Wolf Hunting (Wolf)
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Product Description
In Through Wolf’s Eyes, Jane Lindskold introduced Firekeeper, the young girl raised by intelligent, language-using wolves. Abducted back into human society, Firekeeper found that, in the world of deadly human political intrigues, her training as a pack animal served her well.
Later, in Wolf Captured, Firekeeper and her lupine companion Blind Seer found themselves kidnapped and dragged overseas, to the unfamiliar land of Liglimon, where humans have a different relationship to intelligent animals. Now, still in Liglimon, Firekeeper and Blind Seer respond to a request for assistance from Truth, the soothsayer-jaguar.
Then, while helping Truth, Firekeeper and her companion come across evidence of elaborate investigations into kinds of ancient magics taboo in Liglimoshti culture. It appears more people in Liglimon are willing to flout this taboo than anyone cares to admit, and Firekeeper and Blind Seer decide their duty is to find out more.
But Truth knows more than she's telling. She can see and trace future timelines for particular individuals, which in the past has led her into madness. Since then, the Voice that guided her out of that madness has continued to speak to her, and it's not her friend.
Eventually Truth realizes that her Voice may well be a person the Liglimoshti call "The Meddler" -- a dangerous trickster figure. But Truth doesn’t own up to this until far too late…
Compellingly told, rich with real people and real animals, WOLF HUNTING is the latest and strongest in an increasingly and rewarding sequence of fantasy epics.
Spotlight Customer Reviews:
Summary:
A Voice Among the Possibilities
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Comment:
Wolf Hunting (2006) is the fifth fantasy novel of the Wolf series, following Wolf Captured. In the previous volume, Shivadtmon killed Wahn, but was captured and turned over to the u-Liall to tell the whole plot. The Wise Dolphins brought back Dantarahma's body and let it float ashore. Rahniseeta was selected as his replacement in the u-Liall, so her engagement to Derian was now socially and politically impossible. Derian and Barnet are later returned to the north to carry word to their monarchs and the families of the lost sailors.
Several of the maimalodalum died during the intrusion, including Questioner. Still, Questioner remained alive and awake long enough for Firekeeper to have a final conversation with him. Then she and Blind Seer ran out into the wilderness for a long while.
In this novel, the Wise Jaguar diviner Truth has been lost in the possibilities for over a year. She hears a mocking voice calling her and follows through the threads. Then she finds herself blocked by a door. She calls out for Firekeeper and the maimalodalum hear her.
Firekeeper and Blind Seer have been roaming the Misheemnekuru islands for a full year. They have been visiting various packs, helping where needed, and gaining reputations for courage and wisdom. They have even acquired a pack of their own, with Dark Death and the pregnant Moon Frost joining them. Then young Rascal comes to them and Moon Frost has two pups that live; the others die of the deformities common to the island inhabitants.
One day in the heat of the summer, Lovable the Wise Raven comes to the pack to summon Firekeeper and Blind Seer to the maimalodalum council. The summoned pair start off to Central Island immediately and the rest of the pack follows more slowly. Some days later, Firekeeper and Blind Seer climb the hill to the sacred buildings where the maimalodalum headquarters is located.
The council informs Firekeeper and Blind Seer of Truth's condition and recent words. Powerful Tenderness takes them to where Truth is confined in her madness and Firekeeper attracts the attention of the jaguar. Upon returning to reality, Truth tells them of the door and its placement within the house that is not a house. Blind Seer recognizes the setting and they return to the council to plan the excursion.
Firekeeper, Blind Seer, Powerful Tenderness and Plik locate the door, learn how to open it, and enter a small suite that has been occupied, but is currently empty. They rescue Truth from behind another door and search the rooms and contents. The main room contains a small library and Firekeeper finds six statues, two of which are broken, hidden within a pool of running water.
Firekeeper and Blind Seer recognize four of the statues. The two broken statues were of persons who had delved deeply into forbidden magic. After hearing Truth's experiences, the team decides to take back everything portable to Center Island.
In this story, the beast-souled maimalodalum search their own archives for information related to the recovered items and to Truth's story. One interesting bit of information concerns the identity of the voice that Truth has been hearing. The writings recovered from the hidden rooms had been defaced to remove all names, but the tales themselves were about someone who matched stories in the archives about the Meddler, a semi-divine entity who had originally been human.
The maimalodalum council cannot identify the two unknown statues. Although the clothing carved on the figures shows a Liglim influence, it does not quite match any illustrations in the archives. The council decides to solicit the assistance of the Liglimom in the search and sends Plik -- who can pass for human at a distance when clothed -- with Firekeeper, Blind Seer and Truth to talk to the u-Liall.
