Soze Says

If you ever wanted to know what turned Mick Taylor into the monster he is depicted to be in the Wolf Creek franchise of films, then contemplate no longer. Here be your answers, and as you might expect, none of them are especially pretty ...

Wolf Creek: Origin is a solid, fill-in-the-gaps read that characterises Mick as far less of the catoonish buffoon he became in Wolf Creek 2 and much more of a psychotically troubled late-teenager with a bad temper and a desperate desire to no longer be the child he'd become in rural Queensland. The book effortlessly entwines flashbacks to these childhood years with Mick's efforts to fit in as a newly arrived station hand in outback Western Australia. Of course, things go to hell in a hand basket pretty damn quick, and it isn't long before Mick learns he has taken up residence in the serial-killer centre of Australia, and has to face down several other individuals who can sense his desire for blood and mayhem.

In short, it's kind of like that Dexter guy and his Dark Passenger, only Mick will kill anyone who gets in his way, and screw the need for any kind of moral compass.

The rest of the cast is detailed just enough for the reader to get a sense of their motivations, but only the girl who takes a shine to Mick (I knew I should have been more of a bad boy when I was young) gets given any kind of halfway decent development and character arc.

Though it far from stains the pages red with blood, the gore is intense when its depicted, with the depravity factor being notably high. This is especially the case when Mick starts knocking heads with some of the other killers, so bear this in mind when making your decision to spend a few hours in the company of a young Mick Taylor.

All in all, Wold Creek: Origin is a decent page-tuner that is reasonably well-written (even if it is in the present tense), and fans of Wolf Creek and its movie sequel should find a great deal of enjoyment within these pages. For the rest of us with a casual interest, there are worse movie tie-ins out there with which to pass the time of day.

3 Life Altering Angry Shoves for Wolf Creek: Origin.