Sea Wolf is a difficult book for me to review because while the set-up, character development, and philosophical musings about the meaning of life are elements I found genuinely enjoyable and left me intrigued about how it would all turn out, the romance felt incredibly ham-fisted and out of place, and really detracted from my enjoyment of the third act.

Humphry's character development, which is the driving force behind how we're supposed to understand the plot, is completely undermined after the appearance of his love interest given that the gauntlet thrown by Wolf Larson in act one is for Humphrey to learn to 'stand on his own legs'. But with the introduction of Maud, all of his actions link to his love for her rather than a desire for independence.

Similarly, the ending falls flat because it does nothing to suggest that he's learned anything from his experience on the Ghost and indeed, it appears that with Maud at his side he's prepared to fall back into his old life.

Finally, I was very let down by how Wolf Larson's final moments in the story were glossed over and overshadowed by an already disappointing ending given that he is both the titular character and arguably the most interesting and complex one.

All in all, I thought Sea-Wolf would have benefited from some serious edits in the third act that sadly, never occurred and ruined, for me, what otherwise would have been a fascinating exploration of what it means to be human and the tug-of-war between instinct and valor.