Drums Around the Fire

Classic World of Darkness Fiction

by Ed McKeogh (Editor), Bill Bridges (Contributor), Sam Chupp (Contributor)

Original anthology of 17 stories based on the Werewolf: The Apocalpyse games, with a lexicon.

"Introduction: The Talefires" · Anonymous
"Tales of Glory"
"The Fall of Criton" · Emrey Barnes
"The Guardian Stone" · William Spencer-Hale
"Patchbelly and the Plague-Wolf" · Phil Brucato
"Tales of Honor"
"Night Flyer" · Sam Chupp
"Gambit" · Nigel D. Findley
"Loba’s Tale" · Daniel Greenberg
"Tales of Wisdom"
"The Rabbi’s Tale" · Bud Webster
"Apocalypse Noir" · Bill Bridges
"Otava" · Rustin Quaide
"Totem Tales"
"Pegasus" · Phil Brucato
"Coyote" · James Medley
"Chimera" · James A. Moore
"Tales of the Umbra"
"Restricted Entry" · Robert Hatch
"Gardens Are Their Seeds · Stewart Weick
"End Time Song · Daniel Greenberg
"Afterward: The Closing of the Moot" · Anonymous
"A Tale of the Apocalypse"
"Trinity Caern" · Sam Inabinet
"Lexicon" · Misc. Material

Genres: Fantasy, Anthologies, World Of Darkness, Werewolves, Horror, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

216 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1994

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's rather astonishing to me just how bad this anthology is. I got it several years ago, tried to read it, could make almost no sense of the first twenty pages or so, and parked it on a bookshelf to try again later. I've tried it several times since then, and it's never made sense on any occasion I opened it up. The book is written for some Atlanta area gamers, something Dungeon and Dragony role playing, or what not. I'm not sure what it is supposed to do in terms of literature.

The reason I purchased it years ago off the used book market is because it contains James A. MooreJames A. Moore's first published story. Moore is one of my favorite authors. His story is titled "Chimera," and it appears on pages 160-162. It is okay, three stars, and nothing special. The 3-page story is about a young garou who presents a council of elders with a puzzle, a stringed pattern, and challenges them to unravel it. Later the garou brings them a cobweb on a branch, and challenges them to unravel it. The young garou states she gave them the same test. They can't do it and neither can the young garou. But they need to do it to defeat their common enemy, the wyrm. And that's pretty much it.

All of the stories in the anthology are sort of like this one with the same protagonists and antagonists, only not even as well written as this one. It's all rather meaningless and not recommended unless you play this werewolf game maybe. Sorry. I'll put it back in circulation by giving it to a local used bookstore.

[Felix · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of the stories felt a bit repetitive to me, consisting mostly of textbook descriptions of garou hierarchies, the internal bickering, the call of the wild, love of gaia, hatred of the wyrm, and the fight against its many minions (which mostly were just face- and soulless papercut clichés).

[Gerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a difficult to rate book
Read as a Werewolf: The Apocalypse sourcebook it is not that bad, read as a anthology it is not that good.

If you are looking for something to ease you into the world of Werewolf, to help you better understand the different tribes, the setting, and the magic system it's quite helpful.
But the stories themselves are usually too leaden with game specific lingo and often lack writing skill to entertain.

Personally, as a werewolf centric anthology set in the World of Darkness I would recommend you to look for When Will You Rage.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read after some two and a half decades.
Maybe I appreciate the game's lore mote than back then or I simply "get" the stories now. I don't know.
Anyway, I had to upgrade my previous verdict of two stars to four. I really liked a lot of the stories here.