When Firekeeper returns to the mainland, she finds Derian has also come back. Now he is chief advisor to the Bright Haven ambassador. She swiftly brings him up to date.
The Liglim archives are also unable to identify the nationality of the unknown statues, but the clothing styles suggest that they probably come from a citystate south of their border. Derian, Harjeedian and the Wise Horse Eshinarvash join the party when they head south. Derian and Harjeedian make the initial contact with the leaders of these states, but firekeeper and the yarimaimalom are the main attractions in the temples along the way.
This story strongly involves magic. Firekeeper despises all magic, but has sufficient experience with the art -- particularly with blood magic -- to recognize certain patterns in its usage. Since she doesn't speak human languages all that well or often, she mostly demonstrates her ideas by actions rather than words.
The Meddler -- who prefers to think of himself as only one of many meddlers -- lives up to his cognomen by intervening at key points within the story. Although he tries to convince everyone that his actions are motivated by compassion, most suspect that he has ulterior motives. Nonetheless, he has proven useful so far.
Highly recommended for Lindskold fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of intelligent animals, strange magics, and mysterious entities.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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Summary:
Not Lindskold's best, but may be worth the time...
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Comment:
I, too, felt the need to slog through this dense novel instead of enjoy it. I didn't skip the parts with Derian and other characters - as another reviewer said here. Plik is a true delight! And Derian, well, you'll have to read the book. He and his struggles may be worth the price of admission, alone. I've read all the other Firekeeper books and I will read Wolf Blood, but perhaps not immediately. This book did seem to meander, as a book with an unknown quest, to an unknown place to find unknown people, with some unreliable information givers as sources might. But the whole thing left me a bit unsettled, unsure of what happened, a bit frustrated, when I finished the book.
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Summary:
Thoroughly immersive world
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Comment:
I think I liked this as much as book 1. Maybe more because I already knew the main characters. I'm releaved about this, because I really didn't care much for the in-between books.
Still, Jane is one of the better fantasy authors at creating real worlds with believable, fully-fleshed characters. It's 2:30 AM, and I just finished reading -- even though my work will suffer, tomorrow. I really couldn't put it down.
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Summary:
An incredible tale with characters you know and love.
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Comment:
I got a 58 on an exam because of this book. I seriously could not put it down. Jane Lindskold writes in a way that absolutely captivates the reader, drawing them fully into the story, surrounding them in a world that holds a plethora of surprises. Her imagery is so keen that I see every little detail of her world in my mind's eye, from the colour of Derian Carter's hair to the wild battles that they must fight.
In this installment of the Firekeeper series Lindskold continues to develop the increasingly intriguing story arc that has been going on through each of her novels. Magic and the Old World, which were only mentioned with disgust in the first installment of the series, now begins to take an increasingly important role in the lives of Firekeeper and our friends. While the book can stand on its own, I would highly recommend reading the first four books so you can completely understand all of the undertones and references this one has.
Lindskold's characters are seamless and completely relatable, even though they may be a wolf, a feral child and a carter's son. At times I find myself more interested in the character development than the actual story, but that is not a bad thing in the least. Her characters are so well developed that they actually seem like real people, like one day I could wake up and Derian Carter would be walking down the street. If Lindskold suddenly decided to end her current plot and simply write about the characters lives, I could honestly say that I would not mind. In this installment, without giving too much away, we get a visit from a few old friends, a disease that threatens the life of our protagonists, and a transformation that will leave Lindskold's readers shocked.
The final installment of this series will be a bittersweet read for me. On the one hand I am incredibly anxious to see how she concludes her story arc and to witness the final developments of her characters. On the other hand, I will be devastated to know that it is the end of the line. Lindskold's plot and characters are so gripping that it will be like saying goodbye to good friends when I turn the final page.
Wolf Hunting has been one of my favourite installments of this incredible series and I would recommend it to anybody, even if you are not a fantasy lover.
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Summary:
Far Afield Indeed
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Comment:
Someone mentioned that this installment of Firekeeper's story has gone far afield. I guess that's my biggest gripe with it. They go through a portal to another land and it's an almost totally new set of characters around them. Then with many of the new characters I wasn't satisfied with the level she developed them, such as the twins and the two wolves they freed. I really hope in the next book she brings Firekeeper and Blind Seer back to their original turf (Hawk Haven, I believe it's called). I had come to really like the character of Sapphire and I want to see how married life is treating her. :)
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