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W hile Lydyard takes pains to hide his condition from his rigidly sceptical guardian, who is also the father of the girl he loves, Gabriel conceals his from the nuns who run the orphanage where he is confined. But there are others interested in the powers which they are acquiring: the heretic priests of the secret Order of St. Amycus; the occultist and reputed Satanist Jacob Harkender; and the legendary werewolves of London.

Whatever plans these others have for the use of Lydyard's and Gabriel's powers might easily be rendered insignificant by the schemes and conflicts of the fallen angels themselves; but these beings, though they have the power to work miracles, have awakened from their long rest to find a world very different from the one they knew previously. In order to understand this new world, and to discover what roles they might play in it, they need the use of human eyes and human minds.

The powers which Lydyard and Gabriel hold are not without cost: pair amplifies their powers of vision, and those who are eager to use them are prepared to hurt them as well as to seduce them. As they are gradually drawn into a deadly contest between forces of godlike power their sanity and survival are threatened, and they must turn for aid to the powers of scientific reason possessed by Sir Edward Tallentyre, and to the werewolf Pelorus, renegade from his own man-hating kin.

As the fallen angels move towards 'their final confrontation in a strange private Hell, their pawns must move with them, struggling for their own lives and perhaps for the fate of the world.

Published in 1990 by Simon & Schuster.
ISBN:0-671-71711-1
Cover art by Danny Flynn; Jacket design by Terry Griffiths.

An extraordinary story of suspense set in 1872, The Werewolves of London examines the similar plights of David Lydyard and Gabriel Gill, a young man and a small boy who find themselves possessed by uncanny visionary powers David and Gabriel are unknowing hosts for enormously powerful beings - the fallen angels of Biblical mythology.

While David takes pains to hide his condition from his rigidly skeptical guardian, Gabriel conceals his from the nuns who run the orphanage where he is confined. But there are others who know of the powers which the two young men are acquiring: the heretic priests of the secret Order of St. Amycus; the occultist and reputed Satanist Jacob Harkender; and, of course, the legendary werewolves of London.

Whatever plans these others have for the use of David's and Gabriel's skills might easily be rendered insignificant by the schemes and conflicts of the fallen angels themselves; but these beings, though they have the power to work miracles, have awakened from their long rest to find a world very different from the one they knew previously. In order to understand this new world, and to discover what roles they might play in it, they need the use of human eyes and human minds.

The abilities which David and Gabriel have are not without cost: pain amplifies their powers of vision, and those who are eager to use them are prepared to hurt them as well as to seduce them. As they are drawn into the deadly battle between forces of godlike power, their sanity and survival are threatened, and they must turn for help to a scientist and a renegade werewolf.

As the fallen angels move toward their final confrontation in a strange private Hell, their pawns must move with them, struggling for their own lives and perhaps for the fate of the world.

The Werewolves of London is a spectacular opening to a highly stimulating and inventive new trilogy.

Published 1st December 1992 by Carroll & Graf.
ISBN:0-88184-916-2
Cover design by Tony Greco & Associates.

In 1872, David Lydyard accompanies his guardian to Egypt. Lured into a search for the 'real' Egypt by a priest they encounter a land of tombs and snakes and fiery desert demons...

David now finds himself possessed by uncanny visionary powers. At the same time Gabriel, a foundling boy brought up by nuns, experiences a mysterious force developing within him.

Others covet these powers for their own purposes... the heretic priests of the secret Order of St Amycus, the occultist and reputed Satanist Jacob Harkender... and the legendary werewolves of London.

'By far the best book he has ever written, a scientific romance of very great scope... the most intelligent novel yet published in 1990' - INTERZONE

'So absorbing... you're in for some surprises, right up to the last page' - LOCUS

Cover art by Keith Scaife

Published in 1992 by Pan.
ISBN:0-330-32267-2

Translated into French as: Les Loup-garous de Londres.
Translated into Italian as: Il Risveglio dei Creatori.
Translated into Polish as: Wilolaki z ondynu.

Review by Ian Braidwood

Cast of Characters:
David Lydyard, Morwena, Sir Edward Tallentyre, Cordelia Tallentyre, Perris, William de Lancy, Adam Grey, Caleb Amalax, Father Francis Mallorn, Paul Shepherd, Mandorla Soulier, Jacob Harkender, Summers, Gabriel Gill, Lady Rosalind Tallentyre, Sister Teresa, Dr Gilbert Franklin, Luke Capthorne, Elinor Fisher, Pelorus, Mrs Capthorne, Sister Clare, Reverend Mother, Mrs Murrell, Calan, Jack.

By the end of the first chapter, Brian has hit you with a sizeable quotation from Francis Bacon, a vision of Satan chained to a bed of molten lava, the Lord's Prayer in Latin, a vision of God excluded from his own creation, a vision of wolves running across a field of ice and the Cave metaphor from Plato's Republic; all within the first seven pages. That is a measure of how dense and ambitious this book is.

The action begins in a remote part of Egypt, where David Lydard is fighting delirium after being bitten by a snake.

Watching over David is his guardian and mentor Sir Edward Tallentyre, the very epitome of a Victorian gentleman and staunch rationalist. Also with David and Sir Edward are William de Lancy, another aristocrat and the mysterious Father Mallorn, who tempted them all to visit the remote desert tombs.

Later, the party is attacked by a creature so bizarre that Tallentyre convinces himself that he was the one laid low by the serpent and that he is the one fighting his dreams.

In England, little Gabriel Gill's consciousness is flickering into life and he has become convinced that he is possessed by the Devil. He is growing up in an orphanage run by the Sisters of Syncletica and not only can he command spiders, but he can see through other people's eyes; including those of sodomite, Luke Capthorne.

One day, Gabriel is visited by Jacob Harkender and is shocked to recognise the taint of possession in him too. Harkender wants to take Gabriel away from the orphanage, but the boy is also being seduced by Mandorla, one of the legendary Werewolves of London, who is trying to persuade him to go with them.

What is it about this boy, which makes him the object of such interest and to what lengths will they go to secure him?

The Werewolves of London is about what the world would be like if superstition we true and what it would mean for us. It has superb characterisation, vivid imagery and profound musings on the nature of superhuman percipience. It is as successful as it is ambitious and you should read it, because it may well be the best science fiction book of all time.

The Brian Stableford Website