Ravenous
By Ray Garton
2008 Leisure Books
Paperback, 342 pages
Another longer, newer horror novel! What has gotten into me?
I discovered this title on somebody’s “nature-strikes-back” list. I looked it
up and noticed that it didn’t exactly fit the bill; it is a werewolf novel.
Still, it looked pretty good, so I found a copy and took a chance. And
I’m extremely glad I did. This book is great.
The town of Big Rock has a bit of a problem. Unbelievably,
there is a werewolf problem. A mysterious stranger seems to have all
of the info, but the town sheriff doesn’t know what to believe. But there’s no
other rational explanation for the bloody deaths and shape-shifting bodies he
encounters. Pathologists and eye-witnesses say wolf… an upright wolf-like
creature.
Unlike in the movies, lycanthropy is spread via sexual
contact in Ravenous. Big Rock has no
shortage of philandering husbands, rapists and horny housewives, so the disease
is quick to take hold and threaten everyone in town. The characters are varied
and believable, the story starts with a bang and never lets up and the blood
flows freely. Garton reinvents the werewolf story and makes it all credible. I
really can’t recommend this one enough.
Garton followed this up with a sequel, Bestial, the
next year. In 2021, Ravenous was reissued by Gauntlet Press as a signed,
limited edition, boutique release. I’m saving my pennies.
This review originally appeared in Midnight Magazine #9, March, 2022.