Tales of the Otherworld

Tales of the Otherworld (2010) Kelley Armstrong

Not knowing what I was in the mood to read, an anthology seemed just the thing.

These are stories from Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series–stories that fill in the cracks between her novels–most of which I have not read. (I believe I have read Bitten, and that’s it.)

There are eight stories, with a variety of characters, most of whom reappear throughout the stories.

Rebirth
Bewitched
Birthright
Beginnings
Expectations
Ghosts
Wedding Bell Hell
The Case of El Chupacabra

“Rebirth” is the first story, and tells of how Aaron Darnell became a vampire and how he met Cassandra du Charme. I really liked this story, both on her (Kelley Armstrong’s) take about how people became vampires and maintained their undead status over time, and also how Aaron deals with becoming a vampire.

“Bewitched” is the story of how Eve Levine met Kristof Nast. Eve Levine is a powerful witch (black witch, left-hand path witch), who trains other witches while she is leaning how to make her own way in the world. Kristof Nast is the heir to the Nast Cabal. All things being equal, they should be enemies, as the cabals control much of the supernatural world, and look down upon witches, but they instead become friends. This was a fabulous story, and I was quite distressed to discover that things don’t ever work out well for these two.

“Birthright” is the story of Logan Jonsen, who knows something is not right with him, but can’t figure out what. A note from his father, containing only a name and address and the message “important medical information.” It’s an interesting story, but didn’t pull me in as well as the first two. It was, however, a very good introduction to Logan, who appears in later stories. It’s also an introduction to Clayton and Jeremy Danvers, who both appear in later stories.

“Beginnings” is the story of how Clayton Danvers and Elena Michaels meet and fall in love. The book I’d read was Bitten, so I was already aware of Elena’s future, but it was fascinating seeing how she get where she did. Logan makes several appearances, and it was good to see how he’d acclimated to his life. (We also meet

“Expectations” is the story of Lucas Cortez, heir of the Cortez Cabal, and his brief interaction with Eve Levine. It’s a very well done short story, giving us a peek at Lucas’ personality and beliefs, and also giving a peek at an interaction that probably didn’t seem like much to either character at a time. It was also interesting seeing Eve from the outside, after spending so much time in her head in the story “Bewitched”.

“Ghosts” was my least favorite story. It’s mostly Jeremy Danvers reminiscing about Clay and Elena.

“Wedding Bell Hell” tells of the marriage of Paige Winterbourne to Lucas Cortez. I’d already liked Lucas from his earlier story, and I was fascinating seeing his (soon-to-be) ward, Savannah, with a glimpse at how she’d come to be Paige’s ward. (Note of you enjoyed the second story–this is where you learn things never worked out for Eve and Kristof.) As a character study, I found it very interesting and enjoyable. As a short story, it was okay.

“The Case of El Chupacabra” brings lots of different characters together, including Kristof Nast’s son Sean, Savannah Levine, Paige Winterbourne, Lucas Cortez, Aaron Darnell, and Cassandra du Charme. As a closing story to this anthology, it worked extremely well, bring together all the characters we’d met over the course of the anthology. As a mystery, it was okay, but as the strength of the story was in the character interactions, that was perfectly fine.

One of the things I particularly liked was how the stories built upon each other, and didn’t require knowledge of the books to be enjoyed. All-in-all, an interesting anthology that once again makes me ask myself why I haven’t read more of Kelley Armstrong’s books. (Short answer: because the synopses already sound terrible.)
Rating: 8/10

Published by Bantam

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