All Claws: Stories of the Urban Werewolf

by Marion Sipe

A collection of three stories featuring urban Best Friends (Flash), in which Matthew's best friend Jake has outstayed his welcome, at least Riley the Golden Retriever thinks so; Innocent Until Proven (Flash) in which, sick of jury duty, Amanda thinks she's looking forward to closing arguments, on a full moon; and Skinless (9,000 words) in which Albert's night out on the hunt turns into a scramble for his life which could leave him... Er, as the title implies.

35 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 21, 2011

About the author

Marion Sipe is a writer, poet and artist. Now pursuing a marketing degree, she was home schooled for most of her life, which taught her a love of research and the skills to get the job done. Well, that or the skills to get lost in the stacks. It depends on how interesting the research is. In addition to a pretty much obsessive love for worldbuilding, words and writing, she enjoys Photoshop, drawing, painting, juggling, and reading, of course. Lots of reading. Having recently returned home to New Orleans, she resides there with her vicious guard cats and handsome prince. And lots of books.

Some of them her own.

Reviews

[Midu Hadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book for free from Making Connections group, in exchange of an honest review.
The book is an anthology of 3 stories and I finished it in under an hour!
The first story-Best Friends- was my favorite. I loved the ending and would have given anything to witness the meeting between Riley and his owner!!
Innocent until Proven was the second story which takes place in a courtroom. The person being tried for 3 murders was tricked by his shrink in to believing he's a werewolf..or was he?
The third story-Skinless- was about Loup Garou. It is based on a fascinating premise. If there is a host, there will be parasites. Its how nature works. But a parasite that preys on werewolves- intriguing!
Had lots of fun reading this anthology!

[Angie ~aka Reading Machine~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love wolves! I love reading about them in their many and varied forms. I loved the concept for this book! However some of the stories were really interesting and others just fell flat to me. This book is really short less than 50 pages. The author did a really good job of crafting her stories and I have no problems with that. My personal feeling is that the last two stories could have been made into full novellas. I liked these stories best out of all that was presented. I would hope that the author consider turn the last two stories into novellas with deeper look into the characters. I look forward to seeing more from this author in the future.

[Laura Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you like your werewolf? Furry, chained or skinned?
Marion serves them up in three very different stories.
In Best Friends, you have the roommate from hell and a vial containing a mysterious yellow substance.
Innocent Until Proven gives you a courtroom drama like no other.
With Skinless, the longest of the three tales, you meet Albert, a desperate werewolf who has waited too long to hunt.
I was thrilled with this book. I love my horror and my werewolves and All Claws gave me three very uniquely different views. I really like the way Marion thinks.
Each of these stories quickly grab hold of you, and even if you might see what is coming, in the third one I bet you don't,you find yourself caught up in them.
You will cringe, shudder, and even grin as the stories are revealed.
Grab a cold beverage and some popcorn(with extra butter), because these tales are like a great Saturday evening horror fest on TV.

[Think · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great collection of werewolf stories! They were all a bit disturbing, which is usually not my thing. Yet, for some reason, I just could not stop reading Sipe’s stories. The first two stories are great but the third has series possibility written all over it. “Skinless” tells the story of ‘Albert’. A werewolf needing to feed and find a new skin to wear. What he finds instead pulls you along on a fantastic, almost psychedelic trip as ‘Albert’ tries to discover what is happening to him. I can’t go into much more without revealing the plot! There are still some copies of All Claws up for grabs, HERE.

This only took me maybe 30 min or so to read. It is a very quick and engaging read that I recommend.


4 stars to All Claws: Stories of the Urban Werewolf for being gloriously grotesque!

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome collection of three short stories all relating to Werewolves. The first story is about a man and his dog dealing with a guest who has overstayed his welcome. The second one is about a man on trial; is he mental incompetent or is he really a werewolf? Cue the full moon!

The Final story is the longest and about a werewolf who has just got his new skin, but is now being stalked by a beast who stays in the shadows. I really enjoyed this one as it deals with a particular werewolf myth where the werewolf retains his human intelligence. This short story collection is definitely well worth the read!

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories don't normally get my attention. However, as these were Werewolf related, I had to take the chance. I'm so glad I did. I truly enjoyed these stories, especially Riley!

These were very brief and I finished the three in just a couple hours. It was a nice break from the novel lengths that I normally read. I may have to consider more short stories in the future.