Customer Reviews

Men of the Otherworld

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
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While female narrators have generally dominated Kelley Armstrong's addictive Women of the Otherworld series, long time readers have often wished/clamored/begged for an opportunity to hear tales told from the perspective of the Otherworld's strong cast of leading men. Never one to deny her readers, Armstrong obliged, offering up a series of free online novellas narrated by some of her most intriguing male characters.

'Men of the Otherworld' is a beautifully bound collection of these stories. Two novellas, 'Savage' and 'Ascension' chronicle Jeremy Danvers' perilous rise to the Alpha throne seen through the eyes of his adopted son, Clayton. Clay, a misanthrope whose wit, and delightful moral ambiguity have made him a popular fan favorite since his first appearance in 'Bitten', provides readers with a unique insider's look at Pack life. It's interesting to hear his narrative voice change as he matures from a feral bitten child into an intelligent young man eager to embrace his role as Jeremy's best and most feared enforcer.

Two short stories bookend the novellas. 'Infusion' teases readers with its hints at Jeremy's true parentage, while 'Kitsunegari' actually reveals who, or more appropriately what, Jeremy's mother was before she met her violent and untimely end.

These stories are a real treat, and since all the proceeds from the sale of this book benefit the World Literacy of Canada, it is truly a guiltless pleasure.

Even though part of this book is also on Kelley's website as small "web stories" she has added a LOT of new material to this book.
I started reading this a few days ago and haven't been able to put it down! AND i've been laughing throughout the book b/c of Clay's thoughts when he was a child!! (priceless!!!)
This book is about the Men of the Wolf Pack. It gives in depth detail about Jeremy and Clay along w/ the older men in the Pack. It follows the men from the birth of Jeremy, the discovery of Clay, the "house breaking" of Clay, the first meeting of Clay w/ the Pack, the first fight that Clay has, etc. It's great history for fans that love the stories about the Pack.
I've been enjoying this book immensely and I can't wait for her next book about Elena & Clay which should come out in Nov. of this year!

What I loved most about this book was hearing the men's point of view. Most of Kelly's work is from the female POV so this was really an interesting change. This book is broken up in short story and novela forms. From what I understand several of the short stories have appeared on her website, but I had not read them there so all of the work was new for me. The book does not seem choppy though as they all flow together nicely. We learn about Edward, Malcolm, Jeremy, and Clay. If you follow the series this information is invaluable. It will help you understand the behaviors of Jeremy and Clay as you see how they were raised and where they came from.

I won't summarize the plot line as many have already done that. I was surprised to find that a werewolf pack is almost completely a man's world. Jeremy and Clay were both raised with little to no female influence. I learned more about Clay in this book than any of the books with him and Elena. I was touched by how much he loves Jeremy and and now understand why his loyalty is absolute. It was so interesting to learn about Clay's early life. Housebreaking that boy was not an easy task! Clay was very lucky to have Jeremy as a father figure, Jeremy wasn't so lucky having Malcolm. Malcolm is unapologetically evil and tried very hard to corrupt Clay. Had Clay not been so devoted to Jeremy he might have succeeded.

You won't want to miss the latest installment in Kelly Armstrong's fascinating series. It is a well written tale that kept me enthralled from beginning to end.

I was lucky enough to read all these stories on Mrs. Armstrong's website. Apparently she has added an extra story to the book version that I have NOT read. I won't write a synopsis on the ones I have as many have already done that. I am HUGE fan of the Clay and Elena storyline. Therefore, when I found the website and the stories I was ecstatic. While these stories aren't essential to understand the Otherworld, they do help. Many complained about Clay and how he forced his lifestyle on Elena. These stories, which focus mainly on Clay, tell us how his life prewolf and after was. It tells about Jeremy growing up with a father who hated him, a father who did the worst thing he could possibly do to his son. We get to see Malcolm in the flesh and the ambition that made him cruel. For me, I was able to get a better grasp of Clay and care more about Jeremy. In the other books he was alpha but we didn't really know much about him. This is a man who was barely in his twenties and took in a wild street kid and made him his own.
There are other stories in the book such as the Chupacabra, which I personally thought was weak and lacking characterization. Lucas is just a hard one for me to care about.
Overall, I enjoyed reading most of the stories but my favorites were Jeremy, Malcolm and Clay. The Danvers' men are very complicated and it was nice getting to know some of their history.

