10-8-2026 Latham's Last Words: The Howling by Gary Bradner
Welcome to Latham's Last Words, where I give you my last words on vintage horror books I've read. Let's look at The Howling from 1977!
I won't be comparing the book to the movie, but I will say I wish I had read the book before seeing the movie. They are both equally as good in my eyes, and the movie was pretty close to the book.
One of the biggest themes in the book is isolation. The town of Drago is secluded and that amplifies the feeling of alienation the Karyn feels while she is trying to recover from the trauma of an attack. Bradner did a fantastic job of portraying Drago it's own little world. The world building was on point and I was able to feel myself being isolated along with Karyn.
Another prominent theme is the monstrous aspects of humanity. While we didn't actually get a lot of werewolf action, the human side of the Drago residents were mostly all horrible human beings. And so was Karyn's husband Roy. I very much disliked him. I loved how the werewolf side of the "pack" weren't treated as separate beings, but part of the whole person. I am not a fan of werewolf stories where the wolf is completely separate from the human, so this made me enjoy the book that much more!
To me this book had more of a cult horror vibe, with werewolves just being the members of the cult. Marcia was portrayed almost "witchy". I think if the inhabitants of Drago were not werewolves this still would have been a good horror story.
While I would say most of the book is a slow burn, the tension builds quickly and the last few chapters are just a whirlwind of action. A great pace for a great story.
Anyone who loves a good werewolf story should most definitely add this to their TBR. Even though it was written in 1977, the story still holds up today in 2026.
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