The Ultimate Werewolf

by Byron Preiss (Editor), John Gregory Betancourt (Editor), David H. Keller (Editor)

A collection of stories inspired by the legend of the werewolf include contributions by A.C. Crispin, Craig Shaw Gardner, Larry Niven, Bill Pronzini, Robert Silverberg, and Harlan Ellison

Genres: Horror, Werewolves, Anthologies, Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction, Supernatural

357 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Byron Preiss was the president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications and Ibooks, and was recognized as a pioneer in digital publishing. He was among the first publishers to release CD-ROM's and electronic books.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Preiss graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972 and earned a master's degree in communications from Stanford University. He produced The Words of Gandhi, an audio book that won a Grammy Award in 1985. He was also the co-author of Dragonworld, a novel he co-wrote with J. Michael Reaves that was published by Bantam Books in 1979.

A proponent of illustrated books, as well as comics and graphic novels, Preiss also published works by celebrity authors including Jane Goodall, Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld, LeAnn Rimes and Jay Leno.

Reviews

[Jillyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over all, I found this anthology to be a hit and miss collection of stories. I did enjoy the many different points of views on lycanthropes, but I often had to force myself through stories. I enjoyed stories such as "Moonlight on the Gazebo" and "Pure Silver". However, stories like "Wolf, Iron, and Moth" and "There's a Wolf in My Time Machine" just left me bored, not to mention the not so infrequent spelling errors ("she shook her heard", for instance). I understand everyone makes mistakes, but I noticed mistakes like this a lot more often than I should have.

If you're looking simply for a collection of wolf stories that step away from the romance (and/or Twilight) genres, then the good stories make up for the bad. However, if you're looking for stories that are bursting with action and gory horror, perhaps seek another collection.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

After reading the ultimate Dracula and Frankenstein collections, I'm reminded that in general werewolf stories just aren't quite as good. My first novel was about werewolves, as I thought they were an underrated member of the monster genre, but they are also a little harder to work with.

This collection is good, and has some of the better werewolf stories you'll find, but it does show that in most cases the werewolf comes in third behind Dracula and Frankenstein. I'm sure not everyone would agree, but I did get that feeling after reading the three collections.

Still, it's a good collection of horror short stories and I recommend it, as well as any of the "Ultimate" Byron Preiss collections.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leído en 2004.
7/10.
Cuentos cortos de varios autores clásicos sobre el mito de Hombre Lobo.
Como todas las recopilaciones es muy variable y a mí no me gustan estas mezclas de calidades tan distintas, pero por autores y temáticas este libro en particular sí merece la pena.

[Jim Teggelaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good collection of werewolf shorts- most are clever and well-written. Sadly, there are very few scary moments. In fact, a slim majority of the stories feature werewolves that are just big wolves after the transformation, and that is a mistake in this reader's opinion. The werewolf, or wolf man, is always best and scariest when he walks on two legs. Oh well, even so... good book, read it.

[Little Timmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like short stories and people taking a new view of a subject then this is a good book. I enjoyed a few of the stories but overall was not pleased. Not recommended

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

De vraag die overblijft, is: Wie onder ons zijn de ware beesten?

Dit boek heeft diverse verhalen over weerwolven. Sommige goed en anderen wat minder. Maar de verhalen gaan over de verandering en wat het met de mens doet. Sommige gebruiken hun verandering voor het positieve en anderen ja die weten niet wat ze moeten doen.
Lees en oordeel zelf.

[David Veith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went back and forth between 2 and 3 stars and decided to be nice. There are some good stories in this book, but also some bad ones. I just felt that if the book is called The Ultimate Werewolf there would be better stories overall. Some were downright stupid in my opinion, but the good ones balanced it out, mostly lol.

[Stone Lee]

"Angels' Moon," by Kathe Koja, is the tale of a man's journey to death through a madness that could happen to anyone, and has happened to many. Told from his perspective, the short story, quite readable and somewhat educational, acquaints us with his affliction as it drags him away from humanity to a common, canine ending. An enjoyable read.

[Ben Kalman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A couple of decent stories, but most fall flat. What is most disappointing is that the writers I expected the most from - Harlan Ellison, Philip José Farmer, Nancy Collins - were particularly flat.

Larry Niven was the one exception - his story was as strong as I expect from him.

[Sean Chick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a let down, although a few decent stories made it passable.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with any anthology, it's a mixed bag, though perhaps less so than usual. For the most part, they're all okay, neither fantastic nor terrible. (As much as I love werewolves as a concept, "okay" is usually the best you get.) There were actually a lot that I almost loved, but it seems like there was always some niggling issue that got in the way of greatness—for example, "Pure Silver," about a Holocaust survivor werewolf hunting down Nazis, the ending of which feels like it was swiped from a completely different werewolf story, or "The Mark of the Beast," which does a great job of setting up an "is she a werewolf? And if so, is she evil?" mystery but unfortunately gives an answer (and resulting theme) different than I was hoping.

