Men of the Otherworld began as short fiction on author Kelley Armstrong’s website. Readers asked her when they would be published in book form; she wanted to wait until she could donate proceeds to charity. Her publishers made her an offer in 2007, and the proceeds to will be donated to World Literacy of Canada.

The book begins with Jeremy’s conception, his discovery and subsequent raising of Clayton, and Clayton’s early years, ending with Jeremy and his girlfriend, Jaime. Essentially, Armstrong wants to give the backstory of characters and relationships central to the Women of the Otherworld series that haven’t exactly fit into the storyline.

Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series doesn't simply rely on their fantasy elements to carry the book: they are beautifully written and suspenseful. Each volume is written from the point of view of a different character, so the reader gets a bigger picture of The Otherworld than they could from only one character.

Armstrong's books are as much about the relationships between the various characters as they are about the plot. A good a book combines those things seamlessly, and Men of the Otherworld does. Jeremy and Malcolm's relationship is central to the storyline and demonstrated as such, not simply told. This book will answer some questions that fans of the Women of the Otherworld may have had, such as how Jeremy came to be Clayton’s guardian and how Clayton developed his relatively brusque personality. If you're not already a fan of the series, you won’t miss anything for having read this first. In fact, you might find it a help when you go on to read the other books.