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Wolfsangel (The Wolfsangel Cycle) Paperback – March 22, 2011

by Lachlan M.D. (Author)

106 ratings

Book 1 of 5: The Wolfsangel Cycle

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The Viking king Authun leads his men on a raid against an Anglo-Saxon village. Men and women are killed indiscriminately, but Authun demands that no child be touched. He is acting on prophecy—a prophecy which tells him that the Saxons have stolen a child from the gods. If Authun, in turn, takes the child and raises him as an heir, the child will lead his people to glory. But Authun discovers not one child, but twin baby boys. After ensuring that his faithful warriors, witnesses to what has happened, die during the raid, Authun takes the children and their mother home, back to the witches who live on the troll wall. And he places his destiny in their hands. So begins a stunning multivolume fantasy epic that will take a werewolf from his beginnings as the heir to a brutal Viking king down through the ages. It is a journey that will see him hunt for his lost love through centuries and lives, and see the endless battle between the wolf, Odin, and Loki, the eternal trickster, spill over into countless bloody conflicts from our history and our lives. This is the myth of the werewolf as it has never been told before and marks the beginning of an extraordinary new fantasy series.

Book 1 of 5

The Wolfsangel Cycle
Print length

355 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Pyr
Publication date

March 22, 2011
Dimensions

6.05 x 0.95 x 8.99 inches
ISBN-10

1616143576
ISBN-13

978-1616143572
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M.D. Lachlan
25
Paperback
$11.63
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sorcery and savagery fuel this rousing historical fantasy, the first volume in a planned multivolume epic. Acting on the witch Gullveig's prophecy, Viking raiders kidnap two infant brothers from a village. Wily and clever Vali is groomed to be Viking king Authun's heir, while Feileg is raised ferally as Gullveig's werewolf protector as she schemes against the god Odin. The boys enjoy adventures peculiar to their different upbringings until their mutual affection for farmer's daughter Adisla draws them together as comrades in arms as well as rivals in love. Lachlan (a pseudonym for Mark Barrowcliffe) keeps supernatural inflections to a minimum, opting instead for a colorful and credible evocation of the Norse world as one where the paths of gods and men frequently cross. Vivid in its rendering of the primitive historical past, this entertaining adventure will have readers eagerly anticipating the next book in the series. (Mar.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Review

"Sorcery and savagery fuel this rousing historical fantasy...Vivid in its rendering of the primitive historical past, this entertaining adventure will have readers eagerly anticipating the next book in the series."
-Publishers Weekly

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pyr (March 22, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 355 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1616143576
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1616143572
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.05 x 0.95 x 8.99 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,577,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12,651 in Historical Fantasy (Books)
- #21,153 in Sword & Sorcery Fantasy (Books)
- #38,946 in Epic Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
106 ratings

About the author

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M. D. Lachlan

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MD Lachlan is a pen name - created after Mark Barrowcliffe, author of works such as Girlfriend 44 and Lucky Dog, felt himself irresistibly drawn back to fantasy after writing his Dungeons and Dragons memoir The Elfish Gene.

Wolfsangel might surprise readers of Mark's other work. He's always been noted for his comic writing ('Wickedly funny' - New York Post, 'Painfully funny' - The Bookseller) but Wolfsangel marks a sharp departure of content and style.

The book is a historical fantasy/horror hybrid that reflects Mark's childhood reading on the occult and witchcraft. 'If it makes you laugh, I've done something wrong' says Mark.

The MD in MD Lachlan stands for Mark Daniel - Mark's real name. He went with initials instead of a name because, as so often in his life, he didn't really think things through. Now he attends publishing events where people don't know what to call him. He wishes he'd gone with Mark Lachlan but it's too late now.

