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Tales of the Witch World
Werehunter
A short story collection, companion volume to Fiddler Fair. A woman who can change into a leopard is pursued by a hunter who is more than human. Occult detective Diana Tregarde trails a very unusual vampire. Four SKitty stories, and more!
Contents
Introduction --
Werehunter --
SKitty --
A tail of two SKitties --
SCat --
A better mousetrap --
The last of the season --
Satanic, Versus --
Nightside --
Wet wings --
Stolen silver --
Roadkill --
Operation Desert Fox --
Grey --
Grey's ghost.
Contents
Introduction --
Werehunter --
SKitty --
A tail of two SKitties --
SCat --
A better mousetrap --
The last of the season --
Satanic, Versus --
Nightside --
Wet wings --
Stolen silver --
Roadkill --
Operation Desert Fox --
Grey --
Grey's ghost.
274 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
27 people are currently reading
1067 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
436 books9,573 followersMercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
October 30, 2016
Werehunter is an anthology of fourteen science fiction and fantasy short stories by Mercedes Lackey. I’ve read some of her fantasy work before, and I thought this anthology was a pretty good reflection of both the good and the bad aspects of her writing style.
Four of the stories in the book were “SKitty” stories. This was a really fun premise. It’s a science fiction setting, where it’s common for starships to have a genetically engineered cat on board. The cats have front paws like raccoons, and they’re more intelligent. SKitty is unusual in that she's able to communicate telepathically with her human handler, whom she’s quite attached to. The stories were very fluffy, in more ways than one, but it was fun to read about intelligent cats.
Although I really enjoyed the Skitty stories, I became increasingly exasperated by them. My limited experience with Lackey’s books is that she tends to go overboard with the recapping. She gives more info than is needed to understand the newest story, and she tends to dump it out all at once in an unnatural way. This is annoying enough in a full-length book, but I think nearly half of the fourth SKitty story consisted of a recap of the previous three stories.
There were a couple short stories based on Lackey’s Diana Tregarde series, which I wasn’t familiar with. Maybe the books are better but, in the short stories, I thought the characters were too melodramatic. One story didn’t interest me at all, and the other story interested me but I was annoyed by the characters.
The last two stories were about two young girls, one of whom begged for food on the streets of London and the other of whom was the daughter of missionaries to Africa and was living in a school in London. The daughter of the missionaries had an intelligent pet parrot given to her by a shaman in Africa, and that parrot served as her protector. All three of them, the two girls and the parrot, had some special abilities. The stories were interesting and fun to read, but the second story had particularly bad editing. The poor parrot kept changing genders left and right, often within the same sentence. There were also some sentences that made such abundant use of female pronouns in relation to all three characters that you had to use your best judgment to figure out who had done what.
Most of the other short stories were fairly entertaining. There was one called “Roadkill” that was slightly creepy and amusing at the same time. There was a story set in Laumer’s Bolo universe that started off boring but got interesting by the end. Over-all, this anthology was a quick, fluffy, and mostly-entertaining read, but with several annoyances.
Four of the stories in the book were “SKitty” stories. This was a really fun premise. It’s a science fiction setting, where it’s common for starships to have a genetically engineered cat on board. The cats have front paws like raccoons, and they’re more intelligent. SKitty is unusual in that she's able to communicate telepathically with her human handler, whom she’s quite attached to. The stories were very fluffy, in more ways than one, but it was fun to read about intelligent cats.
Although I really enjoyed the Skitty stories, I became increasingly exasperated by them. My limited experience with Lackey’s books is that she tends to go overboard with the recapping. She gives more info than is needed to understand the newest story, and she tends to dump it out all at once in an unnatural way. This is annoying enough in a full-length book, but I think nearly half of the fourth SKitty story consisted of a recap of the previous three stories.
There were a couple short stories based on Lackey’s Diana Tregarde series, which I wasn’t familiar with. Maybe the books are better but, in the short stories, I thought the characters were too melodramatic. One story didn’t interest me at all, and the other story interested me but I was annoyed by the characters.
The last two stories were about two young girls, one of whom begged for food on the streets of London and the other of whom was the daughter of missionaries to Africa and was living in a school in London. The daughter of the missionaries had an intelligent pet parrot given to her by a shaman in Africa, and that parrot served as her protector. All three of them, the two girls and the parrot, had some special abilities. The stories were interesting and fun to read, but the second story had particularly bad editing. The poor parrot kept changing genders left and right, often within the same sentence. There were also some sentences that made such abundant use of female pronouns in relation to all three characters that you had to use your best judgment to figure out who had done what.
