Book Review: LEADERS OF THE PACK Werewolf Anthology

LEADERS OF THE PACK edited by Ray Garton (Horrific Press UK Kindle Edition, January 10, 2020 release) 267 pages.  ASIN # B0815Z4Q59. 

Summary from the Goodreads website . . . .

 Since the dawn of time, across almost every culture, there have been legends of shapeshifters. Men who turn into beasts and prey upon anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path. Of the shapeshifter tales, none invokes as much terror as the legend of the werewolf.

The stories of men who become wolves persisted through the centuries from campfire folk tales to the modern age, where we are still thrilled and horrified by tales of bloodthirsty predators in our midst.

Twelve of the most successful authors of werewolf fiction in the 21st Century have returned to their worlds and characters, to bring you a truly blood-soaked collection of werewolf horror.

Jeff Strand: Ivan’s Night Out

Ray Garton: Outside of Nowhere

David Wellington: Hunters Moon

Jonathan Janz: The Kiss of Divna Antonov

Glenn Rolfe: The Dead Brother Situation

Graeme Reynolds: Blood Relations

Paul Kane: Lifeline

Thomas Emson: The Hunt

David Watkins: The Original

T.W. Piperbrook: The Great Storm

Nick Stead: Bloodlines

Matt Serafini: Evernight Circle  

My four-star review from the Goodreads website  . . . .

     Twelve stories with evocative black and white illustrations preceding each entry, and a short biography of each author.

     This is one of the most satisfying themed anthologies I've read. Usually there are one or two clunkers in the bunch, or stories that become tedious or boring because of the repetitive themes. I rated four of twelve stories as 4 Stars (above average, exceeds expectations), five as 3.5 Stars (above average), and three as 3 Stars (meets expectations, satisfies). 

     My favorite of the bunch is "Evernight Circle", followed by "Lifeline", "The Kiss of Divna Antonov", and "Ivan's Night Out." My summary of each story follows:

• Opener "The Dead Brothers Situation (A Gilson Creek Story)" by Glenn Rolfe is a small piece of a bigger story that has me interested. Alan (real name Nick) lies to Brenda about being on a hunting trip with friends. He's a werewolf and he needs to hunt. A short, brutal account of that trip with just enough backstory to flesh out the main character. To be continued as Nick leaves the cabin and heads towards his intended victim in Gilson Creek. Three Stars.

• In "Hunters Moon" by David Wellington, an aging vampire hunter pursues her prey into the woods of northwest Canada. Vampire meets a pack of werewolves and fools them into hiding him, but not for long. In a vampire versus werewolf fight, who do you think would win? A fast-paced, suspenseful story. Three And One-Half Stars.

• "The Original" by David Watkins returns to his popular Originals series with a stand-alone tale. A Roman soldier, the lone survivor of an ambush by Germanic Celts, seeks to find The Beast before returning to Italy. His plan is to bring it back alive, enter it into gladiator combat in the Roman coliseum and make a fortune on its winnings. However, he stumbles across a village of Celts and learns there are more than one Beast. There's a few twists before the story ends. Three Stars.

• Wow. This one really got to me. "The Kiss Of Divna Antonov" by Jonathan Jantz occurs in 1940 where Clark Lombardo Coulter, a Columbia University professor, has been disgraced for writing "Lycanthropology", an academic history of werewolves. On the night when he contemplates suicide he's visited by a beautiful woman who came from Europe to meet him and compliment him on his book. She identifies herself as Divna Antonov, curiously the same name as the eldest of three sisters in 12th Century Berstuk where one of the first recorded werewolf bloody rampages were documented. Soon, the two professors who shamed him show up with dates and demand a party at Clark's home, just a final opportunity to embarrass him. The suspense and anticipation builds from there, even though readers can figure out what is coming. The transformation and ensuing violence is chillingly depicted. A great story. Four Stars.

• "The Great Storm" by T. W. Piperbrook is all about the chase, and it's a thrilling one. A pack of werewolves take advantage of a power failure and a fierce snowstorm to attack a small community. A young girl and her even younger brother escape when their home is attacked and flee through the town and woods, hoping to evade their pursuers until morning. This is a prequel featuring characters from Piperbrook's OUTAGE series. Three Stars.

• Thomas Emson tells two related stories in "The Hunt", although each seem to interrupt the other at a moment of great suspense. The main story involves a 1995 late night robbery of a gas station where the lone cashier is a female werewolf. You can imagine the results which Emson describes vividly. That's not a spoiler as it becomes obvious very early on who is who and what. The secondary story details a 60 A.D. battle in Britain between Romans, Druids and werwolves. The link between the two stories is the history book on lycanthropy the cashier is reading that traces her ancestry back to the old Etruscans living in England. I liked the framing, and enjoyed both stories. Three And One-Half Stars.

• Ray Garton's "Outside Of Nowhere" is very chilling and straightforward. A midnight confession backfires when a werewolf pack attacks a campsite. Not that there were really any sympathetic characters in this story, but bothersome nonetheless. It's the build-up and revealed background of one particular character that makes this story so effective. Three And One-Half Stars.
• "Blood Relations (A High Moor Story)" takes place between Books 2 and 3 of High Moor, yet it serves quite well as a stand-alone tale and a good introduction to Graeme Reynold's version of werewolf mythos. A 13-year old English girl is forced to flee her home after turning wolf in front of her abusive father, and seeks more like herself in the Czech Republic. Reynolds gives just enough background and shows enough of Marie's character to make readers empathize with her. The tension ratchets up when she finds what she was looking for. Three And One-Half Stars.

• "Hybid: Bloodlines" by Nick Stead is also part of a series, but once again this serves as a stand-alone story and its not difficult to pick out the main characters, their foes, and their conflicts. A band of secretive Slayers have been thinning out the ranks of werewolf packs until there are only two brothers remaining. Their only hope of continuing their bloodline is to find a fabled boy, the last surviving wolfen descendent able to be turned and continue the race. It's a conflict between werewolves, Slayers, and some interfering vampires to determine if werewolves will be wiped out or escape with a new pack member. Entertaining and descriptive. Three Stars.

• "Evernight Circle" by Matt Serafini is the one story that really stands out from the pack (ha!) by how different it is. A couple move from Pennsylvania to Montana so that the career wife can start a new job with a secretive corporation. They move into a secluded and enclosed community in the middle of the woods where nothing is what it appears: the corporation, the community, the residents. Four Stars.

• Another exceptional story is "Lifeline" by Paul Kane. A teacher preying on young female students, marrying one, and then keeping her and her newborn son confined in the house. An escape. Work at a women's crisis hotline, warnings, dark secrets, discovery. (I'm trying not to spoil anything here, although it’s a given that the story will involve werewolves). I enjoyed this story. Four Stars.

• The last story in the collection, "Ivan's Night Out" by Jeff Strand serves as a prequel to his WOLF HUNT trilogy. It's short, brutal, features an especially cruel and sarcastic protagonist, and will leave a mark on you. A werewolf challenges himself to complete a kill without transforming. Four Stars.