The comic Steve Martin was once told by Johnny Carson 'You will use everything you know'. Wolfsangel, for Mark, bears that out.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

106 global ratings

5 star		52%
4 star		21%
3 star		19%
2 star		4%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Dark, captivating Nordic tale for grown-ups

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2011

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set against the rich tapestry of pagan Northwestern Europe/Scandinavia (with occasional Christian converts loitering here and there) in what I assume to be the 9th century: ancestral Norwegians, Danes, Sámi/Lapp people (particularly shamans), a duplicitous Obotrite/West Slavic merchant from the Baltic region; in addition to briefly alluding to Anglo-Saxons and Celts to the west, and Franks to the south. As the storyline unfolds, while taking unexpected twists and turns on the way to a tragic culmination, we see the mortals playing out their respective destinies in the timeless struggle between larger forces anthropomorphized as Odin vs. Loki. As far as I can tell, the British author of this page-turner offers uncompromised, somewhat realistic glimpses into Norsemen's beliefs/customs, life on farmsteads as well as in the thriving trade/port town of Haithabyr/Hedeby ('Heathyard'), warfare and their seafaring craft, victory feasting and flyting in mead/ale halls (skol!), so forth. Gorehounds will possibly salivate over the vivid depictions of raging berserkers, brutal raids and battles, with resultant specifics of terrible bloodshed.
Equally significant, however, is the looming presence of applied witchcraft and rune magic tapped into via trance-induced visions that prolonged physical (and mental) ordeals (e.g., drowning in mire: ch. 21 & 23) confer.

"Magical thinking can appear close to insanity but, like some forms of insanity, it has aspects of genius. The first witches had known Odin had taken up female magic. He alone among men was a master of the women's art -- Seid, as it was called" [compare w/ the Irish 'Sidhe' and Sanskrit 'Siddhi': "supernatural/suprahuman capabilites"] (p. 167).

"The light seemed to ripple and he became aware of the shape again. It seemed to tremble from the skin of the drum, to hover, to shake, and pulse in front of his eyes. Destinies, he knew, were set at birth...The legend of the Norns, the three women [sisters: Urd, Verthandi, and Skuld] who sit beneath the world tree [Yggdrasil] spinning out the fate [wyrd] of each human, had been impressed upon him since his earliest years...[T]hat awful shape, something between a knife and a needle, to cut the thread of his life and restitch it, something hooked and sharp yet incorporeal...It was a rune...The Wolfsangel ['Wolf's Hook']. He now seemed just an expression of its meaning" (pp. 170-1).

There are some strong female characters with distinct, albeit in certain cases episodic, roles as well, such as the young wench Adisla who mesmerizes the protagonist twins, powerful witch Gullveig in a girl child's fragile body, Celtic slave woman Saitada (named after the goddess of grief), healers (-seers?) Ma Disa and Ma Jodis. Recommended while awaiting the sequel!

3 people found this helpful

Darkly Poetic Re-imagining of the Werewolf in a Viking Setting

Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2011

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Wolfsangel is a re-imagining of the werewolf rooted more in Norse mythology than the modern werewolf canon. The setting is medieval Norway during the Viking Age. Fittingly, Lachlan's tale is savage and darkly poetic.

In addition to his fresh look at werewolves, Lachlan re-imagines witches. And again, in doing so, he goes back to the source. His witches are largely based on real world beliefs. Magic is all based off self-deprivation and self-torture and pushing yourself to the brink of insanity. It allows Lachlan to play with around with surrealism, much as many fantasy authors do with dreams.

Unfortunately, Wolfsangel fails to live up to its very impressive potential. The plotting is jerky and the characterization lurching. Constant shifts back and forth in time exacerbate the problems. The book is primarily told through the POV of three main characters, but I found I had a hard time caring about them. The personalities and motivations of two change dramatically (and rather abruptly), and the other gets short shrift. A lot of it was the kind of thing I just can't put my finger on or adequately articulate; I've read books in which the author made these kind of lurches work, but Lachlan just doesn't pull it off for me in Wolfsangel. It by no means ruined my enjoyment of the book, but it did prevent it from being great.

