Werelions and Werewolves and Werebears, Oh My!

So now that Game of Thrones is over and won't be back for another year, some people are looking for something to spend their time on while they wait for more high fantasy shenanigans. I have a lot of friends that are a little intimidated by the roughly 1000 page average for the Song of Fire and Ice series while others just want to be surprised by the show. For either group, or if you have another reason to not read Game of Thrones, I have another book series that may pique your interest. Just picture the Game of Thrones world, but populated by clans of people that rules the "normal" humans and can change into animals, called therianthropes, which is a fancy word for wereanimals. Think werewolves but with other types of animals as well.

Hailed as the "Game of Thrones for the tween set,” by the School Library Journal (tween? lame term), it is an easy read that is extremely entertaining and has many parallels to the writings of George R. R. Martin (with no sex scenes!). The author, Curtis Jobling, is surprisingly familiar to most of us because he is responsible for the design of the popular children's show Bob the Builder. I think he does a great job catering to an older audience in his Wereworld series that is set to finish up with the sixth book this fall (before Game of Thrones even comes back!). So many elements remind me of Game of Thrones throughout the books, but really, it's a great series by itself and I hope more people pick it up! For this post though, I want to look at some of these parallels between series and maybe get some Game of Thrones enthusiasts to branch out and try some young adult high fantasy.

Characters
We first meet our main character, Drew Ferran, as the son of a human farmer on the Cold Coast, unaware of his great heritage and his family's demise. The first parallel is the fact that Drew is a werewolf, which is similar to the Stark's sigil of the direwolf. He also holds many of the Stark's values, such as being fair, brave, and truthful. If I had to compare him to some Starks, I'd say he's a bit of a mix between Jon, Robb, and Arya for his dedication to friends, his attempts to take on the role of being a king, and willingness to break out on his own adventures to do what he deems as right. Drew is definitely the crux on which this story turns as the kingdoms of Lyssia are pulled apart by the far-reaching war, and he may just be the right person to bring everyone together.

The main villains in this series are the Catlords, ruled by the werelions Leopold and his son Lucas, with others joining the story in the subsequent books. The obvious connection here is the lion, but don't worry, there's no incest in this family. Leopold did marry Drew's mother, Queen Amelie (a white werewolf), and thus had Prince Lucas, so there are some weird family ties going on. Lucas is also very Joffreyesque with his spoiled and violent personality, making him a perfect villain, and a half-brother to our hero, no less. The felinethropes of this series channel the Lannisters well but have their own special talents and reputations that make them formidable foes.

Some other connections are a female werebear similar to Arya since she wants to be a scout and not a lady, a prissy redhead werefox that is a bit Sansa-ish, a fat bibliophile wereboar who is rather similar to Sam (though they get rather opposite while following a very similar path), and a black panther werelord that screams Tywin at me every time I read about him (very powerful, merciless, and wants to rule all). Also, the sheer amount of characters in this series is reminiscent of Game of Thrones, as well as the untimely deaths and sudden reappearances of other characters.

Land
The continent of Lyssia contains seven kingdoms, which is the same amount in Westeros, though none of the names are too similar. The Wereworld series ranges all over the continent as the books continue, taking you to places like the dangerous and wild Dyrewood to the scorching volcanic island of Scoria to the freezing wastelands of Sturmland. There is a second continent in the series, Bast, but it doesn't contain a beautiful war woman like Daenerys. Instead, it's where the Catlords invade from. The kingdoms have their own ruling families of different werespecies, as well as realistic histories that give the land a real feel and help forge a deeper connection with the story.

Plot
Much like the Starks and their quest to bring down the Lannisters and remain as rulers in the North, Drew is trying to reclaim the high throne from the werelions and bring the people of Lyssia together. Other than that, it has its own story that is adventurous, full of blood and gore, flows well, and is even a bit magical (if we're not counting the changing into animals as magic). The high fantasy aspect is the same, but Jobling definitely puts his own spin on the genre.


Basically, the Werelords series is a complex story with realistic characters (including pirates!), a deep history, some fun plot twists, and an engaging pace. It's a great series for anyone that likes to read fantasy and I would recommend it to anyone that's read books like Harry Potter, anything by Tamora Pierce, The Hunger Games, and I guess any other popular young adult fiction series, even Twilight. Just give it a try, pick up the first book, Werelords: Rise of the Wolf, and enjoy the trip to the world of Lyssia and the Werelords. You'll love it.