Werwolves in fantasy literature

The werewolf (a human with the ability to shape shift into a wolf) first appeared in Ancient Greek literature and mythology, notably in the works of Petronius and Herodotus. In Roman times Ovid, Virgil and Pliny the Elder wrote of human beings transforming into wolves. Famous fantasy literature involving the lycanthrope include Rachel Hawthorne's Dark Guardian novels, JK Rowling's Harry Potter novels and the works of Charles de Lint, Terry Pratchett, Fritz Leiber and Poul Anderson.

1. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson: Book 1
Score: 92
Our rating: 9.0 | 2 positive reader reviews
Meet Mercedes the Volkswagen mechanic, as if that was the only or most interesting thing you could know about Mercy Thompson. Indeed it is not. Mercy is a shifter, meaning that she can shift into the form of a coyote in the blink of an eye. She was also raised by werewolves and try as she might t [...]

2. Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson: Book 2
Score: 91
Our rating: 9.0 | 1 positive reader reviews
Something is wrong in the Tri Cities. A shadow has fallen across its inhabitants just as surely as if the sun hid behind a cloud. A new vampire has come into town with out stopping by the local seethe to pay his respects which is a very bad thing as Mercy is about to find out. Stefan, a vampire ( [...]

3. Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson: Book 4
Score: 90
Our rating: 9.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
Mercy Thompson couldn't keep herself out of trouble if her life depended upon it - and it does. After killing one more vampire than the head vampiress commissioned her for Mercy is once again in hot water. As if this wasn't enough an old college friend comes to town asking for help with a [...]

4. Rage of Lions by Curtis Jobling
Wereworld: Book 2
Score: 90
Our rating: 9.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
He has the makings of a great warrior - but first he must master the blade and the beast. When Lady Gretchen is abducted by the Werelion Prince Lucas, Drew and his friends embark on a perilous chase to stop the prince fleeing to his homeland of Bast. As Drew encounters terrifying new Werelords al [...]

5. Shadow of the Hawk by Curtis Jobling
Wereworld: Book 3
Score: 90
Our rating: 9.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
In a kingdom at war, the line between good and evil becomes blurred . . . In this third book in the Wereworld saga, werewolf and rightful king of Lyssia Drew Ferran must battle his way off a bleak volcanic island where he's being held prisoner. With the help of a motley crew of enslaved Werel [...]

6. Nest of Serpents by Curtis Jobling
Wereworld: Book 4
Score: 90
Our rating: 9.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
With friends turning into enemies, can Drew find his way out of this war alive? The entire kingdom of Lyssia is now at war, and the battle lines have been drawn. While Drew and his ragtag army defend the throne against Ratlords and Crowlords, Gretchen and Whitley venture on a harrowing journey th [...]

7. Virals by Kathy Reichs
Tory Brennan series #1
Score: 90
Our rating: 9.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
Tory Brennan, niece of acclaimed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit TV show), is the leader of a ragtag band of teenage "sci-philes" who live on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina. When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing [...]

8. Seizure by Kathy Reichs
Tory Brennan series #2
Score: 90
Our rating: 9.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
The Virals' home on Loggerhead Island is under threat, and only one thing can save it: a lot of money. A 300-year-old legend. Rumour has it that notorious pirate Anne Bonny hid her treasure somewhere in Charleston in 1720. No-one knows where, but Tory Brennan - great-niece of famous forensic [...]

9. Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy
Score: 90
Our rating: 9.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
The body of a young girl is found mangled and murdered in the woods of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania, in the shadow of the abandoned Godfrey Steel mill. A manhunt ensues - though the authorities aren't sure if it's a man they should be looking for. Some suspect an escapee from the White Tow [...]

10. Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson: Book 5
Score: 90
Our rating: 9.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
When mechanic and shapeshifter Mercy Thompson attempts to return a powerful Fae book she'd previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down. It seems the book contains secret knowledge--and the Fae will do just about anything to keep it out of th [...]

11. The Wolf's Hour by Robert McCammon
Score: 89
Our rating: 8.8 | 1 positive reader reviews
Michael Gallatin is a British spy with a peculiar talent: the ability to transform himself into a wolf. Although his work in North Africa helped the Allies win the continent in the early days of World War II, he quit the service when a German spy shot his lover in her bed. Now, three years later, [...]

12. Young Werewolf by Cornelia Funke
Score: 88
Our rating: 8.8 | 0 positive reader reviews
Matt is returning home from the cinema when a yellow-eyed monster bites his hand and his whole world - and body - changes. Helped by his best friend Lisa and teacher Mrs Ruskin, they have just two days to find a cure before the curse takes hold forever! [...]

13. The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan
Score: 88
Our rating: 8.8 | 0 positive reader reviews
One last full moon – then it will all be over. Jacob Marlowe has lost the will to live. For two hundred years he has wandered the world, enslaved by his lunatic appetites and tormented by the memory of his first and most monstrous crime. Now, the last of his kind, he knows he cannot go on. [...]