Most of the other short stories were fairly entertaining. There was one called “Roadkill” that was slightly creepy and amusing at the same time. There was a story set in Laumer’s Bolo universe that started off boring but got interesting by the end. Over-all, this anthology was a quick, fluffy, and mostly-entertaining read, but with several annoyances.
July 10, 2021
Read as part of my ongoing shelf audit. Verdict: Not a keeper.
The SKitty stories were charming - a little simple, but I'm a sucker for cats in fiction, and fiction specifically about cats loving their humans and being loved in return hits me where I live. I enjoyed "Stolen Silver", though to be fair I've already enjoyed that one once in the full-length Alberich books. The two Diana Tregarde stories were okay, but not very memorable. "Grey" and "Grey's Ghost" were interesting as an introduction to a concept; as short stories they don't stand out much.
"The Last of the Season" was nauseating, and I really wish it hadn't come right after the adorable SKitty content. "Wet Wings" was polemical in the extreme and kind of made me think Lackey might not be a very pleasant person to be around.
The rest were just kind of 'meh'. Also, I find it really weird that Lackey says the introduction will be mostly things people ask her about at cons, and then the entire intro is about falconry. Not that falconry isn't cool, but introducing a collection of short stories by talking about something COMPLETELY different kind of starts the book off with the vibe that the author isn't really interested in it.
The SKitty stories were charming - a little simple, but I'm a sucker for cats in fiction, and fiction specifically about cats loving their humans and being loved in return hits me where I live. I enjoyed "Stolen Silver", though to be fair I've already enjoyed that one once in the full-length Alberich books. The two Diana Tregarde stories were okay, but not very memorable. "Grey" and "Grey's Ghost" were interesting as an introduction to a concept; as short stories they don't stand out much.
"The Last of the Season" was nauseating, and I really wish it hadn't come right after the adorable SKitty content. "Wet Wings" was polemical in the extreme and kind of made me think Lackey might not be a very pleasant person to be around.
The rest were just kind of 'meh'. Also, I find it really weird that Lackey says the introduction will be mostly things people ask her about at cons, and then the entire intro is about falconry. Not that falconry isn't cool, but introducing a collection of short stories by talking about something COMPLETELY different kind of starts the book off with the vibe that the author isn't really interested in it.
September 25, 2007
Not bad. Nothing specific I can complain about, but... BUT. Ms. Lackey is not a brilliant writer, but not so bad that her stories aren't entertaining. However, collecting them like this has the unfortunate effect of emphasizing this defect rather than minimizing it.
August 22, 2018
This is a collection of short stories and novelettes published in 1999. The title story is taken from an anthology of stories set in Andre Norton's "Witchworld" and references events in Norton's Year of the Unicorn. I found it a bit predictable and derivative. Four stories centre around a space cat in a future where cats have been engineered to be more intelligent, to be loyal to a handler and given paws more like a racoon's so as to be able to manipulate objects. They are probably nice stories for cat lovers, but I found a few implausible aspects which made it hard to suspend my disbelief such as, if these cats are so valuable that they are leased by the company which creates them, why would they allow kittens to be sold off by the leasees without at least having a financial interest in them? And the premise introduced in the first story, that a newly contacted alien race has been beset for their whole history by a parasitical insectoid species with no natural predator, for me pulled the rug out from under all four stories - the parasites are native to the planet and the intelligent bipeds they beset have not wiped out their natural predator, parasite or disease, so the idea that nothing has evolved to put any curb on their numbers was too incredible. I couldn't believe that there could be a creature which nothing would have used as a food source, especially if the parasites were as plentiful as suggested. It also didn't help that there were a number of changed premises and/or continuity errors between stories, such as a character changing their mind about going back to space when they had been keen to do so, between story 2 and 3 - this was eventually handled by there being a job incentive mentioned in story 4 - and the alien city being spotlessly clean because the bipeds keep it so to try to deprive the parasites of food sources - but then by the end of the sequence it is the parasites themselves who keep the place clean. Small points, but when the stories are read back to back they stand out and 'niggle'.
