Book Review--Wolfsbane and Mistletoe

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TITLE: Wolfsbane and Mistletoe
AUTHOR: Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, Carrie Vaughn, and others
PUBLISHER: Ace
LENGTH: Novel
GENRE: Werewolf anthology
COST: $24.95

A collection of fifteen Christmas stories, all with a werewolf theme…

From the people that brought out Many Bloody Returns comes a combination rarely seen in holiday fiction – werewolves and Christmas. Fifteen different authors provide stories ranging greatly in length and style in this anthology, but don’t expect much in the way of “hair-raising” as the tagline on the cover suggests. Most of these have some sort of a feel-good factor while introducing the reader to a wide variety of authors. It is, after all, a Christmas anthology.

The anthology starts out with “Gift Wrap” by Charlaine Harris, a short story set in her Sookie Stackhouse world. It’s basically Sookie, alone on Christmas Eve, and what happens when she finds an injured werewolf near her house. If you’re not a Sookie fan or up to date on the series, many of the references may be lost on you. I have to admit I’m not either, but there is still a small smile to be had at the set-up and follow through.

Next comes “Haire of the Beast” by Donna Andrews. One of the shortest of the bunch, this is a mildly amusing take on the revenge scenario as a witch uses the research she’s doing for her brother on how to turn into a werewolf to her own advantage.

“Lucy, at Christmastime” by Simon R. Green is both the shortest and most melancholy of them all, less than five pages dedicated to a werewolf sitting in a bar on Christmas Eve reminiscing about his first. It’s predictable and barely a bite, but the prose is lovely and evocative, helping to draw the reader into the narrator’s mood.

The anthology changes direction again with “The Night Things Changed” by Dana Cameron. The story posits that werewolves and vampires are actually good guys, helping rid the world of evil, with a new take on traditional monster characteristics. In this, brother and sister, werewolf and vampire, have to track down a Fangborn who has gone evil, something new and terrible in their world. The action is continuous, and if it doesn’t necessarily feel like a Christmas story, it does at least feel like a complete story.

“The Werewolf Before Christmas” by Kat Richardson takes the anthology premise into black comedy/morality tale land with the story of Matthias, a werewolf stuck at the North Pole who accidentally eats one of Santa’s reindeers and finds himself stuck helping pull the sleigh in his place. While the writing in this was solid and the ideas interesting, the whole morality angle weighs the story down and gets old very soon, even though it shifts gears again before the end. Too long for what it was trying to do, in my opinion, even though the ending does save it a bit.

I was starting to feel very underwhelmed by this anthology by the time I reached “Fresh Meat” by Alan Gordon. This is the story of Carson Lehrmann, the owner/trainer for guard dogs, and his Christmas Eve spent alone…except for the hunter parked outside his business who seems intent on killing him. This is intelligently written, sly and fascinating, with just enough action to keep the story barreling along. A bit more macabre than most of the other stories, but it fits perfectly with the themes/intent. One of my favorites.

“Il Est Ne” by Carrie Vaughn is the second story in the anthology to tread in an author’s already established world, in this case, the Kitty Norville novels. I have to confess this is another series I haven’t read, though I have the first book in my TBR pile, but I didn’t realize I was missing out on anything as I read it. Kitty runs into a newly changed werewolf at a lonely diner on Christmas Eve, and helps him learn how to control his change as they both set out to discover whether some very recent murders are his fault. I quite liked this, as I felt for both David the new wolf and Kitty the lonely one. In fact, this was enough to make me move the first book in the series closer to the top of my TBR pile.

With two very good stories back to back, I was more excited about the collection again when I reached “The Perfect Gift” by Dana Stabenow. Unfortunately, its attempts at suspense and mystery don’t work as there are too many unknowns throughout the story, leaving this tale of two police officers in Alaska searching for a serial killer flat and confusing.

“Christmas Past” by Keri Arthur is the most conventional romantic story, and worked for me, even if it was a little predictable. A female FBI agent, part of a Para-investigations squad, is forced to work with Brodie, the werewolf who dumped her the previous Christmas, on Christmas Eve in search of a murderer. Their banter is sharp, her reactions genuine, and the chemistry hot. I liked this one quite a lot.

“SA” by J.A. Konrath started out as one of my least favorite stories, as it quickly became obvious that the author’s humor just didn’t work for me. It’s an absurdist view on the mythos and holiday, with a man discovering things in his bowel movements that shouldn’t be there, and in his search for reasons why, finds a group called “Shapeshifters Anonymous.” That being said, the ending made me laugh out loud, which ultimately saved this from the bottom of the pile.

At the anthology’s start, I was most excited about “The Star of David” by Patricia Briggs, as I’m a big fan of this author. Thank goodness, I wasn’t disappointed. Social worker Stella finds herself forced to contact her werewolf father – a man from whom she’s been estranged since the age of twelve when she witnessed him killing her mother – to help in dealing with a new boy in her foster program. It’s poignant without lacking action, and has the right balance of paranormal elements with human emotion. One of the richest stories in the entire book.

“You’d Better Not Pyout” by Nancy Pickard tells the story of two ex-Soviet vampires who decide Santa really is a vampire, too, and seek him out in hopes of getting in on the con. I found this funnier as a whole than the earlier comic works, though it’s the farcical nature of the characters that really sells this.

“Rogue Elements” by Karen Chance incorporates world elements she’s already written about with new characters. Lia is a war mage raised by werewolves, and gets assigned to find out why daughters of high-ranking werewolf clan members are disappearing. While the story itself is well-developed and evenly paced, reading far more complete than many other contributions to this anthology, the Christmas connection is tenuous at best.

“Milk and Cookies” by Rob Thurman is a slight departure from the rest of the stories by focusing on kids rather than adults, though the themes are just as meaningful. The narrator, Nicky, is thirteen and doesn’t like Christmas, forcing himself to endure for the sake of his little sister. He also has to deal with a bully at school who’s determined to beat the living tar out of him. How he manages to resolve both made a satisfying read, though I had to read the ending numerous times to get a full grasp on the twist.

Finishing it off is “Keeping Watch Over His Flock” by Toni L.P. Kelner. Jake, a teenaged wolf, has to explain why he went out running solo without permission, and what unfolds is a rediscovery of the true Christmas spirit, more poignant with its ending than the execution would suggest.

As a whole, it’s a solid anthology, though there are few stories I’m likely to remember much past the holidays. Still, I got a flavor of new authors, which is always the best and most important reason to buy these.