Editor’s note: In the past, Monster Librarian participated in seasonal collaborative review projects with other horror fiction review sites, such as Hellnotes, Horror World, Dread Central, Horror Fiction Review, Horror Web, and DarkScribe. Each site reviewed books related to the season and then linked to the other sites’ reviews. In my (very slow) cleanup of the site, I saw that most of the links for our collaborative Halloween projects in 2007 and 2008 no longer exist, but our own still work, of course. Most of the reviews are also located else
Howl-O-Ween by Gary L. Holleman
Leisure Books, 1996
ISBN: 0843940832
Available: Used
Cyrus, a bodyguard-for-hire, takes a job protecting Kyna, a diamond runner, who is being pursued by a voodoo shaman trying to retrieve a powerful mystical necklace the diamond runner unknowingly has in her possession. In order to get the necklace back before Halloween, the shaman leaves a bloody body count behind him, using a variety of creatures. In one of the attacks, Cyrus inadvertently gets bitten by a supernatural wolf, and becomes a werewolf. A minor flaw in the book is that the author includes several sex scenes that do not seem to further the plot, and slow down the pacing. Additionally, the ending is a little confusing. More disappointing than either of these is that, with a title like Howl-o-ween, and a cover sporting an evil-looking skull rising out of a pumpkin, readers will expect Halloween to play more of a central role in the story when in fact the relationship to the holiday is pretty weak. Despite the unimpressive role of the holiday, distracting sex passages, and confusing ending, Howl-o-ween is worth a look. Holleman does a fine job with the werewolf and other little beasties, giving readers an entertaining little monster mash. Ultimately, those looking for a action filled werewolf tale will probably enjoy the title, but there are stronger titles for Halloween themed horror.
Contains: Gore, sex, torture, violence
Reviewed by Dylan Kowalewski
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