Having said all that, the stories in the collection do, by and large, improve in the second half. Although there is a huge backstory/info dump in 'Operation Desert Fox', the idea of an intelligent AI-controlled tank and its relationship with its unusual driver, based on their mutual love of the history of WWII German General Rommel, was engaging. 'Satanic, Versus' was a nicely light-hearted romp about a witch who is also a crack shot and her vampire sidekick, attending a Halloweed party as Mrs Peel and Steed from the (British show) "The Avengers". 'Stolen Silver' was a rare Valdemar short story, set in Karse - I think a whole novel could have been developed around that idea and lead character. And the last two stories, 'Grey' and 'Grey's Ghost', set in Victorian London, featured a working class East End girl called Nan, and her friendship with the daughter of African missionaries, the said daughter staying at an unusual school. The background of Indian colonial influences and, in the second story, fraudulent mediums, was engaging and the stories were well written and had some good character development, especially of Nan. So these better stories brought up the level of the collection as a whole and it balances out at a respectable 3 stars.
Having said all that, the stories in the collection do, by and large, improve in the second half. Although there is a huge backstory/info dump in 'Operation Desert Fox', the idea of an intelligent AI-controlled tank and its relationship with its unusual driver, based on their mutual love of the history of WWII German General Rommel, was engaging. 'Satanic, Versus' was a nicely light-hearted romp about a witch who is also a crack shot and her vampire sidekick, attending a Halloweed party as Mrs Peel and Steed from the (British show) "The Avengers". 'Stolen Silver' was a rare Valdemar short story, set in Karse - I think a whole novel could have been developed around that idea and lead character. And the last two stories, 'Grey' and 'Grey's Ghost', set in Victorian London, featured a working class East End girl called Nan, and her friendship with the daughter of African missionaries, the said daughter staying at an unusual school. The background of Indian colonial influences and, in the second story, fraudulent mediums, was engaging and the stories were well written and had some good character development, especially of Nan. So these better stories brought up the level of the collection as a whole and it balances out at a respectable 3 stars.
April 4, 2009
Read this on a bookring in BookCrossing. My maiden dip into Mercedes Lackey. She hooked me in the author's notes, because I am a birder and loved reading about raptor rescue and rehab.
What an interesting collection of stories and characters. Some how SKitty reminded me of my own beloved kitty who departed for the next life at age 21. When she was 16, she developed end-stage renal disease and the vet gave her 6 months to live. She showed him! She didn't have raccoon like hands, but there was a strong telepathy between us. I'd never been a cat person before or since.
Thank you again for this intro to Mercedes Lackey. I look forward to visiting with this author again.
PS Yesterday, I saw a bald eagle and an osprey out my back window...and my husband reminds me that boy-czuk's high school team are the Raptors. Coincidence? I think not!
What an interesting collection of stories and characters. Some how SKitty reminded me of my own beloved kitty who departed for the next life at age 21. When she was 16, she developed end-stage renal disease and the vet gave her 6 months to live. She showed him! She didn't have raccoon like hands, but there was a strong telepathy between us. I'd never been a cat person before or since.
Thank you again for this intro to Mercedes Lackey. I look forward to visiting with this author again.
PS Yesterday, I saw a bald eagle and an osprey out my back window...and my husband reminds me that boy-czuk's high school team are the Raptors. Coincidence? I think not!
July 18, 2019
This is a collection of short fantasy, science-fiction and urban fantasy stories by Mercedes Lackey. The stories are generally entertaining, quick to read and "fluffy". My favourite stories included those with a protective, homicidal Teddybear; a genetically enhanced, telepathic spaceship cat; an AI with a personality; the story titled "roadkill"; and the two stories involving the girls and the parrot. The author does tend to "info-dump" a bit too much. This is especially evident with the 4 'SKitty stories, where the plot of the previous story is explained in the current story. This might be useful if you haven't read the previous stories, or there are years between publications, but in this book the 'SKitty stories all follow each other, and the info-dump gets annoying. Still, each story makes for a fun and relaxing read before bedtime.
August 4, 2019
2.5 stars
An average collection of short stories.
An average collection of short stories.
February 14, 2016
This is a really good anthology, with three Skitty stories and the first story about Alberich's escape to Valdemar, thanks to his Companion. Always worth a re-read.
January 25, 2022
Introduction --started out declaring that it would be "about stuff people used to ask about at science fiction conventions" (or "cons" in modern lingo). It detracted a bit from the overall reading that the intro was almost exclusively about bird rescue.
"Werehunter" -- a tale that strongly reflected the Witch World of Andre Norton, it gave us a slight twist on the Were Riders of Arvon, with a changling female hunted by a changling male. Good
"SKitty" -- a fresh tale about a cat which has been hybridized to have finger-like claws, an expanded brain and thinking capacity but still be a cat with likes, dislikes and a personality, while sharing thoughts with her male handler. She saves a world ruler from a pest, and is promptly treated as a sort of royalty of her own, bringing fame and a claim to her handler and her spaceship. Very good although I wondered how a species could rise to run a world and not create a way to get rid of the pests themselves?
