Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #1: Wolf Brother [Paperback]

Michelle Paver (Author), Geoff Taylor (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: February 21, 2006 | Age Range: 8 and up | Series: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness (Book 1) | Lexile Measure: 660L (What's this?)

The epic journey of boy and wolf begins

Six thousand years ago. Evil stalks the land. According to legend, only twelve-year-old Torak and his wolf-cub companion can defeat it. Their journey together takes them through deep forests, across giant glaciers, and into dangers they never imagined. Torak and Wolf are terrified of their mission. But if they do not battle to save their world, who will?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9 - Set 6000 years ago, this fast-paced adventure delves into a world of spirits and mysticism not often seen in children's literature. Torak, 12, witnesses his father's brutal attack by a giant, demon-possessed bear and promises to find his way to the Mountain of the World Spirit. Before dying, his father instructs him to avoid other men and tells him that his guide will find him. Sure enough, Torak is soon adopted by a wolf cub, also recently orphaned, with whom he is able to communicate. The bear continues to terrorize the forest, but Torak is able to avoid it with Wolf's help. They are captured by the Wolf clan, who believes that Torak is the Listener, and will rid the forest of the bear when he fulfills a prophecy by delivering three lost artifacts to the mountain. He must solve an obscure riddle to find the artifacts and traverse dangerous lands, all the while evading the evil bear. Paver's depth of research into the spiritual world of primitive peoples makes this impressive British import, slated to be the first in a six-book series, intriguing and believable. - Karen T. Bilton, Somerset County Library, Bridgewater, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. A giant bear possessed by a demon fatally wounds Torak's father, who makes his son swear that he will find the Mountain of the World Spirit, many "daywalks" from where they have been hunting in the forest. The spirit, his father says, offers the only hope to defeat the bear, which will become invincible if not stopped. So begins Torak's desperate quest, undertaken in the company of an orphaned wolf cub, Torak's guide. After members of the Raven Clan capture the boy and wolf, Torak learns that he is the Listener, prophesied to crush the Shadow, the overriding evil that is trying to take over the land. There's one minor discrepancy that kids are likely to spot (if there's a second printing, it will be corrected), but that won't spoil the excitement in the first book in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series. This is fantasy adventure on a grand scale, with a wealth of wilderness lore and convincing characterizations. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 293 pages
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (February 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060728272
• ISBN-13: 978-0060728274
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Prehistory
  • #43 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Foxes & Wolves

More About the Author

Michelle Paver was born in central Africa but went to England as a child. After earning a degree in biochemistry from Oxford University, she became a partner in a London law firm but eventually gave that up to write full-time. The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series came from Michelle's lifelong passions for animals, anthropology, and the distant past-as well as an encounter with a large bear in a remote valley in Southern California. To research the books, Michelle has traveled to Finland, Greenland, Sweden, Norway, Arctic Canada, and the Carpathian Mountains. She has slept on reindeer skins, swum with wild killer whales, and gotten nose to nose with polar bears--and, of course, wolves. The first four books have been made into widely acclaimed audiobooks, read by Ian McKellen.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book! December 1, 2006

A Kid's Review

Format:Hardcover

Torak is a 12 year old boy who lives in the wilderness with his father. He had never met his mother, who lived in a different clan than his father. Having lived alone in the woods for all his life, Torak has grown up differently than everyone else. Trying to find his way, Torak falls upon a wolf pup, and becomes friends with him.

In the book, Torak has the ability to talk to Wolf. He speaks to him with growls and barks, and by doing so, he strengthens the bond that they already had. During the duration of the book, Torak is learning how to fare in the wilderness on his own, like how to hunt, and learning about his past.

Torak is different from other kids his age, mostly because he didn't grow up with a tribe. He doesn't have any friends other than Wolf and Renn, a girl he meets along the way. Wolf is the most important thing in his life; both Torak and Wolf prove that they will die for each other. Renn is a girl who tells him about a quest that she feels he must go on.

Torak is unlike any boy I have known. He takes misfortunes in stride, and what's more, he acts seriously. All of the 12 year old boys I know laugh at everything and act very immature. I would love to meet Torak and ask him about his relationship with Wolf, though if someone asked me that I would be private about it.

I would give this book a 5 star rating, because I thought it held a lot of emotions, but balanced them easily. The author does a very good job of taking sadness and happiness and mixing them together in a unique way. I love fantasy books, but Wolf Brother had a mix of reality in it as well, which made it especially good. I would recommend this book to kids who like fantasy books. I would also recommend it to animal lovers, because the adoration between Torak and Wolf is unbelievable. If you take a boy who understands the language of wolves, and you take a lone wolf pup, mix them together, you get a bond that is stronger than everything else in the book.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A great story and a new direction for kids' books. October 25, 2005

By Inspector Gadget

Format:Hardcover

Instead of the usual world of wizards of teen angst, Michelle Paver explores uncharted territory in Wolf Brother. Not many children's books are set in 4000 BC and Michelle Paver creates a highly believable and real feeling world in this mostly unknown part of history.

Set in Europe, in a time when it was mostly all forest with a few lakes and steams here and there, the story follows the quest of Torak, a boy not even 12 summers old who's father is killed by a demonic bear. Injured in the attack, Torak runs for his life and soon comes across a wolf cub who's family has also been killed in a flood. The two of them soon become best pals and it turns out that they have way more in common than first expected.

With the evil bear still tearing up the forest, Torak is kidnapped by a rival clan and told of an ancient prophecy that will rid the world of such evil. Believing Torak to be that prophecy they kit him out for his quest and send him on his not-so-merry way.

Told in stripped-down, but not minimal, style the story progresses fast and to the point. Paver only gives us enough to create a suitable atmosphere and wastes no time on indulgence. However, I was a bit let down by the sudden end. And the Nanuak (a weird plot device in the book) thingy kind of confused me. I wasn't ever sure what it was all about and it never added up at the end.

Still, it's a great book and I look forward to reading the sequel Spirit Walker. Highly recommended.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating Adventure March 1, 2005

By James Weber

Format:Hardcover

I picked up this book literally by accident and I hadn't heard any thing about it nor the hype. Having said that I finished the book in 3 days. The story is creative, funny and imaginative. When you finish this book you start dreaming of joining a Clan of your own! Well done Michelle Paver and I look forward to the second book Spirit Walker!