Werewolves discussion

We are reading an anthology of lycanthrope military horror this fall that I am really excited about. All of these stories look like they'll be promising.

I have only heard of one of these authors previously, a Georgia writer, and long one of my all-time favorites in any genre, James A. Moore. My first introduction to his work was when I picked up Fireworks at a dollar store in Phoenix, AZ, at a price of one dollar. I wasn't expecting much but then could not believe how amazing the novel was. It was about this small Georgia town being visited by an alien space ship. The aliens put a dome around the town. No one could leave and no one could get in. The townspeople then tried to discover what they could about the aliens. It was an incredible, original first contact story. His writing style reminded me a lot of early Stephen King. His character portrayals of everyday people were just as vivid and memorable. After that, I read every book I could get my hands on by Moore for a few years. Some were great; others were were just good. Then after 2007 or so he sort of had a lull and seemed to stop writing. I mostly forgot about him. I am really glad to see one of his stories made this anthology. It's the last story in the anthology. So I guess I'm saving best for last.

Let's start reading this book next week on the first day of fall. Please post your impressions of the stories here to this topic, either as you read them or when you're all done, whichever you prefer.

I have read this book and I really enjoyed reading it.

I will definitely enjoy reading it again.

You’ll be hearing from me.


Zain 😎

In case you are wondering who those two people are pictured at the right of our masthead, they are our two editors. One thing that surprised me some is that they are both Australian.

People must like this book because they're holding on to their used copies. It's less expensive to buy it brand new. The least expensive paper copy I could find, including tax and shipping, was $14.51. So I went with the Kindle option here for $3.99, which seems more than reasonable for all that is included.

I started this book today. The first story, R.P.L. Johnson's "Taking Down the Top Cat" was not what I was expecting. I love the military being involved, and always find special operations depictions fun to read. But the werewolf here was so formidable. The resolution just didn't seem at all believable.

Taking Down the Top Cat by R.P.L Johnson ★★★½☆
Skinwalker and special forces, fine ingredients, if abruptly written. It was too much like Triple Frontier, a movie I never finished.

I thought the next story, "Skadi's Wolves," was very strong. I don't know much about the author, Kirsten Cross. So far, according to ISFDB, she has published only seven short stories between 2014 and 2018, of which this is the second. The others may be worth hunting down. Anyhow, I love stories set in Old English times featuring Picts and other players. These ancient warriors never had a chance, did they?

Skadi’s Wolves by Kristen Cross ★★★★☆
That was a fun snippet of vengeful Asgardian glory. The smug Saxons didn’t stand a chance.

Semper Gumby by Steve Coates ★★★½☆
That felt like Billy from Predator telling his when-I-faced-a-werewolf story. I liked the ending, but it was too similar to Taking Down the Top Cat.

I found the next several stories okay, but unexceptional. They were all action, not much character. That makes it a challenge to really care whether the werewolf succeeds or not. Still, it is fine if you read primarily for action.

The novelette, "Werwolf!" comes along in the middle of the collection and breaks the pattern nicely. This is my favorite story so far, set in the closing days of WW II in Genova, Italy. This one isn't about some military operation going down, surprisingly werewolves are encountered, life and death struggle ensues with one side or the other emerging victorious, the end. Instead, we have a story about (view spoiler)[a man accidentally being converted and the toll the conversion takes on him as he loses his place in society and his family (hide spoiler)]. Good stuff!

The last two stories in this collection were really good too, especially the James A. Moore piece, which for me makes the entire book worth reading. I love James A. Moore's writing. His Fireworks has long been in my top ten novels of all time list. This werewolf story is typical Moore: great characters and a compelling story with a wonderful premise--a werewolf wants revenge--that moves along well and has unpredictable twists.

I am so glad this book was selected for us to read. I otherwise would not have encountered it.

I finished this month's book. Awesome! Here is my 4-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...