"A Tail of Two SKitties" -- where the SKitty from the previous tale is rewarded with a mate quite like her but unable to share thoughts with the human handler, SCat is a stowaway from another world and has the same glory in hunting as SKitty. Nice little touch of the human romance at the end, although I wondered why the several poundages of extra weight during space jumps didn't get caught. Pretty good.
"SCat" -- where the humans and the enhanced cats are chased through a spaceport by killers, and the ship itself is attacked - in a Patrol lair! adding a rough tumble with smugglers and would-be killers. A little more of a mixup, but not great.
"A Better Mousetrap" -- The elite of the world all want their own kittens, and they are being brought in as fast as possible. However, there is another faction which objects to the cats killing the pests from "SKitty". All boils down to a bit of chicanery and fast subterfuge, with the ship and it's first contacts coming out victorious. This did in a way answer the question about why the people didn't get rid of the pests though it was a bit of a stretch. Barely rated as good.
"The Last of the Season" -- Terrible. Child abuse, kidnapping and murder. Although the death of the kidnapper was justifiable, there was no true revelation, just an outcome.
"Satanic, Versus" -- This was a stab at romance writers and some of the worst of the imagined self-justifications. Interesting and funny.
"Nightside" --the story introduction says this was the introduction of Diana Tregarde, who I think I may have read about in other writings. This puts Diana in a perilous position to be rescued by her male companion. Okay, but lets the male take over, dropping my approval rating almost to the negatives.
"Wet Wings" -- cute but frightening in the reminder that letting government steal your rights and replace them with a need to include everything and everyone can have disastrous consequences. Add to that the main character is female, old, feisty and braver than many makes this worth the price of the book. Excellent
"Stolen Silver" -- from the point of view of someone who has read many Valdemar stories, the direction of this story was obvious. A horse is captured and rewarded to a newly made Captain in a warring nation. The horse seems to anticipate everything the captain plans, right up until the priests decide to finish things. Pretty good, spoiled a little by the obvious outcome.
"Roadkill" --different, freaky and outside the box (inside joke that a reader will understand after consuming this little morsel), this tale never gives any conversation, but relies on the imagination of the reader to fill in the details. Strong but I think I saw something similar in a Tony Hillerman book.
"Operation Desert Fox" -- interesting, funny and not really believable but good.
"Grey" -- this story and the one that follows eventually became the opening to one of the 'Wizard of London' series, and is really interesting in that I know where it goes further down the line. A girl travels to England for school without her beloved pet bird, and this story is about her trying to fit in.
"Grey's Ghost" -- which doesn't mean the bird is dead, just that it appears exactly when needed from halfway around the world. Nearing on excellence.
"Werehunter" -- a tale that strongly reflected the Witch World of Andre Norton, it gave us a slight twist on the Were Riders of Arvon, with a changling female hunted by a changling male. Good
"SKitty" -- a fresh tale about a cat which has been hybridized to have finger-like claws, an expanded brain and thinking capacity but still be a cat with likes, dislikes and a personality, while sharing thoughts with her male handler. She saves a world ruler from a pest, and is promptly treated as a sort of royalty of her own, bringing fame and a claim to her handler and her spaceship. Very good although I wondered how a species could rise to run a world and not create a way to get rid of the pests themselves?
"A Tail of Two SKitties" -- where the SKitty from the previous tale is rewarded with a mate quite like her but unable to share thoughts with the human handler, SCat is a stowaway from another world and has the same glory in hunting as SKitty. Nice little touch of the human romance at the end, although I wondered why the several poundages of extra weight during space jumps didn't get caught. Pretty good.
"SCat" -- where the humans and the enhanced cats are chased through a spaceport by killers, and the ship itself is attacked - in a Patrol lair! adding a rough tumble with smugglers and would-be killers. A little more of a mixup, but not great.
"A Better Mousetrap" -- The elite of the world all want their own kittens, and they are being brought in as fast as possible. However, there is another faction which objects to the cats killing the pests from "SKitty". All boils down to a bit of chicanery and fast subterfuge, with the ship and it's first contacts coming out victorious. This did in a way answer the question about why the people didn't get rid of the pests though it was a bit of a stretch. Barely rated as good.
"The Last of the Season" -- Terrible. Child abuse, kidnapping and murder. Although the death of the kidnapper was justifiable, there was no true revelation, just an outcome.
"Satanic, Versus" -- This was a stab at romance writers and some of the worst of the imagined self-justifications. Interesting and funny.
