Customer Reviews

Cycle Of The Werewolf (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In the small Maine town of Tarker's Mills, on a snowy January night when the blizzard hides what would have been a full moon, a railwayman holed up in his cabin has his throat savagely ripped out. The same thing happens again on the night of the full moon in February, only this time the victim is a lonely spinster sighing over some valentines she sent to herself. And again in March, April, May... there's a monster afoot, but it's only Marty Coslaw, a small boy in a wheelchair, who first realizes it's a werewolf, and then guesses who it is. We guess, too, and Stephen King lets us know by the middle of the book just who it is. From that point, the book deals with how to stop the horror, as the months roll by and the bodies pile up on the night of each full moon.

Most of the months are marked with special days in the calendar, and King tells us in a coda he realizes there is no way the lunar cycle could be skewed the way he tells it, but it in no way detracts from the fun. Copiously illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings and color plates by Bernie Wrightson, it's an enjoyable novella that can be read in an evening. Each little chapter is a story in itself, and together they make up a satisfying horror yarn.

I'd read this book when it was first released, but I decided to make a return trip; I liked it more the 2nd time around! King, along with famed illustrator Berni Wrightson, weaves a tight, tense year-long narrarative of a small Maine town dealing with a monthly visitor. The chapters are short and to the point; King doesn't waste a single word. Wrightson, for his part, brings some of the key scenes to life very vividly. (Who wouldn't LOVE to own one of these paintings?)The book itself is a BEAUTIFUL package; the paintings are wonderfully reproduced. It won't take long to read, but you'll find yourself making a return trip to Tarker Mills before long. It's just that good.... and just TRY to forget the painting of the Werewolf on top of the Semi.....I dare you!

I have tiptoed around actually sitting down to read this book for a long time and when I saw a mint condition copy at a local book sale I grabbed it. I wasn't disappointed. Simple minded critics have attacked the brevity of the book (I guess the concept of the short story is beyond them) but it really is a good "werewolf" story. The illustrations helped move the book along though. I recommend that if you are sick of watching half hour situation comedies on television pick this book up. It's a good diversion from tv.

Anybody who reads Cycle of the Werewolf will notice something unique. Instead of chapters in the book, there are months. And for every month there is a slaying, until the werewolf is stopped. Stephen King did a nice job of writing this, I heard that Stephen King wrote this book in less than 2 hours! That is unbelievable because i think he did a very nice job of writing this book. This doesn't really resemble a normal King book in my opinion, because the main character is not determined until chapter 7, or July. But the book still has something that everyother king book has, and that is good suspense and very detailed scenes. I think this is what makes his writing so good. I don't really know if you can use this book as a model, but none the less it is still good. Now, I am going to include a quote from where Marty Coslaw encounters the beast on the 4th of July: "It has almost reached him-it's clawed hands, so like-unlike human hands, reaching for his throat-when the boy remembers the packet of firecrackers. Hardly aware he is going to do it, he strikes a match and touches it to the master fuse. The fuse spits a hot line of red sparks that singe the fine hair on the back of his hand, crisping them. The werewolf, momentarily offbalance, draws backwards, uttering a question grunt that, like his hands, is nearly human. Marty throws the packet of firecrackers in it's face." I think this really get's the reader involved in the story. I can't get this book enough praise, but, if you are not into slow moving plots, than I wouldn't suggest this book for you. If you do like slow moving stories, than this is the book for you.

CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF was the first Stephen King novel that I ever read. I read it when I was 13 or 14 years old and found it to be quite scary. Just recently, my little brother read this book and loved it. And he also saw the film SILVER BULLET, the film King made out of the book. So I decided to get this book again and was thrilled with how great it is!

CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF is a story laid out over one year with each chapter covering a month. During each month, citizens of Tarker's Mills, a sleepy Maine town, are falling prey to something terrifying, something almost human. And only a wheelchair-bound young boy survives and can stop the carnage!

The book is terrifying and smartly-written. The werewolf attacks are described with such precision that you don't want to put the book down. And the illustrations by Bernie Wrightson go along beautifully with the text! One day, I would love to make a TV-movie out of this book (most likely for TNT) and make it faithful to the book!

