Henry is anticipating the birth of what he hopes will finally be a son and heir. Queen Katherine has so far delivered nothing but a daughter and miscarriages, so when a son arrives, Henry's joy is shared throughout the court, which leaves the castle open to infiltration by a pack of werewolves. Destroying the happy occasion, the organized pack also permanently changes the royal bloodline, turning the King into a suffering creature who tears his prey apart when the moon is right.
Attempting to hold things together, Sir Thomas More's plans are ruined when he is caught among werewolves and handed over to the Witchfinders, who are currently burning werewolves, while foul-mouthed Cardinal Wolsey plots with a demon and Lady Jane Seymour rides around the country as a secret agent.
I had expected this to be a more humorous story, and there is some, but overall it's treated as a historical horror story. There's quite a bit of gore and some too graphic torture. I think over 400 pages is on the long side for a story of this genre. ( )

Have you ever wondered what motivated Henry VIII to dump his first wife in favor of manipulative Anne Boleyn? Why his young, energetic, scholarly, svelte self morphed into an overweigh, morose, and dissatisfied man? Why he turned against both Cardinal Wolsey and Sir Thomas More, his one-time confidants? Easy. He became a wolfman. In this romp of a tale, history of the period blends with a fantastical story of half-wolf, half-man creatures roaming the countryside, banding together and building ranks to overthrow the throne. Toss in a timid witch hunter and his torturous (but upwardly mobile) wife, and this is a tale unlike any other. Recommended. (218) ( )