Customer Reviews

There Will Be Wolves

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I discovered this book quite by accident when my mother picked it up for me for a dollar at a book fair. She said that when she read the back it sounded to be right up my alley, and she was right. I opened this book, read the first page, and had the entire novel finished within two hours. Ms. Bradford portrays the Crusades in a way that is both historically accurate and marvellously entertaining. I loved the characters of Ursula and Bruno. They are interesting, and the reader can sympathize with both of them. Reading this book sparked my interest in the Crusades, which makes History class a lot more interesting. My definition of a good story is one that will make you both laugh and cry, and leave you wanting to know more at the end. This book meets all those criteria, and for those like me who wanted to know more, check out the new sequel, "Shadows On A Sword", for another exciting delve into medevial times.

This book did have an interesting topic, something that initially caught my eye when I was looking for a good book to read. One usually finds more generic medieval eras as the setting, rather than the crusades specifically. However, when I began the book, I found it rather disappointing. The main characters were, in a word, flat. There was no real sense of being in the story, and I found a surplus of slightly clichéd supporting characters which was very disheartening, as the plot was fairly original, though still very easy to predict. While this particular work didn't live up to expectations, I do think the author is heading down the right path, and given more time and experience, could create some magnificant writings, though this book was not one.

I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't the best i've ever read. To me, it seemed more like a first-time author book. Though it did open my eyes about the People's Crusade and the Crusades in general. I always thought about the fighting and killing in Jerusalem, I never thought about the fighting and killing on the way there.
All in all, i enjoyed it and recomend it and the other two in the Crusades trilogy-Shadows on and Sword and Lionheart's Scribe-to any lover of midieval books.

There Will Be Wolves by Karleen Bradford
Stars: ***1/2

This book is the 1992 winner of the Canadian Library Association Youg Adult Book Award.

Summary: The daughter of an apothecary and the owner of a secret book of healing arts, Urusla is determined to become a great heler - but her ambition makes her an outsider in the Holy Roman Empire. When she is accused of witchcraft and sentenced to burn at the stake, she is given one chance to save herself: she must march in the People's Crusade to the holy city of Jerusalem. Along with her father and her friend Bruno, Urusla joins thousands of other pilgrims on a harrowing journey, which will expose the dark side of the "glorious" Crusades, and change her life forever.

Taking place in 1096 AD, this could have been read for the Back to History challenge too. It's definitely the oldest time period I've ever read about. It was interesting to read about life back then, although not a lot of it was shown, mostly that of the apothecary, how they handled criminals and the Crusade.

As I've stated before, Historical Fiction is not really my Genre and since I know absolutely nothing about the Crusades and what they were about, I had a hard time following the book. The prologue tells the basic story of how the crusade came about but even when I'd read it 4 times in a row, really slowly, I still wasn't sure I understand what it was all about. I was confused mostly, I think, because they were (I think) trying to get rid of the Jews from Cologne (now ??) to Jerusalem, including Constantinople (Now Istanbul, Turkey) This was confusing to me because Jerusalem is the home of the Jews now.

Anyways, the story was well told, even when I was confused, I kept reading. I did have trouble putting it down a few times. Karleen Bradford did a good job of making us feel like we were indeed in the 11th century since the characters talked differently.
" I would see the dog again" meaning I would like to see the dog again.
"Good even, mistress" meaning Good Evening Mistress (not that we'd say Mistress at all today)

As I said, it was a good book and I'm sure a good introduction to the People's Crusade. It would have recieved four stars if I liked Historical Fiction more.

In the epic book There will be Wolves, Ursula always seems to have trouble around the corner; here are some things that happen. First at her hometown, Cologne, she finds a dog with a broken leg and heals it. She meets a man Bruno who helps carry the dog to her house. Oh, and later Ursula almost gets burnt, that's kind of important. People of the town accuse her of being a witch, and she can't prove herself guilty. Her father, Master Williams, convinces the Count to set her free. Next her house burns down and her only way of survival is on a "Holy Crusade". Master Williams is like the Counts maid, giving him medication mostly, and Master Williams doesn't care. Master Williams is old and forces Ursula on the Crusade with him, Bruno comes too. Half way through the story, about 80% of the crusaders are killed. Robbers and bandits come and kill Ursula's horses and rob Ursula of her supplies. Master Williams gets sick from doing all the things the Count demands him to do. Then, Ursula's group reach they're final destination to find a battle with the Turks. The Turks are warriors of Turkey. The Turks end up slaughtering the crusaders and kill the Count; Ursula is left with a dead father, who died from a bad sickness, Bruno and a dog. I wonder why the book is called There will be Wolves when there are actually no wolves in the book.

There are scores of childrens books out there that are well-written and engaging enough to be enjoyable and entertaining for adult readers as well: Harry Potter, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, Robin McKinley's Beauty, etc. This book does not find itself among their ranks.

The premise is rather interesting: it follows the experiences of a young girl on the People's Crusade and is very concerned with the moral inconsistencies of the crusades. The crusaders are on a misson of God and will be absolved of their sins for participating, yet plunder, pillage and murder their way through the country side. In the end, the mission is one of glory for the nobles and the poor folk who come along for the ride bear the brunt of the devastation.

That said, the characters are completely flat and lifeless. The main action of the plot begins before we have a chance to get to know and care about the main characters, and I'll echo everyone who pointed out that Bradford does more telling than showing. Ursula is as cliched a strong girl heroine as you can get- proud, brave, thinks being independent means not relying on even those who love you until she learns that it's ok to be vulnerable. Her speech and mannerisms stand out at times as anachronistic in a jarring way, and I was surprised that the book seemed to end as quickly as it did because I was waiting for some depth and development for any of the characters.

It is certainly not the worst thing I've read, and young readers (I would say not above 12) will find the reading manageable, but I'm quite curious now as to what exactly the Canadian Library Association was thinking in awarding this book the Young Adult Book Award. Maybe it was a year of slim pickings. Borrow it from the library before investing in your own copy.

i had to read this book in my humanities class, so of course i HAD to do a huge report on it, but in general the book was okay. in some parts it was very predictable, but in others, i had no clue what was going to happen next. i wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesnt like medival history, but for anyone who does like books like this one, it would be great. it tells you a lot about what happened on the Crusades.

I read this book for Social Studies at my school since we are learning about the Middle Ages. It is a great example of the Crusades but also has a great plot. I recomend it for anyone.

I think this book was very good! Everybody should read it! Everybody thinks that Ursula is a witch! She has to go on a crusade to save herself!

I had the honor of corresponding with Karleen Bradford; I must say that both her work and she herself are wonderful. This was a moving story and an exciting way to introduce history of a most fascinating period to a reader.