Lifeblood

This is my all-time second favorite Wolverine novel right behind Wolverine: Weapon X (Wolverine (Mass)), which is another fantastic Wolverine novel, but that is best left for another review. This story jumps back and forth from the present time to the 1940's during World War II, where Logan, who goes by James "Patch" Howlett, a Canadian fighting with the Americans in a joint special services group. Logan ends up breaking into a concentration camp in order to fulfill a promise to a dead comrade's girlfriend. The story I found to be the most interesting when Logan was back in the concentration camp under the Nazi regime. The present day portion of the story was well-done only in the sense that it had a direct link to his days in the concentration camp and a very vile Nazi villain that most comic book aficionados should recognize. Now I am not going to tell you much more about the story because I would really hate to give away too much that would end up ruining the story for you, but I would like to add that the ending was especially sweet and I really take my hat off to the author for that awesome twist at the end. I would also recommend the other Wolverine novels that are available, such as; Wolverine: The Nature of the Beast (Wolverine (Mass)) Wolverine: Weapon X (Wolverine (Mass)) Wolverine: Election Day (Wolverine) Wolverine: Road of Bones (Wolverine) Shawn Kovacich Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.

Typically I pick up this kind of book as a "filler" until another book I'm more interested in comes along. A good summer read (even though it's the middle of winter), but nothing to write home about. I was really surprised by this one. It follows Wolverine seemingly after his Xmen days, though I haven't followed the history so I'm not sure. At any rate, he doesn't know who he is but finds some interesting hints at the library. The book is full of flashbacks and shows a younger version of Wolverine from back in WWII. More surprises, the action and taste of the WWII stuff really rang true, and clearly the author knows a lot about the era. Well written, good characterization, overall very well done. Maybe the ending broke down a little bit, but it's a minor quibble over a very well written novel.

I loved this book. Wolverine is definitely one of the more interesting characters that Marvel has to offer. Wolverine, since he has basically no knowledge about his past, can be used for countless story ideas. This particular story idea was set back in both a Nazi concentration camp as well as in the present. I felt that the flashbacks from the story both moved the story along and filled in the gaps. The writer of this novel had obviously done some research on Nazi concentration camps as well as the Nazi's themselves, as well as some Psychological factors as well. I always enjoy reading about Wolverine's healing factor, and about his claws, and I felt that the author of this book did an exceptional job with both of those. However, the book did have its drawback, Wolverines healing factor does not make him immortal, if he aquires an injury that is severe enough, he can die. Even though that was in the story, and it may not have been exactly true to Wolverines character, I felt that it was very well done, and it rang true to the Nazi's saying that there was a certain power in the blood. The life giving power just so happened to be Wolverines blood. Even though I gave this book 5 stars, I have to say that the action scenes in the book didnt last for very long, although the book had the "Wolverine" feel to it, it just didnt have that great of an action scene in it. I was expecting something that I could read that showed the extent of Wolverine's healing factor, as well as his ability to fight, afterall, that is what he does best. I would suggest, even if you are not a fan of the comics, that you pick this up. This book has a certain insight into Wolverines past, as well as an incredible job describing Wolverine's healing factor. This book would be a good read for anyone who just wants a little insight into Wolverine's past. I felt that this book could be enjoyed by someone who was and still is a fan of the comics, and that the book could also be enjoyed by someone who has no prior knowledge of Wolverine.

I thought the book was well written, and surprisingly accurate in its portrayal of Nazis. The author has clearly done quite a bit of research for this book. By coincidence, I saw a show about the ideology of Nazis, and their occult beliefs. One of these beliefs was the life giving power of blood that could bestow immortality. It was connected to the story of the holy grail and to their quest to create a race of ubermench through breeding the purest bloodlines of Aryan stock. The author of "Wolverine: Lifeblood" seems to have tied this idea neatly to the healing factor of Wolverine, and how Nazi researchers would have loved to examine exactly how it works...no matter how Wolverine might feel about that. Anyway, I highly recommend this book, it was impossible to put down, and made me curious about the other books in the series.