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itcamefromthepage's review
2.0
There were about two of these stories that I really enjoyed but the rest were a real mixed bag.
bobmetal's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ravenlily's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.0
Overall rating: 3.9/5
Blood Relations - 5
The Hunt - 5
The Kiss of Divna Antonov - 5
The Great Storm - 4.5
Hunter's Moon - 4.5
The Dead Brother Situation - 4
Outside of Nowhere - 4
Hybrid: Bloodlines - 3.5
Evernight Circle - 3.5
The Original - 3
Lifeline - 3
Ivan's Night Out - 2
Blood Relations - 5
The Hunt - 5
The Kiss of Divna Antonov - 5
The Great Storm - 4.5
Hunter's Moon - 4.5
The Dead Brother Situation - 4
Outside of Nowhere - 4
Hybrid: Bloodlines - 3.5
Evernight Circle - 3.5
The Original - 3
Lifeline - 3
Ivan's Night Out - 2
vondav's review
5.0
I haven't read a werewolf story in a while, so when Leaders of the Pack was published, with 12 short stories I knew I could get my fix of werewolf stories.
As with all anthologies I always have my favorite stories and this was no different. For this review, I will mention these.
Hunter's Moon by David Wellington. The story follows Laura Caxton as she hunts down a vampire. This story had quite a few supernatural characters which were all important to the stories. It was fast-paced as you follow Laura as she comes up against more than an ancient vampire. As a new to me author, I am interested to read some more of their work.
The Great Storm by TW Piperbrook. This was a tense story as it comes from the perspective of Katherine, a young girl with her brother who is trying to escape a pack of werewolves as they are terrorizing their neighborhood. You can sense their fear as they are trying to escape, following them as they try and outwit their pursuers.
Blood Relations by Graeme Reynolds. Having read High Moor, I really enjoyed this story as we follow Marie as she tries to find a place to belong. This story has got me wanting to read the rest of the series.
Evernight Circle by Matt Serafini. Chris and Charlotte are trying to save their relationship, so when Charlotte gets a new job they think this may work. A pleasant story with a twist
Lifeline by Paul Kane. Beth has a sixth sense and is trying to support herself and her son. For a short story, this had so much packed into it. There were plenty of twists and some pleasant surprises.
With every anthology I read, I use the opportunity to find new to me authors and this book was no different. As mentioned some of these stories were introductions to the author's series but for me, that was a good thing as it has got me wanting to read them.
As with all anthologies I always have my favorite stories and this was no different. For this review, I will mention these.
Hunter's Moon by David Wellington. The story follows Laura Caxton as she hunts down a vampire. This story had quite a few supernatural characters which were all important to the stories. It was fast-paced as you follow Laura as she comes up against more than an ancient vampire. As a new to me author, I am interested to read some more of their work.
The Great Storm by TW Piperbrook. This was a tense story as it comes from the perspective of Katherine, a young girl with her brother who is trying to escape a pack of werewolves as they are terrorizing their neighborhood. You can sense their fear as they are trying to escape, following them as they try and outwit their pursuers.
Blood Relations by Graeme Reynolds. Having read High Moor, I really enjoyed this story as we follow Marie as she tries to find a place to belong. This story has got me wanting to read the rest of the series.
Evernight Circle by Matt Serafini. Chris and Charlotte are trying to save their relationship, so when Charlotte gets a new job they think this may work. A pleasant story with a twist
Lifeline by Paul Kane. Beth has a sixth sense and is trying to support herself and her son. For a short story, this had so much packed into it. There were plenty of twists and some pleasant surprises.
With every anthology I read, I use the opportunity to find new to me authors and this book was no different. As mentioned some of these stories were introductions to the author's series but for me, that was a good thing as it has got me wanting to read them.
paperbackstash's review
3.0
Themed horror anthologies are a bag of fun. Anthologies filled with random short stories are a delight too, but to have a joining theme, those are my favorite. Fans of the furry will be pleased with the well-named Leaders of the Pack. Sporting a colorful cover (the book names the illustrator as Patrick Cornett), each story has an impressive and creative illustration drawn by Michelle Merlini to introduce it. These illustrations are highlights. Great job from both artists.
And to find out this was released on a full moon? Come on, how could I resist?
I’m not as into long anthologies, so the page count at 267 is ideal. Not too long, not too short. Twelve stories by twelve authors, some I recognized. As with any anthology, it’s a mixed offering.
Several stories are prequels, sequels, in-betweens, and tie-ins to existing series. The book opens with a story set after Blood and Rain and before the monstrous Nick returns to his hometown. The Dead Brother’s Situation is slasher fare that opens the anthology on a violent, gory note. This is a short story I consider more of a “scene” than a full story on its own, which is fine, as these have their place. If you’re a big fan of Blood and Rain, you’ll enjoy this one as bonus content.