"Nightside" --the story introduction says this was the introduction of Diana Tregarde, who I think I may have read about in other writings. This puts Diana in a perilous position to be rescued by her male companion. Okay, but lets the male take over, dropping my approval rating almost to the negatives.
"Wet Wings" -- cute but frightening in the reminder that letting government steal your rights and replace them with a need to include everything and everyone can have disastrous consequences. Add to that the main character is female, old, feisty and braver than many makes this worth the price of the book. Excellent
"Stolen Silver" -- from the point of view of someone who has read many Valdemar stories, the direction of this story was obvious. A horse is captured and rewarded to a newly made Captain in a warring nation. The horse seems to anticipate everything the captain plans, right up until the priests decide to finish things. Pretty good, spoiled a little by the obvious outcome.
"Roadkill" --different, freaky and outside the box (inside joke that a reader will understand after consuming this little morsel), this tale never gives any conversation, but relies on the imagination of the reader to fill in the details. Strong but I think I saw something similar in a Tony Hillerman book.
"Operation Desert Fox" -- interesting, funny and not really believable but good.
"Grey" -- this story and the one that follows eventually became the opening to one of the 'Wizard of London' series, and is really interesting in that I know where it goes further down the line. A girl travels to England for school without her beloved pet bird, and this story is about her trying to fit in.
"Grey's Ghost" -- which doesn't mean the bird is dead, just that it appears exactly when needed from halfway around the world. Nearing on excellence.
April 1, 2021
Yet another great anthology.
Story one: Werehunter, was a great shape changer story. Misty wrote this for an Andre Norton anthology and, reading that, it reminded me that it had been decades since I read anything by her.
If her stuff is as good as Misty's then I'm going to look into that soon!
Story two: SKitty, is something I hadn't read before, too, and I fell in love with that SKitty & Dick White duo. I can never have enough cat stories, and this was great.
Story three: A Tale of Two SKitties, introduces SCat to the mix, as he rescues everyone from cat-stealing pirates. I loved this story, as it gave me more of that cute SKitty.
Story three: SCat, tells more of the space travelling furry heroes, and I loved how their story has been developed.
Story four: A Better Mousetrap, tells of conflict on the world of Lacu'un, where half the world love the cats for getting rid of their pest problem, bit where the other half worship those very pests.
Story five: The Last of the Season, is a dark tale, where a predator gets his comeuppance!
Story six: Satanic, Versus, is a Diana Tregarde story. I actually bought this series late last year, and am due to read it soon, so it was lovely to get an idea about the characters in it, before starting. I loved this story, so look forwards to the full thing.
Story seven: Nightside, and is another Di Tregarde story, and I loved this too - especially as it makes gentle fun of romance writers - something that the character herself does, to earn money for her living.
Story eight: Wet Wings, was a wonderfully gentle story, but which also contained the seeds to a world that is anything but, to those with magic. Quite distopian in it's outlook, and something that mirrors the kind of hate we see too much in our own world, even more so now.
Story nine: Stolen Silver, is the Valdemar tale, of how Alberich became a Herald. Although I've read the full version in the Valdemar series, it was lovely to get a taste of it here, too.
Story ten: Roadkill, is one that I'd actually read many years ago now, in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine. It creeped me out when I read it the first time, and it did it again this time, too! I guess that's what I get for having an overactive imagination!
Story eleven: Operation Desert Fox, was a great story, and took me back to my last read through of Keith Laumer's Bolo anthology. I loved the idea of the Bolo machines when I had read a David Weber short story, too, so loved this one.
Stories twelve & thirteen: Grey, and Grey's Ghost, were two lovely short reads of some of the Elemental Masters books that I have finished recently, and loved very much!
All-in-all, this book was a great read, and will definitely be staying on my shelves to be re-read again!
Story one: Werehunter, was a great shape changer story. Misty wrote this for an Andre Norton anthology and, reading that, it reminded me that it had been decades since I read anything by her.
If her stuff is as good as Misty's then I'm going to look into that soon!
Story two: SKitty, is something I hadn't read before, too, and I fell in love with that SKitty & Dick White duo. I can never have enough cat stories, and this was great.
Story three: A Tale of Two SKitties, introduces SCat to the mix, as he rescues everyone from cat-stealing pirates. I loved this story, as it gave me more of that cute SKitty.
Story three: SCat, tells more of the space travelling furry heroes, and I loved how their story has been developed.
Story four: A Better Mousetrap, tells of conflict on the world of Lacu'un, where half the world love the cats for getting rid of their pest problem, bit where the other half worship those very pests.
