The Pack by Jason Starr
Hardback 
Urban Fantasy 
June 7, 2011
Ace

Reviewed by Tori

When Simon Burns loses his job, he loses more then his income. He finds himself thrust in the role of stay-at home dad for his three year old son which puts a strain on his already rocky marriage. Floundering to try and make sense of why he was fired for no reason, he begins to try and find some balance in his life. He meets a group of single dads at a park he takes his son to. Happy to find some comradely, he immediately joins their tight knit group. Michael, Charlie, and Ramon are different then what Simon is used to. Confident, stronger, and more at ease with themselves. After Simon wakes up disoriented from a night out with them, he begins to notice changes in himself. Stronger, hungrier, and an increased sense of smell and hearing, Simon fears he is going insane. When his former boss is found brutally murdered, appearing to have been mauled by a wolf, Simon fears something much worse is happening to him. He fears he becoming a werewolf. And Simon only has one chance to stop the transformation before he to becomes part of the pack.

This is my first reading of Jason Starr’s work. The Pack is an mix of Urban Fantasy and criminal mystery. The beginning pace was smooth and well defined. You get an instant feeling for what Simon is going through; experiencing with him his anger at his company’s betrayal and his feelings of inadequacy when it comes to dealing with his wife and child. When he meets the dads at the park, you see gradual changes come over him. He’s happier and more in control. He and his wife start communicating again.

Mr. Starr does a great job with Simon. Well fleshed out, Simon comes across very believable and realistic. I enjoyed his inner monologues and observations concerning his family and friends. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the rest of the cast. Michael was the only one who comes across as developed as Simon. He is well portrayed as an animal in human skin. He acts on instinct-taking what he wants with no thought to the consequences. Learning his background, you can almost understand why he is doing what he is. The rest of the supporting characters though just comes across as strange. One dimensional and boring. Ramon with his endless talk of sex and while Charlie gives off a supporting vibe, we even realize it doesn’t ring true. I found the dialogue between all of them to be uninspiring.

Once Simon realizes what is happening to him, the rest of story seems to lose focus and just becomes a series of random events. Simon races around, gathering information but not really accomplishing anything. The ending starts off with the possibility of saving the story with an action packed conclusion but random characters tossed in at the end just confuse the matter. We are left on the edge, not knowing what happened or where we go from here. All in all a very confused story that got lost and never made it back.

Rating: D

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