Once Bitten: Favorite Werewolf Fiction

I must admit to being slightly astounded by the sheer number of werewolf (and shifter) romance books out there. Apparently that’s sexy…* Despite my determination to be on top of the romance trends, this one has eluded me. Regardless, it is nearing Halloween, and it’s the time of the year I want werewolves to be scary. Coincidentally, or not, tonight is the full moon. Not only that, but it’s the Hunter’s Moon. I’m taking that as a sign to share this gem of a list with you.

Sharing is caring, after all.

There’s not a lot of really great werewolf fiction out there, or maybe I just haven’t read it yet, but here are some of the good ones.

05. The Last Werewolf // Glen Duncan. “Meet Jake. A bit on the elderly side (he turns 201 in March), but you’d never suspect it. Nonstop sex and exercise will do that for you–and a diet with lots of animal protein. Jake is a werewolf, and after the unfortunate and violent death of his one contemporary, he is now the last of his species. Although he is physically healthy, Jake is deeply distraught and lonely.
Jake’s depression has carried him to the point where he is actually contemplating suicide–even if it means terminating a legend thousands of years old. It would seem to be easy enough for him to end everything. But for very different reasons there are two dangerous groups pursuing him who will stop at nothing to keep him alive.”

04. The Wolfen // Whitley Streiber. “The savage killing of two New York City policemen leads two detectives, a man and a woman bound together by a strange, tough passion, to hunt down the wolfen, called werewolves in former days.”

03. Hemlock Grove // Brian McGreevey. “At once a riveting mystery and a fascinating revelation of the grotesque and the darkness in us all, Hemlock Grove has the architecture and energy to become a classic in its own right—and Brian McGreevy the talent and ambition to enthrall us for years to come.”

02. Red Moon // Benjamin Percy. “They live among us. They are our neighbors, our mothers, our lovers. They change. When government agents kick down Claire Forrester’s front door and murder her parents, Claire realizes just how different she is.

Patrick Gamble was nothing special until the day he got on a plane and hours later stepped off it, the only passenger left alive, a hero.

Chase Williams has sworn to protect the people of the United States from the menace in their midst, but he is becoming the very thing he has promised to destroy.

So far, the threat has been controlled by laws and violence and drugs. But the night of the red moon is coming, when an unrecognizable world will emerge…and the battle for humanity will begin.”

01. Cycle of the Werewolf // Stephen King. “The first scream came from the snowbound railwayman who felt the fangs ripping at his throat. The next month there was a scream of ecstatic agony from the woman attacked in her snug bedroom.

Now scenes of unbelieving horror come each time the full moon shines on the isolated Maine town of Tarker Mills. No one knows who will be attacked next. But one thing is sure. When the moon grows fat, a paralyzing fear sweeps through Tarker Mills. For snarls that sound like human words can be heard whining through the wind. And all around are the footprints of a monster whose hunger cannot be sated…”

Bonus entries: Twilight and Harry Potter. 

So do you prefer your werewolves with a side of romance or a side of gore? Not surprisingly, I’m more of a gore (and Harry Potter) person than I am a romance (or Twilight) fan. For more Halloween lists, go here.

*I’ll admit to liking my men hairy, but I still prefer 100% human.