By Eduardo Jáuregui Martínez
What would you do if you discovered on a cold night that werewolves really exist? Moreover, what would you do if you were the one howling at night, waking up the next morning with a human’s leg laying in your backyard, not a clue of what you did last night, but the mute sensation that you did something very wrong? Good Dogs, Brian Asman’s first full-length novel, is a number of things: it is a slasher novel, it is a werewolf story with them as the protagonists, it is a book about family life with all the accompanying light moments and hidden shadows, and it is also a narrative about self-acceptance. The author manages to pull promises through with a combination of fast-paced action and character voices that stick with you afterwards.
The novel works, in part, because Asman humanizes his characters in such a well-grounded way by giving them real-life (as opposed to supernatural) problems. This is illustrated no more deftly than in the character of Delia, the “big sister” of the werewolf pack, and the protagonist of the novel and her many conflicts. Delia is a complex character, with past personal and family trauma emanating from her werewolf nature. We meet Delia as she is now trying to find community in this heterodox group of fellow werewolves in the San Diego suburbs. But Delia’s SoCal paradise comes crashing down after Emily, the youngest of the pack, kills a man when transformed. This act by Emily forces the family to move to Talbot, a ghost town in the middle of nowhere and Delia is left to deal with the younger wolves’ messes. And messes they are; Linnae, who can’t avoid picking a fight with everyone at any possible instance, Joey, who is desperate to find his spot in life (and a girlfriend, in the meantime), and Emily, a “good vibes only” girl with a lack of common sense and deep family trauma. Not what someone may expect from a werewolf, which is why Asman and Good Dogs is so enthralling. He has created a setting where werewolves are both terrifying, but also fully realized persons. Each character reacts differently to their own wilder nature; some are ashamed of their night selves, for others there is a mixture of emotions, and for a few, the thrill of this primal hunt under the moon, running wild, running free, is something to be cherished. This dynamic is a central theme of the novel and one that is fraught with tension. Is there a chance for the human and the wolf to live together, or will one side devour the other?
Coupled with their personal struggles is their collective struggle with Talbot, their new home. The family senses -- something’s wrong, they can feel it, in the sensation of being watched--which sends the wolf in them tingling but the human part can’t rationally explain. Eventually, the pressure in Talbot reaches the tipping point, and out emerges Mama Bear, an unnatural combination of woman and bear, carrying a century-old hate of werewolves, hunting our pack. The pack, of course, has to fight for their lives. Plenty of blood is spilled in their battle, as this is a slasher, after all.
It is in the middle of this violence that the theme of family shines the strongest, both in Delia and in her twisted mirror, Mama Bear. Mama Bear was not always this way; she was made a monster by trauma. She was once a human mother who lost her children at the hands of werewolves. Mama Bear, then, corrupted by loss and hatred (the dark side of familial love) could only emerge as this walking embodiment of mindless revenge, no possibility for redemption or forgiveness in her mind. Delia, in spite of all she has lost, fights through her innermost darkness to prevent harm to her family.
Good Dogs is a work of love, both to the slasher and werewolf subgenres. Asman, through a unique and well-crafted combination of those same genres, manages to tell a sincere story about self-acceptance and freedom; a freedom expanded, not shackled, by the tows of family life. For even if the whole world is against you, you can always trust your pack to have your back. Even for the reader not accustomed to horror, the quality of the novel is such that a reader will be well-rewarded. Just be warned: don’t get too comfortable with any particular character. This is a slasher, after all.
Eduardo Jáuregui is an international student from Irapuato, Mexico, now finishing his undergraduate degree on Creative Writing at John Paul the Great Catholic University in Escondido, California. When not worried by college assignments, he enjoys brewing coffee with his espresso machine, reading books of long-dead authors, and writing about faraway worlds and melancholic protagonists. You can follow him on Instagram at @eduardo_ajm.
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