Story five: The Last of the Season, is a dark tale, where a predator gets his comeuppance!
Story six: Satanic, Versus, is a Diana Tregarde story. I actually bought this series late last year, and am due to read it soon, so it was lovely to get an idea about the characters in it, before starting. I loved this story, so look forwards to the full thing.
Story seven: Nightside, and is another Di Tregarde story, and I loved this too - especially as it makes gentle fun of romance writers - something that the character herself does, to earn money for her living.
Story eight: Wet Wings, was a wonderfully gentle story, but which also contained the seeds to a world that is anything but, to those with magic. Quite distopian in it's outlook, and something that mirrors the kind of hate we see too much in our own world, even more so now.
Story nine: Stolen Silver, is the Valdemar tale, of how Alberich became a Herald. Although I've read the full version in the Valdemar series, it was lovely to get a taste of it here, too.
Story ten: Roadkill, is one that I'd actually read many years ago now, in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine. It creeped me out when I read it the first time, and it did it again this time, too! I guess that's what I get for having an overactive imagination!
Story eleven: Operation Desert Fox, was a great story, and took me back to my last read through of Keith Laumer's Bolo anthology. I loved the idea of the Bolo machines when I had read a David Weber short story, too, so loved this one.
Stories twelve & thirteen: Grey, and Grey's Ghost, were two lovely short reads of some of the Elemental Masters books that I have finished recently, and loved very much!
All-in-all, this book was a great read, and will definitely be staying on my shelves to be re-read again!
July 14, 2025
Quick synopsis
: 14 stories, including SURPRISE! one of a serial killer/child rapist.
Brief opinion : I was so disappointed by this book for so many reasons. There's no indication at all that this book is an anthology (that blurry text on the cover is a quote "A writer whose work I've loved all along!"). I thought the first story, Werehunter, was going to be the whole book. Also child rape, torture, and death. WHAT ON THE COVER EVEN TELLS YOU YOU'RE GOING TO BE READING ABOUT THAT? Ugh.
Plot :
Werehunter: Story I liked best. Poor, starving girl in some city has nothing to live for, and when offered the chance to go through a portal to another world takes it. Surprise, she becomes a were-leopard. Unfortunately the story ended just as things got interesting.
Four SKitty stories: Meh. I read most of the first one, read half the second, skipped the others. Psychic cat in space should have been interesting, but it didn't hold my interest at all.
The Last of the Season: Do you want to read a detailed description of a man abducting, raping, and then killing young children? Then this is the story for you! What an unpleasant shock to be just reading along in the book and then hit this one.
The next eight stories I DNFed and/or skimmed through them. Last of the Season killed any desire to read this book.
Writing/editing : Writing was okay, editing had a number of issues.
What I Liked/What I Didn’t Like : HAVE I MENTIONED RAPING AND KILLING CHILDREN? God. I'd never pick a story like that to read.
But really, the best part of this book was the forward where Lackey talked about the bird rescue work that she and her husband did.
Rating: 1-Hated / 2-Disliked / 3-Okay / 4-Liked / 5-Loved : ⭐️ - Hated. I give it a second star for the first story, but negative 8347247347834 stars for Last of the Season. I wish I could scrub that story from my memory forever.
Brief opinion : I was so disappointed by this book for so many reasons. There's no indication at all that this book is an anthology (that blurry text on the cover is a quote "A writer whose work I've loved all along!"). I thought the first story, Werehunter, was going to be the whole book. Also child rape, torture, and death. WHAT ON THE COVER EVEN TELLS YOU YOU'RE GOING TO BE READING ABOUT THAT? Ugh.
Plot :
Werehunter: Story I liked best. Poor, starving girl in some city has nothing to live for, and when offered the chance to go through a portal to another world takes it. Surprise, she becomes a were-leopard. Unfortunately the story ended just as things got interesting.
Four SKitty stories: Meh. I read most of the first one, read half the second, skipped the others. Psychic cat in space should have been interesting, but it didn't hold my interest at all.
The Last of the Season: Do you want to read a detailed description of a man abducting, raping, and then killing young children? Then this is the story for you! What an unpleasant shock to be just reading along in the book and then hit this one.
The next eight stories I DNFed and/or skimmed through them. Last of the Season killed any desire to read this book.
Writing/editing : Writing was okay, editing had a number of issues.
What I Liked/What I Didn’t Like : HAVE I MENTIONED RAPING AND KILLING CHILDREN? God. I'd never pick a story like that to read.
But really, the best part of this book was the forward where Lackey talked about the bird rescue work that she and her husband did.
Rating: 1-Hated / 2-Disliked / 3-Okay / 4-Liked / 5-Loved : ⭐️ - Hated. I give it a second star for the first story, but negative 8347247347834 stars for Last of the Season. I wish I could scrub that story from my memory forever.
December 24, 2021
I pulled this off the shelf because I wanted to reread the four S'Kitty stories that are in it.
Enjoyed (again!) the adventures of SKitty and Skat. Also discovered there were two Nan & Sarah shorts (which were included in The Wizard of London later, if I recall correctly. So I reread those as well. Not going to bother with the rest for now, because I already have two other books going.
Enjoyed (again!) the adventures of SKitty and Skat. Also discovered there were two Nan & Sarah shorts (which were included in The Wizard of London later, if I recall correctly. So I reread those as well. Not going to bother with the rest for now, because I already have two other books going.
June 15, 2023
Not very good or interesting. There were definitely ideas there but they felt random and poorly executed. A few of the stories I ended up just skimming through because it just dragged on. I know it had a lot of earlier works so I'm not giving up on the author. Unfortunately I bought it as a set with fiddler fair, so I expect that one will be much of the same.
December 31, 2018
A couple stand alone stories, additions to the Diana Tregarde series, several Skitty stories, a Valdemar short and 2 background stories with future elemental master series characters. I loved it.
February 13, 2019
A few decent stories in the collections which I enjoyed. Others were just ok.
September 22, 2019
I hated the Teddy bear story. Where was he when the first child was taken?
July 8, 2020
One of my childhood favorites.
October 8, 2021
(Actually, read as a free ebook.) A nice selection of stories with a wide variety. Some stories about characters from Lackey's series, which I haaven't read and don't intend to.
April 6, 2023
Wonderful collection of short stories, some sci Fi some fantasy, and there is a Valdemar story wedged in there.
August 31, 2023
This book contain some really good stories, and one in particular that disturbed me. This collection show's Lackey's range.
March 14, 2024
I liked all but one story!! The Skitty stories were my favorites!
December 19, 2024
This was a book I revisited multiple times. I love stories about being whisked away into other worlds. One I will keep on my bookshelf to reread for sure!
January 11, 2025
Read some of the stories.
April 6, 2011
This is a collection of short stories that are of somewhat variable quality, although overall a varied and entertaining read. The theme running through the majority of stories is the interaction between people and animals, which she handles very well.
'Werehunter', the first story, reads like the beginning of a novel, and I would have liked more.
The 'Skitty' stories I found really enjoyable, and, again, I would have liked more.
'Wet Wings' is really lovely, a polished gem about the reductio ad absurdum of political correctness, and the last act of a hunted witch.
The two 'Grey' stories had me right back in Frances Hodgson Burnett territory (one of my favourite childhood authors). I especially admire the second, about the unmasking of a fraudulent Victorian medium.
The rest of the stories haven't stuck in my mind, although I enjoyed them while I was reading them - with the exception of the Diane/Andre stories, which I thought were way beneath her usual standard, a kind of sub-par Gothic Mills & Boon....
'Werehunter', the first story, reads like the beginning of a novel, and I would have liked more.
The 'Skitty' stories I found really enjoyable, and, again, I would have liked more.
'Wet Wings' is really lovely, a polished gem about the reductio ad absurdum of political correctness, and the last act of a hunted witch.
The two 'Grey' stories had me right back in Frances Hodgson Burnett territory (one of my favourite childhood authors). I especially admire the second, about the unmasking of a fraudulent Victorian medium.
The rest of the stories haven't stuck in my mind, although I enjoyed them while I was reading them - with the exception of the Diane/Andre stories, which I thought were way beneath her usual standard, a kind of sub-par Gothic Mills & Boon....
December 10, 2012
You know what struck me most strongly when I read this anthology of Mercedes Lackey?
It was the short stories of Skitty.
She's never written a real science fiction book on her own, nothing that takes place in space, on another planet - no, it's mostly fantasy; in fact, I think the SKitty short stories are all that I've ever seen out of her.
I've been a reader of hers since high school; a reader, while not a fan, but usually eager enough. I find that while she does a lot of info-dumping that is not necessarily correct (or necessary), she's written about a dozen books I really, really love. That hope is what keeps me going back to reading her works.
It's strange to me to think that way, she wrote books with C. J. Cherryl and Andre Norton and Marian Zimmer Bradley - Anne McCaffrey and Piers Anthony...yet...nothing really set in science fiction, hard or otherwise.
Still, all these short stories were nice to read, some for the first time, though most of the Gray stories became "Wizard of London".
