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Leaders of the Pack
Since the dawn of time, across almost every culture, there have been legends of shapeshifters. Men who turn into beasts and prey upon anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path. Of the shapeshifter tales, none invokes as much terror as the legend of the werewolf.
The stories of men who become wolves persisted through the centuries from campfire folk tales to the modern age, where we are still thrilled and horrified by tales of bloodthirsty predators in our midst.
Twelve of the most successful authors of werewolf fiction in the 21st Century have returned to their worlds and characters, to bring you a truly blood-soaked collection of werewolf horror.
Jeff Strand: Ivan’s Night Out
Ray Garton: Outside of Nowhere
David Wellington: Hunters Moon
Jonathan Janz: The Kiss of Divna Antonov
Glenn Rolfe: The Dead Brother Situation
Graeme Reynolds: Blood Relations
Paul Kane: Lifeline
Thomas Emson: The Hunt
David Watkins: The Original
T.W. Piperbrook: The Great Storm
Nick Stead: Bloodlines
Matt Serafini: Evernight Circle
The stories of men who become wolves persisted through the centuries from campfire folk tales to the modern age, where we are still thrilled and horrified by tales of bloodthirsty predators in our midst.
Twelve of the most successful authors of werewolf fiction in the 21st Century have returned to their worlds and characters, to bring you a truly blood-soaked collection of werewolf horror.
Jeff Strand: Ivan’s Night Out
Ray Garton: Outside of Nowhere
David Wellington: Hunters Moon
Jonathan Janz: The Kiss of Divna Antonov
Glenn Rolfe: The Dead Brother Situation
Graeme Reynolds: Blood Relations
Paul Kane: Lifeline
Thomas Emson: The Hunt
David Watkins: The Original
T.W. Piperbrook: The Great Storm
Nick Stead: Bloodlines
Matt Serafini: Evernight Circle
266 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 10, 2020
151 people are currently reading
319 people want to read
About the author
Graeme Reynolds
20 books233 followersGraeme Reynolds is an exile from the North East of England, hiding out in the South West where he spends his time thinking up new ways to terrify people.
You can read more of his work on his web-site:
http://www.graemereynolds.com
You can read more of his work on his web-site:
http://www.graemereynolds.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
June 30, 2021
4 Stars ⭐️
Here is a little blurry copy of my book. The place I add them is now messed up unless I go on the computer but you get the idea
I loved most of the stories but there were a few so I gave it 4 stars. The hardback is awesome and I’m keeping it for now. Damn it, I should have went back and highlighted the ones I liked! I’ll do it later! 🙄
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Here is a little blurry copy of my book. The place I add them is now messed up unless I go on the computer but you get the idea
I loved most of the stories but there were a few so I gave it 4 stars. The hardback is awesome and I’m keeping it for now. Damn it, I should have went back and highlighted the ones I liked! I’ll do it later! 🙄
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
April 23, 2022
A Book of Goodies.
Werewolf fans, you’ll find a lot of suspense and horror in these werewolf stories.
I enjoyed reading them all. They are all a very nice pleasure and will definitely be placed on your scary list of stories about werewolves.
Some of the stories are a bit untraditional using the werewolf mythos. But most of them follow the rules of werewolf horror.
Still, the few stories that are a bit different are still scary.
It’s a great anthology. Each author brought his own scariness to the book and I loved them all.
So will you.
Werewolf fans, you’ll find a lot of suspense and horror in these werewolf stories.
I enjoyed reading them all. They are all a very nice pleasure and will definitely be placed on your scary list of stories about werewolves.
Some of the stories are a bit untraditional using the werewolf mythos. But most of them follow the rules of werewolf horror.
Still, the few stories that are a bit different are still scary.
It’s a great anthology. Each author brought his own scariness to the book and I loved them all.
So will you.
October 13, 2020
Themed horror anthologies are a bag of fun. Anthologies filled with random short stories are a delight too, but to have a joining theme, those are my favorite. Fans of the furry will be pleased with the well-named Leaders of the Pack. Sporting a colorful cover (the book names the illustrator as Patrick Cornett), each story has an impressive and creative illustration drawn by Michelle Merlini to introduce it. These illustrations are highlights. Great job from both artists.
And to find out this was released on a full moon? Come on, how could I resist?
I’m not as into long anthologies, so the page count at 267 is ideal. Not too long, not too short. Twelve stories by twelve authors, some I recognized. As with any anthology, it’s a mixed offering.
Several stories are prequels, sequels, in-betweens, and tie-ins to existing series. The book opens with a story set after Blood and Rain and before the monstrous Nick returns to his hometown. The Dead Brother’s Situation is slasher fare that opens the anthology on a violent, gory note. This is a short story I consider more of a “scene” than a full story on its own, which is fine, as these have their place. If you’re a big fan of Blood and Rain, you’ll enjoy this one as bonus content.
Another tie-in is Graeme Reynold’s Blood Relations: A Gilson Creek Story. At the end of the short story, it states it takes place between books 2 and 3 of the High Moor series. The heroine is a 13 year old girl who seems older than she is due to a depressingly bleak life; we open with child abuse and end with possible family reunion. It was different and a break from some of the more violent stories in the anthology. Not to say this one doesn’t have some truly dark stuff, but not all the werewolves are mindless monsters with the world-building, and of course many humans show themselves to be just as monstrous.
Most familiar with Jeff Strand’s humorous Wolf Hunt series will recognize the character by the title, Ivan’s Night Out. Ivan was always a mean character with over-the-top humor which flourished in Wolf Hunt, and he doesn’t hold back the viciousness here either. I won’t say the story was enjoyable exactly, it was more of a brief lead-in to the character before the Wolf Hunt series. With the full length novel you got the funny dialogue from the demented killer, but it was told through the POV of other main characters, which made it that much more tense and humorous. Being in Ivan’s mind while he was telling these jokes and doing these monstrosities gave me a shudder or two. This was the last story in the anthology.
The Great Storm by TW Piperbrook is a prequel to a story I haven’t read (his Outage series) – it was well-done and vicious. I may check out the other books sometime. These werewolves sure aren’t cuddly, as is shown as two children have to run for their lives from their own neighborhood. Tension kept this one intense.
A few of the furry fiction was set in the modern day and through a loner werewolf view, like The Hunt by Thomas Emson. I wasn’t into the past sequences so much, but the story was enjoyable and the ending just had fun with itself.
A few felt incomplete with their endings. One example is Outside of Nowhere by Ray Garton. This dark story had an odd ending and tragic resolution. The author writes well, though, and the story stands out, but the ending felt so abrupt.
Matt Serafini’s Evernight Circle was a favorite and one of the best, buried in the middle. It’s definitely unique – a struggling husband accompanies his wife into a new town for a new chance at a new life. The corporation is too good to be true, of course, and its clear from the start something hokey is going on. The game becomes figuring out exactly what. I had various theories at different stages of the novel, and to my delight most of my guesses proved to be wrong. It keeps you on your toes - it’s different, dark, and I’d read more stories set in this world building and with this character.
