Lycanthropos

by Jeffrey Sackett

When a chance encounter between a squad of Hitler's elite SS troops and a band of gypsies ends in slaughter, the Nazis take a man named Janos Kaldy into custody for the killings. When they find that Kaldy is a werewolf, the Nazis bring in a beautiful young chemist and an aging doctor turned minister to aid in a daring, crazy plan. As the Dr. attempts to regress Kaldy through hypnotism to the root of his curse, the Nazis strive to isolate the enzyme that can turn an army of their troops into an unstoppable killing machine. Steeped in history and drenched in ancient religions and spiritual mystery, Lycanthropos is the original novel that was eventually rewritten into the novel Mark of the Werewolf. One of the most unique werewolf stories ever told.

Genres: Horror

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2011

Reviews

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually listened to this book on audio. I enjoyed the history lesson and I believe that the authur had a good handle on his characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know how werewolves originated.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great edition to the werewolf sub genre. This was a great read. A bit different, instead of a story told with the werewolf as the base of the story, it is really the researchers of the Natzi party that are the catalyst of the story. This makes for a very interesting tale. I was completely delighted with this story and wish there had been more of it.

[Hope Chipman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warewolvess + Nazis. It has the historical fiction aspect I like, plus throws in some genetics. Not bad!

[N. Niemeier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting review to write because I had the honor to perform Jeff Sackett's funeral. He and his family were members of my parish in New York, though I didn't get to meet him because of the aftermath of COVID. A number of his books were on display at the funeral home during his wake, so when I saw that he had written a werewolf story, I decided to give it a read to better get to know the man I buried.

It's a pretty good yarn. Sackett takes a lot of aspects of werewolf lore (especially the sort of "werewolf as wolf of God" concept) and reweaves them to make a fun and pulpy romp. There are evil Nazis, repressed memories, heroic women, ancient curses, a gormless clergyman (who I kept hoping would redeem himself, but it seems he's got work to do--Sackett had considered becoming a Lutheran pastor at one time, and in order to write one as pathetic as Weyrauch, you can tell that he knew what a good one should look like, especially in WW2 Germany), and at the center of it all, Janos Kaldy, the werewolf who just wants to be allowed to die.

The Zoroastrian angle was an interesting addition, and I'd be curious to know if there are any real world connections between Persian religion and the werewolf legend.

So give Sackett's 'Lykanthropos' a read. it's almost Halloween. I look forward to reading more of his works.