496 pages, Little, Brown, ISBN-13: 978-0316405157
Hey, remember reading my review of Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin last month? And remember me saying that there was a second book in the series that I thought I’d tackle, seeing as I got them both from the Shelby Public library for $1.50 for the pair? Well, here it is: Blood for Blood continues and completes the story began in Wolf by Wolf, beginning as it does exactly where the prior book ended, in which Yael (remember, its pronounced Yah-ell) finds herself on the run after her botched assassination attempt on Der Führer in Tokyo and racing back to Germania – with Luka and Felix in tow – in the hope of aiding the long-simmering resistance in finishing Hitler off before the Nazis can overpower them all. Thus, Blood for Blood has the feel of not being a proper sequel but merely the continuation of the story, as if the publisher didn’t want to shell out all that money for a 1000+ page book.
Without the structure of the race in Wolf by Wolf, the novel is rather less focused, as much of the action takes place off-screen, if you will, what with the resistance rising and implementing their decade-old plans. But this is alright, as it is the character motivations amongst the big three – Yael, Luka and Felix – that are the focus here. Each of them are more complex than at first blush, with the boys getting almost as much page-time as our heroine. More than just paper-thin good little Nazis, the boys are fleshed out through a series of short chapters that provide snapshots of how both of them (and Yael) were affected by certain historical events, especially the first assassination attempt against Hitler. With the focus off of Yael, this both expands the focus of the book while also personalizing it, as we see change come to this nightmarish, Nazi-run world, for while big events occur they are caused by little people.
It would appear that Graudin has written a duology and that we must say farewell to Yael, Luka and Felix (although there is a novella, Iron to Iron, at the back that stars Luka. DON’T skip it). Blood for Blood was a good continuation of Wolf by Wolf (I won’t call it a sequel) and I, for one, was satisfied with the tale of Yael and company – and all for $1.50.
