I just finished reading a copy of Bestial: Werewolf Apocalypse. Chris lent it to me, so it’s not exactly a title that I would pick up on my own. I guess that it’s the debut novel by William Carl, and it’s got some pretty high reviews in the horror world. It won the Bram Stoker award, and was cited as, “the debut novel writer’s dream of.”
I won’t say I didn’t enjoy this novel, but I’m torn on whether I can recommend it or not. I didn’t enjoy the way the characters were developed. “A strong black woman,” is not enough detail for me. The way this particular character’s back-story shows isn’t revealed by anything she does, it’s only stated. I’d rather not know and decipher who she is by the way she acts. The love story is typical for something you would see on the Sci-fi channel, but it wasn’t overly distracting. Despite these things, there is a lot to appreciate about this book. If you enjoy reading horror or dark fantasy, then you might find this as somewhat relaxing. It’s not something I would throw into the literary cannon, but it’s nice to have on your shelf if horror is your preferred genre. The werewolves in the novel are typical, and there is the cliché airborne virus, but it’s an apocalypse story. My favorite part of the story is when he describes people’s reactions to changing the morning after the full moon. Some accept and adapt, while others face harsh reality of killing their own children the night before.
If this is your kind of thing, you’ll enjoy it. If not, you aren’t missing anything.
Stage Fright 