Alpha & Omega

Alpha & Omega (2007) Patricia Briggs (found in Shifting Shadows)

The novella Alpha & Omega first appeared in On the Prowl, which I picked up only for the Patricia Briggs story. I recommend getting Shifting Shadows rather than that.

That is not, by the way, the cover for either Shifting Shadows or Alpha & Omega, but it’s a great scene from the first book, I couldn’t resist using it.

This novella introduces Anna, who is to become mated to Charles, and how they meet: Anna calls Bran because she discovers that her pack has murdered a teen boy.

Please be aware that Anna had been brutalized (to use a phrase from the first book) by her pack, and although we don’t see this, it has shaped Anna and it is mentioned several times. So this story (and series) might be upsetting to some people.

It brings me to tears usually, to be completely honest.

Why did I re-read this? Because after reading the latest Mercy Thompson book, I wanted to read more Patricia Briggs. I thought about re-starting the Mercy series, but decided I wanted to re-read this series instead (but I may go back to some of the Mercy books too), so I started with the novella.

There are some interesting bits in her world building that I quite like. For instance, “There was a madness that came sometimes to those who live too long.”

It’s all good and well to wish we could live forever, but it’s hard to truly contemplate what that would truly be like for some people.

You can start the series without reading this novella, but you probably want to.
Rating: 8/10

Published by Ace

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