Lifeline by Paul Kane is interesting, not sure if it ties in with something else; Beth is a likeable character and his writing style is smooth. It continues for awhile focused on spousal abuse and survival, with a small backstory. After awhile you start wondering how this will fit in with a werewolf theme, but I appreciate the realism of the story and not having a rushed lead despite it being a short story. It gets you to know the characters more and actually feel something. There’s a twist or two and the werewolf is gradually revealed.
Hunter’s Moon by David Wellington is a stand-out. It’s unique in that a huntress is stalking a vampire into a remote wilderness area. Her guide, the town, and the wilderness hold their own secrets. One of the better stories, the right length and an ending that actually feels finished. I don’t have a “top favorite”, but this would be in the top three.
Certain stories had a lot of history established in lore or legend – one is “The Original” by David Watkins. Written well, but a little confusing since I haven’t read his ‘Originals’ series, it tells the story of a survivor of Germanic Celts on his travels. He runs into a small village and … well, there are several twists here, revealed for the main character, about the main character, and concluding with a whopper of an ending.
Jonathan Janz has written some good works, so I was curious on how he’d handle a werewolf short tale. “The Kiss of Divna Antonov” was beautifully written and stood out as uniquely blending a long-time history with a present situation. The lead is a University professor interested in the origin of werewolves, and the book is a series of scenes with a meet, a few turns of events, and an open-ended conclusion. It’s chilling in a quiet way.
The offerings of these are varied – which is good. Seeing monstrous werewolves munching through small-towns would get old after awhile, so keep it various by also offering origin stories, historical settings, contemporary humor, women weres, entire packs, and you keep it more interesting. Not perfect anthology, but it’s highly recommended – not only for the stories, but again for the artwork. You also can’t beat the price.
And to find out this was released on a full moon? Come on, how could I resist?
I’m not as into long anthologies, so the page count at 267 is ideal. Not too long, not too short. Twelve stories by twelve authors, some I recognized. As with any anthology, it’s a mixed offering.
Several stories are prequels, sequels, in-betweens, and tie-ins to existing series. The book opens with a story set after Blood and Rain and before the monstrous Nick returns to his hometown. The Dead Brother’s Situation is slasher fare that opens the anthology on a violent, gory note. This is a short story I consider more of a “scene” than a full story on its own, which is fine, as these have their place. If you’re a big fan of Blood and Rain, you’ll enjoy this one as bonus content.
Another tie-in is Graeme Reynold’s Blood Relations: A Gilson Creek Story. At the end of the short story, it states it takes place between books 2 and 3 of the High Moor series. The heroine is a 13 year old girl who seems older than she is due to a depressingly bleak life; we open with child abuse and end with possible family reunion. It was different and a break from some of the more violent stories in the anthology. Not to say this one doesn’t have some truly dark stuff, but not all the werewolves are mindless monsters with the world-building, and of course many humans show themselves to be just as monstrous.
Most familiar with Jeff Strand’s humorous Wolf Hunt series will recognize the character by the title, Ivan’s Night Out. Ivan was always a mean character with over-the-top humor which flourished in Wolf Hunt, and he doesn’t hold back the viciousness here either. I won’t say the story was enjoyable exactly, it was more of a brief lead-in to the character before the Wolf Hunt series. With the full length novel you got the funny dialogue from the demented killer, but it was told through the POV of other main characters, which made it that much more tense and humorous. Being in Ivan’s mind while he was telling these jokes and doing these monstrosities gave me a shudder or two. This was the last story in the anthology.
The Great Storm by TW Piperbrook is a prequel to a story I haven’t read (his Outage series) – it was well-done and vicious. I may check out the other books sometime. These werewolves sure aren’t cuddly, as is shown as two children have to run for their lives from their own neighborhood. Tension kept this one intense.
A few of the furry fiction was set in the modern day and through a loner werewolf view, like The Hunt by Thomas Emson. I wasn’t into the past sequences so much, but the story was enjoyable and the ending just had fun with itself.
A few felt incomplete with their endings. One example is Outside of Nowhere by Ray Garton. This dark story had an odd ending and tragic resolution. The author writes well, though, and the story stands out, but the ending felt so abrupt.
Matt Serafini’s Evernight Circle was a favorite and one of the best, buried in the middle. It’s definitely unique – a struggling husband accompanies his wife into a new town for a new chance at a new life. The corporation is too good to be true, of course, and its clear from the start something hokey is going on. The game becomes figuring out exactly what. I had various theories at different stages of the novel, and to my delight most of my guesses proved to be wrong. It keeps you on your toes - it’s different, dark, and I’d read more stories set in this world building and with this character.
Lifeline by Paul Kane is interesting, not sure if it ties in with something else; Beth is a likeable character and his writing style is smooth. It continues for awhile focused on spousal abuse and survival, with a small backstory. After awhile you start wondering how this will fit in with a werewolf theme, but I appreciate the realism of the story and not having a rushed lead despite it being a short story. It gets you to know the characters more and actually feel something. There’s a twist or two and the werewolf is gradually revealed.
Hunter’s Moon by David Wellington is a stand-out. It’s unique in that a huntress is stalking a vampire into a remote wilderness area. Her guide, the town, and the wilderness hold their own secrets. One of the better stories, the right length and an ending that actually feels finished. I don’t have a “top favorite”, but this would be in the top three.
Certain stories had a lot of history established in lore or legend – one is “The Original” by David Watkins. Written well, but a little confusing since I haven’t read his ‘Originals’ series, it tells the story of a survivor of Germanic Celts on his travels. He runs into a small village and … well, there are several twists here, revealed for the main character, about the main character, and concluding with a whopper of an ending.
Jonathan Janz has written some good works, so I was curious on how he’d handle a werewolf short tale. “The Kiss of Divna Antonov” was beautifully written and stood out as uniquely blending a long-time history with a present situation. The lead is a University professor interested in the origin of werewolves, and the book is a series of scenes with a meet, a few turns of events, and an open-ended conclusion. It’s chilling in a quiet way.
The offerings of these are varied – which is good. Seeing monstrous werewolves munching through small-towns would get old after awhile, so keep it various by also offering origin stories, historical settings, contemporary humor, women weres, entire packs, and you keep it more interesting. Not perfect anthology, but it’s highly recommended – not only for the stories, but again for the artwork. You also can’t beat the price.
February 4, 2020
Twelve stories with evocative black and white illustrations preceding each entry, and a short biography of each author.
This is one of the most satisfying themed anthologies I've read. Usually there are one or two clunkers in the bunch, or stories that become tedious or boring because of the repetitive themes. I rated four of twelve stories as 4 Stars (above average, exceeds expectations), five as 3.5 Stars (above average), and 3 as 3 Stars (meets expectations, satisfies).
