’m supposed to find sexy (I don’t). Readers who are more tolerant of these elements may enjoy the story more than I did.

The Audible Studios edition of Wolf Who Rules is read by Tanya Eby who does a nice job. It’s 13 hours long.