14. Rise of The Wolf by Curtis Jobling
Wereworld: Book 1
Score: 87
Our rating: 8.6 | 1 positive reader reviews
Imagine a world ruled by Werelords - men and women who can shift at will into bears, lions, and serpents. When Drew suddenly discovers he's not only a werewolf but the long-lost heir to the murdered Wolf King's throne, he must use his wits and newfound powers to survive in a land suddenly [...]

15. Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson: Book 3
Score: 85
Our rating: 8.5 | 0 positive reader reviews
When there are murders on the fae reservation Zee, Mercy’s ex boss and fae himself is arrested. The Grey Lords (the highest of the fae and keeper of their laws) are content to let him rot even though he’s innocent. Brought in to help by Uncle Mike, local bar owner and fae, Mercy finds [...]

16. The Dead of Winter by Lee Collins
Score: 85
Our rating: 8.3 | 2 positive reader reviews
Cora Ogelsby and her husband, Ben, hunt things - things that shouldn't exist. When the marshal of Leadville, Colorado, comes across a pair of mysterious, bloody deaths out in the badlands, he turns to Cora to find the creature responsible. But if she is to overcome the unnatural tide threaten [...]

17. 13 to Life by Shannon Delany
Score: 84
Our rating: 8.4 | 0 positive reader reviews
Jessica's life was difficult enough since the sudden loss of her mother, but meeting Pietr Rusakova turns her world completely upside down. The newest member of Junction High, Pietr is a first generation Russian-American, a fact that by itself gets him lots of attention in the small town. But [...]

18. Changeling: Blood Wolf by Steve Feasey
Score: 81
Our rating: 8.0 | 1 positive reader reviews
The Mission: They’ve broken the evil vampire Caliban’s power base. They thought that it was all over. That’s where they were wrong... Changeling: Blood Wolf is the third in the series and continues to develop the story of Trey Laporte- the last hereditary werewolf. Set in a teen [...]

19. A Whisper of Southern Lights by Tim Lebbon
Assassins #2
Score: 80
Our rating: 8.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
Death and destruction follow the demon wherever he treads, and Gabriel is rarely far behind, waiting for his chance to extinguish the creature known as Temple once and for all. But in Singapore during the Second World War, a lone soldier in possession of a shattering secret gets caught up in thei [...]

20. Breed by Chase Novak
Score: 80
Our rating: 8.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
Alex and Leslie Twisden told each other they would do anything to have children. The price didn't matter. But the experimental procedure they found had costs they couldn't foresee. Adam and Alice Twisden’s lives seem perfectly normal. Except that, every night, without fail, their pa [...]

21. River Marked by Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson: Book 6
Score: 80
Our rating: 8.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
A newly married Mercy and Adam are attempting to have a peaceful honeymoon in Columbia Gorge in the Cascade Mountains, but trouble always manages to find Mercy and it isn’t long before the real reason they were asked to go there by the fae is made clear. A river monster is killing people al [...]

22. Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson: Book 7
Score: 80
Our rating: 8.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
After only being married to Adam for a few months, and having finally recovered from their river monster-fighting honeymoon, Mercy once again has to take charge of her wolves and friends to save them from a megalomaniac vampire, rouge mercenaries and fae assassins. As with all of her books in thi [...]

23. Albrim’s Curse by Trevis Powell
Score: 80
Our rating: 8.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
All young Albrim wanted to be was a master bowman like his father. Then a savage attack on his home cost him his family, his arm, and his humanity - all at once! Crippled and contaminated by the Curse, his beloved Gran leaves him in the care of Mute, a giant warrior dedicated to protecting humani [...]

24. Bitten by Dan OBrien
Lauren Westlake Mysteries: Book 1
Score: 75
Our rating: 7.5 | 0 positive reader reviews
Lauren Westlake, an F.B.I. agent, arrives in a small Minnesota town after opening a cold case file. A killer is on the loose. But Lauren and the local police department must figure out if their killer is human, animal, or…other? [...]

25. MMORPG by Charlie Foxtrott
Score: 55
Our rating: 5.5 | 0 positive reader reviews
What would you do if you suddenly found yourself in a massively multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game? Well, this is the situation that the star of Charlie Foxtrot’s MMORPG finds himself in.Geordie finds himself stuck in the online world of Thila unable to return home. At first he thi [...]

26. Avalonia: The Three Realms by Ashley Kate Simmons
Score: 50
Our rating: 5.0 | 0 positive reader reviews
Lily is an average teenage girl who finds herself drawn into a world filled with beings only heard of in myths and legends. Faeries, Vampires and Werewolves both good and bad, successively living (or un-living) by day and night. Working as only they know. A prophecy is to be fulfilled a prophecy [...]