Divided up into basically twelve short stories all dealing with a werewolf in a small Maine town, Cycle of the Werewolf is more of a mood piece that a novel but its still an entertaining read. Because of the structure -- each month giving us a new victim to meet and quickly bid a fond farewell -- this book doesn't contain the in-depth characterization that most King fans expect from the writer and, as a result, the supernatural threat never becomes personalized for the reader. Its a book that manages to cast a gloomy pall without actually achieving any real horror. That said, Cycle of the Werewolf is still a quick and fun read, especially if you're a fan of the whole werewolf legend. King's prose is quite strong here and, if you're like me and a part of the minority of readers who actually think King's book have gotten a bit excessive and self-important as of late, this book serves as a good reminder that before he became STEPHEN KING, GREAT WRITER AND SELF-STYLED LITERARY ICON, he was just a goofy guy who wanted to scare people. In this book, King comes across as an overly earnest summer camp counselor trying to tell a creepy story in front of a campfire. Its a lot of fun and there's something to be said for that.

Stephen King dedicates this book to Davis Grubb (1919-). A dedication which is richly deserved, first, because Grubb's great novel "The Night of the Hunter" (1953) is truly one of the most disturbing stories of children confronting evil that has ever been written (there's an equally chilling 1955 movie version, Charles Laughton's only directorial effort); second, because King cadges a key theme & the finale of Grubb's novel. But unfortunately, in calling to mind such a haunting forbear, it serves to remind us, once again, of how forgettable King's own work tends to be.

This book represents King's entirely straightforward and unoriginal take on the legend of the Werewolf. It seems as if it was probably intended for a younger readership; in addition to the Grubb reference, the hero is a handicapped boy and the book features illustrations by renowned comic book artist Bernie Wrightson. In fact, Wrightson's art may be the best thing about the book.

The book isn't bad--in fact, it's entirely possible that King is unable to write a truly bad book. But it is a pretty pedestrian work. I think teenage boys would enjoy it, but for anyone else it will only fill time, and that briefly. Adults, try Night of the Hunter instead.

GRADE: C

Fast paced and gripping. This is a very unique King book. He just jumps right into the action on this one. I normally don't care for illustrated books (unless they're comic books :), but Bernie Wrightson's work did nothing but improve the effectiveness of this work of art. I liked the way the chapters corresponded to the months of the year (i.e., the werewolf only comes once a month because the moon is only truly full once a month).

If you're a fan of werewolf stories you're gonna love this one!

I bought this book after seeing Wolf, with Jack Nicholson. Not that this paperback has any relation with that movie, but it's just that after I saw the flick I really wanted to find other werewolf-themed books and videos and this was an excellent choice.

In this book King tells the story of Tarker Mills, a town in Maine where death looms every time there's a full moon in the sky. The master of suspense shows you how a typical January night becomes the start of a terrifying cycle...the Cycle of the Werewolf.

This is a very short but exciting story (just 12 chapters of about 500 words each) so you don't have time to get bored, you will simply find it difficult to lay the book down.

This isn't a King classic but it sure is entertaining and easy to read. Overall, I think this is a great Stephen King book that will keep you reading however, if you're a fan of the long, more complex and gore-filled King stories make another choice.

Actually the chief attraction of "Cycle of the Werewolf" for me is the artwork by Berni Wrightston more than the story by Stephen King. In fact, I like the black & white drawings by Wrightston more than the color plates (remember the stunning black & white line drawings he did for his illustrated version of Shelley's "Frankenstein"?). The story is set in the isolated Maine town of Tarker Mills where each month, starting with the first full moon in January, another victim is ripped to shreds. The key players are young Marty Coslaw, who is bound to his wheelchair, his Uncle Al, who has a fondness for fireworks, and the Reverend Lester Lowe, a guy who just screams "I have a deep dark secret! Ask me what it is!" Each month another person gets savagely killed and Marty is having a hard time convincing anybody else in town that a werewolf is doing the killing. That means that young Marty is going to have to have to be the one that lays the trap to catch the werewolf.

"Cycle of the Werewolf" was originally conceived of as a story-calendar, and ended up as this beautifully illustrated 12-chapter novella. King plays around with the lunar cycle so that it came on the day that marks certain months (e.g, Valentine's Day, Fourth of July), but that is a legitimate conceit in a story that is about werewolves, even if it does mean the werewolf will not be caught until December. Although it was conceived of as a short work and the main character is a 10-year-old boy, King's description of the werewolf attacks is violent enough to convince me this one is not especially intended for kiddies. Then there are Wrightston's color plates. A cop getting his face ripped off by a werewolf and disemboweled pigs lying in the rain are not usually children's fare either. However, by King standards this is a cute little story, stripped down to the essentials and forgoing the elaborate character backgrounds and sundry subplots that bloated so many of his novels. Besides, in case you have forgotten, there are the illustrations (what fan of horror literature would not want a calendar of Berni Wrightston's artwork?)