book (ry)view: Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King

In the small town of Tarker's Mills, Maine, something dangerous lurks during the full moon. Someone or something is stalking the townspeople and slaughtering them each month. No one knows who or what is responsible. The town begins to wonder if a serial killer is on the loose. Some say it's a vagrant. Others, especially the children, murmur about a werewolf on the prowl. Little by little, they take actions against the predator. They decide to issue a mandatory town curfew. Hunters and dogs go out to find whoever is responsible. They don't know who it will strike next - all they know is when it will strike again. 


Originally intended to be a calendar, this little story only runs 127 pages - many of which include either full- or quarter-page illustrations by Bernie Wrightson. This novella takes place over a period of twelve months, the average page length of each month - presented here as chapters - only run about 3-6 pages in length. While there is a bevy of characters and plenty of story development, it often reads as Stephen King Digest. Given that this was intended to be presented as a calendar with short vignettes for each month, it makes sense that it feels that way. It also makes sense that King, who is not known for writing short novels or short short stories (I mention "short" twice here as he is known for short stories),  felt constrained by the length of the vignettes, and instead chose to produce a short novella. It was later published alongside the original illustrations intended for the calendar.

It's hard to put into words how to feel about the novella. On the one hand, I read it in just a little under an hour and got my Stephen King fix. On the other hand - as a Constant Reader - I wanted more. I wanted to spend more time in Harker's Mills, which borders Chester's Mills (see Under the Dome's main setting), to fully see the town's in and outs and quirks. I wanted to know more about the main hero and his family. I wanted to know more about the victims of the slaughterer. I wanted to know more about the villain, who is surprisingly one-dimensional, considering (1) werewolves can be explored pretty interestingly, considering they can often be a metaphor for multiple personalities and (2) King almost always writes interesting and complex villains (see Jack Torrance from The Shining). 

Unfortunately, it sounds like the only other time Harker's Mills is revisited is in the film adaptation of Cycle of the Werewolf, which is entitled Silver Bullet. Further Google searches indicate that Constant Readers will have to wait for King to write another novel or short story either featuring these characters or taking place Harker's Mills. Given King hasn't revisited either the characters or the town since the novella's publication in 1983, I figure we'll just sit back and be satisfied with the little time we spent there with them in Cycle of the Werewolf. 

The format itself is a welcome departure from most of King's other works. While some of his works have had illustrations (see: The Stand) and others have been adapted into graphic novels (see: The Stand, The Dark Tower), most of his works are text only. That is perfectly fine for this Constant Reader, but it was interesting to see him flex his muscles a different way in this particular story. Unfortunately, many of his verbosity is lost, and so is some of the story in the process. For example, I wanted to see more of how the townspeople responded to the terror between lunar cycles. I wanted to see how they made the decisions they made for the town following the discovery of the corpses left behind. 

I will summarize my review with this: I enjoyed my stay, and I wanted more. 

Does Cycle of the Werewolf sound like something you'd enjoy? Add it to your Goodreads by clicking on the book cover above. Happy reading!