Under the full moon, a werewolf stalks and attacks the people of Tarker’s Mills. Can anyone stop the Cycle of The Werewolf? I didn’t know Stephen King is into the werewolf genre too if I didn’t stumble on this novel, Cycle of The Werewolf. Who doesn’t know Stephen King? He is honestly on my list of fave authors.
As a werewolf book reader that is exciting for me. Well, I don’t want to sound biased in this review, so I will give you both good and not-so-good points about some chapters of the Cycle of The Werewolf.
Cycle of The Werewolf is a horror fantasy fiction. Stephen King is an expert when it comes to this genre. The cycle of The Werewolf was originally published in 1983. This book had been an inspiration for the movie Silver Bullet. The premise of this short novel, Cycle of The Werewolf, is about the series of attacks that happens every full moon in the small town of Tarker’s Mill in Maine.
Also, this book comes with terrifying illustrations of Bernie Wrightson, which I think you would appreciate much if you’re a visual type of reader. On my part, I don’t mind the illustrations though sometimes it spoils the scenes because, for me, illustrations bring more of the story to life.
Lots of reviews are circulating the media debating that Stephen King’s Cycle of The Werewolf isn’t a novel but a short story. Well, I can’t blame those who complain that the novel is short, because of the plot being well structured plus with King’s brilliant writing, you would surely feel like the chapters aren’t enough and you wanted more!
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But I am more on the part that this novel was rarely presented in ways that complement its title – Cycle of The Werewolf. So, here we are given 12 chapters wherein each chapter features a werewolf attack. Each month brings a new victim and a short story about them, thus completing the entire Lunar cycle. Looking at its neat structure, I can say that Cycle of The Werewolf is an artistic masterpiece. The readers wanted more, and I honestly don’t want to settle with just 12 chapters but as an author too, I understand that this book is purposely a work of art.
From an author’s perspective, I don’t want to ruin a book’s artistic structure for the sake of making the story long. The 12 chapters resemble the Lunar cycle which foreshadows the title of the book- Cycle of The Werewolf, and for me, that’s clever, that’s artistic, and I admire the author for that.
- Part 1: Synopsis of Cycle of The Werewolf
- Part 2: The Setting of Cycle of The Werewolf
- Part 3: Interesting Chapters of Cycle of The Werewolf
- Part 4: Conclusion about Cycle of A Werewolf
Part 1: Synopsis of Cycle of The Werewolf
The hero of the Cycle of The Werewolf is Marty Coslaw, a 10-year-old boy who is bound in a wheelchair. The residents of Tarker’s Mill are terrorized by a werewolf on the night of every full moon. The werewolf tormenting them happens to be one of their own.
The story begins on a chilly January night as Tarker’s Mills, Maine, is shut down by a blizzard. Arnie Westrum, a railroad flagman, hears what sounds like an animal trying to enter a small wooden cabin where he is sheltering from the storm. Arnie is killed instantly as a large wolf smashes in the door, beginning a year-long cycle of horror and death.
The wolf kills a single woman the following month, and then a wanderer, a youngster, a church caretaker, a café owner, the local constable, a librarian, and numerous animals. As the months pass, there are increasing whispers that a werewolf is responsible for the deaths, but the locals are unsure of what to believe and appear helpless to stop him.
Only one person saw who the werewolf is and lives to tell about it, but then he is just a 10-year-old boy, Marty Coslaw, who was confined to a wheelchair after surviving a werewolf’s attack.
Part 2: The Setting of Cycle of The Werewolf
Something inhumane comes to Tarker’s Mill. I love how Stephen King crafted and creatively described the setting of the story.
The cycle of The Werewolf was set in a small town that used to be peaceful, where its residents are contented and happily cohabitating with each other, where its children are nice and respectful, and where everyone gathered for a weekend meal at church.
So at these descriptions of the setting, we could grasp how beautiful and fragile Tarker’s Mill is, and how helpless it will be under the torment of a savage werewolf.
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Part 3: Interesting Chapters of Cycle of The Werewolf
Cycle of The Werewolf Chapter 1 – January
Sure I will include this chapter 1 of Cycle of The Werewolf in the list of my favorite chapters. Why? This is a hook. This is catchy. This will stir your interest. The writing is creative. The storytelling starts with a bang!
Chapter 1 of the Cycle of The Werewolf puts you in the scene. January tells the story of Arnie Westrum, a flag man who was attacked by a werewolf under a snowstorm full moon.
Cycle of The Werewolf Chapter 5 – May
I love how the villain is presented in this chapter of Cycle of The Werewolf. You would not expect that the werewolf here would turn out to be someone you least expect. In this chapter, the author shows us the irony and perplexities of the villain’s character. It turns out the Reverend of the Baptist Church is the werewolf.
But reading Cycle of The Werewolf Chapter 5, we could see here that the Reverend isn’t aware that he’s a werewolf. It was like he was caught in confusion and he mistook his physiological changes as just a bad dream.
Cycle of The Werewolf Chapter 7 – July
This is an exciting chapter of Cycle of The Werewolf. Here we get to know the main character of the story which is Marty. We saw he had a nice family, but then Marty’s story opens with him being confined to a wheelchair, as a survivor of the wolf’s previous attack. This chapter placed the readers in great suspense.
Come to think of it, how would a kid in a wheelchair survive a face-to-face encounter with a werewolf? Stephen King brings his readers into a suspenseful scene, and I think Marty’s encounter with the werewolf and managing to be alive in the end was one of the charming factors of this story.
Part 4: Conclusion about Cycle of A Werewolf
Finally, I could say that the creation of the villain here is perfect, plus the cliffhangers and the creative storytelling truly, there’s no doubt that Stephen King’s work is great. I would like to note Reveren’s character.
I love how he was crafted here in Cycle of A Werewolf. It is such an intelligent concept of villain where the werewolf isn’t someone the residents of Tarker’s would expect, goes the same for the readers. How could a churchman possibly be the terrorizing beast?
It’s the last of a person whom Tarkers residents will suspect, and it’s not the kind of character whom readers will expect. But it turns out that the Reverend isn’t aware of his demons.
It turns out that the Reverend who’s supposed to be protecting his flock, is the wolf prowling, murdering in a full moon. All in all, I can say that Stephen King’s Cycle of The Werewolf is a great horror fantasy novel.