I really loved this book. It shows a whole other side to Kelley Armstrong's women of the otherworld series. I would definitally recommend this book to anyone who likes books about vampires and werewolves.

Clayton was six when he receives the bite that will turn him into a werewolf. He does his best to survive on his own but he is soon taken in by Jeremy and this man teaches Clay how to straddle the human world and the world of the Pack. Clayton soon grows from child to teen challenging his mentor at every turn, as he tries to find his place not only within the pack but within himself as well. He does this while learning the intricacies of controlling not only his animal instincts but also navigating Pack politics. Claytons' journey is a long one but he learns who he is and who he can count on.

This is really a coming of age story for Clayton but it includes several other characters, notably Malcolm. This was an entertaining read and fans of this series will no doubt find it a worthy addition to the previous titles. Ms. Armstrong has a lively imagination and brings her otherworld world to dramatic life.

I am something of a secret Kelley Armstrong fan. I have read most of her novels and novellas. I think the label of fantasy/horror fiction allows potential readers to dismiss it as badly written pulp fiction. Men of the Otherworld possess excellent characterisation - the reader really 'knows' the character - if you met Clay in real life you would not dare run up to him like a giggling schoolgirl - he would turn on you. Clay is given greater depth here - and although one might squirm at what he does, his reasons are understandable. He becomes sympathetic as an almost feral child forced to adapt but never quite fitting in. Jeremy becomes even more admirable as we realise how strong his character must be to have resisted influence from his father. Literary merit is abundant in the scenes Armstrong sets as the reader is allowed to feel as if they are really amongst the characters. Who does not hate Daniel for mentioning the guinea pig? Everyone knew someone like him in their childhood and can relate to Clay. Clay is like a modern day Heathcliff (orphaned, wild, raised by a surrogate father etc)- he is just as savage yet, like Bronte, the reader can still learn to love him in spite of him and Elena is his Cathy(thankfully Elena does not have the personality of Cathy) but she is not in this novel - she is only hinted at towards the end. Read it. Doubt there are any better werewolf novels, and, there may not be characters across all the ficiton genres who are as interesting and involving.

I cannot tell you how much I wish that most books had the leading male's point of views. When it's the guys' point of view, it makes me understand the book and the character itself. Twilight did that with Jacob in the 4th book, and I hope Stephanie decides to keep writing Midnight Sun because I would LOVE to learn Edwards side. Then this book...it does exactly that. It makes you understand Clay's character A LOT, shows just how strong Jeremy is and why he is so patient. You learn about Jeremy's father which is big. You also get to learn the why's on some stuff that has been brought up in the Women of the Otherworld series about Jeremy. Why he's different than other Alpha's, why he can contact and sense everyone in the pack by his abilities....oh, and you can sense what he's like in love too :-)

I loved this book. Definitely a book that I will read over and over again, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Kelley Armstrong has become one of my favorite authors that I just happened to stumble across by walking around Borders one day and I'm definitely not disappointed. You'll love this book and any book by her.

"Infusion (1946)"

Malcolm isn't very happy with his lot in life - so far he's had to get out from under the shadow of his father's cowardice and he has yet to father a child. To make up for this Malcolm has set out to make himself one of the most feared werewolves within the Pack, which he has achieved, but fatherhood still eludes him. However, when a random encounter with a timid Japanese woman leads to a pregnancy, Malcolm isn't sure whether to rejoice or be afraid of the humiliation that a mix breed child would bring him. But when the child is born Malcolm discovers that this child is more than merely mix-race, but something other that scares him even more.

