This weird tale from writer Jack Williamson, who became the Dean of Science Fiction when Heinlen passed away, is exciting and enthralling, and in the end, as was so often the case with a Williamson pulp tale, a bit romantic. I found it to be an incredibly enjoyable read. It first appeared in Strange Tales of Mystery and Terror in 1932, so is from Williamson’s early days in the pulps. It begins as an exciting pulp tale in the weird story vein, but Williamson smoothly transitions halfway through to science fiction, melding the fantastic horror elements with a tale not of this world.

Clovis McLaurin has received a strange telegram from his father in Texas, so in the middle of winter he arrives to find out what is wrong. Clovis persuades a man to take him out to his father’s ranch at night. It takes some convincing because of the strange howling of the wolves, and disappearances around the village. Williamson uses snow and cold to good effect as they set out for the ranch house and find evil waiting to ambush them. The narrative is both terrible and terribly exciting when they are attacked by wolves. But they do not seem like any wolves Clovis or anyone else has ever encountered. And strangely, there are humans running with the creatures. Clovis is about to discover that the girl with whom he is in love, Stella Jetton, is one of them. And yet, it is not her at all.

At this point, we expect this to be a werewolf tale, albeit a good and very atmospheric one. But when Clovis is taken to the subterranean cavern beneath the ranch, the things which are no longer human, including his father, torture him into helping build a gateway into another dimension. Along the way there are exciting attempts at escape which fail, and one which will lead to the possibility of saving Stella, and all of mankind.

While this tale is from the early 1930s, the scientific information concerning the building of the portal to a dark and horrific world is tremendously well done; this is the great Jack Williamson, after all. It is the overall explanation concerning lycanthropy and why it has cropped up around the globe which is fascinating and fantastical, however. At under a hundred pages, Wolves of Darkness is a novelette, so easy to read.

Even this early in his career, you can see why Williamson is so respected. Yes, it's definitely pulp, and might even seem a bit long for a pulp story of this type, but it has great scenes which are unforgettable. The ending is especially satisfying, as Williamson makes this as memorable as Stoker’s Dracula; with all the boring parts left out. This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys the old weird pulps, werewolf tales, the science mystery pulps, or just a rollicking good story. Highly recommended for pulp fans! ( )