Reviews

Running with the Pack by Ekaterina Sedia

felinity's review against another edition

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4.0

Although initially disappointed to discover the very first story was one I'd already read, and not even one of Vaughn's best, I soon got over it. The stories were incredibly varied, and despite normally expecting to dislike a few there was really only one that fell into this category for me. The rest ranged from interesting to excellent, some feeling very real.

Some people might care to know that there are 2 stories which actively involve gay or lesbian relationships, but none of the stories are explicit.

In short, this collection includes stories about science, love, family, hatred, loyalty, betrayal, longing and loss, all portrayed with a twist on "normal" werewolf fiction. I'd happily buy it.

tomokizu's review against another edition

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2.0

I read this book rather grudingly. I have to admit that I really love Werewolf stories and the assorted, but this book just kept me feeling stupid. Out of maybe 15 stories (I'm not sure right now, because I can't look it up) I probably liked 3. The others left me either bewildered, grossed out or annoyed.

Some stories where just plain weird as they didn't have a real storyline and were just mumblings from the main character who thinks everyone is stupid. Guess I'm just not cut out for these stories.
If asked if I would buy it again with the knowledge of these stories I would not buy it again. It wasn't worth the price.

But that's just my personal opinion.

mousie_books's review against another edition

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3.0

1. Wild Ride by Carrie Vaughn - 3/5 - Kinda random.
SpoilerTJ tests positive for HIV, which leads him to seek out Alex, a miraculous survivor of a motorcycle crash. For some reason, this causes Alex to recruit him into the pack on the promise of curing his HIV. TJ doesn't like the restrictions of being in a pack, and fights instincts to leave. He confirms he's now HIV negative.


2. Side-Effects May Include by Steve Duffy - 3/5 - Made no sense.
SpoilerA business man in Hong Kong gets some black market tooth gel that turns him into a werewolf. I have no idea why the hotel bellhop thought he wanted such a thing, nor why the old apothecary man gave it to him. Especially since he ended up murdering him to get more. He then tells his story to a real dentist hoping to score, and then murders him when the dentist refuses.


3. Comparison of Efficacy Rates for Seven Antipathetics Employed Against Lycanthropes by Marie Brennan - 4/5 - Pretty amusing. A scientific paper, with terrible ethics and science, on testing various methods to kill werewolves.
SpoilerThe only successful kill was made by the author to the second (failed) participant hunter in her study using a wolfsbane tea.
4. The Beautiful Gelreesh by Jeffery Ford - 3/5 - Weird.
SpoilerA werewolf therapist gets his meals by convincing his patients to commit suicide.


5. Skin in the Game by Samatha Henderson - 3/5 - Again, weird.
SpoilerNew girl joins a ladies dice game night, and cheats for fun and profit. They're all werewolves who get offended and eat her.


6. Blended by C. E. Murphy - 3/5 -
SpoilerMarketa realizes her suitor's father killed her family. She kills him, and a competing suitor sees what she is. He is entranced, and they run away to be together.


7. Locked Doors by Stephanie Burgis - 4/5 - I liked this one.
SpoilerA son keeps his father's werewolf-ness a secret for fear that he will end up in a lab, but his father grows more dangerous as time goes on. He realizes he might too become a werewolf, and decides it's worth the risk because with study might come a cure.


8. Werelove by Laura Anne Gilman - 3/5 -
SpoilerApparently, weres murder instead of divorce.


9. In Sheep's Clothing by Molly Tanzer - 3/5 - I have no idea what just happened.
SpoilerPeople turn into animals via an illness from corn? The narrator seems unreliable and a conspiracy theory nut. Civilization has collapsed due to a fatal plague? The narrator turns into a wolf and eats her kid, who turned into a lamb.


10. Royal Bloodlines (A Lucifier Jones Story) by Mike Resnick - 3/5 - lol
SpoilerA doctor? priest? (missing context here) convinces a suicidal werewolf to enter a dog competition to win a 10K prize. The werewolf ends up meeting his future love, and both woman and her dog are pregnant at the end. eee.


11. The Dire Wolf by Genevieve Valentine - 3/5 - All the jumping around was distracting.
SpoilerA woman fears loving a human because [long living] dire wolves mate for life, and tend to commit suicide when their mates die.


12. Take Back the Night by Lawrence Schimel - 3/5 - wat.
SpoilerA werewolf comes into a lesbian woman's feminist all night bookstore, and the woman decides she too, wants to be a werewolf. They have sex (in human form), then go out as wolves and murder some dude.


13. Mongrel by Maria V. Snyder - 4/5 - I liked this one. Interesting and sweet.
SpoilerA homeless runaway who takes in stray dogs saves a werewolf fighting off a challenger for his pack. He repays her by turning her into a werewolf and making her part of his pack.


