Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Gone to the Wolves by John Wray - Available

Gone to the Wolves

by John Wray
Nick Mondelli
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
Kip, Kira, and Leslie are outliers, even in the metal scene they love. In arch-conservative backwoods Florida in the 1980s, just listening to heavy metal can get you arrested—but the risk is worth taking, because music is what leads them to each other. Different from one another as they are, the three of them form a family of sorts, one that proves safer and more loving than the broken homes they come from. Together, they make the pilgrimage from Florida's swamp country to L.A.'s fabled Sunset Strip—but the beautiful new life they've dreamed of soon proves a mirage. Kira finds herself drawn to ever darker and more extreme strains of metal, drifting toward a place where her two friends, for all their love, can't follow. On a trip to Europe for her twenty-second birthday, in the middle of a show, she simply vanishes. Years later, the shocking truth about her disappearance reunites Kip and Leslie, whose search for her takes them from California to the snowbound woods of Norway. But bringing Kira home will require a greater sacrifice than either could imagine. In his most absorbing and ambitious novel yet, John Wray dives deep into the wild funhouse world of heavy metal and death cults in the 1980s and 90s. Gone to the Wolves lays bare the intensity, tumult, and thrill of friendship in adolescence—a time when music can often feel like life or death.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 2, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781666640854
      • File size: 348071 KB
      • Duration: 12:05:08

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 27, 2023
      Wray (Lowboy) returns with a masterly opus of Florida metalheads. Kip Norvald, Leslie Z, and Kira Carson bond as teens in the late 1980s during a drunken escapade that involves, among other things, a dude strapping himself to skis on the roof of an off-roading truck. Having survived the mischief, the three set out in search of something true. They find it in the death metal scene, where bands like Death, Morbid Angel, and Cannibal Corpse are flourishing. As Kira puts it: “That’s what metal is for. It’s a flamethrower, Norvald. It burns all the bullshit away.” After high school, the trio are pulled in different directions. Leslie Z, the flamboyant, queer ringleader, struggles with heroin addiction, Kira tends bar at the Rainbow Room in Los Angeles, and Kip becomes a rock critic. Kip and Leslie reunite in 1990 to find Kira, who has since moved to Norway and been taken in by a black metal cult. Wray writes about music with the enthusiasm of a fan and the precision of a critic, packing the pages with spot-on details and cannily capturing the allure of extreme music. The pages of this anthem are as uncompromising as the music they depict. Agent: Jin Auh, Wylie Agency.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Nick Mondelli captures the angst of three teenagers in the 1980s who share a love of heavy metal. Kip, Leslie, and Kira--all estranged from their families or their communities--build an unbreakable bond over music and move from their small town in Florida to California. Mondelli builds tension as the group is tested and begins to falter and fracture. Desperate to save his relationship with Kira, Kip takes her on a tour of European heavy-metal music. After a show Kira disappears. Mondelli draws listeners into the world of death metal and its deadly underbelly as Kip reunites with Leslie to find Kira. Mondelli's intimate narration will have the listener feeling like a fourth member of this group of friends. L.M.G. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading