Alistair

Tales from P.A.W.S. #1

by Debbie Manber Kupfer

“Maybe I am,” said Alistair, “But there are monsters worse than me in this world. You are lucky, Joshua; lucky you have me to protect you. I was not so fortunate.” Alistair took a long breath in and exhaled slowly, “neither was my mother . . .”

A short story from the world of P.A.W.S.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

12 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 14, 2016

About the author

Debbie grew up in the UK in the East London suburb of Barking. She has lived in Israel, New York and North Carolina and somehow ended up in St. Louis, where she works as a writer, editor and a freelance puzzle constructor of word puzzles and logic problems. She lives with her husband, two very opinionated felines. She believes that with enough tea and dark chocolate you can achieve anything!

Sign up for Debbie's newsletter at http://eepurl.com/cRhORP

Reviews

[SheReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate that this story made me feel sympathy for a man I want to keep hating. Haha. But, that's exactly what it did. We know Alistair as the evil man from P.A.W.S. but before that he was just a boy. A boy growing up under the thumb of an evil man. His story is tragic and makes the thing he becomes a little more understandable.

Don't get me wrong though, I still hate is freakin' guts. It takes talent to make a reader feel both hate an sympathy for the same person. It adds a little more depth to the overall world of these books.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alistair is playing chess with Joshua when he tells the story of his father, who was a monster. The treatment of Alistair and his sister by their father was the story that so many children are, unfortunately, familiar with. It was particularly hard to listen to the part about the funeral, with the friends and neighbors who expressed all sorts of condolences and brought gifts to his father, all because they did not know who Alistair's father truly was and what had truly happed. But, it was that incident that sent Alistair on his journey to try and solve the problem.

This was not an easy short story to read/listen to. But it was a very good short story. It was true to so many stories we hear in real life - discounting the magical parts. It reminded me a lot of a poem I read in high school in the 90s - a poem so powerful that it has stuck with me since then - My Papa's Waltz.

The narrator, Matt Lovell, did a wonderful job. His voice was perfect for the story. It was dark and harsh and really brought home how the line between good and evil is not so easily drawn, nor are the labels so easily given.

Still, all that being said, I will admit to listening to this story twice. I listened to it the first time, then immediately relistened to it, because the darkness in it, the insidiousness of the characters, is what made it so good.

[Michele Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I offered to review this audiobook because I am such an an avid reader but also almost exclusively audio due to my schedule. Because of this, and the fact that a bad narrator can destroy a great series, I can be very critical of narrators. Especially when books have a single narrator required to speak with different voices for multiple characters. Most cannot do it without having some errors where they use the wrong 'voice' for the wrong character. Matt Lovell does a good job in narrating all voices this novella. It was a very enjoyable listen and I didn't have any issues distinguishing between characters.

As to the story, I am not one to give a lot of specific story details since I feel you should read the story for that. However, I will say that this is a novella on one of the main characters of the P.A.W.S. series giving great background on Alistair. While it doesn't excuse his behavior, it gives a glimpse. You won't be disappointed if you give it a try!

I received a free review copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Mv · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book I have read/listened to by this author and I would listen to another. I have also listened to book 1: P.A.W.S. I have several other tales from P.A.W.S. in my library and look forward to listening to them. I like the world of shifters that she has created. ——-

This is the first book I have listened to by this narrator ( Matt Lovell ) and I would listen to another. He adds expression, emotion and personality to the characters. His reading reminds me a bit of an actor in a play by his enunciation. It’s a little over acted for the book, but still a good listen.——-

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence, or swearing. ——-

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

Story 4/5
Narration 4/5

[Raya Whitehouse]

Such an interesting short story. I have read / listened to many books from Debbie. All the P.A.W.S. books are just awesome, I was glad to get these books.

Alistair tells his tale to Joshua. His story is from a long time ago, when he was a young man. Hundreds or years had passed since then, but he wanted to tell his tale. His father....yea this story has a dark side that will shock you.

Narrator did a good job. He set the tone perfectly to draw you into the story.

I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving am honest review.

[Paula Dyches · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads like a Series Preview/Teaser

This is a super short backstory of one of the characters in the series P.A.W.S. The story is interesting and definitely explains Alistair's anger. I would be interested to see where the story goes in full book form with the rest of the series. The narrator did a fantastic job with the voice differentiation and was fun to listen to.

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Catrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic look at Alistair’s back story. It also works as a stand alone short story.

Another great short story you Debbie Manber Kupfer.

I thoroughly enjoyed Matt Lovell’s narration. He really brought out the characters emotions and the urgency of the situation.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alistair (Tales from P.A.W.S. #1) , my ninth read from author Debbie Manber Kupfer. A well-written enjoyable 12-page/16-minute read. I look forward to the the next books in this entertaining series . "I received a free Audible review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review."Matt Lovell's narration brings Vincent Price's voice to mind (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

[E.M. McIntyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

For as short as this piece is, I'm impressed with the excellent character development and that the story comes full circle in just 12 pages. A nice, quick read that leaves you satisfied yet wanting more.

[Katherine Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super short but explained a lot. The narrator did an awesome job making Alistair sound evil. It also explains a little about why he is such a power-hungry evil wolf. I enjoyed this very much.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from StoryOrigin for an honest review.

[Assortedtrashprincess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully dark and fantastically.

[Beaulah McLean · Rating 5 out of 5]

That voice! Love love love it! The narrator was excellent and the story of Alistair, very tragic.

[Kerry-Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is possibly the best short story I've ever read, and certainly I am going to be telling it around a campfire at some point this summer!
"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

[Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick teaser

this quick teaser is really just a preview. a sad tale of how alistair come to be. i am intrigued.

[Patrick Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evil begets evil.

Alistair, the hissably evil villain from the P.A.W.S. series, wasn't always evil. In this short story, he regales his protégé with his origin story, growing up in Transylvania 400 years prior under the thumb of his father, one of the truly wickedest men ever to walk the earth.

I have to commend the author for her choice of narrators (I listened to the audiobook version of this story), whose voice was so silken and villainous that I wanted him to break out in the "Grinch" song! It brought the tale to life, and I quite enjoyed it.

I wish I could have gotten more details on Alistair's first transformation from scared boy to powerful wolf, though. That is my reason for not giving this five stars. But I still appreciated a look behind the scenes of one of the scariest literary villains I've come across.

[Chris The Story Reading Ape · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chilling little horror story which asks a question.
Who is the REAL monster?

See my review also at:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01A...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0...

http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B...

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01AO...

[Leticia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story made me quite curious about the book it comes from: “PAWS”.

[Sadie Forsythe]

Eh, not bad. A bit cliched in its language and plot, but not bad for a 12 page story.