Another tie-in is Graeme Reynold’s Blood Relations: A Gilson Creek Story. At the end of the short story, it states it takes place between books 2 and 3 of the High Moor series. The heroine is a 13 year old girl who seems older than she is due to a depressingly bleak life; we open with child abuse and end with possible family reunion. It was different and a break from some of the more violent stories in the anthology. Not to say this one doesn’t have some truly dark stuff, but not all the werewolves are mindless monsters with the world-building, and of course many humans show themselves to be just as monstrous.
Most familiar with Jeff Strand’s humorous Wolf Hunt series will recognize the character by the title, Ivan’s Night Out. Ivan was always a mean character with over-the-top humor which flourished in Wolf Hunt, and he doesn’t hold back the viciousness here either. I won’t say the story was enjoyable exactly, it was more of a brief lead-in to the character before the Wolf Hunt series. With the full length novel you got the funny dialogue from the demented killer, but it was told through the POV of other main characters, which made it that much more tense and humorous. Being in Ivan’s mind while he was telling these jokes and doing these monstrosities gave me a shudder or two. This was the last story in the anthology.
The Great Storm by TW Piperbrook is a prequel to a story I haven’t read (his Outage series) – it was well-done and vicious. I may check out the other books sometime. These werewolves sure aren’t cuddly, as is shown as two children have to run for their lives from their own neighborhood. Tension kept this one intense.
A few of the furry fiction was set in the modern day and through a loner werewolf view, like The Hunt by Thomas Emson. I wasn’t into the past sequences so much, but the story was enjoyable and the ending just had fun with itself.
A few felt incomplete with their endings. One example is Outside of Nowhere by Ray Garton. This dark story had an odd ending and tragic resolution. The author writes well, though, and the story stands out, but the ending felt so abrupt.
Matt Serafini’s Evernight Circle was a favorite and one of the best, buried in the middle. It’s definitely unique – a struggling husband accompanies his wife into a new town for a new chance at a new life. The corporation is too good to be true, of course, and its clear from the start something hokey is going on. The game becomes figuring out exactly what. I had various theories at different stages of the novel, and to my delight most of my guesses proved to be wrong. It keeps you on your toes - it’s different, dark, and I’d read more stories set in this world building and with this character.
Lifeline by Paul Kane is interesting, not sure if it ties in with something else; Beth is a likeable character and his writing style is smooth. It continues for awhile focused on spousal abuse and survival, with a small backstory. After awhile you start wondering how this will fit in with a werewolf theme, but I appreciate the realism of the story and not having a rushed lead despite it being a short story. It gets you to know the characters more and actually feel something. There’s a twist or two and the werewolf is gradually revealed.
Hunter’s Moon by David Wellington is a stand-out. It’s unique in that a huntress is stalking a vampire into a remote wilderness area. Her guide, the town, and the wilderness hold their own secrets. One of the better stories, the right length and an ending that actually feels finished. I don’t have a “top favorite”, but this would be in the top three.
Certain stories had a lot of history established in lore or legend – one is “The Original” by David Watkins. Written well, but a little confusing since I haven’t read his ‘Originals’ series, it tells the story of a survivor of Germanic Celts on his travels. He runs into a small village and … well, there are several twists here, revealed for the main character, about the main character, and concluding with a whopper of an ending.
Jonathan Janz has written some good works, so I was curious on how he’d handle a werewolf short tale. “The Kiss of Divna Antonov” was beautifully written and stood out as uniquely blending a long-time history with a present situation. The lead is a University professor interested in the origin of werewolves, and the book is a series of scenes with a meet, a few turns of events, and an open-ended conclusion. It’s chilling in a quiet way.
The offerings of these are varied – which is good. Seeing monstrous werewolves munching through small-towns would get old after awhile, so keep it various by also offering origin stories, historical settings, contemporary humor, women weres, entire packs, and you keep it more interesting. Not perfect anthology, but it’s highly recommended – not only for the stories, but again for the artwork. You also can’t beat the price.
And to find out this was released on a full moon? Come on, how could I resist?
I’m not as into long anthologies, so the page count at 267 is ideal. Not too long, not too short. Twelve stories by twelve authors, some I recognized. As with any anthology, it’s a mixed offering.
Several stories are prequels, sequels, in-betweens, and tie-ins to existing series. The book opens with a story set after Blood and Rain and before the monstrous Nick returns to his hometown. The Dead Brother’s Situation is slasher fare that opens the anthology on a violent, gory note. This is a short story I consider more of a “scene” than a full story on its own, which is fine, as these have their place. If you’re a big fan of Blood and Rain, you’ll enjoy this one as bonus content.
Another tie-in is Graeme Reynold’s Blood Relations: A Gilson Creek Story. At the end of the short story, it states it takes place between books 2 and 3 of the High Moor series. The heroine is a 13 year old girl who seems older than she is due to a depressingly bleak life; we open with child abuse and end with possible family reunion. It was different and a break from some of the more violent stories in the anthology. Not to say this one doesn’t have some truly dark stuff, but not all the werewolves are mindless monsters with the world-building, and of course many humans show themselves to be just as monstrous.
