Animals

By: Craig Spector, John Skipp

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Wild Things...

They've been with us forever - prowling the smoky roadhouse dives that are their watering holes and hunting grounds. Predators, lurking amidst the human herd.

Changing shape at will. Lusting for blood and meat they are gods in the wild. Gods in disguise. And they feed on the spark inside each of us.

Syd was just another lonely working class guy singing the steel-town blues. Then he met Nora. She's sensual, Erotic. Amoral. A creature of the night and she's luring Syd across the line that few can cross--and fewer survive: the line that separates man from beast.

This will be a Crossroad Press production.

©1993 John Skipp & Craig Spector (P)2024 David N. Wilson

Classic

Hands down one of the best werewolf novels
Erotic with plenty of gore this wasn’t the same old story
Excellent narration and highly recommended to all horror fans
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

Just how I like my werewolves!

If you're looking for some twilight-esque teen love drivel this isn't your book. Written solidly for mature audiences. The characters are fleshed out and believable. The prose is a little awkward but it works. Spots of intense violence and sex but the main story centers around the psyche of the characters. Gritty, believable and hard as nails. Definitely worth a look if you like your werewolves with a shot of tequila and a touch of leather clad madness.

Just discovered the books by Skipp and Spector

Any additional comments?

I haven’t read much horror. Despite being a great admirer of Stephen King and having read much if not most of his work, it seems rare for horror writers to be truly character based. These guys are clearly very King influenced (their vampire novel especially). I have the sense that you could leave the werewolves out of Animals and still have a worthwhile novel (though a less fun novel). I found Skipp and Spector completely by accident. I know nothing about splatterpunk. Frankly I could care less. I only want to read more of their work because they’re really good writers. They don’t reinvent anything. They just take everything that has come before and almost have what could be the final word on whatever subject in the genre they’re doing. At least for their generation.

I’ve heard over the years that writers don’t like werewolves because there isn’t much you can do with them. They’re thematically shallow and there is just not as much you can do as opposed to, for example, vampires. I’m not sure if I believe that or if creative types just haven’t been creative enough. Either way, Animals makes a clear point that you can do a hell of a lot of interesting work with werewolves.

Deliciously different

What made the experience of listening to Animals the most enjoyable?

I really enjoyed the narrator.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Animals?

I liked the unexpected twists and turns of the story. This was a very different werewolf story. When Vaughn came and collected Nora, I expected that Sid would go after her. Another memorable moment was finding out that Jane AND her grandmother AND her parents were werewolves. Didn't see that coming!

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

His narration "took" me into the angst of the characters. I don't think I would've gotten the same impression if I had read the book.

Who was the most memorable character of Animals and why?

Sid, because he didn't know what was happening to him. Nora, because she was a crazy but tortured soul. And at the end, I actually felt for Vaughn, when he found his true love, only to have Nora make him kill her. The whole Nora-Vaughn thing -- co-dependence at its worst.

What Fun!

Any additional comments?

This is a good story with likeable characters. I'm hoping for a sequel.

An Underrated Story of Monsters

Sexy and Vicious meet violently in this action packed saga about a man who finds himself suddenly intertwined in the cyclonic chase of beasts and romance, learning the truth about humanity, evil and the animal within.

such a sad yet triumphant love story .....

wow!!! wast sure what to expect besides the werewolf element but this truly was a very intriguing and surprisingly sad love tale of people who were shape shifters. you immediately buy into the characters and feel for them in different ways ...except Vic lol. he got what was coming to him. but this was an exceptional horror tale that in my opinion had a really sad and tragic love ❤️ story.
I truly hope it ends well for syd and Jane

A profound book

This book is amazing I have read it many times and offered it to my students as an example of the bestial nature of the true self and the need for self control rather than leaning on social controls. This is a book of horror, lust, trauma and loss but above all points to the power of the individual to overcome if it has the will to do so. To listen to this book is a meditation on all of this and I have found it to be a great aid in working out both the body and mind even as it tugs at the passions in the soul.

Werewolf story must have!

If you could sum up Animals in three words, what would they be?

Awesome, horrifying, engrossing

What other book might you compare Animals to and why?

There's nothing like animals

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not

If you could rename Animals, what would you call it?

I wouldn't

Any additional comments?

This was an awesome audiobook. John Lee does this fantastic story a good bit of justice and was an excellent choice.

Finally!

What did you love best about Animals?
This is one of the best werewolf stories I've come across. Gory without being gruesome, and I really feIt for the protagonist. I read it quite a few years ago and found out that another book of these authors came out in audiobook format a few months ago. I emailed one of them to find out if this one would be in audio as well and never got a response. I lucked up on it last week and was super excited to get it.

What did you like best about this story?
I loved the rural setting, the protagonists' backstory and how he eventually came out on top. The descriptions of the supporting characters and the great music really set the tone.

Would you listen to another book narrated by John Lee?
If he narrated another type of story - yes. In my opinion, he wasn't a good fit for this book. I can tell that he was trying hard to mask an accent and it threw me off a bit. I think Robert Petkoff or Ron Perlman would have been a great choice.

If you could rename Animals, what would you call it?
Not sure. I think the title is fitting.

Any additional comments?
Really happy that I could listen to one of my favorite stories. It was written in 1993. That's a long time to wait.