Combat Monsters: Untold Tales of World War II is like most anthologies — some stories are good, and some just didn’t speak to me. That’s not to say that they aren’t good. The stories in this anthology are all well written, but a few didn’t grab me. I listened to the audiobook, and while the various narrators were generally wonderful, I did have trouble understanding a few. The accents were too heavy. That said, I may be the oddball, but I love anthologies. They have introduced me to many fine authors, and Combat Monsters is no exception.
Now for the stories. Editor Henry Herz assembled a veritable who’s who from today’s speculative fiction all-stars. The stories are as varied as the names in the table of contents, but they all work together quite well. Herz contributes, too, with the entertaining ‘Das Mammut.’ His is one of the short stories and poems. The authors incorporated many battles, some well-known and some downright obscure. I learned a thing or two reading these stories.
The monsters were many. You’ll find the horror staple of werewolves and vampires, but even still, they might not be what you expect. One of my favs was Jonathan Maberry’s ‘A Terrible Aspect.’ In this one, we have a rescue mission with a young(er) Deacon (Mr. Church from the Joe Ledger series.) Lee Murray unleashes a tale of the Nazis Afrika Korps as they tracking down their own giant serpent. “Nachthexen” is Bishop O’Connell’s (no relation that I am aware of) tale of a Russian squadron of witches. Scott Sigler adds an air of cosmic horror and what kind of alternate history anthology would this be if something from the great Harry Turtledove? And boy, is this something! His story, “Gorgopotamos Bridge” has the Germans using a troll to try to hold some strategic ground. If those monsters aren’t enough for you, how about Catherine Stine’s genetically altered attack bears? There’s more. Much more.
