Werewolves in Fantasy

[Teresa Edgerton]

So I was just wondering, this morning, how many fantasy novels (as opposed to horror) feature werewolves as important characters.

I can think of a book by Mary Stewart, one by Charles de Lint, several by Tanith Lee ... there must be a lot more, but somehow I'm not thinking of them.

 

[dwndrgn]

Harry Potter has one. Sheesh. Now I can't think of any others. Hmm. Will have to think on it.

 

[dwndrgn]

Dresden Files by Butcher
most vampire stories like those by Kelley Armstrong and Kim Harrison...

 

[The Master™]

Eragon by Christopher Paolini features a WereCat...

But most people stick Lycanthropes and the like, in horror as a main villain, as opposed to a victim of an unfortunate accident...

[EDIT]There is the WereWolf in Terry Pratchett's books, can't remember her name...

 

[GrownUp]

Eragon by Christopher Paolini features a WereCat...

But most people stick Lycanthropes and the like, in horror as a main villain, as opposed to a victim of an unfortunate accident...

[EDIT]There is the WereWolf in Terry Pratchett's books, can't remember her name...

Angua

...but she is more incidentally a werewolf.

 

[The Master™]

...but she is more incidentally a werewolf.

How is that different to what I said???

 

[GrownUp]

It isn't different, I meant it as an aside, meaning that yep, she is a werewolf- well remembered- and I reckon her character is mainly about other things, and she happens to be a werewolf as well .

If we didn't have to stick to novels, and wolves, then Goku from Dragonball is a were-ape (and I guess Sabretooth in the X-Men is some sort of wolf-related thing).

 

[The Master™]

Love interest for Carrot... And to integrate the species.. Living, dead and undead!!!

[EDIT]And Wolverine isn't exactly totally human!!!

 

[Jay]

Sauron, from The Lord of the Rings took form of the a Wolf when he attacked Luthien and Huan in the First Age.

 

[The Master™]

But can you class that as being a Werewolf??? Or a shapeshifting mage???

 

[rune]

I will also second Kelley Armstrong, her series includes great werewolf characters and some good magic

 

[Jay]

But can you class that as being a Werewolf??? Or a shapeshifting mage???

It's a mistake confuse the term Werewolf with Lycanthropy, althoguh sometimes examples can be synoymous it is not always the case. In mythology and folkore a werewolfe's method of transformation does not decategorize it from the title, transformation by magic or curse, willfully or not is irrelevant.

Note Tolkien also uses werewolves who don't transform at all in his mythos, and are where th wargs of the third age are descended from.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

For the purposes of answering my question and satisfying my curiosity on this point, I'm happy to allow all instances of man (or woman) into wolf.

Although I never cared for the old movies where the lycanthrope turned into a wolf-man, rather than something more closely resembling an actual wolf. I can ever remember the first movie I ever saw in which the werewolf was, indeed, of the four-footed variety (although in this case probably a german-shepherd playing the role of a wolf) -- and how very impressed I was and quite thrilled with the idea.

 

[MoonLover]

I was actually about to ask this very same question Kelpie! I actually developed a werewolf character for a fanfic I wrote and I've been thinking about making him the subject of my first wholly original work. I don't know whether to read other lycan based works or not. I've got him fairly well developed in my own mind but I'm wary of inadvertently using other authors ideas/settings/traits and therefore confusing my own characterisations. What do others think?

Karen

 

[The Master™]

If you have the character fairly well developed, then put the details down NOW, before you become influenced... Then when you are fully happy with the way it looks, have a look at the way others do it.. Just for comparison...

 

[Leto]

Can't believe it. All of your lot of fantasy fans forgot about Angua !

The Discworld as a whole country ruled by werewolves and vampyres !

 

[xRAZERx]

Suzanne Sizemore wrote some books with warewolves in but for the life of me I can't remember where I put them.

 

[Leto]

For a werewolf as main character and on the good side : The Wolf's Hour by Robert R. McCammon.

 

[Taltos]

As Leto has revived this thread let me pipe in
3- books - 2 of them mostly non-fantasy
1) Holly Lisle - serie starting with novel "Diplomacy of wolves"
2) Poul Anderson - "Operation "Chaos"" - mix of SF and fantasy
3) Clifford Simak - "werewolf principle" - pure SF

 

[Leto]

And for comics, Werewolf by Night owned by Marvel.
but thanks to remind me Simak, as I've planned to re-read this one soon.