Book Reviews | Cycle of the Werewolf, by Stephen King

Can Adults Get More Illustrated Books, Please?

An amazing short story that shines even brighter (or darker, after all, it’s a horror tale) with beautiful illustrations by Berni Wrightson

A punchy, straight-to-the-point, and beautifully illustrated short story — that’s how I summarize Cycle of the Werewolf. For fans of Stephen King, the book is bound to leave readers wanting more. For those who have never read anything by the master of horror (perhaps because his books tend to be long), this is a great introduction to King’s works.

Like most of King’s books, Cycle of the Werewolf happens in a small town in Maine. The readers follow the full moon each month for an entire year in Tarker’s Mills. When the moon is in its full glory, a monster comes to town, and nobody is safe.

Everybody has a favorite author

Well, perhaps that’s not entirely true. But I’d expect most people to do so. And I’m no different — I have my favorites too. I can think of several authors whose books I’d buy just because they wrote them, without even reading a synopsis or reviews. And the one writer who I’m always eager to read more of is Stephen King. I met King (in a book, of course) for the first time as a teenager when I bought a falling-to-pieces copy of Christine. It was love at first sight.

The only problem was that I couldn’t afford to be a fan! The guy is famous, and that’s enough to make all his books cost a small fortune (at least through the lens of a teenager)… slowly, I was able to buy more of his books. I never got them in order, except for The Dark Tower stories, which I saved for months to buy new, book by book. I was never able to get all of his works, though. King is a prolific writer, publishing at least one new volume a year. So it’s no surprise that I didn’t get my hands on all of the books the author has published in his almost half a century career.

Recently, though, I decided I would read all of his books in order of publication. This would make things easier for me to keep track of my progress and decide what book to read next. Eventually, I’ll have read everything my favorite author has written — or, at least, most things. I still read other authors in between King’s books – I’m pretty sure even I would grow tired of his stories if they were all I ever read. And that’s what I’ve been doing, rereading many stories and reading some of them for the first time.

What I didn’t expect was to find it tricky to determine if a story would enter my list or not. I’m following King’s official list of works. Of course, it’s a no-brainer when talking about a novel, they all make the list. And all collections too. However, what to do about short stories? Perhaps the best thing is to read them within the collections they are published in later. But what if they don’t make it into any?

That’s how I decided to add Cycle of the Werewolf to my list. It’s definitely not a novel; I’m not even sure if it can be considered a novella. It was published as a short book, barely over 120 pages, in 1983. As far as I’m aware, this story isn’t in any collection; the only way to read it is to get this book. True, a big part of this story is told through the stunning illustrations that make up almost half of the book, so perhaps that explains why it never made it into other short story collections. It’s more than good enough to have done so, but perhaps it wouldn’t be as glorious without the artwork.

Adults also deserve illustrations on their books

Sure, I do know about graphic novels, and they’re amazing in their own right. But they’re more like comic books than novels. That’s not the case with Cycle of the Werewolf. Each month, you get a short story about what happens around the full moon. First, you’re presented with a double-page illustration by Berni Wrightson. But Wrightson really shines on the full-colour illustrations accompanying each month’s tale. I have to say, they’re amazing, terrifying and mesmerising at the same time. The book is made so much better with the illustration. I wonder how much we’re missing out on all the other books that don’t have them.

The stories are usually two or three pages per month, so they aren’t long. There’s little time for character development or even to unravel the plot. You do find out more about the werewolf, but just a tiny bit. There’s so much more information I would like to have learned. One of the characters, Marty, is the typical King protagonist and I’d love to have known more about him and read more of his story. His uncle Al is also another interesting figure. Not to mention the werewolf itself and all the mystery surrounding his figure and how it all came to be.

Cycle of the Werewolf is a quick read. It left me wanting more, for sure. But at no point, it feels incomplete. The whole atmosphere King creates for these stories is fantastic. They go straight to the point, without beating around the bush, and with plenty of action for those who enjoy a fast-paced narrative.

Not unsurprisingly, there’s a film based on the book – Silver Bullet. From the Wikipedia page, it sounds like the 1985 cinematic adaptation is good. I’m already grieving for some of the changes they made (yep! I read the full summary, and now I know all the spoilers), but I’m also excited about some of them. I wonder if I can find that movie in one of the 39,392 subscriptions I have… Kidding! I only have Netflix, Sky, Disney +, and Amazon Prime…

There’s a funny acknowledgment at the end of the book — after all, King took liberties with the full moon schedule, but he does admit to it. The full moon was up the expected twelve times during the year, conveniently once a month around the important dates. Sure, it doesn’t make scientific sense that the full moon doesn’t follow the correct patterns, but it does make for a more exciting story.

I usually read my books on Kindle these days, but I couldn’t find a copy of this one. So I borrowed it from The Internet Archive. Sure, it’s not as good as reading on my Kindle (much more comfortable for my eyes), but it’s a great (and cheap!) alternative for finding books. I highly recommend checking it out if you’re on a tight budget or if you find it hard getting some books where you live. It’s also completely legal, just like borrowing books from your local library.

Cycle of the Werewolf isn’t King’s best book, but it’s definitely a great one. I’m happy I decided to include it in my list. If you like horror stories, I highly recommend this one. The exquisite illustrations add a fantastic touch to the gruesome tales, giving them an extra dimension for readers to enjoy. The book is quick, to the point, and gory. You won’t regret spending some time in Tarker’s Mills as long as you’re safely tucked away and traveling only through the book’s pages. It’s quite a dangerous town for those living there.