Review: Wild Souls – A Werewolf Anthology By Julie Frost

Think werewolf stories are just about hot guys with angst and snarl winning over good – or bad – women? Allow me to introduce you to Julie Frost’s werewolves, who most assuredly do not match the genre’s present stereotypes. Life as a werewolf doesn’t entail only torment and bad tempers; it requires loyalty, strength, and courage.

Deal alert: On the date of this review, Wild Souls: A Werewolf Anthology is only $1.99 on Kindle!

The story

This is an anthology, and so the stories’ only uniform characteristic is the fact that the point-of-view characters are werewolves. Some of these men and women live in the Wild, Weird West while others are denizens of fantasy settings. A fair number reside in the modern world, but others can be found in the far reaches of space. Yes, Frost actually put werewolves in space. You are welcome.

Each story has enough atmosphere, character, and plot to carry it forward at a good pace. Whether her characters are dueling over water rights, struggling to save miners in a collapsing asteroid, or trying to convince a psychiatrist that they really are werewolves, Frost weaves tightly-knit tales that will keep a reader eagerly turning the pages to see what happens next. The stories may not be from the same fictional universe, but they really do not have to be to draw you in and make you forget the world around you.

Horror, humor, action, and adventure merge together seamlessly in each installment. The thirteen tales in this collection are arranged in an alternating pattern that prevents the reader from being bored. With the ease of long practice Frost leads one from setting to setting like the Pied Piper enchanting children with his music. You may not know where you are headed but you are quite eager to see what will happen when you reach the last page in each tale.

The characters

By far, the characters are what make the narratives in this anthology interesting and memorable. Frost’s heroes, heroines, villains, and monsters bounce off the page straight into the readers’ heads. Whichever hero or heroine was your favorite, you will remember him or her after you turn the last page in the book. You will also shiver as you recall Frost’s villains, who may be drawn in brief strokes, but are all the more terrifying for that very reason.

The world

The worlds are different and varied. However, each one feels real; believable in a way only a master storyteller can make them. The space opera stands out most, but Frost’s weird westerns are likewise authentic, primarily because she gets the attitudes and speech patterns of the time period right. There are no modern werewolves in her Old West; there are only men of the Wild West who happen to be werewolves.

On that subject, Frost has an excellent grasp of werewolf lore and plenty of innovative ways to apply it to her stories. How much of their human mind do werewolves retain when they transform? That depends on the person, the spell itself, and the story. Silver bullets kill werewolves if they impact the brain or the heart, but otherwise, they only slow them down. If you want werewolf lore that matters, then Frost has the stories you are searching for but did not realize were available.

The politics

There are no politics in these stories, save perhaps that the men of the cloth are not the villains. Frost has said that she cannot abide this trend, and so she never writes her religious characters as anything but unapologetically God-fearing men.

Content warning

Some of the stories included in this volume are horror stories, but for the most part, they are PG-13. Frost doesn’t lavish time on the horrific elements of her tales, relying on atmosphere and character to give the reader chills. If you want nightmare fuel, seek elsewhere.

Who is it for?

Werewolf lovers, people who are tired of the “normal” werewolf fare on brick-and-mortar store shelves, and anyone who loves canines. Frost doesn’t skimp on the pack mentality and loyalty of wolves in her tales; the werewolves may be human, but they also have the instincts of their namesakes. If you want complex characterization in well-plotted, compact packages, then you will like Wild Souls.

Why read it?

It’s fun, it’s different, and it will make you laugh when you do not expect to be amused. What other reasons do you need to grab this book?