My favorite of the bunch is "Evernight Circle", followed by "Lifeline", "The Kiss of Divna Antonov", and "Ivan's Night Out." My summary of each story follows:
Opener "The Dead Brothers Situation (A Gilson Creek Story)" by Glenn Rolfe is a small piece of a bigger story that has me interested. Alan (real name Nick) lies to Brenda about being on a hunting trip with friends. He's a werewolf and he needs to hunt. A short, brutal account of that trip with just enough backstory to flesh out the main character. To be continued as Nick leaves the cabin and heads towards his intended victim in Gilson Creek. Three Stars.
In "Hunters Moon" by David Wellington, an aging vampire hunter pursues her prey into the woods of northwest Canada. Vampire meets a pack of werewolves and fools them into hiding him, but not for long. In a vampire versus werewolf fight, who do you think would win? A fast-paced, suspenseful story. Three And One-Half Stars.
"The Original" by David Watkins returns to his popular Originals series with a stand-alone tale. A Roman soldier, the lone survivor of an ambush by Germanic Celts, seeks to find The Beast before returning to Italy. His plan is to bring it back alive, enter it into gladiator combat in the Roman coliseum and make a fortune on its winnings. However, he stumbles across a village of Celts and learns there are more than one Beast. There's a few twists before the story ends. Three Stars.
Wow. This one really got to me. "The Kiss Of Divna Antonov" by Jonathan Jantz occurs in 1940 where Clark Lombardo Coulter, a Columbia University professor, has been disgraced for writing "Lycanthropology", an academic history of werewolves. On the night when he contemplates suicide he's visited by a beautiful woman who came from Europe to meet him and compliment him on his book. She identifies herself as Divna Antonov, curiously the same name as the eldest of three sisters in 12th Century Berstuk where one of the first recorded werewolf bloody rampages were documented. Soon, the two professors who shamed him show up with dates and demand a party at Clark's home, just a final opportunity to embarrass him. The suspense and anticipation builds from there, even though readers can figure out what is coming. The transformation and ensuing violence is chillingly depicted. A great story. Four Stars.
"The Great Storm" by T. W. Piperbrook is all about the chase, and it's a thrilling one. A pack of werewolves take advantage of a power failure and a fierce snowstorm to attack a small community. A young girl and her even younger brother escape when their home is attacked and flee through the town and woods, hoping to evade their pursuers until morning. This is a prequel featuring characters from Piperbrook's OUTAGE series. Three Stars.
Thomas Emson tells two related stories in "The Hunt", although each seem to interrupt the other at a moment of great suspense. The main story involves a 1995 late night robbery of a gas station where the lone cashier is a female werewolf. You can imagine the results which Emson describes vividly. That's not a spoiler as it becomes obvious very early on who is who and what. The secondary story details a 60 A.D. battle in Britain between Romans, Druids and werwolves. The link between the two stories is the history book on lycanthropy the cashier is reading that traces her ancestry back to the old Etruscans living in England. I liked the framing, and enjoyed both stories. Three And One-Half Stars.
Ray Garton's "Outside Of Nowhere" is very chilling and straightforward. A midnight confession backfires when a werewolf pack attacks a campsite. Not that there were really any sympathetic characters in this story, but bothersome nonetheless. It's the build-up and revealed background of one particular character that makes this story so effective. Three And One-Half Stars.
"Blood Relations (A High Moor Story)" takes place between Books 2 and 3 of High Moor, yet it serves quite well as a stand-alone tale and a good introduction to Graeme Reynold's version of werewolf mythos. A 13-year old English girl is forced to flee her home after turning wolf in front of her abusive father, and seeks more like herself in the Czech Republic. Reynolds gives just enough background and shows enough of Marie's character to make readers empathize with her. The tension ratchets up when she finds what she was looking for. Three And One-Half Stars.
"Hybid: Bloodlines" by Nick Stead is also part of a series, but once again this serves as a stand-alone story and its not difficult to pick out the main characters, their foes, and their conflicts. A band of secretive Slayers have been thinning out the ranks of werewolf packs until there are only two brothers remaining. Their only hope of continuing their bloodline is to find a fabled boy, the last surviving wolfen descendent able to be turned and continue the race. It's a conflict between werewolves, Slayers, and some interfering vampires to determine if werewolves will be wiped out or escape with a new pack member. Entertaining and descriptive. Three Stars.
"Overnight Circle" by Matt Serafini is the one story that really stands out from the pack (ha!) by how different it is. A couple move from Pennsylvania to Montana so that the career wife can start a new job with a secretive corporation. They move into a secluded and enclosed community in the middle of the woods where nothing is what it appears: the corporation, the community, the residents. Four Stars.
Another exceptional story is "Lifeline" by Paul Kane. A teacher preying on young female students, marrying one, and then keeping her and her newborn son confined in the house. An escape. Work at a women's crisis hotline, warnings, dark secrets, discovery. (I'm trying not to spoil anything here, although its' a given that the story will involve werewolves). I enjoyed this story. Four Stars.
The last story in the collection, "Ivan's Night Out" by Jeff Strand serves as a prequel to his WOLF HUNT trilogy. It's short, brutal, features an especially cruel and sarcastic protagonist, and will leave a mark on you. A werewolf challenges himself to complete a kill without transforming. Four Stars.
This is one of the most satisfying themed anthologies I've read. Usually there are one or two clunkers in the bunch, or stories that become tedious or boring because of the repetitive themes. I rated four of twelve stories as 4 Stars (above average, exceeds expectations), five as 3.5 Stars (above average), and 3 as 3 Stars (meets expectations, satisfies).
My favorite of the bunch is "Evernight Circle", followed by "Lifeline", "The Kiss of Divna Antonov", and "Ivan's Night Out." My summary of each story follows:
Opener "The Dead Brothers Situation (A Gilson Creek Story)" by Glenn Rolfe is a small piece of a bigger story that has me interested. Alan (real name Nick) lies to Brenda about being on a hunting trip with friends. He's a werewolf and he needs to hunt. A short, brutal account of that trip with just enough backstory to flesh out the main character. To be continued as Nick leaves the cabin and heads towards his intended victim in Gilson Creek. Three Stars.
In "Hunters Moon" by David Wellington, an aging vampire hunter pursues her prey into the woods of northwest Canada. Vampire meets a pack of werewolves and fools them into hiding him, but not for long. In a vampire versus werewolf fight, who do you think would win? A fast-paced, suspenseful story. Three And One-Half Stars.
"The Original" by David Watkins returns to his popular Originals series with a stand-alone tale. A Roman soldier, the lone survivor of an ambush by Germanic Celts, seeks to find The Beast before returning to Italy. His plan is to bring it back alive, enter it into gladiator combat in the Roman coliseum and make a fortune on its winnings. However, he stumbles across a village of Celts and learns there are more than one Beast. There's a few twists before the story ends. Three Stars.
