Tales of the Otherworld

February 1, 2010
Witches, sorcerers, half-demons, vampires, and werewolves clash in bestseller Armstrong's second Otherworld collection (after 2009's Men of the Otherworld
), which includes many stories first posted on her Website to fill in the gaps about characters from her novels. In “Rebirth,” Aaron, a young Englishman, discovers his vampire heritage; in the lighter “Bewitched,” half-demon witch Eve Levine braves racial stereotyping to connect with sorcerer Kristof Nast. The novella “Beginnings” reveals the backstory of Elena, the heroine of 2004's Bitten
. The first tales are accessible to new readers, but some stories feel incomplete, and Armstrong's complex worlds, which include magical organizations reminiscent of mafia families, may confuse the uninitiated. Armstrong's longtime fans, however, will be delighted. All proceeds go to World Literacy of Canada.

April 1, 2010
Armstrong returns with seven entertaining backstories to her highly popular "Otherworld" adult series. Written with her magnificent trademark flair for storytelling, these tales will reveal how werewolf Clayton Danvers fell in love, how witch Eve Levine first met Kristof Nast, as well as more details about the entertaining events at Lucas Cortez and Paige Winterbourne's wedding and their search for a rogue vampire suspected to be the force behind some horrendous crimes. Also included is the long-awaited, brand-new story "The Case of El Chupacabra." As in the first anthology, "New Men of the Otherworld", the stories here were first published as free fiction on Armstrong's web site as both a "thank you" to her loyal readers and in response to reader requests. Once again, all proceeds will be donated to Literacy of Canada. VERDICT Those unfamiliar with "Otherworld" will be somewhat lost as to the significance of the stories shared, but series fans will be eager to devour these delightful tales. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 12/09; ebook edition ISBN 978-0-553-90742-1; library marketing.]Crystal Renfro, Georgia Inst. of Technology Lib., Atlanta

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2010
Five short stories and three novellas shed light on the pasts of several of Armstrongs most beloved witch, sorcerer, vampire, and werewolf characters of her Otherworld books. All but Bewitched, the story of how Eve Levine and Kristof Nast got together, originally appeared on Armstrongs Web site, and all proceeds from this book are going to World Literacy of Canada. The other short stories, respectively, relay how Aaron Darnell became a vampire and met Cassandra DuCharme, how Logan found the werewolf pack, and how Lucas Cortez acquired a rare grimoire from Eve, and follow a countdown to the wedding of Lucas to Paige Winterbourne. One novella is a murder mystery investigated by Lucas and Paige; another reveals the compelling origins of Elena and Claytons romance at university. An excellent introduction to Otherworld for newcomers and a real treat for established fans, wholl revel in seeing favorite characters again.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)