THE THING IN THE WOODS by Harry Turtledove

This is an odd story with a twist at the end. It is about two young boys who like to stay up late playing a war game with dice. The competition between the pair is fierce. When it gets late and Tim has to ride home, they hear something in the woods. Geoffrey makes the absurd suggestion that it might be a werewolf.

If I write any more about this story, I will give a way the ending, which makes the story worth while.

So, I will say this, the writing is engaging and the story is a good addition to the Something Magic This Way Comes, which you should pick up. The stories that I’ve read so far are excellent: earlier reviews. I think that Turtledove does a great job of getting into the irrational mind of young boys. Both Tim and Geoffrey are well written and developed. However, I think that the world they live in could have been described in a more concrete way (yet this might give away the ending).

Turtledove, Harry. “The Thing in the Woods.” Something Magic This Way Comes. Ed. Martin H. Greenberg and Sarah A. Hoyt. New York: DAW, 2008.