★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended
(Alternate-History Fantasy) In the midst of the Civil War, Grinn finds a union soldier apparently hanged just for being a werewolf. (6,793 words; Time: 22m)
"Hangdog," by Dayna K. Smith [bio] (edited by Scott H. Andrews), appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue 276, published on April 18, 2019.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.216 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The setting is incredibly rich, with different kind of were-creatures, rules for when they can change, spirit storms where the ghosts of those you’ve killed get a chance to get even, and a war going on in the background of it all.
I liked the idea that a werewolf family could have a child who was 100% human and resentful of it.
Con: It’s all too confusing. I’m not even sure what Grinn and Buddy were doing out there anyway. And there’s something about Grinn having lost her pack at some point, but it seems that she killed her sister, Selva, the first time she turned into a wolf?
And why didn’t someone in Lloyd’s family just turn him into a wolf once they realized he had a problem?
Ultimately it feels like an episode drawn from the middle of a longer work that might have been great in context but which just doesn’t work on its own.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Dayna K. Smith Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: The setting is incredibly rich, with different kind of were-creatures, rules for when they can change, spirit storms where the ghosts of those you’ve killed get a chance to get even, and a war going on in the background of it all.
I liked the idea that a werewolf family could have a child who was 100% human and resentful of it.
Con: It’s all too confusing. I’m not even sure what Grinn and Buddy were doing out there anyway. And there’s something about Grinn having lost her pack at some point, but it seems that she killed her sister, Selva, the first time she turned into a wolf?
And why didn’t someone in Lloyd’s family just turn him into a wolf once they realized he had a problem?
Ultimately it feels like an episode drawn from the middle of a longer work that might have been great in context but which just doesn’t work on its own.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Dayna K. Smith Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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