The Speed of Write

A much anticipated treat from the Otherworld Universe, Men of the Otherworldis a collection of short stories, formed into Novellas, that tell the stories of the Danvers men and their werewolf pack.

The first Novella, Infusion, tells the story of how Malcolm Danvers (a not very nice werewolf overall) was drugged and seduced by an Asian woman, who then became pregnant and gave birth to a son, Jeremy. Malcolm tries to kill baby Jeremy because he senses there’s something different and off about him, but is stopped by his own father, Edward. Malcolm will hate his son from that moment on.

The second Novella, Savage, starts with a six year old Clayton asking to be bitten by a werewolf and subsequently escaping and living in the bayou on his own until he’s discovered by Malcolm, who would just as soon kill the child. But Jeremy, just a young adult himself at this point, rescues Clayton and brings him back to civilization and the pack. One wonders how Clayton didn’t end up a serial killer werewolf when faced with is lack of compassion for others.

The third Novella, Ascension, finally brings us to Jeremy’s ascent to Alpha status in the pack, no thanks to his own father. This and Savage are both told from Clayton’s point of view, which proves highly alarming at times.

While the first three Novellas all take place before Bitten,the last Novella, Kitsunegari, brings us to 2007 and is told from Jeremy’s point of view. It goes more in depth as to Jeremy’s true origin and expands on his long distance relationship with Jaime Vegas.

All the stories, with the exception of Kitsunegari, appeared for free on Kelley Armstrong’s web site at one point and are now being offered together, with Kelley’s proceeds going to charity. These stories were written based on fan requests and while they will no longer be available for free, there are still other stories on her web site to read. There is already a second planned compilation called Tales of the Otherworld. For more information, visit www.kelleyarmstrong.com, where you can also read Becoming, a graphic novel that chronicles Elena’s change into a werewolf.

I really enjoyed getting to read these extra tales of the Otherworld men, especially Clayton. It was a nice change from reading only the women’s point of view. Even so, I look forward to book 10, Frostbitten,which brings us back once again to Clay and Elena, a couple I’d really like to see more of in the future.

Filed under: Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Werewolves