Werewolves

by Jon Izzard

From ancient legend to pop-culture icon, from monster to antihero, here is a complete look at werewolves.

 Fans of the complex beasts will howl with pleasure at this passionate handbook incorporating legend, lore, trivia and art. Author Jon Izzard stalks both the fiction and the facts: transformations, inner rage, extra-human strength, silver bullets, mysterious curses, modern cures and more.  With werewolves now haunting movie screens and literature the way they have haunted our nightmares for millennia, readers won't wait for the full moon to devour this fascinating volume.

Genres: Werewolves, Horror, Nonfiction, Research, Paranormal

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2009

Reviews

[Tina Haigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading books like this. Give me some good creature lore and I can hole up in bed and read for days. You can never go wrong with the classic monsters!

Lycanthropy has permeated many different works throughout the world for centuries. Unfortunately, the author was barely able to scratch the surface here. While most of the book was great, and exactly what I was looking for - tales of old, movies, books, that sort of thing - the whole first section was very philosophical in nature. I would've preferred to read a much longer book, focusing on more of the content that fills the rest of the pages, while skipping all of the personal speculation about the meaning of the wolf. Granted it was the author's prerogative to include this section, but it felt out of place, unnecessary, and set the wrong tone.

Other than that first chapter, the rest of the book was worth reading. I would recommend it to anyone who is into the history of horror, specifically the origin and continuation of werewolf tales.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read full of various werewolf myths and legends. It also looks into werewolf literature and films. A good starting point for any fan of lycanthropes.

[Hilary "Fox" · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jon Izzard's book is a flashy introductory text to werewolves that both enthusiasts and newcomers to the creature can love. The book itself is oversized, and full of glossy pages depicting manifold images from werewolf movies. The cover is just the beginning. In these pages you'll see the classics - you know the scene from The Wolfman and The Howling, An American Werewolf in London and Ginger Snaps. Underworld is naturally massively represented as well. Which is all well and good, but I was surprised at the lack of representation of a more literary persuasion.

So, while I came to this book wanting a bit more of a folkloric history of werewolves instead I got their history through the lens of pop culture. It was an analysis of what has remained the same, and where some beliefs come from. The idea of the werewolf as a romantic creature that can only be killed by someone who loves them was held up really well through both folklore and modern interpretations which made me think a bit of dragons and Reign of Fire. I liked the section of the book being reserved for female werewolves as well, a perennial classic that has also been horrifically underserved in modern media.

So, this book wasn't exactly what I expected or wanted, but it still was a decent read. I'm glad that it was a library get rather than one that I bought, but I can see any monster movie enthusiast getting a ton from it. It did give me some new books on my reading list, and an abiding curiosity for movies I didn't know existed - but still... I think the Lycantrhopy Reader might end up being something better for me to sink my teeth into.

[Balerion · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been good if it weren’t for the fact that a large chunk of this book was full summaries of werewolf movies, I skipped them because I would rather watch the movies myself rather than read the entire plot of them. I did enjoy all the folklore, but this definitely had a lot of unnecessary stuff thrown in to just bulk up the book more. It also ended rather abruptly.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really helpful in my research for my PWS and a general fun and interesting read overall.

[Lori Gallagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could have done without all the spoilers.

[Trico Lutkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was pretty interesting. It went somewhat into the old folklore about werewolves, but spend a LOT of time giving a book report or summary about movies and TV shows starring werewolves. I was hoping it would have more of a deep dive into the folklore. Would recommend if it was free at a library

[J.S. Nelson]

DNF

[Tegan Faust · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cool book on werewolves and how they appear in media and folk lore. Read it I. One day easily and could not put it down!

[Courtney Coulson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting tidbits on history and folklore, but a majority of it is simply summaries of movies with no deeper analysis or commentary. It lacks structure and ends abruptly with no conclusion.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as Team Edward and Team Jacob are preparing to catfight themselves into oblivion with the impending release of the next installment of the Twilight movie, Jon Izzard scores a definite hit with this book, which traces the presence of werewolves and other shape shifters in myth and legend over the course of human history.

The references to popular culture are legion in this book and what's more, they're organized into tables and such to make it easy to find. There are lots of stills from old monster movies as well. The for further reading section is detailed as well, with annotations providing brief plot summaries of the fictional works.

The author provides just enough detail to be interesting in each of the sections of the book without bogging down the flow of the book. This book can be enjoyed either as a cover-to-cover read or as a reference for a trivia fact, illustration, or cultural reference. I found myself enjoying its versatility as I was reading it.

What sets this book apart from its vampire-studying companion volume is that Werewolves includes a bit more detail in the analysis of lycanthropy in popular culture, while Vampires included more historical data. Each book was successful because it focused on the strengths and variety of information of the particular legend it addressed; since there isn't a lot of "factual" historical information on werewolves it only makes sense that there wouldn't be all that many sections on that in here.

Ultimately, Werewolves was my favorite of the two books, but then, I prefer shapeshifter legends to vampire legends, so it's definitely an issue of personal preference. There's something here for everyone, and ultimately I think enjoying the books together is the best way to get the most out of them. The illustrations are spectacular here, too!

Overall Grade: A

Read other reviews at What Book is That?

[Charlotte Meridian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains a great collection of werewolf lore and stories. At first the cover made me shy away from it, but being a werewolf fanatic, it was only a matter of time before I paged through and found an awesome book inside.

It is well written which makes it enjoyable to read and is also an excellent sourse or werewolf lore and comaprative story examples. I read it from cover to cover in one go and I use it often to refer to when writing my own supernatural books.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative. I read it in hopes of writing a story about a werewolf so it is very useful for research, especially its subjects of how they are portrayed in media and in folklore. Highly recommend it!

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's not much here. You get a lot of plot summaries for werewolf movies and stories, and some pop psychology and a ton of pictures.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not as into Werewolves so it wasn't as facingating as the Vampire book but it was still really good knowledge and if I had like werewolves more it'd be even better :)

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, lots of insight and great pictures

[Michelle Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring and repetitive. It offers little in the way of myth compared to it's overly detailed descriptions of popular werewolf movies. I've read better.

[Gus Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great gems of information and obscure lore nearly lost amid poor writing and rambling text.

[FrancioDinero]

whoreeeesssssssss