It was the short stories of Skitty.
She's never written a real science fiction book on her own, nothing that takes place in space, on another planet - no, it's mostly fantasy; in fact, I think the SKitty short stories are all that I've ever seen out of her.
I've been a reader of hers since high school; a reader, while not a fan, but usually eager enough. I find that while she does a lot of info-dumping that is not necessarily correct (or necessary), she's written about a dozen books I really, really love. That hope is what keeps me going back to reading her works.
It's strange to me to think that way, she wrote books with C. J. Cherryl and Andre Norton and Marian Zimmer Bradley - Anne McCaffrey and Piers Anthony...yet...nothing really set in science fiction, hard or otherwise.
Still, all these short stories were nice to read, some for the first time, though most of the Gray stories became "Wizard of London".
August 28, 2025
Short review.
As a collection of short stories, ones enjoyment entirely depends on how one resonates with the stories selected for inclusion. I happened to be rather pleased with the title story, along with the various adventures of SKitty, but was less enamored with the others (with the exception of the very short Valdemar tie in story). It's a good showcase of Lackey's prowess, but best consumed in short bursts, and likely best suited to fans of her work.
As a collection of short stories, ones enjoyment entirely depends on how one resonates with the stories selected for inclusion. I happened to be rather pleased with the title story, along with the various adventures of SKitty, but was less enamored with the others (with the exception of the very short Valdemar tie in story). It's a good showcase of Lackey's prowess, but best consumed in short bursts, and likely best suited to fans of her work.
September 1, 2017
new review. I had read this one a long time ago. It is a collection of short stories by different authors in science fiction. Writers were trying to get noticed by the book world and fiction magazines. I like the old ones by Andre Norton. They were all good stories and reminded me that I needed to go back and re-read some of them. My library does not keep the old science fiction/fantasy on the shelf. It has to be ordered from warehouses across the country. I hesitate to buy them because space is limited. My worry is that libraries are going to stop keeping books on hand and you will have to buy a kindle or nook or heaven forbid an iPhone to listen to your books. I like the feel of books in my hands.
September 1, 2016
Werehunter is a collection of short stories about a wide variety of different worlds and people so don't be fooled by the title. The "Werehunter" was written (by invitation) for an anthology set in Andre Norton's Witch World; "Stolen Silver" is the only short story Lackey wrote in the Valdemar series (the story later expanded into 2 books about the main character Alberich; "Operation Desert Fox" was co-written with her husband Larry Dixon for a Keith Laumer Bolo anthology; and the final 2 stories "Grey" and "Grey's Ghost" later become the basis for a book in her Elemental Masters series. The other stories in this anthology are equally engaging.
I definitely recommend this book for lover of all those different 'worlds' as well as fans of sf/fantasy.
I definitely recommend this book for lover of all those different 'worlds' as well as fans of sf/fantasy.
February 5, 2014
I read the author's notes, and as I like birds, I learned a lot about rescuing birds of prey. The collection of stories is various. Until now I had only read Valdemar stories of Herald-Mages.
The Skitty series of four short-stories predated (I hope) David Weber's intelligent treecats. It has a feel of classical space-op about it.
The story I found the most funny was her witch detective in a Fantasy writers Halloween banquet. The description of the cutthroat writing milieu is scathing.
I loved the phrase "My advances are bigger than your advances, so I am writing Deathless Prose and you are writing tripe."
The Skitty series of four short-stories predated (I hope) David Weber's intelligent treecats. It has a feel of classical space-op about it.
The story I found the most funny was her witch detective in a Fantasy writers Halloween banquet. The description of the cutthroat writing milieu is scathing.
I loved the phrase "My advances are bigger than your advances, so I am writing Deathless Prose and you are writing tripe."
January 13, 2013
A bit of a mixed bag. I've read quite a lot by Lackey, and from the look of this, her style is more suited to novels than shorts. Still, much of it is early works, reprinted, and that probably explains the lack of depth. A fun read, but Skitty too obviously pre-dates Weber's treecats, the title story might work as the start of a novel but as a stand-alone, doesn't go anywhere, and the Grey stories are rather too obviously a "Little Princess" re-write.
This reads, to me, like a new writer who hasn't yet found their voice, playing around with ideas. And maybe that's what it was, and as such, it was a fun read, but if you're used to the Lackey novels, I think you'll be disappointed.
This reads, to me, like a new writer who hasn't yet found their voice, playing around with ideas. And maybe that's what it was, and as such, it was a fun read, but if you're used to the Lackey novels, I think you'll be disappointed.
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