Dreadful Skin

by Cherie Priest

Book Overview

Jack Gabert went to India to serve his Queen. He returned to London a violently changed man, infected with an unnatural sickness that altered his body and warped his mind. Eileen Callaghan left an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159606191X
• ISBN13: 9781596061910
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: Far Territories
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A werewolf tale for the ages

Definately not your standard fare as far as werewolf tales go, this book is brilliantly imagined and neatly packaged. Combining werewolves, spiritual revivals and nuns with the Wild West, Priest creates a world vivcidly imagined and darkly drawn. While not my favorite of her books, this one is definately a keeper and a must read again.

Super Reader

There are three linked stories in this collection, all featuring the same werewolf hunting nun. Yes, that is right. A werewolf hunting nun. Someone that is not quite human herself, and on the trail of a monster, throughout the three stories. The first couple are told from the point of view of a few of the characters in it, the third somewhat different for the first major part, being recounted in letters and journals. On the whole, rather good. Sister Eileen Callaghan : The Wreck of the Mary Byrd - Cherie Priest Sister Eileen Callaghan : Halfway To Holiness - Cherie Priest Sister Eileen Callaghan : Our Lady of the Wasteland - Cherie Priest "I ducked into a niche between a cabin and the pilot house and hiked my skirt up enough to reach down into my garter holster. I've heard it said that God made all men, but Samuel Colt made all men equal. We'd see what Mr. Colt could do for a woman." While Mr. Colt's equality of weaponry is one thing, I doubt it applies to werewolves, and one of which is what this nun is hunting, and has tracked him to a riverboat. Or at least she hopes she has, and it isn't the other way around. 4 out of 5 Sister Eileen, still looking for Jack, has her own case of the furries to deal with, and comes a werewolf at a revivalist camp. 3.5 out of 5 When Jack and the revivalist's son from the second story team up for a reign of terror and snacking, Eileen realises she needs help, and makes a stand with some allies in a town church. 3.5 out of 5 4.5 out of 5

A wonderful creepy tale.

I am most fond of what could be termed "the monster in the dark" genre, and Priest absolutely nails it with this werewolf tale. I couldn't put it down for wondering what happened next and to whom. The monster is absolutely delivered with gorgeous style, and the reveal comes neither too soon nor too late. Very much worth the read!

All my hopes fulfilled

I've been a fan of the werewolf story for as long as I can remember; I love those furry monstrosities above all others. So when I heard Cherie Priest, whose other novels I very much enjoyed, had was putting out a set of three connected stories about my favorite lycanthrope, I had to check it out. But not, I'll admit, without some trepidation. As much as I did love both Four and Twenty Blackbirds and Wings to the Kingdom, and as much as they showed how well she can craft a great horror story, she was about to step into my territory. She was going to have to be measured against every book I've ever read about werewolves and every movie I've seen dealing with them. Unfair expectations for any writer, to be sure, but what can I say, it's werewolves. Do them right, or not at all. She did them much better than right! Despite being broken into what the product description calls "disjointed" sections, Dreadful Skin presents an engaging story that I had great difficulty putting down. I had no trouble transitioning from one section to the next, though all three are written in drastically different formats. I especially enjoyed how the first section, The Wreck of the Mary Byrd, was told. Here is an author who respects the reader and says "If you're smart enough to pick up this book, you're smart enough you don't need to be coddled with a basic chronological narrative." I always appreciate that. If you're a fan of werewolves, of horror in general, or if you just want an example of some quality storytelling, I highly recommend Dreadful Skin. My only complaint (which should be taken as a compliment) is that it left me wanting more.

Splendid.

Solid historical information, excellent characterization and voice, top-notch creation of environment, and a werewolf-hunting, pistol-packing nun. What's not to love?