Wow. This one really got to me. "The Kiss Of Divna Antonov" by Jonathan Jantz occurs in 1940 where Clark Lombardo Coulter, a Columbia University professor, has been disgraced for writing "Lycanthropology", an academic history of werewolves. On the night when he contemplates suicide he's visited by a beautiful woman who came from Europe to meet him and compliment him on his book. She identifies herself as Divna Antonov, curiously the same name as the eldest of three sisters in 12th Century Berstuk where one of the first recorded werewolf bloody rampages were documented. Soon, the two professors who shamed him show up with dates and demand a party at Clark's home, just a final opportunity to embarrass him. The suspense and anticipation builds from there, even though readers can figure out what is coming. The transformation and ensuing violence is chillingly depicted. A great story. Four Stars.
"The Great Storm" by T. W. Piperbrook is all about the chase, and it's a thrilling one. A pack of werewolves take advantage of a power failure and a fierce snowstorm to attack a small community. A young girl and her even younger brother escape when their home is attacked and flee through the town and woods, hoping to evade their pursuers until morning. This is a prequel featuring characters from Piperbrook's OUTAGE series. Three Stars.
Thomas Emson tells two related stories in "The Hunt", although each seem to interrupt the other at a moment of great suspense. The main story involves a 1995 late night robbery of a gas station where the lone cashier is a female werewolf. You can imagine the results which Emson describes vividly. That's not a spoiler as it becomes obvious very early on who is who and what. The secondary story details a 60 A.D. battle in Britain between Romans, Druids and werwolves. The link between the two stories is the history book on lycanthropy the cashier is reading that traces her ancestry back to the old Etruscans living in England. I liked the framing, and enjoyed both stories. Three And One-Half Stars.
Ray Garton's "Outside Of Nowhere" is very chilling and straightforward. A midnight confession backfires when a werewolf pack attacks a campsite. Not that there were really any sympathetic characters in this story, but bothersome nonetheless. It's the build-up and revealed background of one particular character that makes this story so effective. Three And One-Half Stars.
"Blood Relations (A High Moor Story)" takes place between Books 2 and 3 of High Moor, yet it serves quite well as a stand-alone tale and a good introduction to Graeme Reynold's version of werewolf mythos. A 13-year old English girl is forced to flee her home after turning wolf in front of her abusive father, and seeks more like herself in the Czech Republic. Reynolds gives just enough background and shows enough of Marie's character to make readers empathize with her. The tension ratchets up when she finds what she was looking for. Three And One-Half Stars.
"Hybid: Bloodlines" by Nick Stead is also part of a series, but once again this serves as a stand-alone story and its not difficult to pick out the main characters, their foes, and their conflicts. A band of secretive Slayers have been thinning out the ranks of werewolf packs until there are only two brothers remaining. Their only hope of continuing their bloodline is to find a fabled boy, the last surviving wolfen descendent able to be turned and continue the race. It's a conflict between werewolves, Slayers, and some interfering vampires to determine if werewolves will be wiped out or escape with a new pack member. Entertaining and descriptive. Three Stars.
"Overnight Circle" by Matt Serafini is the one story that really stands out from the pack (ha!) by how different it is. A couple move from Pennsylvania to Montana so that the career wife can start a new job with a secretive corporation. They move into a secluded and enclosed community in the middle of the woods where nothing is what it appears: the corporation, the community, the residents. Four Stars.
Another exceptional story is "Lifeline" by Paul Kane. A teacher preying on young female students, marrying one, and then keeping her and her newborn son confined in the house. An escape. Work at a women's crisis hotline, warnings, dark secrets, discovery. (I'm trying not to spoil anything here, although its' a given that the story will involve werewolves). I enjoyed this story. Four Stars.
The last story in the collection, "Ivan's Night Out" by Jeff Strand serves as a prequel to his WOLF HUNT trilogy. It's short, brutal, features an especially cruel and sarcastic protagonist, and will leave a mark on you. A werewolf challenges himself to complete a kill without transforming. Four Stars.
January 6, 2020
** Edited as review is now live on Kendall Reviews! **
A WEREWOLF ANTHOLOGY! Featuring Garton, Janz, Rolfe and more!!
YUP!
If you read any of my reviews, you’ll know my love for all things lycanthrope – so this was an easy choice when it was offered for review.
We get a number of fun tales; Matt Serafini and Graeme Reynolds delivered some gorey times and Jeff Strand rounded up the tail end of the release with a Wolf Hunt prequel story, but I’m going to go through my fav’s from the batch.
The anthology opens with Glenn Rolfe’s fantastic ‘The Dead Brother Situation.’ From what I gather, this story is tied into his release ‘Blood and Rain,’ which I still haven’t read yet. After reading this story, I can’t wait to get to it, but I will say – I didn’t feel lost or confused by having not read the prior novel at all. We follow a man who needs to feast, as he heads to a remote cabin. He’s expecting it to be uninhabited but finds the owners brother and acquaintance there instead. Things get fangy shortly after. Great time.
‘The Original’ by David Watkins was a superb wolf tale, from a plot point I haven’t read much from previously. We read about Marcus, a soldier in ancient Roman times who is scouting. He comes across a group of people and from there, Watkins lets things unravel.
‘Outside of Nowhere’ by Ray Garton was a pretty extreme story, which worked really well. We are immediately introduced to Leo and Emily, two strangers who’ve come across each other while on a walk near midnight. They decide to chat and we learn some horrible things about Emily’s past. Then Garton lets the hair grow and the claws fly.
‘Hunters Moon’ by David Wellington was an unexpected surprise. I’m not sure if our main character has appeared in other works from Wellington, but we are introduced to a renowned vampire hunter who is tracking her nemesis far north into the North West Territories. I loved ‘The Last Astronaut’ by Wellington and seeing how this story plays out, I’ll definitely need to look into more releases. Such a great story and the setting was superb.
For me personally, the highlight was Jonathan Janz’s ‘The Kiss of Divna Antonov.’ This is a prequel, back story for his werewolf novel ‘Wolf Land’ and I ate it up. We follow the disgraced professor who wrote the book featured in ‘Wolf Land’ as he contemplates ending his life. A knock on the door and a visit by a beautiful stranger helps to unravel both the rest of his evening but also the set up for ‘Wolf Land.’ Loved it!
Overall, outstanding stuff. If I had one minor criticism, it would be that I believe all of the stories are directly or indirectly related to prior releases, which may turn some folks off. I know there were a few stories that I didn’t connect as deeply with and once I was finished reading there was a note saying it was related to such and such book.
That’s a minor thing though, and for me, it was a superb journey through a moonlit blood bath.
A WEREWOLF ANTHOLOGY! Featuring Garton, Janz, Rolfe and more!!
YUP!
If you read any of my reviews, you’ll know my love for all things lycanthrope – so this was an easy choice when it was offered for review.
We get a number of fun tales; Matt Serafini and Graeme Reynolds delivered some gorey times and Jeff Strand rounded up the tail end of the release with a Wolf Hunt prequel story, but I’m going to go through my fav’s from the batch.
