"The Compleat Werewolf" is a 1942

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

short story by

Anthony Boucher William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dr ...

. It was first published in '' Unknown Worlds''.

Synopsis

When

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

professor Wolfe Wolf learns a magic word that can transform him into a

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

, the consequences are not what he expected.

Reception

"The Compleat Werewolf" was a finalist for the 1943 Retro-Hugo Award for Best Novella.1943 Retro-Hugo Awards
at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved March 16, 2019 ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' called it a "giddy burlesque",THE COMPLEAT WEREWOLF
reviewed at ''

''; published November 1, 1969; subsequently posted online; retrieved March 16, 2019 while the SF Site listed it among Boucher's "best stories".The Compleat Boucher
reviewed by Peter D. Tillman, at the SF Site; published 2000; retrieved March 16, 2019

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (25 July 1948 – 24 February 2024) was a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who published a hundred novels and over a hundred volumes of translations. His earlier books were published under the name Br ...

described it as an example of "preliminary de-historicization followed by re-accommodation to American pragmatism".''The Fantasy Hall of Fame'', ed. Robert Silverberg
reviewed by

, originally published in ''

The New York Review of Science Fiction ''The New York Review of Science Fiction'' is a monthly literary magazine of science fiction that was established in 1988. It includes works of science fiction criticism, essays, and in-depth critical reviews of new works of fiction and scholarsh ...

'' #121 (September 1998); archived in ''News of the Black Feast and Other Random Reviews'', published March 1, 2009; note that the text misspells it as "Complete" Its presence in the 2013 anthology ''Unnatural Creatures'' brought it to renewed attention, with ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' stating that it was "astonishingly silly"; Unnatural Creatures
reviewed at ''

''; published April 8, 2013; retrieved March 16, 2019 however,

Tor.com ''Reactor'', formerly ''Tor.com'', is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on specul ...

felt that it was "a little out-of-step and dated",Griffins, Unicorns, and Yet Weirder Chimerae: ''Unnatural Creatures'', edited by Neil Gaiman and Maria Dahvana Headley
reviewed by Karin L. Kross, at

; published April 17, 2013; retrieved March 16, 2019 and ''

the A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' noted that "cramming Nazis, werewolves, Indian rope tricks, and talking cats into one narrative (is) quite a feat, but still takes too long" compared to more modern stories.Neil Gaiman: Unnatural Creatures
reviewed by Noah Cruickshank, in ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

''; published April 22, 2013; retrieved March 16, 2019

References

External links

*
Text of the story
at Archive.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Compleat Werewolf Works originally published in Unknown (magazine) Werewolf fiction Works by Anthony Boucher 1942 short stories