Customer Reviews

Shadow of the Beast

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4 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Margaret L. Carter has written an intelligent and intriguing novel that reads very much like something out of real life, with the exception that we are given entree into the life of a woman who is a werewolf. Usually, werewolf novels tend to be overly male-centric and treat the werewolf as a mindless beast crazed with bloodlust. So, it was for me, very refreshing to read a novel about a WOMAN WEREWOLF. (The transformation sequences were well done. I could appreciate Jenny's anxiety when she woke up one morning naked not far from the remnants of an animal she had killed the previous night as a wolf. Frightened, she managed to make it home, barely escaping exposure. )

I was also fascinated with the way Jenny, through psychoanalysis, was able to tap into her "Wolf" side, overcome a number of challenges, and learn to fully embrace and accept being a werewolf.

Hopefully, in future, more intelligently written and imaginative werewolf novels will come into the market. Novels that feature men and women alike as werewolves, hailing from all walks of life. May some deft writer or group of writers do for the werewolf genre what Anne Rice has already done for vampires!

In Annapolis, Maryland, to say that life has been harsh for legal research assistant Jennie Cameron would be a major understatement of the truth. Jennie's biological father simply vanished not long after she was born. She has no memories of the man except for the few tidbits her mother mentioned over the years. A red-eyed feral animal killed her two siblings in her home, leaving Jennie in shock, with nightmares, and an unsuccessful therapy.

However, Jennie's nightmare is just beginning to turn real as the neighbor's cat is mangled and left dead in the nearby snow followed closely by the death due to cardiac failure of her mother. Still grieving, a rapist attacks Jenny only to be ripped apart by some animal that leaves Jenny alone as if she is a ward. Only Jenny has the power to defeat the beast of evil that stalks her every movement, but she needs to go deep into her own past to release the feral power hiding inside her. The cost of freeing her dark side could be her grip on humanity.

THE SHADOW BEAST is a brilliant tale that combines classic werewolf horror with psychological suspense. The story line is fast-paced with no wasted subplots as the reader follows Jenny's descent into the early stages of depression. Jenny is a great character and her boyfriend Kurt provides more insight into her personality. Fans of horror tales will fully relish this grim, taut thriller that demonstrates the genre has a new star, Margaret L. Carter.

Harriet Klausner

I can't believe the glowing reviews of this book. Despite being 241 pages long, half of this page count are blank pages at chapter ends with a typeface so large as to almost seem like a childrens book. I read the whole book while waiting for a flight at Warsaw airport. The writers style was so lightweight and the plot so predictable (it was obvious the female central character would kill the rapist and her father in her werewolf guise). Also at times it felt like I was reading a cheap dime store housewifes romance novel in the descriptions of the love affair between Jenny and Kurt (and God how cheesy are these character names). Not enough real horror or dark descriptive narrative for my liking. As an avid reader of werewolf novels, I would recommend avoiding this. Appalling.

Like all good horror novels the core of Shadow of the Beast are the secrets which are ultimately revealed as the story progesses --- the book is a fantastic interveaving of Jungian themes, horror tale archetypes and likable characters. As a reader it amazed me to see who or "what" I was in sympathy with --- an excellant book for horror fans and a fans of the psychologically based novel

I purchased this book not knowing much about the author but I found the book to be fun and exciting. It's not your ordinary werewolf novel but it was gruesome enough to keep my interest. Lately I have found that female werewolves are alot more entertaining than the traditional male werewolf genre.

The story begins with a horrible crime. On coming home from work, Jenny finds her twin brother and half-sister viciously mutilated. The tragedy shakes her to the core, for deep within her psyche lurks the dark truth of her nature... a truth that is rapidly emerging and threatens to destroy her sanity and, most important, her humanity.

Between her job as a legislative proofreader and a growingly serious and intense relationship with young lawyer Kurt, Jenny must deal with her increasing nightmares, sleepwalking, insatiable appetite, and strange loss of weight. On Kurt's insistence, Jenny decides to see a psychiatrist. Through hypnosis, Jenny is eventually able to remember what she really saw on the night her brother and half-sister were killed, and to unravel the mystery and origins of her nature. Jenny searches for answers which only her father, whom she has never met, has. Ironically, her father is the one person she must either escape from or destroy, for he only has one thing in mind: kill the man Jenny loves and keep her all to himself.

Filled with slowly increasing suspense, sympathetic characters and sensuous descriptions, I found this book very hard to put down. I was able to submerge myself in Jenny's psyche, feel her pain, and understand her motivations. All throughout the story, there is a conscious care for the language and choice of words. In spite of the violent subject, the author handles the scenes with elegance and care. The ending is realistic, darkly beautiful, and deeply satisfying.

The most serious, tastefully written werewolf novel I've read so far. Margaret L. Carter has a new fan in me and I certainly look forward to reading more of her work.

How nice to read a horror novel about werewolves struggling to understand their existence. The characters are glowingly real and the problems that the main character faces are interesting and many faceted. A very good read for horror and werewolf buffs alike.

This is a decent werewolf story. Not your usual, it felt more on the lines of Ivy Cole And the Moon, although not as good or long. Jenny witnessed her twin brother and sister's death at the hands of two huge werewolves? Her father left her and Dan before they were born. Her mother is now very ill, needs surgery and will leave her too. She's all alone, a virgin, and is having weird feelings, like her eyebrows are much bushier. Jenny will meet Kurt, a promising young lawyer with more than a slight interest in her. After seeing a "shrink" Jenny will soon discover just what she is and learn how to control the beast within. Out of nowhere her long lost father appears begging for help from the curse they both suffer.

This is quite a page turning book; it's hard to put down. Jenny's self discovery and her relationship with Kurt keep the story moving along. There's no real goal here, it's pretty obvious who the killer in town is. The ending however, felt a bit rushed. In the matter of a few pages, she's suddenly a pro when it comes to controlling her inner wolf, she admits her love for Kurt, and her father is the enemy. Over all, this is a very good read, not one for my keeper shelf, but I'm not sorry I read it. It's not a horror novel by my standards and not a romance novel either, although there is one intimate scene that's done very tasteful.

From the first few pages I knew I had made a mistake purchasing this book. It is formulaic light horror romance of the worst kind. The plot as well as the characters are predictable and ultimately forgettable with a juvenile interpretation of the werewolf archetype.