The Beast Within

Beast Within #1

by Matt Hults (Editor), Gary A. Braunbeck (Contributor), Lee Battersby (Contributor)

Throughout history they have existed in folklore and nightmares…

By day they walk among us, hidden in plain sight. They are our neighbors and friends. But when the sun sets and the full moon rises, the beast within comes out…

And the hunt begins.

Grab a silver bullet and prepare yourself for 20 tales of animalistic terror crafted by authors from around the world. Travel across the ages and go beyond the myth to discover the horrific secrets of the werebeasts. See what lurks in the swamps of Florida; sprint across the rooftops of London in a deadly chase; follow an unfortunate soldier’s footsteps into the forests of Africa; find pity for a wounded soul who has yet to realize the full nature of his powers. These stories and others are ready to take you through a series of bone-snapping transformations that will make you howl for more.

From ancient cultures to the high-tech future, nowhere is safe from the shape-shifting bloodlust of The Beast Within.

Battersby, Lee - The Claws of Native Ghosts
Braunbeck, Gary A. - Some Touch of Pity
Carl, William D. - Desert Heart
Caruso, John C.
Churchill, Vince - By the light of the silvery moon
Coulter, Mark W.
Farnsworth, Richard - Gift of the Bouda
Hergenrader, Trent
Hill, David W. - SQ 389
Hults, Matt
Hultquist, Michael J. - Colugo Men
Keeney, Belea T. - Lure of the Wolf
Lehr, Norma
Moore, Rick - The Night John Fell
Palisano, John
Ranalli, Gina
Stone, Michael - Like cat and dog
Sutherland, Joel A.
Wainscoting, Raoul - Let's All Welcome The New Guy
Wedel, Steven E. - Okie Werewolf Looking for Love

Genres: Horror

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 2008

About the author

A native Floridian, Belea Keeney's short stories have been published by WordKnot, Boundoff, Florida Horror: Dark Tales from the Sunshine State, The Beast Within, and other venues."

Reviews

[Bronwen Sutherland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joel Sutherland is the best

[Vincent Diamond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Editor Hults chose a variety of voices and interpretations of the werewolf mythology. Some stories were forgettable, some were overly long, but several were real stand-outs. My favorite: Let's All Welcome the New Guy by Raoul Wainscoting. This is a hilarious satire of modern-day politically correctness in which a hapless Human Resources staffer tries vainly to orient employees to a new hire: a werewolf, oops, pardon me, a "Transformative American".

Some stories are gory and have adult/sexual themes. Probably not appropriate for those under 16 or so. One unique plus to this book: each story has a custom illustration. A very nice touch.

Recommend.

[Flossie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check Belea Keeney's story Lure of the Wolf with a librarian named Vivian.

[Richard Farnsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay 5 stars may be generous, but the ranking is for the story I wrote in there, 'Gift of the Bouda'.
The rest of the stories are also enjoyable, my second favorite being from Mike Stone.

[David Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine addition to the shelves of werewolf fiction! Particularly since it includes a story I wrote, "SQ 389", about a shapeshifter in the Internet.