Young Jack London continues his supernatural adventures as the authors soup up London’s original The Sea Wolf to fit the current paranormal craze.
In this second installment of their new series, Golden and Lebbon use the major plot points of London’s 1904 adventure as a loose framework for a new story that features a teenage Jack fighting werewolves. Most of the names remain the same (but alas, they exclude Oofty-Oofty), although they switch a few—here, this ship is the Larsen and the captain is called Ghost. London and the brutal captain have philosophical arguments about the virtues of human versus animal nature. Of course, young Jack will wind up fighting the crew of werewolves and Ghost himself. Whatever one may think of the worth of the authors’ concept, they produce an exciting tale that’s written with considerable oomph, and Ruth’s bold, charcoal drawings brilliantly capture the book’s action. However, their captain doesn’t linger in the mind as does London’s original Wolf Larsen, and their adventure, although suspenseful, pales against London’s efforts. Yet their romance passages trump London’s antiquated romance subplot, with the introduction of a witch who captures young Jack’s heart. Certainly the writing quality here surpasses that of most paranormal adventures today. And perhaps it might win London a new readership.
An odd but well-executed idea. (Paranormal adventure. 10-16)
