Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com

Visible Ink, 1999

ISBN: 1578590787

Available: New and used

If you want to take your study of werewolves and other shape shifters out of fiction and into the realms of history, science and the occult this is the books to start with. Not only does The Werewolf Book have entries on all manner of shape shifting beings from myth, and accounts of supposed real life were-critters, it also encompasses the books and movies that influenced the image of shape shifting and werewolves throughout history and made it what it was today.

Nothing is treated as trivial, not even the effect comedy, such as Abbot and Costello’s monster movies, has had on the mythos. And while the encyclopedia isn’t exhaustive in its entries it does offer a plethora of titles to seek out for further research. Certainly a core directive in the study of shape shifting beings The Werewolf Book is an essential part of collections that cater to researchers, occultists or fictionists.

Contains: some disturbing descriptions of witch trials and tortures

Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com

Llewellyn, 2001

ISBN: 9780738700502

Available: New and used

This is a New Agey manual on the fantasy creatures we know and love. How to find them, identify them, protect yourself against them, run a basic investigation, as well as a hodgepodge of history and cultural takes can all be found in this book. However, it has a tone that’s bitterly anti-science (citing the Santa Claus defense, “so many people believe it, how could it not be true” as proof of these creatures existence) liberally redefines terms, and cherry picks data and history to suit the author’s arguments that these creatures still exist, as the author defines them, and it’s close minded to think otherwise.

The author contradicts himself on several occasions and his facts absolutely must be taken with a cup or so of salt. But each section (vampires, werewolves, ghosts, demons, angels, fae, mermaids, dragons and spirits) is also filled with clear historical research, as well as including non-Western folklore. Primarily suited for heavily used New Age or occult collections Monsters is a reminder of just how little we understand about nature, the past, and the world around us.

Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com

Ace, 2009

ISBN: 978-0441018130

Available: mass market and digital

Deadtown depicts a world where parahumans have no civil rights and are forced to live in one area of town, to the point where they have to have permits to leave that area of town. The lead character is Victory Vaughn, the latest in a recent line of Welsh true shape shifters, and a demon hunter. Her kind-of-boyfriend is the lead civil rights attorney for Paranormal Americas, and a werewolf. When one of her clients is found dead Vicky realizes that the Hellion that killed her father is now hunting her. She has to balance her personal life with dealing with a scientist who wants to make her a lab rat, and protecting a client who by all rights she should want dead. Somehow, she must also find it in herself to stop the demon she fears.

Deadtown has all the makings of a good urban fantasy, but falls flat in the execution. Most of the characters are either blah, or completely annoying. Holzner has created an interesting world with her oppressive society, but the plot doesn’t revolve around making things better. The characters consistently make choices that are stupid, dangerous and even violent. It’s hard to connect with the people in this tale, making it a lackluster example of urban fantasy. Deadtown is not without its charms, so collections that service voracious paranormal readers—or those with no taste for the full-on erotic scenes in other books—will still have a place for Deadtown in their collections.

Contains: Violence, language

Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com

Del Rey, 2010
ISBN: 9780345522603
Available: New
Yet another literary mash up, Little Women and Werewolves is the classic tale of Jo, Beth, Meg and Amy, four girls trying to grow up, once rich, now poor, their father gone off to the Civil War and with werewolves running around. Unlike other mash ups there is no tongue-in-cheek take on the original, just a telling of the traditional tale with the occasional line, or scene, about werewolves crammed in. If someone spliced frames from a slasher flick into a high brow romance then peppered in some morals, you’d get the same effect.
Grand mimics Alcott’s style very well, even rounding the edges a bit. Readers who loved the original will likely enjoy this tale (particularly because Alcott also wrote gothic style novels, thus the set up of this being the “original” version of Little Women that was rewritten into what we know today is fitting). While it has a certain charm it also is unlikely to appeal to the contemporary audiences of most paranormal and horror books because of an overdose of generally repressive morals and a lack of plot. The book encompasses about six years in the girls’ lives, and a lot happens. Although the writing is often lovely, it seems as if just when the good stuff is about to get going, the narrative shies away for another lesson about being “a good little woman”. Overall, despite promising prose, I found myself disappointed. Those acquiring for public collections should be assured that there are better mash ups out there. However if the library’s patrons seem to have a taste for Little Women or the “new classics”, no doubt they’ll love this.
Contains: violence and some gore