Storm Wolf

by Stephen Morris

"Libahunt!" Alexei breaks the terms of the wolf-magic he inherited from his grandfather and loses the ability to control the shapeshifting, becoming a killer and slaughtering his neighbors, his friends -- even his family. His grandfather's magical wolf-pelt was meant to protect their rural village in 1880s Estonia by fighting the terrible storms in the sky that could devastate the farms and fields but instead it drives Alexei to kill with impunity. Heartbroken at what he has become, Alexei flees his home and wanders through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Bohemia. He encounters the Master of Wolves who controls all the wolves and werewolves, a monster who steals children to turn them into killer-wolves, and the legendary Frau Bertha with her belt of sailor-skin to trap those who anger her in animal form. Dare he hope to ever find an enchanter who can free him from the curse?

402 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2016

About the author

Stephen has degrees in medieval history and theology from Yale and St. Vladmir's Orthodox Theological Academy. A former priest, he served as the Eastern Orthodox chaplain at Columbia University. His previous academic writing has dealt primarily with Late Antiquity and Byzantine church life.

He is also the Chair of the CORE Executive of Inter-disciplinary.net and organizes annual conferences on aspects of the supernatural, evil and wickedness, and related subjects. It was an I-D.net project that took him to Prague for the first time in 2001 and he immediately fell in love with the city! He has been back many, MANY times!

Stephen, a Seattle native, is now a long-time New York resident and currently lives in Manhattan with his partner, Elliot.

Reviews

[H. Duby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very often, when a reader does a search for “werewolf fiction”, he or she is bombarded with a myriad selection of paranormal romance novels, typically of erotic bent. If the person reading this review is one such reader and that was what you were looking for, look somewhere else. However, if you are a reader who is interested in well-researched historical fiction that weaves in threads of mythology, theology, and folklore, this is the book for you. I don’t hold a passport, so I do all of my travelling through reading and I must say that Mr. Morris’ book has taken me on an enjoyable journey. While the ending of the book was a little confusing for me, I am happy to report that this book truly is the story of faith and redemption.

What I probably enjoyed the most was the fact that, in his search for a magician/witch to help break his curse, Alexei discovers various versions of werewolves. I’ve done a fair amount of research into mythology and folklore of Eastern Europe sparked by my love of Bram Stoker’s seminal work, Dracula, and I was very pleased to see familiar stories woven into Morris’ work.

There are a few places in the book where the prose is a little stilted, and, as I said, the ending was a little confusing. However, those things do not detract enough from the work as a whole and are definitely not enough for me to be disappointed by the book. I will, most assuredly, be looking for more by this author.

Reviewed by HR Duby for Romance Authors that Rock

[Emily Petit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent novel. The story is a whirlwind of folklore, spectacular creativity, and strong character development. I highly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in mythology, Eastern European history, fantasy, or lycanthropy.

[Stephen Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Morris’ werewolf isn’t a fur-coated romantic, but a refreshingly murky protagonist who’s both flawed and sympathetic; he kills innocents, but never intentionally. There are quite a few werewolf onslaughts, which the author unflinchingly portrays as bloody and brutal…. A dark supernatural outing, featuring indelible characters as sharp as wolves’ teeth.” (Kirkus Reviews)