Book Review: Men of the Otherworld

Title: Men of the Otherworld
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Number of Pages: 384
Year of publication: 2009
Genre: Supernatural
Rating: 4.5/5


Summary

"As a curious child, Clayton didn’t resist the bite—he asked for it. But surviving as a lone child werewolf was more than he could manage—until Jeremy came along and taught him how to straddle the human-werewolf worlds, gave him a home…and introduced him to the Pack. So begins this volume, featuring three of the most intriguing members of the American Pack—a hierarchical founding family where bloodlines mean everything, and each day presents a new, thrilling, and often deadly challenge. For as Clayton grows from a wild child to a clever teen who tests his beloved mentor at every turn, he must learn not only to control his animal instincts, but to navigate Pack politics—including showing his brutal arch nemesis, Malcolm, who the real Alpha is..."

Ahaha, so the end of that summary sounds a little lame, but the book itself is fantastic. While this is not the type of book I would usually read, I have a soft spot for supernatural books. Prequel to Kelley Armstrong's 'Women of the Otherworld' series, this novel gives some insight into Clayton's life before Elena came along. I've read it three times now since purchasing it in January and have throughly enjoyed it every time. Clayton is an interesting character, and his narration is humourous and very self deprecating. I'm not usually a huge fan of the werewolf/vampire genre, but this book and the entire series, is well worth the read.


Excerpts

"At the time, it seemed to me that Jeremy was spending a lot of time with a piece of plastic pressed against his ear, talking to himself. Which was fine by me. We all have our eccentricities. Jeremy liked talking to plastic; I liked hunting and eating the rats that ventured into the motel room. Or, at least, I did like hunting and eating the rats, until Jeremy caught me and promptly kiboshed that hobby. Some of us are less tolerant of eccentricities than others."

"Nick had managed to make it down from the tree easily enough. The trouble was finding his way out of the forest. You'd think that anyone who had been visiting Stonehaven since he was old enough to toddle would know his way around the woods there, particularily when that someone had werewolf blood, but Nick often had trouble finding his way out of the forest at his own house.
He obviously needed more practise, but no matter how often I abandoned him out there, his sense of direction never seemed to improve. That, of course, only increased my resolve to keep leaving him there. What are friends for, if not to help you overcome your weaknesses?"