Wolfsbane and Mistletoe (Hardcover)

by Charlaine Harris (Editor), Toni L. P. Kelner (Editor)
Key Phrases: dog boy, war mage, dog nodded, Christmas Eve, Santa Claus, Rogue Elements (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The editors of Many Bloody Returns deliver the perfect howl-iday gift, with new tales from Patricia Briggs, Carrie Vaughn, and many more.

New York Times bestselling authors Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, and Carrie Vaughn—along with eleven other masters of the genre—offer all-new stories on werewolves and the holidays, a fresh variation on the concept that worked so well with birthdays and vampires in Many Bloody Returns.

The holidays can bring out the beast in anyone. They are particularly hard for lycanthropes. Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner have harvested the scariest, funniest and saddest werewolf tales by an outstanding pack of authors, best read by the light of a full moon with a silver bullet close at hand.

Whether wolfing down a holiday feast (use your imagination) or craving some hair of the dog on New Year’s morning, the werewolves in these frighteningly original stories will surprise, delight, amuse, and scare the pants off readers who love a little wolfsbane with their mistletoe.

About the Author
Charlaine Harris writes the New York Times bestselling paranormal fantasy series featuring Sookie Stackhouse (the basis for the HBO series True Blood) and the New York Times bestselling mystery series featuring sleuth Harper Connelly.

Toni L. P. Kelner is the award-winning author of the Laura Fleming Southern mystery series.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Ace Hardcover; 1st Printing edition (October 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441016332
• ISBN-13: 978-0441016334
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,847 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fifteen Twisted and Funny Tails, October 25, 2008

By	Doug Knipe - See all my reviews

My favourite urban fantasy anthology of 2007 was Many Bloody Returns featuring stories by a diversity of fabulous authors on a theme of `vampires and birthdays'. This year Harris and Kelner have followed it up with Wolfsbane and Mistletoe which includes stellar cast of writers on a theme of `werewolves and Christmas'. A surprisingly large number of dark tales are to be found (I know, I know--they're werewolves) considering the seasonal setting. Makes me rethink the pecking order of werewolves versus vampires.

Here is a brief look at the 15 howling Christmas tales.

"Gift Wrap" by Charlaine Harris
A short Sookie Stackhouse story that occurs after the events of the most recent novel. Sookie is spending Christmas alone until she finds an injured werewolf in the woods near her home. Nuturing Sookie just has to take action. Contains spoilers if you aren't up to date on the series. A feel-good story although I must say Sookie's relative is a piece of work despite his good intentions.

"The Haire of the Beast" by Donna Andrews
A humorous tale of revenge. A witch's brother wants to be a werewolf so she researches the spell but also concocts some magical Christmas brownies for her ex. A Lhasa Apso is involved. An amusing ending.

"Lucy, at Christmastime" by Simon R. Green
Simon Green is known for his Nightside series and here we have a werewolf in a Nightside bar reminiscing about Christmas pasts and his lost love. You can see the ending coming from a mile away, but it still brings a smile to you face anyway when you get there.

"The Night Things Changed" by Dana Cameron
This tidy little tale of a brother and sister team tracking down a serial killer. She's a vampire and he's a werewolf. In their world supernatural creatures are members of the Fangborn and are always the good guys until now when they learn the killer is one of them. Some nice ideas and suitable HEA.

"The Werewolf Before Christmas" by Kat Richardson
Perhaps my favourite of all the stories in the collection, Kat Richardson who writes the Greywalker series, turns out a very twisted tale. Matthias the werewolf finds himself at the North Pole and having just finished off eating Rudolf the Reindeer is corralled by St. Nick into being his replacement. Most definitely an alternate take on our Christmas traditions. The clever Matthias ends up with more then he bargained for.

"Fresh Meat" by Alan Gordon
Turns out that dogs aren't only mans best friend but a werewolf's best friend too. A smart, fun story where the dog and the girl save the day and the bad guys get their just desserts. Another one of my favourites.

"II Est Né" by Carrie Vaughn
A Kitty story set at Christmas just before Kitty Takes a Holiday. Kitty feeling alone and depressed meets a newly made werewolf in a Waffle House. The chance encounter leads them to catch a serial killer, brighten Kitty's outlook and save the sanity of the new werewolf. A nice `It's a Wonderful Life" style ending.

