Pack

by Lilith Saintcrow

A brand new e-only standalone story from New York Times bestselling author Lilith Saintcrow.When the world falls apart, Lydia knows all you need is a gun and a dog. Unfortunately, she's going to find out that's not quite enough. . .

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Shapeshifters, Fantasy, Paranormal, Dystopia

36 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Lilith Saintcrow was born in New Mexico, bounced around the world as a child, and fell in love with writing stories when she was ten years old. She and her library co-habitate in Vancouver, Washington.

Reviews

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read: July 2023
Rating: 5/5 stars

I love the way Lilith Saintcrow writes, and how much story she can cram into such a short number of pages. The plot centres around Lydia, a former teacher, and her dog Oscar, who she rescued from his abusive owner. They roam a post-apocalyptic America, brought about by the appearance of the 'Others'; monsters who eat human flesh and who only have one weakness - fire. One day they stumble across a young boy named Huck and the rest of the story unfolds from there. I always love it when I read a new twist on an old urban fantasy trope, in this case werewolves and it was that added twist that pushed the rating from four to five stars. I need a full length novel based on this tantalisingly short story!

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, as much as you can love a vignette. And this is the only problem. Even at 2$ it skirts the really too expensive for a very short story. (At least Orbit please avoid giving me 30% of ads of her other books. It seems you're pulling my legs.)

I am sorry to make comparisons, but several authors I love (and I guess many others too) offer such stories and more for free. I don't believe in the free for all buffet someone thinks the Internet world should be, but I still appreciate a more balanced attitude . This is a child bite of a story, even 0.99 would be pushing it.

That said, great bite *grin*.

[Keli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really enjoyed this but it was sooooooooooooooooo little. Too little. I want to know if there are more like them, what they can do, where Huck is from, what happens next. So many questions. I hope she goes back to it but with Ms Saintcrow you never know. She tends to leave things. 😭😭

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the story - I just wish it were longer! I would love to see this expanded to a full length novel.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this short tale as it was intriguing, suspenseful, and gripping. It was a story with just enough world building to provide background while maintaining some mystery, in a world that's got a unique twist on the urban fantasy post-apocalyptic genres. At the end, I was left wanting to know more, in all the best ways, about what happens next with the two characters, as well as what's happened in this version of Earth. I really, really hope she continues to write stories in this world. If you like urban fantasy and/or post-apocalyptic fiction you should check this out.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave it 4 stars because it's a great concept for a story, but it is
not a story per say, it's only about 30 pages long , there
is no character building., there is a little world building but not much,
I mean how much can you build in 30 pages. I am
glad I got this from the library and didn't pay for it.
I hope she writes a full story about this world though.

[Kim Palinkas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm... I appreciated the concept of this so gave 4 stars. Plus - Lilith Saintcrow can *Write*.

But, this wasn't even a short story and that makes me sad. It reads more like a story/concept pitch than an actual story. Wish it had been longer.

[Candice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and awesome.

This little short was an amazing find and keeps you sucked in right from the start. My only complaint was that this isn't a full story, I just couldn't get enough!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing short story, one I hope is the teaser for a new series.

[Margot · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

28 pages? Fine. Was not that good. Could have used another hundred pages.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this short story but it left me with so many questions and just a peek at a rich and complex world/characters that it really should have been a full length novel!

[Kelly Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great short story about a person and a dog in an a world destroyed by aliens. I am actually waiting for the next Clare and Bannon novel, but the short stories will feed my addiction.

[Fenley Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great novella with an apocalyptic world-build. Wished it was longer, because the characters intrigued me. Wanted to see more of their adventures.

[Wetdryvac · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely short.