With Hearts of Flame (Deluxe Limited Edition): A Dark Academia Romantasy Novel of Vampires and Dragons Featuring Stenciled Edges and Illustrated Endpapers (Bloodwing Academy, 4)
Briar Boleyn
The Sacred Book of the Werewolf: A Novel
by Victor Pelevin
About this book
A Hu-Li is a two-thousand-year-old werefox with a penchant for seduction and a soul rooted in the ancient traditions of China. Living in the gritty, sprawling landscape of modern-day Russia, she navigates the human world by draining the life force of wealthy men, until she crosses paths with Alexander. He is a powerful werewolf and a high-ranking executive in the Russian oil industry, a man whose obsession with Wagner matches the intensity of his predatory nature.
This is not your typical shifter tale. Pelevin masterfully blends the supernatural with biting political satire, creating a unique paranormal romance that questions the very nature of reality. As the two ancient creatures form a bond that transcends their primal instincts, they find themselves caught in a surreal dance of power, identity, and existential longing. It is a story where the mysticism of folklore collides with the cold machinery of the corporate world.
For those seeking a genre-defying experience, this novel offers far more than standard shifter tropes. It is a witty, psychedelic journey through the heart of a changing nation, grounded in a profound search for meaning. Prepare to be charmed, challenged, and completely captivated by this eccentric, brilliant, and deeply imaginative masterpiece.
- Publication Date
- May 25, 2026
- ASIN
- B001FA0NB0
Reader Reviews
May 29, 2013
Even if you don't ordinarily read science-fiction or novels with werewolves, you will still enjoy The Sacred Book of the Werewolf since Victor Pelevin grounds his novel in a fund of everyday reality and tells his tale in easy-to-follow linear narrative. True, the narrator is a 2000 year old female werefox in the body of a sleek, shapely gorgeous sixteen year old girl, but, still, there is enough human-like traits to identify with her desires and aspirations and conflicts. We follow our sly...
December 5, 2008
I don't think that this book reminded me of anything Nabokov wrote (as suggested in the blurbs); however this is an imaginative (maybe kooky) book that starts out as a sort of science fiction and ends up as a zen manifesto and with the discovery of the meaning (or lack there of) of life (for werefoxes, at least - the narrator simply didn't have the time to spell it out for humans). I think I may have missed a lot of the subtlety of this book because I know very little about Russia. ) 13 people...
December 10, 2017
The Sacred Book of the Werewolf is an intricate and sometimes confusing story about the emotional and psychological history of Russia, as seen through the eyes of a shape-shifting creature living in Soviet Russia after World War II. ) One person found this helpful
September 18, 2020
One of the best examples of contemporary Russian literature. Highly recommended. ) One person found this helpful
December 9, 2008
\"The present text, which is also known under the title of 'A Hu-Li' is in fact a clumsy literary forgery\". So begins \"The Sacred Book of the Werewolf\", in a faux 'Commentary by Experts', which goes on to describe the strange events surrounding the discovery of the present manuscript, and to place a rather official sounding stamp of worthlessness on the whole business. This short introduction was all I had time to read in the bookstore, but it set its claws in me, and I ordered the book...