"The Perfect Gift" by Dana Stabenow
A confusing tale of two cops in Alaska tracking down serial killers (what's with all the serial killers?). She's a werewolf and he isn't. Or is he? My least favourite of the collection as I just couldn't figure this one out.

"Christmas Past" by Keri Arthur
The author of the Riley Jensen series brings us a Christmas romance story about two cops tracking a killer. He's a werewolf and she has psychic abilities. Ex lovers they find their new joint case brings them together again. Hottest story in the collection.

"SA" by Joe Konrath
Perhaps the most twisted tale in the anthology and outrageously absurd and funny. Forget everything you thought you knew about Santa Claus and his elves. Here is the straight scoop. The SA of the title refers to Shapeshifters Anonymous. Manages to include were-turtles, were-coral and even furries (don't ask). Tied as my favourite. I guess I have a sick sense of humour.

"The Star of David" by Patricia Briggs
A poignant story of Christmas reconciliation from the author of the Mercy Thompson stories. After many years, the estranged human daughter of a werewolf asks her father for assistance even though he killed her mother/his wife under tragic circumstances. Another favourite.

"You'd Better Not Pyout" by Nancy Pickard.
Another amusing twisted tale of two ex-soviet vampires (hence the `pyout') in Florida who figure out that Santa is a vampire and that his Christmas scam gets him an open invitation to homes which he later visits for snacking on more then milk and cookies. Wanting in on the action, they ultimately end up in Africa thwarted by a werewolf. Don't worry it all makes sense once you've read it.

"Rogue Elements" by Karen Chance
This is a fine police procedural mystery from the author of the Cassandra Palmer series. Set in the Las Vegas of the Palmer universe, it is a tale of werewolf pack politics and intrigue. Lia a member of the War Mage Corps is in denial about her were heritage.

"Milk and Cookies" by Rob Thurman
Rob Thurman of the Cal Leandros series offers up a deliciously bent story of what werewolf children really want under their Christmas tree. Loved this one.

"Keeping Watch Over His Flock" by Toni L. P. Kelner
Another poignant tale from editor Toni Kelner. Jake a young shapeshifter learns the true story of the nativity and the role of werewolves. He becomes a hero when he rescues a missing girl but needs to shapeshift into something unexpected to protect the secrets of the pack. Funny with a nice HEA.

There are more then enough great stories in this collection to recommend it, although it is not quite as strong as last years anthology.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good anthology, October 11, 2008

By	Eleanor Skinner (Albany, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My primary interest was in the Harris, Green, Vaughn, Briggs & Chance stories. All these stories are set in the authors' most famous universes (I consider that Nightside for Simon R. Green), the Harris story has Sookie in it, & the Vaughn story has Kitty in it. The Harris, Green, & Chance stories were minor, but fun. The Vaughn & Briggs ones are whole novellas, & really good. Special credit goes to Nancy Pickard for unusual idea (Santa as a vampire), but the true WTF award goes to the unknown J.A. Konrath, for a decently-written story involving evil Santas, gun-toting Satan-worshipping Salvation Army minions, the lost (biblical) book of Bob, a were-anon group, a hippo, & many other interesting characteristics. Trust me, go read it, it's the most interesting unusual story I've read this year.

Author list:
Charlaine Harris
Donna Andrews
Simon R. Green
Dana Cameron
Kat Richardson
Alan Gordon
Carrie Vaughn
Dana Stabenow
Keri Arthur
J.A. Konrath
Patricia Briggs
Nancy Pickard
Karen Chance
Rob Thurman
Toni L.P. Kelner

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good except for the Sookie Stackhouse story, which was very disappointing., October 13, 2008

By	BookLover24 "BookLover24" (Florida) - See all my reviews

I enjoyed all the short stories except for the Sookie Stackhouse story, which was wholly against everything that Charlaine Harris had built in the 8 book series. What was the author thinking!!! She had spent time developing this savvy, cautious and moral woman, only to have her appear pathetic and easily hoodwinked in this short story. I hope it's not the death knell of the Southern Vampire series. It was a real letdown to see Sookie in this one. :( Let's hope future SVS books are not going to follow this trend.

All the other stories were from good to very good, but because I know a lot of readers may gravitate to the book for a Sookie story, I cannot possibly give it four stars. If I was rating it for just the Sookie component, this would get only one star.