Daughter Of The Wind [Hardcover]

Michael Cadnum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2003

Historical adventure story that takes place in medieval Scandinavia.

Hallgerd is the 17 year-old daughter of the Norwegian village leader. A group of Danes, acting under the orders of a powerful, warring-king's daughter, kidnap her and intend to marry her to this noblewoman's son. After a sympathetic young Dane helps her to escape, Hallegerd avenges her kidnapping by setting fire to the town and steals a small rowboat. As she is rowing through the marsh, she meets Gauk, a young hunter, along with a young blacksmith from Hallegerd's village who has come to rescue her.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-An exciting tale of three young people striving to discover who they are and what the future holds for them, set in the rough, brutal world of the Vikings. Hallgerd dreams of marrying Lismod, the protagonist in Cadnum's Raven of the Waves (Orchard, 2001). This beautiful young woman, whose father is the jarl of their Norwegian village, is captured in a raid by Danes intent on bringing her back to their village as a bride prize for the grandson of their leader. Gauk feels the spirit of a bear enter him after he slays the beast who has killed his friend. As he skins the animal and throws its mighty pelt over his shoulders, he realizes that Odin has accepted him as a berserker, a warrior feared by everyone. Finally there is Hego, whose ways are slow and deliberate. When he sees Hallgerd captured, he follows the Danes as they carry her off and attempts unsuccessfully to rescue her. The stories of these three characters come together in the book's dramatic climax. Though Hallgerd's escape from the Danes happens coincidentally at exactly the moment that Gauk and Hego arrive to rescue her, the story is still gripping, and full of graphic scenes of violence, which may be unpleasant reading for some. Yet it is Cadnum's glimpses of everyday life and the stirring sagas that bring the inner world of these Northern people to life. A welcome addition to the growing list of historical fiction about the early Vikings.
Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. In a gripping opening scene, young Norseman Gauk slays a bear that has just killed his best friend. Back in his village, a group of Danes abducts the leader's daughter, Hallgerd, removing her to become the bride of their own leader's son. These two stories and that of the loyal but slow-thinking Hego intertwine until Gauk and Hego meet Hallgerd as she flees her fate. A companion volume to Raven of the Waves (2001), this teems with Norse culture and edge-of-the-seat adventure. It was a violent time and Cadnum portrays it realistically, inserting ample background information. The ending leaves a few questions that may be answered in a third volume. Packed with as much combat as any action movie, this swashbuckling novel can also supplement social studies units on Vikings and medieval life. Linda Perkins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Orchard; 1 edition (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 043935224X
• ISBN-13: 978-0439352246
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,516,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Cadnum is the author of thirty-five books, including the National Book Award finalist The Book of the Lion.  A two-time Edgar Allen Poe Award nominee, and an award-winning poet, Cadnum's work is widely acclaimed.

He lives in Albany, California, across the bay from San Francisco, with his wife Sherina.

For more of the latest on Cadnum and his work visit his website www.MichaelCadnum.com
 

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brings alive a world of the past, September 12, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Daughter Of The Wind (Hardcover)

Teen Hallgerd is known for her beauty, Gauk is a would-be warrior, and the two find their lives and destinies entwined as both face tests of their courage and will. Set in Viking times, Daughter Of The Wind brings alive a world of the past and uses two strong protagonists' ambitions and desires to add spice and fire to the plot.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars did not like, April 11, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Daughter Of The Wind (Hardcover)

I found the plot of this book to be choppy and not very well connected. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't like it at all. The characters are a little unrealistic, and I was disappointed. If you like this type of book about Vikings, great, but if not, it's not a very good read.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Possibly one of the most boring books I've ever read!, January 23, 2005

By 

B. Bailey "serious book lover" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Daughter Of The Wind (Hardcover)

Believe me, normally I don't write reviews on books that I don't like. I can't stand criticizing books. But on this one I feel like I need to tell everybody.
Daughter of the Wind is about two teenagers- Hallgerd, a beautiful daughter of a jarl who is stolen from her home as a bride, and Gauk, a fierce warrior. I'm extremely sorry to say I can't say much more, for I myself have no real understanding of the plot line besides that.
I picked this up at the library, impressed by the lovely, glossy cover and seemingly interesting plot. This book is set in the Viking time, which intrigued me at once. But as soon as I read the first 2 pages, I knew I was in trouble. The story starts out with 20 confusing and boring pages of Gauk on a bear hunt with a friend, whom I believe is killed by the bear. Then the story moves to another 20 slightly more interesting pages of Hallgerd getting kidnapped by the Danes. The story moves on, talking about Gauk's adventures as a berserker(a fighter who turns into a crazed warrior when provoked, which I saw none of throughout the story), and how nobody believes he is really a fearsome warrior, and Hallgerd going to the home of the Danes to be married off to some guy whom is hardly mentioned.
If this story was entirely about Hallgerd, I would have given this a higher ranking, 3 or 4 stars. Hallgerd was not given the attention she deserved, her story could have been WAY more drawn out. But Gauk just has to be thrown in there to confuse everything and bore me out of my wits. Admit it, most people read stories about Vikings to read about harrowing journeys and vicious, barbaric fighting. Sure there were journeys and fighting, but they weren't harrowing nor vicious and barbaric. Overall, this book is not worth your time. It had so much potential, but all that was ruined quickly by the unrealistic characters and boring content.