The Werewolves of London [Paperback]

Brian Stableford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1994

In the opening volume of a trilogy, the fallen angels of biblical mythology are progressing towards a final confrontation in their own private hell--accompanied unwittingly by David and Gabriel--and possibly deciding the fate of humanity. Reprint. K. AB.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British science fiction writer Stableford, who made quite a splash last year with the U.S. publication of his historical vampire epic The Empire of Fear , here offers a compelling mixture of lycanthropy, sorcery and biblical mythology in a Victorian setting. Bitten by a snake during a visit to Egypt, young David Lydyard, protege of the consummate rationalist Sir Edward Tallentyre, finds himself plagued by bizarre visions. Meanwhile, a young foundling named Gabriel Gill has discovered his own occult powers, and when the infamous sorcerer Jacob Harkender tries to take the boy into his home, Gabriel escapes with the help of Mandorla Soulier, mistress of the legendary werewolves of London, who have their own plans for him. Ancient powers, it seems, are reawakening, and the struggles of these dormant gods may signal the end of the world unless Tallentyre can use Lydyard's mystical connection to one such power (the source of his visions) to prevent disaster. First in a projected series, the novel is rich with period flavor, believable characters, rousing action and fascinating speculation on the essence of reality and the supernatural; Stableford's rationalistic outlook brings an interesting perspective to bear on a story filled with magic, gods and demons. The climax takes a bit long to arrive, but Stableford's thoroughly enjoyable adventure is crafted with intelligence and written in evocative prose.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A near-death encounter in the Egyptian desert leaves David Lydyard with a legacy of puzzling dreams and a sense that his consciousness is no longer entirely his own. As he labors to conceal his inexplicable condition, he discovers a secret war being waged in the streets of London between forces that have lain dormant for millennia. In a 19th-century London where science and reason form a thin veneer over a seething netherworld of werewolves, occultists, and fallen angels, Stableford ( The Empire of Fear, LJ 9/15/91) weaves a complex, heady tale of high adventure and mystical conspiracy. This debut volume in a projected trilogy, first published in Britain, belongs in most libraries.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786701803
• ISBN-13: 978-0786701803
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,433,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good overlooked Stableford, April 4, 2006

By 

Theodore E. Colby "Toadflax C.E." (Salt Lake UT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Werewolves of London (Paperback)

Brian Stableford is probably better known for his excellent Emortality series. But this is very good stuff I enjoyed the combination of the fantasy and science fiction elements and the Victorian drawing room settings. Above all is Stablefords great imagination. He inserts wonderful new ideas and characters into the tired cliched theme of monsters loose in foggy victorian London. Good book.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Kidnapped by werewolves, November 19, 2007

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Werewolves of London (Paperback)

Why do atheists always have to be portrayed as pompous, humorless windbags in popular fiction? Evil exists in Brian Stableford's Victorian London and there is nothing God can do about it, since he either outside of the Universe or else `is' the Universe. Only atheists seem to be able see the Universe as it truly is--and they tend to go on, and on, and on about it.

In "The Werewolves of London" the ultimate winners are: atheism; true love; Earth.

The losers are: Spiderman; Catwoman; Christianity; the Archangel Gabriel; and Satan.

Those who neither win nor lose are the Werewolves of London.

This book is 467 pages long, but if you skip through the long-winded hermeneutics on religion and magic, you could easily finish "The Werewolves of London" in a couple of sittings.

Sex is presented in such loathsome settings as to turn the reader off for life. In this respect, this book surpasses the Victorians it is trying to imitate.

There are a couple of engaging characters who are caught up in the fight of Good versus Evil: the first is an orphan boy with unusual psychic powers, who has spent the first nine years of his life with the Sisters of St. Syncletica; the second is a young man who gets bitten twice by snakes on an expedition through Egypt with his mentor, Baron Tallentyre.

The snakebites cause delirium and visions of Satan, and the young man is not safe even when he and his mentor return to London. He is soon kidnapped by the werewolves and tortured for reasons I never quite understood. S&M is a dominant theme in this book, much of it anti-Christian, some of it (as far as I can tell) just for fun.

The denouement occurs in one man's eerie version of hell where all of the characters are sorted out and universal order is restored--at least temporarily. This is an interesting book when it sticks to the plot and refrains from preaching.

2.0 out of 5 stars Beware of boring passages!, August 3, 2011

By 

Solipso (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Werewolves of London (Paperback)

Greek mythology tells of an ancient battle between titans and gods. In THE WEREWOLVES OF LONDON, Brian Stableford's ancient battle involves Creators and Others. In nineteenth-century London, the Creators are in suspended animation. Werewolves, a group of Others, live secretly using human cattle as tools for plots of domination. Over the centuries, the only good werewolf, Pelorus, has protected humans. But now Jacob Harkender, an occult magician, has awakened a Creator who unbalances the status quo with a threat of apocalypse.

On the back of the 1994 Carroll & Graf paperback edition, I read this quote: "An action-packed thriller. - Booklist."

That may not be a lie, but it is a falsehood. In 467 pages of narration, four action sequences comprise about 20 pages. Maybe that's not exactly right; maybe six action sequences comprise about 50 pages. The point is, despite its title, this novel is NOT action packed.

Its lack of action is insufficient for me to give it only two stars. I do that because unsuspecting readers looking for an exciting horror story are ambushed by pages of abstract philosophy and surrealism. This gives Stableford a chance to display his Wisdoms and Truths, but it's boring. Also, Stableford has a bothersome habit of using many words to describe little.

Nuggets of gold hide in this novel if you have the patience to pan for them. Therefore I give it two stars instead of one. I was thinking of giving it three stars, which is neutral, but I have discovered gold in other novels without having to sift through sediment. So my rating for this one is negative.

Even after reading THE WEREWOLVES OF LONDON, without the note on the back cover I would not have known that it was the first volume of a trilogy. Its story stands alone well.