The Hunter from the Woods

I LOVED HIS FIRST BOOK WITH THIS CHARACTER "WOLF'S HOUR 3X'S & LOVED IT EVERY TIME. THIS IS A SEQUEL TO OUR HERO & IS LIKE A GOOD SPY ADVENTURE WHILE BEING A WEREWOLF ON THE SIDE.IF YOU READ THE FIRST ONE, YOU WILL LIKE THIS ONE & IT WILL LEAVING YOU WANTING MORE...I DID. :)

The characterization was not as good as it could have been. It was difficult to identify with the characters. Somewhat stereotypical. McCammon's writing is of course very polished and professional. A good read but not up to some of his other works. Stinger comes to mind as more enjoyable.

This author has entertained me with both his works of horror and his historical fiction. I have been reading McCammon for about 30 years or so and he's turned out novel after novel that have always been great, great fun to read.

I loved The Wolf's Hour (Michael Gallatin) and could not wait to dig into The Hunter from the Woods, but I was somewhat disappointed. Maybe Mr. McCammon just set the bar too high, but I thought that Hunter from the Woods was better suited to be a companion Novella to go along with Wolfs Hour. The collection of short stories was meant to give some additional insight into Michael Gallatin, and how he became the character Mr. McCammon created back in 1989. As stated, the book was divided into a series of short stories. I did not care for the first couple "prequel" short stories, but did enjoy the two "Sequel" short stories. "The Room at the Bottom of the Stairs", Michael tangles with a German spy he was sent to Berlin to kill; "Death of a Hunter", Michael has retired deep in the Welsh forest only to find himself battling old enemies. Both of these tales have a nice twist, and in my opinion could have been worked into a full book. If I was to only review the last two short stories, I would give 5 stars, however as a whole 3.5 is the best I could do

A teller of tales, Robert McCammon delivers again. The Hunter From the Woods is collection of tales intertwined of missions for Michael Gallatin, the man wolf from Russia. This tale all began in the first book Wolf's Hour, where Michael has been transformed into lycan. He has been drawn in as a secret weapon to infiltrate and exterminate the Nazi's with extreme prejudice. The characters are well developed and driven. Both books are written with great prose with violence and passion. Riveting thr ...more

Robert McCammon's werewolf WWII British spy, Michael Gallatin, is back in a collection of short stories that surround the events in McCammon's best-selling book, The Wolf's Hour:

"The Great White Way" -- Young Michael Gallatin has left the Russian forests and his pack. He finds refuge with a gypsy circus but is soon entrapped in a deadly love triangle.
"The Man from London" -- Michael has been adopted by a small Russian village. In turn, as a werewolf, he provides them with fresh meat and protection. A secret agent has come all the way from London to recruit Gallatin into British special operations and the war has come with him.
"Sea Chase" -- In the guise of a sea-man, Gallatin has been assigned to watch over a weapons engineer and his family as they try to escape Nazi Germany aboard an old freighter.
"The Wolf and the Eagle" -- Gallatin and a German fighter ace must become allies to survive the harsh North African deserts and savage nomads.
"The Room at the Bottom of the Stairs" -- was originally published in Subterranean Press's illustrated edition of The Wolf's Hour. Michael falls for the beautiful German counter-spy he was sent to Berlin to kill.
"Death of a Hunter" -- Gallatin has retired to his home deep in the Welsh forests but still finds no peace. Old enemies have sent ninjas to either assassinate or capture the aging werewolf.

In The Hunter From the Woods, I get a sense of the affection Robert McCammon has for his hero, which is well deserved. When The Wolf's Hour was originally published in 1989, combining genres by mixing a werewolf story with a spy thriller was almost unheard of and McCammon had great success in this niche. However, with the popularity of urban fantasy and paranormal adventures, that concept is no longer the novelty it once was. So, The Hunter From the Woods lacks the "wow factor" that The Wolf's Hour had when I read it for the first time over 20 years ago.

Where The Wolf's Hour was like a Jack Higgins book written by Stephen King or vice versa, The Hunter From the Woods seems lost. McCammon's writing is thrillingly foreboding and dramatic as always, but in this book the flow gets jarred by an occasional cheesy sexual innuendo or a one-liner that's reminiscent of an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. So, it's difficult to determine the tone of these stories. Sometimes they read like a classic WWII espionage movie and other times they're dark and bizarre.

A couple of the tales are gems, but the overall collection left me frustrated and bored. Reading these stories reminded me of watching The Incredible Hulk TV series from the 80's; each episode was spent waiting for Banner to transform into the Hulk, then a few minutes of super-human action were followed by a finish that left the hero wandering off as a lost soul.

I highly recommend some of Robert McCammon's other books, but I found The Hunter From the Woods mediocre by comparison.