BEAST WITHIN

by Cecilia Tan (Editor), Reina Delacroix (Contributor), Linda Hooper (Contributor)

Delacroix, Reina - "Wilderland"
Hooper, Linda - "The Killing of the Calf"
Michaelson, Jay - "The Spirit that Denies"
Schroek, Robert M. - "Alma Mater"

Here is a collection of short stories in which werewolves explore their erotic natures.

Genres: Erotica

100 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1994

About the author

Susie Bright says, "Cecilia Tan is simply one of the most important writers, editors, and innovators in contemporary American erotic literature." Since the publication of Telepaths Don't Need Safewords in 1992, she has been on the cutting edge of the erotic form, often combining elements of fantasy and science fiction in her work. She is also founder and editor of Circlet Press.

RT Book Reviews awarded her Career Achievement in Erotic Romance in 2015 and her novel Slow Surrender (Hachette/Forever, 2013) won the RT Reviewers Choice Award and the Maggie Award for Excellence from GRW in 2013. She has been publishing Daron's Guitar Chronicles as a web serial since 2009 and her Secrets of a Rock Star series (Taking the Lead, Wild Licks, Hard Rhythm) is published by Hachette/Forever. In 2018 Tor Books will launch her urban fantasy/paranormal series, The Vanished Chronicles. In her other life, Cecilia is also the editor of the Baseball Research Journal and publications director for SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research.

Reviews

[RunningRed NightBringer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what it says on the tin. A collection of four short stories featuring werewolves.
None of the werewolves have an "anthropomorphic" form, just human and wolf, so there's no "bipedal wolf having sex like in furry fiction or art.
In two of the stories the sex is between a human and a wolf, in one it's between a human and another human who afterwards turns into a wolf, and in the fourth, it's two humans, in a VR simulation, having sex through their wolf avatars.

The quality of the stories is somewhat okay. The writing comes off a little clunky, but honestly, it's erotica. The point of the stories is to get you "in the mood" or give you some good ideas for when you are in the mood. And at that, they succeed.

I forgive the clunkiness. The book came out in 1994 when there were limited references for werewolves, especially the sexy kind. The decades since have seen the growth of an entire genre of urban fantasy series, full of sexy shapeshifter.

My favorite of the four is the first story, The Spirit that Denies by Jay Michaelson. A werewolf sneaks into the apartment of his girlfriend who he recently Turned, getting a major boner from her scent, before meeting her in the woods for some carnal fun. The character's lighthearted and fun, and one of the few stories of the era where the author actually considered what it'd be like having an enhanced sense of smell (the other is the film Wolf, that also came out in 1994).

The final story Wilderland by Reina Delacroix, featuring the VR simulation, would be of interest to my fellow peeps, the main character has what is likely to be species dysphoria and her struggles would resonate with many of my friends.

So if you're looking for some good horny stories and don't mind human-animal fucking (can it even be considered bestiality if the animal can turn human and hold a conversation?), give this book a try.

[sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this but I was very surprised to find out that (spoiler alert!) Benito Mussolini are a character in one of the short stories? I don't really know how to feel about it, lol. Otherwise, a very enjoyable and fun reading experience.

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting in a werewolf erotica anthology. Only three or four stories, none of them particularly good, the most interesting of the stories was Wilderland, and while not about traditional werewolves, its the only thing that saved the anthology from 1 star.


Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.

[Jay Michaelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am biased given I wrote one of the stories within, so reviewing this book would come off as too self-serving ;)