Alpha and Omega

October 12, 2009
This terrific little story, originally published in a 2007 anthology, is the first in Patricia Briggs's Alpha and Omega series. Changed against her will three years earlier, frightened, beaten-down Anna Latham doesn't know she is an omega werewolf, revered for the ability to soothe alpha inclinations at opportune moments. Powerful alpha Charles Cornick, son of the North American werewolf leader, heads to Chicago after the patriarch receives a phone call from Anna, informing him of an unsanctioned murder of a young werewolf. Anna's pack leader feared her abilities, approved her degradation and kept her ignorant of pack lore, which allows readers to learn alongside Anna as Charles teaches her what she needs to know. Spare writing and strong descriptions will entice readers to continue following Anna and Charles in two forthcoming novels.

October 8, 2012
Briggs’s Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series has its fans, with her novel Cry Wolf hitting the New York Times bestseller list a few years back. But based on this poorly conceived graphic novel adaptation, it’s hard to see why. Set in a small Montana town that’s secretly run by a powerful clan of werewolves, the drama rotates around the arrival of Anna, a woman who was turned into a werewolf by the Chicago clan and who seems to be something called an “Omega.” Why her being an Omega is important is kept secret, but wouldn’t you know there’s an Alpha around to balance things out? There is some weakly flickering romance between Anna and her were soul mate Charles—son of the clan leader—and a light mystery involving some mysterious attacks on humans, but nothing that would keep readers coming back for volume two. The blocky artwork will help ensure that the only people much interested will be fans of the (assumedly more engaging) print novels.