25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
BUY THIS GREAT STORY!, August 17, 2001
This review is from: Through Wolf's Eyes (Hardcover)
Jane Lindskold's THROUGH WOLF'S EYES may well be her best tale yet. Reminding me as much of Clavell's SHOGUN as Zelazny's NINE PRINCES IN AMBER or Turtledove's BETWEEN THE RIVERS, this almost-600-page novel kept me eagerly reading until the last page, and now I'm rabid for a sequel and purchasing copies for my friends!
Twelve years ago, King Tedric disowned his third child, Prince Barden, when the prince defied his father and led a small expedition beyond the Iron Mountains to live outside the King's micromanaging grasp. The kingdom lost contact with the colony, and Prince Barden's name was blotted from the books. Now, however, the two interceding heirs have died, the King is unwell, and infighting reigns at court. Earl Kestrel mounts a rescue party to bring back Prince Barden's daughter, Lady Blysse, of the right age and bloodline to press a claim for the throne - under Kestrel tutelage, of course.
The party finds the colony burned to the ground, but discovers a sole survivor, a young woman of the right age to be Blysse, who has been raised by (of all things) wolves as a member of the pack. (Through Lindskold's masterful use of backstory we learn that these were Royal Wolves, and that the pack adopted the girl at the behest of mysterious Others). This woman, who calls herself Firekeeper, has no recollection of speech: the sounds humans make mean less to her than the "chirps of the day birds settling in to sleep." Wolves and wild animals speak to Firekeeper, and she to them. When Firekeeper eventually realizes that humans talk mostly with their mouths, she finds the concept "limiting. How could you tell someone to keep away from your food when your own mouth was full?"
Earl Kestrel adopts Firekeeper into his household, and names her "Lady Blysse." With the assistance of Derian, an able young carter forced on the Kestrel party as partial payment for the horses leased from his family by the earl, Firekeeper gradually learns human languages and customs. Accompanied by Blind Seer, a wolf from her pack and a falcon she has befriended, she is thrust into the complex competition for the succession to the throne (which Lindskold subtly compares to the continual dominance struggle in a wolf pack), which encompasses court, national, and eventually international intrigue. (Never one to follow a formula, rather than have her human/wolf fall in love with Derian, Lindskold intimates that Firekeeper is actually sweet on Blind Seer: a big part of her curiosity about humans stems from her desire to see whether any have the power to magically transform her into a real wolf.)
The feral child's adaptation to humanity is fascinating. Firekeeper's gradual education allows the author to guide the reader through the rich history and culture that she has created for this series (according to her website, a second book, WOLF'S HEAD, WOLF'S HEART is forthcoming from TOR in May, 2002 - I can't wait). Lindskold keeps the reader riveted with Firekeeper's discovery, reminiscent of Clavell's Blackthorne exploring Tokugawa Japan in SHOGUN. As always, Lindskold populates her world with a wealth of interesting characters that develop to charm the reader into wanting to hear just a little more from them. (There are lots of characters - Firekeeper observes that keeping track of all the different people makes her head hurt - but the author subtly handles them so that there's always a reminder of who they are somewhere on the page.) These very real characters deal with disturbing psychological situations (such as the frightening control a manipulative mother exhibits over her children - is it sorcery or not?) as well as the evolving political situations in a way that has the reader asking their questions with them, and caring about the answers. Is Firekeeper really Prince Barden's daughter? Can she adapt to and survive in court society? How will Tedric's kingdom of Hawk Haven respond when its neighbor and enemy is attacked by outside forces? Who will succeed Tedric? More than in any of her previous novels, Lindskold sculpts her chapters to tantalize the reader: building one scene of action to a crescendo, then whisking the reader to another, and repeating the process. Her skillful writing makes this fairly lengthy book fly past a reader's eyes - leaving him to realize that he has to get up for work in two hours! This is one fine story.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Unexpected Treasure, August 28, 2002
When I first saw this book, I thought it was going to be a kind of feminist medieval rewrite of Kipling's Jungle Book. Instead, I found it one of the most tightly plotted, gripping works of suspense and political intrigue that I've ever had the pleasure to read.
The wolf's eyes refer to the viewpoint of an orphaned girl raised by mysterious intelligent wolves, and the book begins when she makes her first contact with humans in a decade. This is interesting enough, but the book really gets fascinating when "Firekeeper" is brought back to civilization and thrust into the turmoil surrounding the succession to the local kingdom's throne.
This is the true heart of the book - the dynastic jockeying for a throne with no clear heir, in a kingdom caught in a cold war that could heat up at any moment. The many alliances and intrigues that swirl around Firekeeper (hailed by some as the king's grandchild, reviled by others as a pretender) are compelling and realistic.
Don't start reading until a weekend - you won't be able to put it down.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exciting fantasy, August 9, 2001
This review is from: Through Wolf's Eyes (Hardcover)
Many years have passed since Prince Bardon and his followers journeyed from the relative safety of Hawk Haven to establish a colony. The group traveled to the wilderness beyond the nearby mountains. However, no one ever heard from the Prince again.
In the present, controversy over regal succession rules so Earl Kestrel leads an expedition to find the Prince or learn what happened to him. The search excursion fails to find the Prince, but a teenage woman calling herself Firekeeper enters their camp carrying Bardon's dagger. The Earl realizes she is most likely the Prince's daughter and places her under his protection. Apparently, Firekeeper, now called Lady Blysse by her fellow humans, lived with a special breed of wolves. On the trek back, a distinguished falcon and one of the intelligent wolves accompany Blysse to her new home. In the human royal court, everyone competes to gain Blysse's favor with most thinking she is an ignorant primitive. Her time with the wolves trained her quite well for dealing with a pack of nobles, but her preference remains turning into a real wolf.
THROUGH WOLF'S EYES is a powerful gender bending Jungle Book that works because the kingdom, the magically embellished animals, the nobles, and the heroine feel real. The charcaters make the plot seem plausible. On top of a strong fantasy adventure, readers gain a political infighting subplot that anchors the prime theme to a reality base. The weakness of Jane Lindskold's fascinating novel is that this almost six hundred page complex story line compels the reader into one finishing it in one sitting.
Harriet Klausner
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