The anthology opens with Glenn Rolfe’s fantastic ‘The Dead Brother Situation.’ From what I gather, this story is tied into his release ‘Blood and Rain,’ which I still haven’t read yet. After reading this story, I can’t wait to get to it, but I will say – I didn’t feel lost or confused by having not read the prior novel at all. We follow a man who needs to feast, as he heads to a remote cabin. He’s expecting it to be uninhabited but finds the owners brother and acquaintance there instead. Things get fangy shortly after. Great time.
‘The Original’ by David Watkins was a superb wolf tale, from a plot point I haven’t read much from previously. We read about Marcus, a soldier in ancient Roman times who is scouting. He comes across a group of people and from there, Watkins lets things unravel.
‘Outside of Nowhere’ by Ray Garton was a pretty extreme story, which worked really well. We are immediately introduced to Leo and Emily, two strangers who’ve come across each other while on a walk near midnight. They decide to chat and we learn some horrible things about Emily’s past. Then Garton lets the hair grow and the claws fly.
‘Hunters Moon’ by David Wellington was an unexpected surprise. I’m not sure if our main character has appeared in other works from Wellington, but we are introduced to a renowned vampire hunter who is tracking her nemesis far north into the North West Territories. I loved ‘The Last Astronaut’ by Wellington and seeing how this story plays out, I’ll definitely need to look into more releases. Such a great story and the setting was superb.
For me personally, the highlight was Jonathan Janz’s ‘The Kiss of Divna Antonov.’ This is a prequel, back story for his werewolf novel ‘Wolf Land’ and I ate it up. We follow the disgraced professor who wrote the book featured in ‘Wolf Land’ as he contemplates ending his life. A knock on the door and a visit by a beautiful stranger helps to unravel both the rest of his evening but also the set up for ‘Wolf Land.’ Loved it!
Overall, outstanding stuff. If I had one minor criticism, it would be that I believe all of the stories are directly or indirectly related to prior releases, which may turn some folks off. I know there were a few stories that I didn’t connect as deeply with and once I was finished reading there was a note saying it was related to such and such book.
That’s a minor thing though, and for me, it was a superb journey through a moonlit blood bath.
January 20, 2020
I had high expectations to the first anthology collection from Horrific Tales Publishing, and I am happy to say that it did not disappoint! Great selection of stories here by writers who know their craft! Most of the stories are set in already established werewolf series, so, if there are one or two stories that speaks to you (most of them will), then you are in luck, there is more to read!
Here is something for the werewolf connoisseur, violent, gory, exciting and funny. Its werewolves in all their gory glory!
Here is something for the werewolf connoisseur, violent, gory, exciting and funny. Its werewolves in all their gory glory!
September 18, 2020
An entire anthology of werewolf stories from mostly known werewolf authors, what's not to love?
I've read several of the authors included before, most notably Graeme Reynolds and Jeff Strand. Their stories, Blood Relations and Ivan's Night Out respectively, had a connection to the novels I've read; The High Moor series by Graeme Reynolds which holds first place for great werewolf fiction IMO, and Wolf Hunt by Jeff Strand which was a fun read, gore and all.
Other highly notable stories included are The Dead Brother Situation by Glenn Rolfe, The Great Storm by TW Piperbrook, The Original by David Watkins and Hunter's Moon by David Wellington which was a slow burner but with a payoff at the end.
Hybrid: Bloodlines by Nick Stead and Lifeline by Paul Kane were also very worthy. There was only one story written in the dreaded present tense and apart from a couple of them bordering on erotica more than I want to read, it's a great collection.
Highly recommended for anyone who likes werewolf stories.
I've read several of the authors included before, most notably Graeme Reynolds and Jeff Strand. Their stories, Blood Relations and Ivan's Night Out respectively, had a connection to the novels I've read; The High Moor series by Graeme Reynolds which holds first place for great werewolf fiction IMO, and Wolf Hunt by Jeff Strand which was a fun read, gore and all.
Other highly notable stories included are The Dead Brother Situation by Glenn Rolfe, The Great Storm by TW Piperbrook, The Original by David Watkins and Hunter's Moon by David Wellington which was a slow burner but with a payoff at the end.
Hybrid: Bloodlines by Nick Stead and Lifeline by Paul Kane were also very worthy. There was only one story written in the dreaded present tense and apart from a couple of them bordering on erotica more than I want to read, it's a great collection.
Highly recommended for anyone who likes werewolf stories.
January 17, 2020
As a huge fan of werewolves, I was obligated to investigate this when it came across my kindle. Conclusion: a decent little anthology! Overall I'd say 3 stars, but the stories I enjoyed, I really did like.
Pros: Werewolves! I definitely found more books I want to read from some of the authors based on their stories. there was a good mix of time periods and settings spread throughout. Something for everyone.
Cons: Not one female author in the bunch and it definitely shows. More than one of the stories ties into other, larger series and so they can come across half finished.
Pros: Werewolves! I definitely found more books I want to read from some of the authors based on their stories. there was a good mix of time periods and settings spread throughout. Something for everyone.
Cons: Not one female author in the bunch and it definitely shows. More than one of the stories ties into other, larger series and so they can come across half finished.
January 18, 2020
When I saw that Graeme Reynolds and Glenn Rolfe, not to mention Jonathan Janz, were in this book, I knew I had to have it. Reynolds' High Moor series are the best werewolf books ever written, while Glenn's Blood and Rain come close to matching them. So I had high expectations. And let me tell you - - they not only met them, they exceeded them. This is a book for folks who like their werewolves bloody and raw, werewolves who, if they saw a sparkling vampire, they'd eat them. Don't miss out.
January 21, 2020
I love Werewolf tales, and these were some of the best I've ever read. I especially liked the story by Jonathan Janz.
A fantastic book!
A fantastic book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2020
Above Average Anthology
As ever with anthologies, some are better than others. That said, there was only one or two stories here that fell a little flat for me, and several I considered excellent, with the balance above average. If you like werewolf stories, and well written horror stories, then you should probably buy this book. It's worth your money and time.
As ever with anthologies, some are better than others. That said, there was only one or two stories here that fell a little flat for me, and several I considered excellent, with the balance above average. If you like werewolf stories, and well written horror stories, then you should probably buy this book. It's worth your money and time.
January 18, 2020
Five minutes after reading this book, a werewolf arrived at my door, reached down my throat and tore out my spine. Now I'm just a brain in a jar but it was all totally worth it because they saved my eyeballs which means I can read this book all over again.
February 18, 2020
For all the wolves out there
I picked up this book for 3 reasons: the authors, the incredible cover art (awesome way to reel readers in —shout out goes to Patrick Cornett and inside illustrations by Michelle Merlini), and I’m a sucker for werewolves.
A couple of things you should know... not all the stories are great, per se, but they are extremely well-written. There is definitely something here for everyone and some uniqueness to boot.
