The Mammoth Book of Wolfmen: The Ultimate Werewolf Anthology

Traditionally vampires have been more popular than werewolves.  This is probably because--if we're being honest--vampires (the beautiful undead) are sexier than werewolves (people who turn into over sized dogs).   There seems to be a lot more fiction about vampires than werewolves, or else werewolves show up as secondary characters in vampire books (like in the Twilight books).

It was a refreshing change, then, to read the Mammoth anthology of werewolf short stories.  Mammoth always does a good job with their short story anthologies, and this one is particularly good.  I really liked the wide range of short stories in "Wolfmen".  There were a lot of very different takes on werewolves, and stories ranged from classic horror to postmodern thoughtfulness.  Like in any anthology, some of the short stories are better than others.  On the whole, though, the standard is surprisingly high.  If you like werewolves, it's definitely something you should read.  And if you don't like werewolves, you might be surprised by how much you enjoy some of these stories.

To read my full review of The Mammoth Book of Wolfmen, click here.

"Frostbitten" by Kelley Armstrong

If you like contemporary fantasy fiction, then you're probably already familiar with Kelley Armstrong's books.  She has written both adult and teen fiction (for a mostly female audience, although I think men would enjoy the books as well) about werewolves, witches, half-demons, necromancers, and other fantasy characters.  However, these are all set as a subculture within the real present-day world.  Her books are entertaining and full of action.

I recently read Armstrong's novel "Frostbitten".  It's one of the Women of the Otherworld books, and the main character is werewolf Elena (first introduced in the book "Bitten").  Although "Frostbitten" could be read as a stand-alone book, I recommend going back and reading other books in the series first.  If you've enjoyed the previous books, you'll enjoy "Frostbitten".

For my full review of "Frostbitten" by Kelley Armstrong, click here.