Kelley ArmstrongDave Chidley/The Globe and Mail
Books featuring supernatural characters as protagonists are not new. Examples include Anne Rice's atmospheric vampire novels and the Saint-Germain vampire series by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. Two series stand out as early examples of the field: Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter and the (in my opinion, superior) Blood novels featuring PI Vicki Nelson, by Tanya Huff. In addition, Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series caused an explosion of young adult books featuring the supernatural.
Against this background, Kelley Armstrong made her debut with Bitten in 2001. The novel introduces Elena, the only woman werewolf in her Pack, and tracks her struggle for self-identity even as she attempts to discover who is trying to destroy the Pack. In Bitten, Armstrong first demonstrates the humour, suspense and dash of sex that have become the distinguishing characteristics of her strong narratives. Since then, her readers have also encountered Paige, a witch; Lucas, a sorcerer-lawyer; Jaime, a psychic/ medium, and a variety of other sorcerers, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witches and half-demons.
In Tales of the Otherworld, Armstrong treats her readers to a collection of stories that offers insight into many of her characters. This new release is made up of eight novellas and short stories set in the Otherworld. Most have appeared on Armstrong's website, and from a hint at the beginnings of her Otherworld society in Rebirth to the detective team of Paige and Lucas in The Case of El Chupacabra, the stories either add to the faithful readers' knowledge of the characters or give new readers enough of a taste of the Otherworld to make them want to turn to the novels for more.
Armstrong is a talented and evocative writer who knows well how to balance the elements of good, suspenseful fiction, and her stories evoke poignancy, action, humour and suspense. In Ghosts, set during the action of Bitten, Pack Alpha Jeremy Danvers contemplates the decisions he has made as he walks through a nearly abandoned Stonehaven, and the first-person narrative allows the reader into Jeremy's thoughts. In the novels, he is cool, contained and remote; in Ghosts, he is seen questioning himself and is not without emotion.
Similarly, the sorcerer Kristof Nast reveals a loving side in Bewitched, a novella describing his relationship with the witch Eve Levine. He is no longer the ice-cold Cabal executive of Dime Store Magic, but rather a man who takes his relationships with his sons and Eve seriously, and gives them priority.
Wedding Bell Hell, on the other hand, reveals Armstrong's sense of humour as Paige Winterbourne and Lucas Cortez try to plan a wedding in spite of the efforts of their friends to "help." Even a witch and a sorcerer can't ward off Lucas's determined father or an unwanted wedding planner.
The stories are well written, but Armstrong is at her very best in her novels, as if she needs room to develop her plots. The novellas are stronger than the shorter stories, and she often employs different perspectives to add dimension to the narrative. This technique is especially effective in Beginnings, where the developing relationship between Clayton and Elena is told through alternating first-person narrators. In contrast, the shorter stories seem less substantial: Ghosts is practically a vignette, and the first story, Rebirth, could definitely have used more development.
The longer pieces dominate the collection, however, and over all, there is something for everyone between the covers. Fans of the Otherworld can find out more about their favourite characters, and many new readers will be intrigued enough to pursue the novels,. The book is a win-win situation for any reader.
Donna Scanlon lives with her family of readers in Marietta, Pa.