2 people found this helpful

A Howling Good Romp

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2010

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M.D. Lachlan's Wolfsangel is not your usual werewolf horror story. Nor it is one of the glut of supernatural teen romances that have flooded the market of late. But don't let that put you off ;)

Lachlan has crafted an amazing story of love, and betrayal and that ever elusive search for true self, all set to the backdrop of ancient Norse life and mythology.

Gone are your "infected" werewolves of the Wolfman and Stephanie Myers and instead Lachlan gives us something new, and more importantly something fresh.

When a Norse king kidnaps two children he sets in motion an event that will bring gods to their knees. Vali, the prince and Felig, the wolfman, couldn't be more different, but when both fall in love with the farm girl Adelisa they set forth on an amazing journey literally dripping with gore.

Wolfsangel is fast paced, well written and uses a great mix of modern language sprinkled with more archaic usage to great effect. Lachlan paints beautiful and believable landscapes of frozen tundras and bustling market towns and unlike some, manages to people them with characters you can actually believe.

Don't let anyone tell you this is paint-by-numbers hack and slash fantasy, they couldn't be further from the truth. M.D. Lachlan's Wolfsangel is the perfect blend of horror-fantasy that makes lesser writers weep with envy.

5/5.

One warning, don't read this late at night with the lights out. Nightmares guaranteed.

-Daniel Chuter

10 people found this helpful

If you liked Vikings on History Channel

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2019

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Here is a tale of Viking gods and old folktales taking wild adventures through forests, valleys, on raging seas to mystical islands! Don’t worry, there is also tales of true love as well.

While it started out as a very good adventure; it quickly devolved into something other than ...

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2015

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While it started out as a very good adventure; it quickly devolved into something other than sword and sorcery. It became dark and miserable and entered the modern trend of fascination with "tedious monotony of inescapable gloom".

Spoiler Alter: I only read the book because the author does have an excellent grasp of viking age culture and at first the political twists and turns were interesting. It's too bad he then decided to make the book into a self looping sequel of induced gloom fest. There are few to no hero's to really cheer for and it's a bit much of the modern trend to "kill off" all the main characters. If you enjoy seeing good characters trapped in inescapable dilemma, this is the book for you.

The following books in the series follow up on this mental crush; but really, there's no AIDA to keep following the story...unless you are a true fan of tragedy.

18 people found this helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer

Truly Magical Viking Werewolf Saga

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 25, 2010

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I should have read this book ages ago. After mentioning it several times on my blog, months before it was released, it was a high priority title for me. Still, as is often the way, one thing led to another and then when I put the blog on hiatus, I still hadn't read it. Naturally then, when putting together my list of books to read before the end of 2010, this was way out in front. Now I've read it, I say again, I should have read this book ages ago. Wolfsangel is excellent! It's a dark hybrid of history, fantasy and horror, with a truly impressive mythic backdrop.

The first few chapters of the book concentrate on the Viking King Authun as he seeks a child he hopes will safeguard the future of his people. Authun the pitiless they call him, and his exploits are legendary. Without pity he may be, but not without sense. When he finds the child of prophecy to be a twin, he takes both children and their mother with him to the witch queen whose vision inspired his quest. One of the children is given back to him to be his heir. The other and their mother remain with the witch, who knows that each of them are entwined in the same web of destiny.

Then the tale moves forward, and the story proceeds to the life of the first of the twins, Authun's heir Vali. Vali is now living with farmers in a neighbouring land. A lifestyle which has led him to value pursuits other than those expected of a son of Authun. In particular he values Adisla, a farmer's daughter. His love for this woman becoming the one constant in Vali's life as events in his world soon undergo a rapid transformation. For the reader these events take many surprising twists and turns, building layers of tension and expectation. There is a constant sense of an oppressive destiny bearing down on Vali, but the reader is kept guessing as to exactly what that is until quite far into the story. All the while the historical atmosphere of the Viking Era and northern landscape are captured very well indeed. There are also plenty of entertaining if brutal action scenes.

The story is pacey although it does not advance in an obvious manner. The characterisation is excellent, particularly that of Vali and later his twin Feileg. It is easy to feel empathy for these two, even when their actions are brutal and bloody. There is a sombre atmosphere to this novel. A pervasive bleakness against which the characters must strive, which fits perfectly with the Viking setting.

