About

The Wolf and the She-Bear is an introductory novella for other books in this setting, authored by Morgan Stang:

The Wolf and the She-Bear book cover

Blurb

Mercenary Samantha Redwyne has seen too much blood spilled by her sword. She travels to the frigid north to get away from her ghosts, but doesn't find peace for long. The job: help deliver a wagon of wolf skins to a nearby village. The complication: a band of cutthroats on the hunt for a missing wagon with a priceless package hidden within.

Pursued by ruthless men who believe her a thief, Samantha finds herself double-crossed, wounded and alone in a deadly forest. Armed with just her wits in a fight for survival, she discovers that some bloody habits are hard to break.

But it's the longest night of the year, and man isn't the only thing chasing Samantha. The woods are lovely, dark and deep—the place folktales come from, where monsters dwell—and before the night is over, Samantha will have to confront not only death, but the unknown lurking just beyond the safety and sanity of the civilized world.

Review

Fast paced novella, with colorful characters and well written (especially the different styles of prose depending on the character). Things aren't what they seem at first, there's plenty of surprises and some mysteries are left unexplained (for other books I suppose).

For the first 25%, I thought I'd enjoy this book throughout. But, things took a much darker turn for my tastes.

I'd recommend the book for those who enjoy dark fantasy and humor.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟☆

What others are saying

From RedJorgAncrath's review on goodreads:

Not only is there a ton of tension, stress, and action, but the author writes really interesting characters. Not one dimensional, easy to forget characters. It definitely did have a Coen brothers feel, which I've seen the author mention, and I liked that a lot.

From Kyle Adams' review on goodreads:

I won't say I was struck with particularly deep characters, but as short, amoral fantasies with wonder, mystery, blood, and awesomeness go, The Wolf and the She-Bear rips and tears. More please.

Bingo

/r/Fantasy/ 2020 bingo categories:

  • Setting Featuring Snow, Ice, or Cold (HM)
  • Self-Published SFF Novel (HM)
  • Novel with Chapter Epigraphs (HM)
  • A Book that Made You Laugh (HM)