Customer Reviews

People of the Wolf (The First North Americans series, Book 1)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This book had been sitting on my "to read" shelf for a while, along with all the other books in the series. I was a bit reluctant to pick them up, fearing I'd be disappointed after having read and loved Jean M. Auel's EARTH'S CHILDREN series. I finally decided to buckle down and pick up the first book. Now I'm eager to read the rest of them.

The first thing that struck me about this book was the vividness of the characters. From the beginning, I was sympathizing with the main character. The authors draw the reader in to the plight of the People and their suffering. Underneath, there is a hidden strength within them that rings true to me. Not long after, we get to the antagonists and we immediately dislike them. Instead of being driven by evil (I read a lot of fantasy :), their actions are driven by motivations that the reader see as obviously being selfish. The characters, though, see them as being what are best for the People.

The dialogue was well written, but seemed a little too modern for the time period the story took place. There was a lot of banter and sexual connotation that seemed misplaced. We don't really know how (or even if) people spoke during that time perioud, but the way the authors wrote it, it just felt wrong. This only detracted a little bit from the reading experience, but not at all from the story.

This is another of the authors' strong points: their storytelling ability. The plot was very intriguing and the pacing was excellent. At no point did I feel as if the story was dragging along while the authors took the time to develop their characters. These two aspects of their storytelling were seamlessly blended to produce a cohesive and enjoyable whole.

One final small complaint is the fact that I kept getting two or three of the supporting characters mixed up. I don't know if it was me reading the initial character introductions too quickly or the authors not establishing them well enough, but a couple of times, I had to stop and think of which character they were talking about to keep them straight.

Despite this, I still enjoyed this book. The characters were fun to read and I came to care about them. The pacing kept me interested, but not grippingly so (I was able to put the book down most of the time when it was late at night). If you're even considering reading this book, I recommend you do so without hesitation.

I had a hard time getting into the style of writing and understanding the story line at first, having just finished the Jean Auel series, but in short time I was so enveloped in the book that I could not tear myself away. I have seldom read a book so quickly and with such intent. It was a fabulous story of mystical power, dreams, war, abuse and the power of one dreamer to lead his people to their new beginning. The strength of the charachters boggled me and intrigued me. Must read!

Aside from the fact that this book was like every other Native American or early American book - in fact, it seemed to steal many of the plot points and characters from other series - it was alright. The characters were a little too "proud Native," and not quite.......real. The writing was only so-so, and a few of the exchanges in dialogue were confusing. The only thing completely negative I have to say about it is...... haven't the authors heard of frostbite??? A character can walk in chilled water, at the top of Alaska, with near-freezing temperatures for two day and a night and not suffer anything worse than shivers? Characters can walk for months in the middle of winter with barely any food, the only shelter is a dug-out snow cave, and no water on hand (the reader is left to assume they eat snow), and survive? Hmmmm. This book lacks the information and logic of Jean Auel's, and instead of educating themselves, the authors seem to want to gloss everything over.

All-in-all, it's a decent read on a boring day, but I'll stick to The Earth Children Series.

I so enjoyed The Clan of the Cave Bear series that I wanted to read more novels in the same genre. A story about pre-historic Native Americans, People of the Wolf is set among the mammoth hunters of the ice ages. The people live in clans, and are dependent upon each other for their survival. The undisputed leaders of the clans are Dreamers--men and women who have a connection with the spirit world. The spirits advise them in Dreams, and help them lead their clans. The people must be careful to keep the spirits, happy, of course, or they may abandon the Dreamer or the clan. But what happens when two dreamers in the same clan have differing opinions? The people are forced to choose between the young man with the Dream of Wolf in his eyes and the trusted older Dreamer who may be past his prime. One will lead them to a new land of abundance and promise, the other will lead them to death by slow starvation.

The couple who wrote the novel are anthropologists who obviously know about the lives and customs of the people they portray. Free of the annoying stereotypes that often accompany these topics, the characters are vibrant and original. Even if you've never been a fan of Native American history or novels of pre-history (and I never thought I would be!) you may find yourself loving this book.

I admit that this book is the weakest one in the series, and if I had read it first I might not have read the others. Although the characters have depth, the story is disjointed and vague. However, if you take the time to read the other books on the series, you will not be disappointed. They are EXCELLENT!

I read this series of books and I must say that the authors did a fabulous job of bringing the characters and the landscapes to life. As a follower of similar belief systems I found this book hit home with me in a spiritual sense. The authors do a wonderful job portraying the characters and their lives in a very real and believable way. I just can't put the series down.

This series of books is wonderful. They don't coincide on a specific timeline but after one you have to read the next. After reading Jean Auel's series I was afraid nothing would compare but this series is close. At little less descriptive than Jean but much more drama! From People of the Wolf to People of the Earth, Fire, River, Lakes, Lightning, and Masks, they all keep you waiting for more. Write on Katherine and Michael!

The basic story is better than William Sarabande's and worse than Jean Auel's. However, the underlying mythology of the people interferes in two ways:

First, the people's terminology is used not only in dialog, but also the parts of the text that are only talking to the reader. Because of this, for instance, it took me about 150 pages to realize that "Grandfather White Bear" referred to polar bears in general, and not a person. It made the whole book a very slow read.

Second, the story requires accepting that the people's religious beliefs are actually true. Jean Auel is occasionally guilty of this, but here it is so pronounced that the genre changes from prehistoric fiction to fantasy. This was okay once I started treating it as a fantasy novel, but it wasn't really what I was expecting when I started it.

I have never in my life read more interesting books than the ones the Gears write. I fall in love with the characters every time. This story makes me wonder what happened to the human race over the last several thousand years to make us so self-centered and un-imaginative. I have read and re-read the first eight stories in this series, and I don't feel that I will ever tire of them. Anyone who is interested in the lifestyles and beliefs of ancient Native Americans should find this an enjoyable read. If you are as big a fan of the Gears as I am, please email me.

This book did an amazing job of showing how people with primitive beliefs and living in primitive times can (and probably still were) thoughtful, intelligent *people*. The authors have tried to write without the filter of our current biases, and write a story that could be real. The original settlers of N. America were not horrible monsters or idealized innocents, but people that are more alike us today than different ... some good, some bad, some confused, and at least one who was able to turn and look directly in the fire in Plato's sense.