14. Deadfall by Karen Everson - 3/5 -
SpoilerA teenage werewolf confronts racist bullies who beat up her black friend. She decides not to murder him, but his cowardice facing the wolf taints his hold on his minions


15. Red Riding Hood's Child by N. K. Jemisin - 4/5 - Really well written, but also, wat.
SpoilerA orphan son of an unwed woman becomes the focus of unwanted attention from the blacksmith. After running from the blacksmith, who tries to attack him in the night, he stumbles across a werewolf, who has much the same intentions, but less unwanted? The old woman who shelters him dies defending him, so he runs into the forest and let's the werewolf fuck him and make him into one.


16. Are you a Vampire or a Goblin? by Geoffrey H. Goodwin - 3/5 - wat.
SpoilerSome people have to decide whether they are a vampire (drink blood for darkness) or a goblin (eat people for souls). Yvette decides she wants to be a werewolf, who is suppose to help people? But, the change brings about hunger, and she ends up eating them instead.


17. The Pack and the Pickup Artist by Mike Brotherton - 3/5 -
SpoilerA pickup artist falls in love with a werewolf and joins her pack.


18. The Garden, The Moon, The Wall by Amanda Downum - 3/5 -
SpoilerNot really sure what happened. A woman shows a bunch of ghosts, including the werewolf boyfriend she murdered, to Hades? She decides not to stay.


19. Blamed for Trying to Live by Jesse Bullington - 3/5 -
SpoilerOutsider black kid moves in with his father when his mother dies. His father lives in a much rougher neighborhood, and does not approve of his gentler son. Charles becomes obsessed with becoming a werewolf, for unclear reasons. He succeeds at the end, but thinks maybe this wasn't the solution to his problems


20. The Barony at Rodal by Peter Bell - 3/5 -
SpoilerWeird story of a woman trying to investigate an old family, who turns out to be werewolves, and crimes during the Nazi era. She ends up killed for her troubles. Her father is a witness.


21. Inside Out by Erzebet Yellowboy - 3/5 -
SpoilerWoman turns into a werewolf, and her sisters sacrifice their lives to keep her safe. She spies a woman, who seems to be an inverse werewolf (woman during the full moon), being kept in a cage and abused by a man in a cabin. Over *months* she stalks them, until she comes up with a rather elaborate plan (you know, instead of just biting him as a wolf), to murder him and rescue the wolf/girl. Her sisters and the cops find her curled up in the cage around the wolf, but finally accepting her wolf-self.


22. Gestella by Susan Pauwick - -
Spoiler

nonersays's review against another edition

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3.0

A story collection of werewolf related fiction. Most them them were pretty good reads though one or two I could hardly see why they would be considered a werewolf story

agenc's review against another edition

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4.0

I love collections like this because I often find new authors to try out. This is a good mix of different story telling styles; serious, silly, casual, formal, adult etc. I Especially enjoyed two of them. The Beautiful Gelreesh by Jeffrey Ford was sad in a beautiful way. In Sheep's Clothing by Molly Tanzer was especially hilarious to me in a messed up way. Gestella by Susan Palwick was personally triggering for me and I couldn't finish it. Inside Out by Erzebet Yellowboy had too much cruelty in it for my taste. I'm not a huge fan of werewolves, so I think this book is pretty good since it kept me so interested.

jennybeastie's review against another edition

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3.0

I know I read it years ago, I think I liked it at the time. Not feeling it at the moment, however.

sparkleboymatty's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a fun anthology of werewolf stories. I enjoyed almost all of them, especially:

-Inside Out by Erzebet Yellowboy was my favourite. Great writing, fleshed out characters,unique premise. I want to know more!
-The Garden, The Moon, the Wall by Amanda Downum. This felt like part of a series I'd love to read more of.
-Gestella by Susan Palwick had great writing, unique premise, but too sad.
-Blended by C.E. Murphy. Another unique idea and one I wanted more from.
-Mongrel by Maria V. Snyder.
-Deadfall by Karen Everson.
-Blamed for Trying to Live by Jesse Bullington

Happy there were several LGBQT stories too!

marie123's review against another edition

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3.0

When I pick up an anthology, it's usually for one particular author. There are a few I recognized in this one, but I was most interested in Maria V. Snyder. I wasn't disappointed.

It was by far my favorite story from the lot, and I really enjoyed her character, Mongrel. I would love to read more about this particular character, because she was just so interesting. The story line, once you get past the characters, is pretty standard. Girl meets mysterious guy(or in this case, dog) who pulls her into a scary situation.
Anyway, definitely worth a look.

Besides that, I also enjoyed the story by Stephanie Burgis quite well, even though I've never read her writing before. Not my typical type of story, but I wanted to know everything that was going to happen after the story ended.

The other story in this book I'll mention was Werelove by Laura Anne Gilman. It wasn't what I expected, and I liked it alright. It was an interesting way to approach the werewolf side of things, even if it left me feeling a bit mopey and sad.

Overall, I don't regret picking the book up at the library, but I'm glad I didn't go out and buy it. Not much re-read value, but certainly worth a first look. There were a few other stories in the group that I enjoyed to an extent, besides the ones I mentioned up above, so flip through the book and take a look.

ravenlily's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

ifihadatail7's review against another edition

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4.0

a great series of short stories. mostly sad short stories.