Michael Gallatin, a werewolf, first showed up in The Wolf’s Hour, a 1989 World War II horror novel by American writer Robert R. McCammon. The British secret agent is sent behind German lines to stop a secret weapon from being launched against the Allies. The fact that the British agent is a werewolf spices up the dangerous mission.
In 2011, Subterranean Press published The Hunter From the Woods, a collection of stories about Gallanin including “The Great White Way,” Gallatin’s origin story. You might wonder why a werewolf would agree to become a British secret agent and risk his life fighting the Nazis. McCammon provides a suitable rationale. He also creates a sympathetic werewolf who takes a lot of punishment in his missions against the Third Reich.
My favorite story in The Hunter From the Woods is “Sea Chase” where Gallatin’s mission is to protect a German arms expert and his family who are defecting while the tramp freighter they’re on is pursed by an armed German ship. I loved the desperate crossing across the English Channel with the German ship closing in for the kill. Very suspenseful!
“The Wolf and the Eagle,” with its horrific scenes of survival in the desert, and “The Room at the Bottom of the Stairs,” where Gallanin falls in love with a beautiful Nazi journalist, show the range of McCammon’s story-telling. AMAZON offers this Subterranean edition for $80. But, your local Library might have a copy. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The great white way — 11
The man from London — 23
Sea chase — 41
The wolf and the eagle — 135
The room at bottom of the stairs — 201
Death of a hunter — 315
It can be pretty difficult finding Subterranean Press books at the library. A lot of Subterranean Press books have reasonable E book editions. The only McCammon books I have read are Boy’s Life (which I liked) and Gone South (which was okay).
Steve, my local Libraries have purchased Subterranean Press books when I’ve asked them to. McCammon and Subterranean have worked together to bring most of his books back into print or make them available as e-books.
My library has to have more than one request before they will order anything. And it usually has to be a new release. Our library has access to around 50 other libraries but none have this.
Steve, maybe you could get Patti to request the books you want so the Library will order them.
Joe was a fan of Robert McCammon. I remember him talking about Boy’s Life and Gone South (he liked them both)
I don’t think he read any of the short stories.
I’ve never tried him.
Beth, at one time Robert McCammon and Stephen King were close competitors in the horror genre. Then, King ran away with most of the audience and McCammon took a decade off from writing. Joe had good taste in books, music…and friends.
I’ve read relatively little McCammon as yet, as well…nearly all short fiction, and none from this series. ISFDB suggests he didn’t try to place any of these stories in magazines nor anthologies before publication in the collection, which seems odd.
Todd, McCammon switched from writing horror novels to writing historical mysteries.
I recall, but even so…
McCammon did not originally plan to do a collection of Michael Gallatin stories. When Subterranean published their limited edition of THE WOLF’S HOUR, they wanted him to write a new introduction. But he’d written about the book several times already and thought that was boring, so he started writing a new Gallatin story, “The Room at the Bottom of the Stairs,” which first appeared in that limited of THE WOLF’S HOUR.
He had so much fun writing that story, that he wrote several more, specifically to be published as a collection of Michael Gallatin stories. Since then, “The Great White Way” has appeared in Brian James Freeman’s anthology MIDNIGHT UNDER THE BIG TOP, which is getting a trade paperback release from Cemetery Dance this summer.
Hunter, webmaster for RobertMcCammon.com
Hunter, thanks for that clarification! Does Robert McCammon plan any more Michael Gallatin stories? I think Gallatin is one of his best characters!
Thanks, as well.
Hi, George. (This reply will appear out of order because I didn’t have an option to reply directly to you.)
He has no real plans to do more Michael Gallatin stories, but he does have ideas. Since he never planned to do these stories, I live in hope that he’ll get the itch to do more! 😎
Hunter
Hunter, I certainly hope McCammon gets inspired and writes more Michael Gallatin stories. I’ll certainly buy them and read them and review them!
THE WOLF’S HOUR is the only early McCammon I have not read. My copy is buried in a box somewhere and I’ll have to dig it out. I haven’t read any of McCammon’s work since he came back from his 10-year hiatus in 2002; I really have to correct that.
Jerry, after McCammon’s 10-year hiatus, he switched genres from horror to historical mysteries. McCammon’s published 14 books since 2002.
Cool. Did not know about this. I see my library does not have it and it is pretty pricy, but there is a Kindle edition for $11.99.
I agree with Steve on BOY’S LIFE. I did like BLUE WORLD, his first short story collection, and I have THE WOLF’S HOUR and THEY THIRST on the shelf.
Jeff, I had most of Robert McCammon’s books in paperback until I started the Purge Diane instigated. Now I just have a handful of his books that might be headed out the door in the next few weeks. I’m trying to “deacquisition” 100 books a week until Diane is satisfied with the size of the book collection. She’s been eyeing my CD collection so that might be on the chopping block next.