The writing style has a slight journalistic quality. When reading this, I found I rarely paid attention to the writing, not necessarily a bad thing in my book. The story itself, and the characters are what held my attention. Otherwise, there were perhaps one or two occasions mostly relating to the witch queen's lair, where I found I had to re-read sections in order to build a clear image of what had happened in the narrative.

Where this novel is an absolute triumph beyond even the other factors mentioned so far, is in its depiction of magic. Never before Wolfsangel, have I seen the essence of real world magical and shamanic traditions, so wonderfully captured in a fantasy setting. Sure, there is artistic licence here. There is even with the non magical elements, such as the berserk's use of mushrooms and hallucinogens to induce their trances, which is not historically proven, but a contested theory. It doesn't matter, because these types of rituals do exist, as do the various trials used to induce altered states of consciousness. The way these elements are integrated in to this novel is quite simply brilliant, and amazingly cohesive. The depiction of the use of the Norse Runes is also excellent. Taken together as a system of magic in an historical fantasy style environment, the effect is very powerful indeed.

As yet, I haven't mentioned that this is supposedly a werewolf novel. Indeed it is, but you have never read a werewolf tale like this. In fact I would say you have probably never read a fantasy novel like this. Wolfsangel is an original, captivating, and bold novel. One that is not only an immense pleasure to read, but one that pushes mythic fantasy into exciting new territory.

One person found this helpful

David L. Brzeski

Impressive debut

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2011

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OK, it's not really his debut. It's no big secret that M D Lachlan also writes non fantasy novels under his real name (Mark Barrowcliffe).

It is, however his fantasy debut, & a very impressive one it is. Well-researched to say the least, it still avoids suffocating the reader in dry facts about Vikings & Norse mythology.

Lachlan's writing style is actually really easy to read, in fact I can remember few other novels that had me sucked in after just a page or two. He also has an elegantly witty turn of phrase, which had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion.

A couple of other reviewers have claimed they found it boring & hard to finish. I find that surprising. It's such an engrossing read that I finished the whole book in two sittings.

This is not one of those twee fantasy novels, with wizards, unicorns & dragons though. Anything but. It bears more resemblance to the gritty sword & sorcery of Robert E. Howard & Fritz Leiber, but within a more historically based milieu.

I have the follow up (Fenrir) loaded on my kindle & ready to go.

2 people found this helpful

Debbie

Wolfsangel

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 27, 2022

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I've not read a book like this before. It definitely kept my interest. It's set during medieval times in Europe. I want expecting the ending but i won't give any spoilers away. Suffice to say it was a good book.

disrep

Dark magic, norse gods and werewolves

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2011

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Thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy novel. Didn't know what to expect and was very pleasantly surprised. Starts with the king going to extreme lengths to get an heir, little knowing his action is all part of a greater plan by the gods on high. So begins a dark magical tale involving twins separated as babies and unaware of each other. Both being manipulated by a mad witch and her liasons with the gods.

The magic is sinister, full of cruelty and trial by ordeal. The feel of the period (vikings and norse gods) and the brutal beliefs they lived by is brought to life with a distinct edge.

No spoilers here but the werewolf is superb and Loki every inch the mischievious god.

For an original take on werewolves and fantasy give this a read.

Andrew Powell

A really good read, brilliant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 14, 2010

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I am not a huge reader but I really did enjoy this book, I will go as far to say it could be the best one I have read so far, I even enjoyed it more that Joe Abercombies Trilogy. I was reading Eragon(book 2) and got half way though and just got bored, so moved onto this book seeing as it had good reviews. I was not disappointed and found it an enthralling story that had lots of action, love, hardship, sadness, gods and magic mixed in.
The ending did seem to shoot along but I have to say I enjoyed it all very much. I would recommend this to anyone.

Let's hope his next book (hopefully in the same world) is just as good, but think this is a standalone book as does have a final ending.

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