Stories that are MUST READS:
1. David Wellington with Hunters Moon: I’ve never read a David Wellington book although I own a couple of his novels. I’ve been missing a good writer it seems as I enjoyed this story. Only issue I had was that Caxton was a terrible vampire hunter. Loved Jesse the eagle though.
2. Jonathan Janz with The Kiss of Divna Antonov: Jonathan Janz is an incredible writer. This proves once again how much he can intrigue a reader. He created a unique story of werewolves. I wanted more back story on Divna and her sisters but was very captivating to read.
3. Ray Garton with Outside of Nowhere: Ray Garton always knows how to tell a story. He ropes you in and doesn’t let go until the final page. He also takes a unique approach to
the werewolf tale. This was a page-turner and one of my favorite stories.
4. Graeme Reynolds with Blood Relations: Graeme was one author I noticed when I read the anthology “Matt Shaw presents: Masters of Horror”. Graeme wrote a story called “The Pit” and it was a terrific tale with a superb ending. This also was a story that had teeth (pun intended) An author to keep an eye on.
5. Paul Kane with Lifeline: Never read Paul Kane before but that was an awesome story. Unique tale on a werewolf clan. It was another of my favorite stories and I wanted to read more.
6. Glenn Rolfe with The Dead Brother Situation: Intriguing! Simple premise but always a good show when you root for the werewolf rather than the humans. That’s what you get for being a**holes.
7. Jeff Strand with Ivan’s Night Out: As I commented on many a review, we need the Strands of the world. He writes in a niche of his own, mixing sarcastic dark humour with horror. He’s one of the best! If you are a fan, you will love this. If you have yet to read any novels by Jeff Strand, enjoy this tale and then rush out and buy Wolf Hunt 1,2, and 3.
As for the rest of the authors, the stories were good and VERY well-written. Some, like Matt Serafini’s story Evernight Circle, just left me wanting or confused me. I’ve read Matt’s short stories before and liked them in ‘All Night Terrors’ and ‘Welcome to the Show’. He is an excellent writer but it can sometimes be hard to follow where he is going with some of his ideas. I started off loving this story and then it just got so cryptic to be confusing. It almost seems like this story belongs in a longer novel. David Watkins also had an interesting story but parts of it made no sense to me like the thief (seemingly killed by the Roman) showing up while he is speaking with the villagers, and attacking the Roman again in wolf form. He changes to human form, makes a smart ass remark and is immediately killed by Roman. Are they also not part of the same species? I mean it could be explained that all wolves fight solo but why change into human form to immediately be killed?
All in all, this anthology is worth picking up and savouring. The key is that EVERY single story is well written and you may just love one of the stories I didn’t include as a “must read”. There wasn’t a single turkey in the bunch!
I picked up this book for 3 reasons: the authors, the incredible cover art (awesome way to reel readers in —shout out goes to Patrick Cornett and inside illustrations by Michelle Merlini), and I’m a sucker for werewolves.
A couple of things you should know... not all the stories are great, per se, but they are extremely well-written. There is definitely something here for everyone and some uniqueness to boot.
Stories that are MUST READS:
1. David Wellington with Hunters Moon: I’ve never read a David Wellington book although I own a couple of his novels. I’ve been missing a good writer it seems as I enjoyed this story. Only issue I had was that Caxton was a terrible vampire hunter. Loved Jesse the eagle though.
2. Jonathan Janz with The Kiss of Divna Antonov: Jonathan Janz is an incredible writer. This proves once again how much he can intrigue a reader. He created a unique story of werewolves. I wanted more back story on Divna and her sisters but was very captivating to read.
3. Ray Garton with Outside of Nowhere: Ray Garton always knows how to tell a story. He ropes you in and doesn’t let go until the final page. He also takes a unique approach to
the werewolf tale. This was a page-turner and one of my favorite stories.
4. Graeme Reynolds with Blood Relations: Graeme was one author I noticed when I read the anthology “Matt Shaw presents: Masters of Horror”. Graeme wrote a story called “The Pit” and it was a terrific tale with a superb ending. This also was a story that had teeth (pun intended) An author to keep an eye on.
5. Paul Kane with Lifeline: Never read Paul Kane before but that was an awesome story. Unique tale on a werewolf clan. It was another of my favorite stories and I wanted to read more.
6. Glenn Rolfe with The Dead Brother Situation: Intriguing! Simple premise but always a good show when you root for the werewolf rather than the humans. That’s what you get for being a**holes.
7. Jeff Strand with Ivan’s Night Out: As I commented on many a review, we need the Strands of the world. He writes in a niche of his own, mixing sarcastic dark humour with horror. He’s one of the best! If you are a fan, you will love this. If you have yet to read any novels by Jeff Strand, enjoy this tale and then rush out and buy Wolf Hunt 1,2, and 3.
As for the rest of the authors, the stories were good and VERY well-written. Some, like Matt Serafini’s story Evernight Circle, just left me wanting or confused me. I’ve read Matt’s short stories before and liked them in ‘All Night Terrors’ and ‘Welcome to the Show’. He is an excellent writer but it can sometimes be hard to follow where he is going with some of his ideas. I started off loving this story and then it just got so cryptic to be confusing. It almost seems like this story belongs in a longer novel. David Watkins also had an interesting story but parts of it made no sense to me like the thief (seemingly killed by the Roman) showing up while he is speaking with the villagers, and attacking the Roman again in wolf form. He changes to human form, makes a smart ass remark and is immediately killed by Roman. Are they also not part of the same species? I mean it could be explained that all wolves fight solo but why change into human form to immediately be killed?
All in all, this anthology is worth picking up and savouring. The key is that EVERY single story is well written and you may just love one of the stories I didn’t include as a “must read”. There wasn’t a single turkey in the bunch!
January 27, 2020
Guys. This was so fucking good. Soo damn good. I was really stoked when I preordered this book a couple months back because I saw a handful of my favorite authors in here. THEN I WAS EVEN MORE STOKED TO FIND OUT SOME OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS WERE IN HERE AS WELL. 6 out of 5 stars. I'm so happy I was able to reunite with some old friends.
January 14, 2020
Excellent Collection!
Wow! Finally an anthology filled with wonderful stories! I read this book in one sitting today. Great werewolf horror is difficult to find, at least for me, and in this book I found it full of them. Several from some of my favorite authors, and the rest from authors I was completely unfamiliar with...Until now! I highly recommend this book to any fan of the werewolf genre!
Wow! Finally an anthology filled with wonderful stories! I read this book in one sitting today. Great werewolf horror is difficult to find, at least for me, and in this book I found it full of them. Several from some of my favorite authors, and the rest from authors I was completely unfamiliar with...Until now! I highly recommend this book to any fan of the werewolf genre!