"Infusion" is a dramatic tale that tells the beginnings of Malcolm's son and explains Malcolm's constant anger and loathing for the Pack. It also raises the question of what becomes of Malcolm's son after Malcolm's father takes him in. As an introduction to the men of the Otherworld "Infusion" is a riveting hook that will keep you turning the pages.



"Savage (1967)"

When Jeremy found Clayton, he was a wild wolf in the Louisiana bayou. Clay had gotten a werewolf to bite him and in the following years Clay became almost feral - to the point that he has forgotten what human behavior is like. However, Jeremy's patience slowly wins Clay over and Jeremy takes Clay home to Stonehaven and slowly tries, with different degrees of success, how to blend with other humans and how to behave within the werewolf society.



"Savage" tells the tale of how Clayton came to be a werewolf and why Clay has such unshakeable loyalty to Jeremy. While this story is told from the first person point of view, Clay is a powerful narrator - one who almost dispassionately tells of all the foibles, almost comical struggles and twisted perceptions of humans and other wolves that he experiences as he grows up under Jeremy's care. "Savage" also reveals whom Malcolm's son grows up to become, although the reader has to be alert as Clay, the narrator, doesn't know Malcolm's past so the subject is never addressed directly. "Savage" is a spectacularly insightful tale that reveals as much about Jeremy as it does about Clay and it's not a story to be missed by Clay and Otherworld fans!



"Ascension (1972)"

Race for the Alpha position within the pack has always been subtle, but there nonetheless - with Malcolm campaigning in backrooms and Jeremy slowly becoming Dominic's right hand man. Still, when Dominic dies the question of who would ascend to become pack Alpha is unresolved, splitting the pack in two. However, Jeremy wants the "contest" resolved in a peaceful manner, while Malcolm advocates a bloody battle for the title. But as things progress they reach a point of no return and Jeremy needs to decide how much violence he is willing to tolerate in order to become the pack Alpha.

Once again "Ascension" is narrated by Clay in the first person format which gives a lot of insight as to how Clay's brain operates and how Jeremy slowly comes to terms with the duties that an Alpha must shoulder that are distasteful at best. This is a wonderful installment, Kelley Armstrong plainly demonstrates her talents as a storyteller and how well developed her characters are.



"Kitsunegari (2007)"

Jeremy is in New York with Jamie enjoying a rare weekend together, yet Jeremy is feeling prickly - like someone is watching. As Jeremy sets out to investigate it leads to some startling discoveries regarding Jeremy's parentage. How will he and Jamie cope with this revelation?

"Kitsunegari" is a wonderful tale that finally gives a glimpse of Jeremy's heritage and begins to explain his strange "instincts" at odd moments. This story is told from Jeremy's perspective, also in first person point of view, yet Jeremy turns out to be an entrancing narrator as Clay or any of the women in Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series.

Fans of the Women of the Otherworld series will find Men of the Otherworld to be a mesmerizing group of tales that not only give insight into the men that populate the series, but also gives valuable information on how they came to be who they are when we meet them in the different books of the series. As a whole, Men of the Otherworld is a fantastic collection that clearly demonstrates the power Kelley Armstrong wields over the written word to the point of wrapping up the reader so completely in the story that is becomes impossible to put the book down until the entire book is read. Get yourself Men of the Otherworld when you are in the mood for a gripping urban fantasy tale that will keep you reading well past your bedtime!

Note: Parts of the stories in this volume were once available on Kelley Armstrong's web site as free reads, but have now been compiled and published in one volume with all author proceeds going to World Literacy of Canada.

Sabella
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Despite the unfortunate title, fans of Armstrong's "Otherworld" novels will be delighted by this collection of tales. True to her style and faithful to her characters, Armstrong provides readers with the background and embellishment they desire. While the Clay that narrates many of the stories seems at time at odds with the Clay of the novels, the stories themselves fit perfectly with the history Armstrong has alluded to all along. I'm already eagerly awaiting the next collection.