More Words, Deeper Hole

A novel is never about just one guy--not if it's any good--so the column marked "main characters" is going to be under-representative in most cases. That may or may not skew the gender data. Important female characters in The Wolf Age include (but aren't restricted to) Death, Mercy, Liudhleeo and Wuinlendhono. These guys aren't walk-ons or heroes' girlfriends: they're prominent figures who do a lot of talking, acting and plot motivating, as much as Johnny Ringo does, say, in Buntline Special. (Where Kate Elder may also deserve some notice, if we're counting genitalia.)

I don't mean to sound grumpy (though I have a talent for sounding that way without meaning to). But cover copy isn't really a synopsis. It's bait. It may be significant that the cover copy (which was written by me, by the way, so I'm not trying to evade responsibity here) doesn't explicitly mention female characters. On the other hand, there's no reason to assume that the gods and werewolves mentioned in the cover copy aren't female.