The Encyclopedia of Vampires & Werewolves The Werewolf Book

Gr 9 Up—Guiley's timely, though not stellar, update of the 2005 edition presents vampires as real. Gone from the title in this edition is "…and other monsters," which, rather than reflecting a change in content, is more accurate. Most of the other revisions are additions of recent movies and books, such as those by authors Charlaine Harris and Stephenie Meyer; also new is that this work has color illustrations. At times the organization is confusing. For example, "Arts and Entertainment" includes the role of vampirism in literature, film, and TV, but readers must use the index to discover that much of what is mentioned in this section is elaborated upon in other parts of the book. Also, while all-capitalized words indicate cross references, that is not explained. It is impossible to determine which source in the extensive bibliography matches which entry. In Steiger's alphabetized collection of lycanthropic lore and pop culture, most entries have undergone scant revision since 1999, and that in the form of rewording. Around 20 new entries include coverage of the series "True Blood" and "Twilight." Pieces with tenuous ties to werewolves and shape-shifting have been omitted. The writing is riddled with conjecture; the author says of the imprisoned Elizabeth Bathory, for example, that "perhaps she could only hear the ghostly echo of the screams of pain and the pleadings for mercy of her six hundred victims." Sources are sketchy and some are decades old, and doubts about authenticity linger.—Jennifer Prince, Buncombe County Public Library, NC