Five Shapeshifting Novels you’ll love to Read

My Top Five Shapeshifting Novels

We have had Vampire Fiction Lists and Zombie Fiction, Stephen King and Books to Scare You but what about Shapeshifters?

Not just Werewolves (although they are a favourite of mine) but all kinds of shapeshifters and covering different sub genres within the shapeshifting literary group. From Romance through, Sci fi and into outright Horror here are five Shapeshifting novels (and series) we think you’ll love to read.

The Mercy Thompson Series – Patricia Brigg

Patricia Briggs is one of my favourite Urban Fantasy authors and in her Mercy Thompson series I think she really shines. Mercy is a mechanic, she lives in a beaten up mobile home on the grounds of the local heartthrob and (werewolf) pack alpha Adam, she also happens to be a shapeshifter, able to turn into a coyote in the blink of an eye. Mercy is a really well written character who is not your typical fainting damsel in distress who is dependent upon her werewolf protector to save her from every little scrape, she is perfectly capable of getting into and out of her own scrapes but then neither is she infallible. Throughout the series we meet other fantasy beings such as the Fae and the vampires and as Mercy’s world expands so do the dangers she has to face. There’s plenty of romance but it isn’t the primary focus of the books and for me that made them all the more enjoyable.

Mercy Thompson (US)
Mercy Thompson (UK)

Who goes There – John Campbell 

The novella that spawned the film The Thing is a must on all shapeshifting shelves. When an Antarctic Research expedition discovers the body of a frozen alien which spontaneously revives the members of the group are flung into a nightmare scenario as it becomes apparent that the alien can mimic anything living and leaves the men wondering just who is friend and who is foe. Cited as being “one of the finest science fiction novellas ever written” by the SF Writers of America this novella has been copied many times but never quite as well as John Campbell’s original

Who goes There (US)
Who goes There (UK)

Dune – Frank Herbert

Of course I had to include the cult novel Dune, set on the desert planet Arrakis the only source of the “spice” melange which is the most important and valuable substance in the universe. Following the story of young Paul Atreides, whose noble family accepts the stewardship of the planet the tale delves into the politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion of a future universe and the battle for control of a valuable resource. The shapeshifting element comes in the guise of the Facedancer assassins who assume the identities of humans in order to obtain information and even kill.

Dune (US)
Dune (UK)

Review of Dune

The Wolfman – Nicholas Pekearo

An absolutely brilliant take on the werewolf genre, The Wolfman is a novel that is steeped in tragedy and not because of its subject matter. The author Nicholas Pekearo while volunteering as an NYPD Auxillary Police Officer was shot and killed in the line of duty at the age of just 28 and this book was published posthumously in 2009. Marlowe Higgins, the protagonist is a werewolf who, every full moon is compelled to kill people until he discovers he can control the beast and aim its violence towards those deserving of such a fate

The Wolfman (US)
The Wolfman (UK)

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson

Published in 1886 this is a classic of the shapeshifting genre and a plot known to us all. London Lawyer Gabriel John Utterson is investigating the strange occurrences that keep happening between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde with the former’s sudden signing over all his worldly goods to the latter in case of his death or prolonged disappearance causing consternation in Gabriel. Although perhaps not strictly speaking a shapeshifter, the emphasis on the appearances of both aspects of Jekyll’s personality make this a perfect entrant into this recommended reading list.

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (US)
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (UK)

Of course there are many deserving titles that could have been included in this list, King’s Silver Bullet, Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters series but I wanted to give you a fairly wideranging list.

If you think we have missed any really good examples let us know in the comments.