March 2, 2020
Great anthology about the giant, furry beasts of myth. There were a lot of great stories in there, and I enjoyed a good 98% of them. The second to last one was utterly meh at the least, and downright annoying at the most with how repetitive it was, and its apparent need to spell everything out. Like no, I GET it, I've gotten it since the first three pages, and the repetitive nature didn't help out either. Instead of enhancing the wordplay and being clever with it, it instead just reminds of when a teacher has to repeat questions on a test a couple times in order for everyone to get it. Like no, stop it, desist! Rant aside, I really enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone that are fans of werewolves or just that type of genre as a whole. Though, I think I've had my fill on the brutal rending of heads, limbs, and intestines from the human body by claws and teeth for awhile. My goodness.
December 19, 2020
Devoured these short stories in one weekend. Utterly addictive! 5***
June 4, 2020
I absolutely LOVED this book. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed every single story, my favourites (and it is hard to pick because they were all good and very varied) were the Rolfe, Janz and Reynolds stories. There is a good mix of US and UK writers and settings and each piece of writing is vastly different. There were some really original and clever ideas, as well as classic lore and tropes. highly recommended to anyone who likes werewolves and a fantastic antho to add to your collection if, like me, you are huge Rolfe and Janz fans. 10/10.
February 17, 2020
One look at the cover should tell you that this is not going to be one of those touchy-feely "Ohmigosh I'm a werewolf! What must I do?" type of werewolf books. These are not your 'Team Jacob' from "Twilight". No, it's more like the werewolves in this anthology are more along the lines of 'Team Ravenously Hungry' and the rest of us are 'Team Seriously Screwed'.
February 16, 2020
In all fairness, there are probably a couple of points I should express before I start this review. #1: I'm not a great fan of short stories and, #2: Werewolf horror ranks only slightly higher on my list than supernatural horror. (I'm not a big follower of either.) So, dear reader, armed with that information, you'd guess that I wasn't too enamored with "Leaders of the Pack: A Werewolf Anthology", wouldn't you?
Well, you're wrong. This tasty little compilation is filled with a number of entertaining, albeit fairly short stories, each dealing with the werewolf mythos. Many of the stories are prequels or background illumination about characters or series' that some of the authors have already created. Of these, some were much better than others because the reader is sometimes required to have that previous information in order to fully appreciate characters and/or plot lines. Not having this information in advance is certainly not a "deal-breaker" and shouldn't affect many readers, so don't let that stand in your way of a satisfying reading experience. While I'm at it, I'd like to note that each story is preceded by some really stylish illustrations compliments of Michelle Merlini. Patrick Cornett's cover is pretty cool, too!
Six of these authors are probably a little more well known than others (at least to this reviewer), so let's start with them:
Glenn Rolfe: Rolfe pens a really solid story that's part of his Gilson Creek series. Made me want to check out the series.
David Wellington: It's werewolves vs. vampires in Wellington's story. It was even too far-fetched for me. I expected more from Wellington.
Jonathan Janz: First of all, I was thrilled when I found out a Janz story was included in this compilation. He's one of the top 3 horror novelists working today and I never miss one of his books. His story is set in the 1940's and, as usual, creates wonderfully memorable characters in an exquisitely well-crafted plot. This story is the cream of this crop.
Ray Garton: When I think "werewolves", I often think "Garton". This "campfire" story has a lot of scary, gory, and craftiness woven into it. It's really good.
Graeme Reynolds: I think Reynolds has arguably the best werewolf series in print - the High Moor books. This story is part of that series (living somewhere between books 2 and 3) and adds even more depth to the set. In this entertaining yarn, a young English girl is sent away by her confused and terrified father after she "turns" in front of him.
Jeff Strand: Strand's story is the most disappointing of the better-known authors. It seemed "phoned-in" as it explained a werewolf's dilemma of deciding to kill a family of four as a werewolf or a human.
Now for the lesser-known (again, at least for me) group of six:
David Watkins: Watkins' story is part of his "Originals" series and is set in medieval times. It's an interesting tale with a decent number of "didn't see that coming" moments.
T.W. Piperbrook: Another author with a story from his series. In this case, it's a prequel to Piperbrook's "Outage" books. The story revolves around a young boy and girl fleeing from a pack of werewolves during a power outage affecting a small community.
Thomas Emson: Just a fair story that switches back and forth between 60 A.D. and the present as a female gas station attendant learns about her lycanthropic history.
Nick Stead: This is another story that's part of a series that's actually quite good and can stand alone without the need for much backstory. It stars, "Slayers" (those who hunt down and kill werewolves), a few vampires, and a sympathetic boy who's believed to be the last of a bloodline.
Matt Serafini: This was probably my 2nd favorite story because it was so "Twilight Zone-like". The plot deals with an unhappy husband and wife who relocate to a private community connected to her new job. Hmmm, many of the neighbors seem to have an affinity for the full moon...
Paul Kane: Kane's story deals with an abused wife and her son on the run. Things are going well for them until a friend tells her that she and her son have been discovered. Is it the husband or someone else? A really solid story.
If you like this type of horror, then you'll want to grab a copy of this anthology and enjoy some stories from some of the best in this part of the genre'. It comes close to making me a believer in short stories and werewolves...
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Well, you're wrong. This tasty little compilation is filled with a number of entertaining, albeit fairly short stories, each dealing with the werewolf mythos. Many of the stories are prequels or background illumination about characters or series' that some of the authors have already created. Of these, some were much better than others because the reader is sometimes required to have that previous information in order to fully appreciate characters and/or plot lines. Not having this information in advance is certainly not a "deal-breaker" and shouldn't affect many readers, so don't let that stand in your way of a satisfying reading experience. While I'm at it, I'd like to note that each story is preceded by some really stylish illustrations compliments of Michelle Merlini. Patrick Cornett's cover is pretty cool, too!
Six of these authors are probably a little more well known than others (at least to this reviewer), so let's start with them:
Glenn Rolfe: Rolfe pens a really solid story that's part of his Gilson Creek series. Made me want to check out the series.
David Wellington: It's werewolves vs. vampires in Wellington's story. It was even too far-fetched for me. I expected more from Wellington.
Jonathan Janz: First of all, I was thrilled when I found out a Janz story was included in this compilation. He's one of the top 3 horror novelists working today and I never miss one of his books. His story is set in the 1940's and, as usual, creates wonderfully memorable characters in an exquisitely well-crafted plot. This story is the cream of this crop.
Ray Garton: When I think "werewolves", I often think "Garton". This "campfire" story has a lot of scary, gory, and craftiness woven into it. It's really good.
Graeme Reynolds: I think Reynolds has arguably the best werewolf series in print - the High Moor books. This story is part of that series (living somewhere between books 2 and 3) and adds even more depth to the set. In this entertaining yarn, a young English girl is sent away by her confused and terrified father after she "turns" in front of him.
Jeff Strand: Strand's story is the most disappointing of the better-known authors. It seemed "phoned-in" as it explained a werewolf's dilemma of deciding to kill a family of four as a werewolf or a human.