Most familiar with Jeff Strand’s humorous Wolf Hunt series will recognize the character by the title, Ivan’s Night Out. Ivan was always a mean character with over-the-top humor which flourished in Wolf Hunt, and he doesn’t hold back the viciousness here either. I won’t say the story was enjoyable exactly, it was more of a brief lead-in to the character before the Wolf Hunt series. With the full length novel you got the funny dialogue from the demented killer, but it was told through the POV of other main characters, which made it that much more tense and humorous. Being in Ivan’s mind while he was telling these jokes and doing these monstrosities gave me a shudder or two. This was the last story in the anthology.
The Great Storm by TW Piperbrook is a prequel to a story I haven’t read (his Outage series) – it was well-done and vicious. I may check out the other books sometime. These werewolves sure aren’t cuddly, as is shown as two children have to run for their lives from their own neighborhood. Tension kept this one intense.
A few of the furry fiction was set in the modern day and through a loner werewolf view, like The Hunt by Thomas Emson. I wasn’t into the past sequences so much, but the story was enjoyable and the ending just had fun with itself.
A few felt incomplete with their endings. One example is Outside of Nowhere by Ray Garton. This dark story had an odd ending and tragic resolution. The author writes well, though, and the story stands out, but the ending felt so abrupt.
Matt Serafini’s Evernight Circle was a favorite and one of the best, buried in the middle. It’s definitely unique – a struggling husband accompanies his wife into a new town for a new chance at a new life. The corporation is too good to be true, of course, and its clear from the start something hokey is going on. The game becomes figuring out exactly what. I had various theories at different stages of the novel, and to my delight most of my guesses proved to be wrong. It keeps you on your toes - it’s different, dark, and I’d read more stories set in this world building and with this character.
Lifeline by Paul Kane is interesting, not sure if it ties in with something else; Beth is a likeable character and his writing style is smooth. It continues for awhile focused on spousal abuse and survival, with a small backstory. After awhile you start wondering how this will fit in with a werewolf theme, but I appreciate the realism of the story and not having a rushed lead despite it being a short story. It gets you to know the characters more and actually feel something. There’s a twist or two and the werewolf is gradually revealed.
Hunter’s Moon by David Wellington is a stand-out. It’s unique in that a huntress is stalking a vampire into a remote wilderness area. Her guide, the town, and the wilderness hold their own secrets. One of the better stories, the right length and an ending that actually feels finished. I don’t have a “top favorite”, but this would be in the top three.
Certain stories had a lot of history established in lore or legend – one is “The Original” by David Watkins. Written well, but a little confusing since I haven’t read his ‘Originals’ series, it tells the story of a survivor of Germanic Celts on his travels. He runs into a small village and … well, there are several twists here, revealed for the main character, about the main character, and concluding with a whopper of an ending.
Jonathan Janz has written some good works, so I was curious on how he’d handle a werewolf short tale. “The Kiss of Divna Antonov” was beautifully written and stood out as uniquely blending a long-time history with a present situation. The lead is a University professor interested in the origin of werewolves, and the book is a series of scenes with a meet, a few turns of events, and an open-ended conclusion. It’s chilling in a quiet way.
The offerings of these are varied – which is good. Seeing monstrous werewolves munching through small-towns would get old after awhile, so keep it various by also offering origin stories, historical settings, contemporary humor, women weres, entire packs, and you keep it more interesting. Not perfect anthology, but it’s highly recommended – not only for the stories, but again for the artwork. You also can’t beat the price.
ciarajean's review
5.0
Guys. This was so fucking good. Soo damn good. I was really stoked when I preordered this book a couple months back because I saw a handful of my favorite authors in here. THEN I WAS EVEN MORE STOKED TO FIND OUT SOME OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS WERE IN HERE AS WELL. 6 out of 5 stars. I'm so happy I was able to reunite with some old friends.
janinepipe's review
5.0
I absolutely LOVED this book. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed every single story, my favourites (and it is hard to pick because they were all good and very varied) were the Rolfe, Janz and Reynolds stories. There is a good mix of US and UK writers and settings and each piece of writing is vastly different. There were some really original and clever ideas, as well as classic lore and tropes. highly recommended to anyone who likes werewolves and a fantastic antho to add to your collection if, like me, you are huge Rolfe and Janz fans. 10/10.
starslang's review
4.0
As a huge fan of werewolves, I was obligated to investigate this when it came across my kindle. Conclusion: a decent little anthology! Overall I'd say 3 stars, but the stories I enjoyed, I really did like.
Pros: Werewolves! I definitely found more books I want to read from some of the authors based on their stories. there was a good mix of time periods and settings spread throughout. Something for everyone.
Cons: Not one female author in the bunch and it definitely shows. More than one of the stories ties into other, larger series and so they can come across half finished.
Pros: Werewolves! I definitely found more books I want to read from some of the authors based on their stories. there was a good mix of time periods and settings spread throughout. Something for everyone.
Cons: Not one female author in the bunch and it definitely shows. More than one of the stories ties into other, larger series and so they can come across half finished.
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