Opinions of a Wolf

Two men trapped in looping artificial realities, always find each other—maybe even save the world.

Summary:
Fox is a memory editor – one of the best – gifted with the skill to create real life in the digital world. When he wakes up in Field of Reeds Center for Memory Reconstruction with no idea how he got there, the therapists tell him he was a victim in a terrorist bombing by Khadija Banks, the pioneer of memory editing technology turned revolutionary. A bombing which shredded the memory archives of all its victims, including his husband Gabe.

Thrust into reconstructions of his memories exploded from the fragments that survived the blast, Fox tries to rebuild his life, his marriage and himself. But he quickly realises his world is changing, unreliable, and echoing around itself over and over. 

As he unearths endless cycles of meeting Gabe, falling in love and breaking up, Fox digs deep into his past, his time in the refugee nation of Aaru, and the exact nature of his relationship with Khadija. Because, in a world tearing itself apart to forget all its sadness, saving the man he loves might be the key to saving us all.

Review:
This book is one to read if you’re after gorgeous writing. The prose is immersive, with sentences that invite you to sink into them and reflect.

The character of Fox is rich in complexity. Each chapter peels back another layer of his personality, revealing depth and nuance. However, Gabe doesn’t receive the same level of development. While this is understandable—since we spend far more time in Fox’s mind than we do with Gabe in the present—it still makes their dynamic feel uneven.

Each chapter and memory journey felt like its own vignette. I found myself struggling with the overarching story, as so much time was spent on each memory that, by the end, I found myself asking, “What was the set-up again?” The book’s pacing, which focuses heavily on memory, made it hard for me to connect with the main plot.

At first, I felt the ending was spot on, but then the “Coda Excisions”—a chapter after the final one—left me confused. For me, it diminished the emotional impact of the conclusion.

Diversity is a standout feature of this book. The primary relationship is m/m, and there’s a secondary wlw relationship. All three of the main characters are people of color, and one speaks with a stutter, adding further nuance to the representation.

In terms of content:

• There’s some swearing.
• Intimacy is handled artistically—focused more on emotions than explicit details.
• One character experiences childhood exploitation, and it’s treated with the appropriate weight and sensitivity.
• Both main characters are orphaned.
• There are a few intense scenes: a bomb threat, a natural disaster resembling a hurricane, and a workplace shooting.

Overall, if you’re less concerned with plot structure and more interested in the emotional journey and immersive writing, this book may resonate with you. I recommend reading the first few chapters to see if the style suits you, and then deciding whether to continue.

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3 out of 5 stars

Length: 435 pages – average but on the longer side

Source: NetGalley

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