Now for the lesser-known (again, at least for me) group of six:
David Watkins: Watkins' story is part of his "Originals" series and is set in medieval times. It's an interesting tale with a decent number of "didn't see that coming" moments.
T.W. Piperbrook: Another author with a story from his series. In this case, it's a prequel to Piperbrook's "Outage" books. The story revolves around a young boy and girl fleeing from a pack of werewolves during a power outage affecting a small community.
Thomas Emson: Just a fair story that switches back and forth between 60 A.D. and the present as a female gas station attendant learns about her lycanthropic history.
Nick Stead: This is another story that's part of a series that's actually quite good and can stand alone without the need for much backstory. It stars, "Slayers" (those who hunt down and kill werewolves), a few vampires, and a sympathetic boy who's believed to be the last of a bloodline.
Matt Serafini: This was probably my 2nd favorite story because it was so "Twilight Zone-like". The plot deals with an unhappy husband and wife who relocate to a private community connected to her new job. Hmmm, many of the neighbors seem to have an affinity for the full moon...
Paul Kane: Kane's story deals with an abused wife and her son on the run. Things are going well for them until a friend tells her that she and her son have been discovered. Is it the husband or someone else? A really solid story.
If you like this type of horror, then you'll want to grab a copy of this anthology and enjoy some stories from some of the best in this part of the genre'. It comes close to making me a believer in short stories and werewolves...
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
September 17, 2020
Good!
Some stories were good and some even excellent! Even if I'm not a hardcore fan of werewolves stories, I had a lot of fun and discovered some fine artists in that book. I'm pleased I gave it try!
Some stories were good and some even excellent! Even if I'm not a hardcore fan of werewolves stories, I had a lot of fun and discovered some fine artists in that book. I'm pleased I gave it try!
March 25, 2020
A very entertaining werewolf collection with some very different ideas and styles of writing. I enjoyed them all though some more than others. Stand outs for me were the ones by Nick Stead and Graeme Reynolds.
February 29, 2020
A great collection of werewolf stories. As with most anthologies, some stories are better than others but everything was at least good and entertaining.
January 19, 2020
I loved this book!! I got to visit some worlds I missed reading about in stories from Graeme Reynolds, Glenn Rolfe, and Jonathan Janz. I discovered new worlds that I want to learn more about. The folks over at Horrific Tales have hit a homerun once again with this hair raising collection of lycanthrop brilliance. A solid 5 star read. Highly recommended!
August 5, 2020
I was excited to see the publication of "Leaders of the pack", as I don't see may werewolf anthologies...last one I saw was Jones' "Mammoth Book of Wolf Men" in 2009. All of the stories in "Leaders" are original to the volume. Aside from Garton, who contributed one story, none of the authors were known to me.
I wanted to really like this anthology...werewolves are like the Rodney Dangerfield of monsters - they don't get any respect.....an individual who changes into an unreasoning killing machine by the light of the moon...what can you do with that? And don't get me started on paranormal romances....
The cover of the book itself seems to have been inspired by the movie "Howl" from 2015.
Aside from Garton's tale, I was unimpressed by the stories therein, with the exception of Strand's "Ivan's Night Out", a nod perhaps to the style of fiction known as contes cruel - perhaps best remembered today in the fiction of Charles Birkin. In "Ivan" a werewolf wants to see what it would be like to kill without benefit of metamorphosis - breaking into a house and murdering the family within, and changing into a monster anyway....
It was an entertaining read, on the whole, and some of the stories are meant to be introductions to longer works...but ultimately forgettable...at least to me.
I wanted to really like this anthology...werewolves are like the Rodney Dangerfield of monsters - they don't get any respect.....an individual who changes into an unreasoning killing machine by the light of the moon...what can you do with that? And don't get me started on paranormal romances....
The cover of the book itself seems to have been inspired by the movie "Howl" from 2015.
Aside from Garton's tale, I was unimpressed by the stories therein, with the exception of Strand's "Ivan's Night Out", a nod perhaps to the style of fiction known as contes cruel - perhaps best remembered today in the fiction of Charles Birkin. In "Ivan" a werewolf wants to see what it would be like to kill without benefit of metamorphosis - breaking into a house and murdering the family within, and changing into a monster anyway....
It was an entertaining read, on the whole, and some of the stories are meant to be introductions to longer works...but ultimately forgettable...at least to me.
August 5, 2020
This collection, like so many horror anthologies, is inconsistent. Where the authors are creative and bold, the book shines, but where authors take an easier route, the reader suffers. Most of the stories in the collection are of the serious, more-horror-than-adventure variety. Some are completely original in their mythology, and a few are genuinely scary. The cover art as well as the illustrations with each story make the collection a must-have for werewolf lovers.
August 6, 2020
Not bad!
Although these aren't really short stories, as few of them are stand alone works, they are all exceptionally well written and easy to read. Enjoy!
Although these aren't really short stories, as few of them are stand alone works, they are all exceptionally well written and easy to read. Enjoy!
April 21, 2020
Warning: this is an anthology you shouldn't read before bedtime. There were scary stories in this one. Some of the best stories: David Wellington - Hunter's Moon. There is something to say about a combination of werewolves and vampires: they are both really scary. And I liked vampire hunter Laura.
David Watkins - The original. Really interesting because of the Roman look to werewolves, a direction I never thought of.
Jonathan Janz - The Kiss of Divna Antonov. The ladies are werewolves.
Thomas Emson - The Hunt. Set in 1995 with Laura and in 60AD with the Roman Marius Victor, who hunts werewolves especially the she-wolves. This one I thought was really creepy.
Paul Kane - Lifeline. About Beth who came out of an abusive relationship and lives alone with her son Robbie. She is someone else and that story is told in a pretty good way. I liked this one.
Some stories I really didn't like, some were the beginning of a longer story told in a book. But the whole anthology was pretty good.
Disclaimer: I got this book in the Librarything Early Reviewers.
David Watkins - The original. Really interesting because of the Roman look to werewolves, a direction I never thought of.
Jonathan Janz - The Kiss of Divna Antonov. The ladies are werewolves.
Thomas Emson - The Hunt. Set in 1995 with Laura and in 60AD with the Roman Marius Victor, who hunts werewolves especially the she-wolves. This one I thought was really creepy.
Paul Kane - Lifeline. About Beth who came out of an abusive relationship and lives alone with her son Robbie. She is someone else and that story is told in a pretty good way. I liked this one.
Some stories I really didn't like, some were the beginning of a longer story told in a book. But the whole anthology was pretty good.
Disclaimer: I got this book in the Librarything Early Reviewers.
January 16, 2020
Disappointed
I was looking so forward to this book. Other than Janz and Strand, I wasn't very impressed with the other stories.
I was looking so forward to this book. Other than Janz and Strand, I wasn't very impressed with the other stories.
October 7, 2022
4.25 stars
Very cool collection of Werewolf stories from different authors.
Very cool collection of Werewolf stories from different authors.
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