A lot of them are just kind of generic; werewolf stories can be kind of tropey, and when you read twenty in a row, it starts to feel like a series of "what if the werewolf was ____?" (A cop! A cowgirl! In Soviet Russia! Etc.) Also, some of them seem to be trying to make lycanthropy a twist, but if you're reading this book, you kind of know it's coming.

Looking through the table of contents to pick specific examples, I have to add: the titles can be pretty generic, too. "Something Wolf," "Silver Something," "Moon of Something," etc. I have a hard time remembering which story is which.

Some of them aren't even werewolf stories, either in that they literally have no werewolves or that the werewolf content is not focal enough. They may or may not be good in their own right, but it's still disappointing.

There are actually a lot of typos. Not on every page, mind you, but maybe about ten throughout the whole book. Still, distracting whenever you spot one.

The big exception to the general okayness is actually the longest story, with which the anthology chooses to open: "Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W" by Harlan Ellison. I could spend a whole review complaining about how bad it is; for one, the title alone is longer than the actual lycanthropic content. To summarize, I'll note that the "Reception" section of its Wikipedia article mentions that it won two prestigious awards...then proceeds to quote two reviews, one which calls it "impenetrable and baffling," and the other which says that it's only memorable for invoking "a vague sense of disgust." (Also, it ends with the protagonist planning to raise a baby to adulthood so that he can boink her later. I guess Stephenie Meyer read this one.)

[Helen Robare · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was happy to find this book in my shed amid boxes and boxes of books. I was also happy to find out I had not read it before. But the best part is that authors from "my era" were writing the stories. Authors like Harlan Ellison, Craig Shaw Gardner, Philip Jose Farmer, Larry Niven, and Robert Silverberg.

All of the stories were interesting and entertaining but some were better than others. The stories are quite eclectic in nature with no story copying any of the other stories. Some stories are "traditional" werewolf lore, some are science fiction, and some are out of the author's imagination and cannot be pigeonholed into any one genre.

If you like the authors of the 1970s and 1980s fantasy/science fiction, I think you will like this book.

[Erick Mertz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about these stories.

Based on the cover, the classic horror/sci-fi authors included in the anthology are pretty amazing. Ellison, Farmer, Silverberg. There should be a lot to like.

I remember the anthology as a kid because there was a story that took place outside of Oregon City, my home town and current home base. I was super excited.

No one wrote about Oregon City.

Reading it as an adult though, the stories are just OKh. I feel like many of the authors were approached by an agent or publisher and asked, hey, you got a werewolf story? If they did, bang, the story made it to the anthology without a question.

[John Drawdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some tales are really good. Others, like the opening stinker from Harlan Ellison, are not.

[Anthony Messina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories at the end of the book were better than the beginning IMO. Of the three "Ultimate" story collections, this was my least favorite which is disappointing since I'm such a fan of wolves.

[Dave Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

like its companion volumes an uneven mix - but maybe a bit better than the Dracula stories - the Harlan Ellison contribution is really strange.

[Jean-Francois Boivin]

"Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W" by Harlan Ellison
"Wolf, Iron, and Moth" by Philip José Farmer
"Angels' Moon" by Kathe Koja
"Unleashed" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
"The Mark of the Beast" by Kim Antieau
"At War with the Wolf Man" by Jerome Charyn
"Day of the Wolf" by Craig Shaw Gardner
"Moonlight on the Gazebo" by Mel Gilden
"Raymond" by Nancy A. Collins
"There's a Wolf in My Time Machine" by Larry Niven
"South of Oregon City" by Pat Murphy
"Special Makeup" by Kevin J. Anderson
"Pure Silver" by A. C. Crispin and Kathleen O'Malley
"Close Shave" by Brad Linaweaver
"Partners" by Robert J. Randisi
"Ancient Evil" by Bill Pronzini
"And the Moon Shines Full and Bright" by Brad Strickland
"Full Moon Over Moscow" by Stuart M. Kaminsky
"Wolf Watch" by Robert Weinberg [as by Robert E. Weinberg]
"The Werewolf Gambit" by Robert Silverberg

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this one a long time ago back when I decided the werewolf was my favorite paranormal being. And now in this bleak age of Twilight and vampire galore, I think that needs to be said.

Over all some nice variations on werewolf short stories.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-crafted stories exploring the werewolf mythology. I particularly liked Angels' Moon by Kathe Koja, South of Oregon City by Pat Murphy, Pure Silver by A. C. Crispin and Kathleen O'Malley, and Partners by Robert J. Randisi.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a very fun read. Lots of great unique werewolf stories. Some were a little strange, but I love that there were so many different kinds, types, and points of view.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the stories were great, some were ok, and there were a couple that definitely weren't my favorites, but all around a good anthology.

[Anke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inderdaad niet mijn genre. Leuk om een keer wat anders te lezen, sommige verhalen waren wel leuk, andere heb ik erg ‘schuin’ gelezen.

[Edward Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories, no spoilers but not all of the tales are in the truest sense “werewolf” but the theme holds true enough. Loved “the werewolf gambit”, “pure silver” and “partners” the most.

[Pablo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Jax]

Short Stories -- Read 1 so far.