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The Resource Chronicles of ancient darkness. | Wolf brother, Michelle Paver

Chronicles of ancient darkness. | Wolf brother, Michelle Paver

Creator
Summary
6,000 years in the past, twelve-year-old Torak and his guide, a wolf cub, set out on a dangerous journey to fulfill an oath the boy made to his dying father--to travel to the Mountain of the World Spirit seeking a way to destroy a demon-possessed bear that threatens all the clans
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First American edition.
Extent
295 pages
Isbn
9780060728250
Instance
Label
Chronicles of ancient darkness. | Wolf brother
Title
  • Chronicles of ancient darkness.
  • Wolf brother
Statement of responsibility
Michelle Paver
Title variation
Wolf brother
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
6,000 years in the past, twelve-year-old Torak and his guide, a wolf cub, set out on a dangerous journey to fulfill an oath the boy made to his dying father--to travel to the Mountain of the World Spirit seeking a way to destroy a demon-possessed bear that threatens all the clans
Member of
Storyline
Pace
Writing style
Award
USBBY Outstanding International Book, 2006.
Review
  • Gr. 6-9. A giant bear possessed by a demon fatally wounds Torak’s father, who makes his son swear that he will find the Mountain of the World Spirit, many “daywalks” from where they have been hunting in the forest. The spirit, his father says, offers the only hope to defeat the bear, which will become invincible if not stopped. So begins Torak’s desperate quest, undertaken in the company of an orphaned wolf cub, Torak’s guide. After members of the Raven Clan capture the boy and wolf, Torak learns that he is the Listener, prophesied to crush the Shadow, the overriding evil that is trying to take over the land. There’s one minor discrepancy that kids are likely to spot (if there’s a second printing, it will be corrected), but that won’t spoil the excitement in the first book in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series. This is fantasy adventure on a grand scale, with a wealth of wilderness lore and convincing characterizations. -- Sally Estes (BookList, 03-01-2005, p1185)
  • Gr 5-9 –Set 6000 years ago, this fast-paced adventure delves into a world of spirits and mysticism not often seen in children's literature. Torak, 12, witnesses his father's brutal attack by a giant, demon-possessed bear and promises to find his way to the Mountain of the World Spirit. Before dying, his father instructs him to avoid other men and tells him that his guide will find him. Sure enough, Torak is soon adopted by a wolf cub, also recently orphaned, with whom he is able to communicate. The bear continues to terrorize the forest, but Torak is able to avoid it with Wolf's help. They are captured by the Wolf clan, who believes that Torak is the Listener, and will rid the forest of the bear when he fulfills a prophecy by delivering three lost artifacts to the mountain. He must solve an obscure riddle to find the artifacts and traverse dangerous lands, all the while evading the evil bear. Paver's depth of research into the spiritual world of primitive peoples makes this impressive British import, slated to be the first in a six-book series, intriguing and believable.–Karen T. Bilton, Somerset County Library, Bridgewater, NJ --Karen T. Bilton (Reviewed February 1, 2005) (School Library Journal, vol 51, issue 2, p140)
  • Part riveting nature story, part rite of passage saga, Paver's first book in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series is set in a primeval forest some 6,000 years ago (according to an author's note). As the novel opens, 12-year-old Torak watches in horror as his father is mauled by a bear that is unnaturally vicious, "possessed... [by] some demon from the Otherworld." Before his father dies, he tells the boy that he must travel north to the Mountain of the World Spirit—and that he must stay away from other people, for reasons he doesn't have time to explain. In his travels, Torak meets a wolf cub, whom he calls Wolf, and readers will likely be charmed by the scenes of their gradual bonding. But after Torak kills a buck, he falls into the hands of the Raven Clan claiming ownership of that part of the forest. When the clansmen learn that the boy can communicate with Wolf, they become convinced that he is the prophesied Listener who "gives his heart's blood to the Mountain" in order to dispel a Shadow that threatens the forest (i.e., the possessed bear). A quest ensues, involving Torak, Wolf and a Raven Clan–girl, Renn. The plot becomes intricate, but remains involving thanks to Paver's unusual setting and eccentric characters, plus the strict rules by which the clans live. Passages from the wolf cub's point of view seem extraneous, but Torak's coming- of- age tale will keep the pages turning. The author reveals many secrets at the end, nicely setting the stage for subsequent volumes. Ages 10-up. (Mar.) --Staff (Reviewed January 10, 2005) (Publishers Weekly, vol 252, issue 2, p57)
  • Grandiose series title aside, this first of a projected six episodes makes a muddled but strong start, pitting its young stone-age protagonist against a ravening, ensorcelled bear. Having learned of an oblique prophecy that describes him as the only one who can take on the unnatural bear who orphaned him—and is wantonly killing the great forest's denizens—Torak sets out to find three pieces of the Nanuak, or World Soul, that will allow him to enlist the help of the World Spirit. Accompanied by Wolf, an orphaned cub with eldritch knowledge, and Renn, spirited niece of a local clan leader, Torak survives a host of vividly envisioned dangers while displaying outstanding survival skills. Ultimately, he discovers that the bear (probably dispatched in a climactic encounter) had been created by one of a band of evil mages—each of whom will doubtless appear in a subsequent adventure. By the end, readers will have a real feeling for what life in the wild must have been like, and will be looking forward to Torak's further exploits. (Fiction. 11-13) (Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2005)
http://library.link/vocab/ext/novelist/bookUI
136323
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Paver, Michelle
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
no index present
Intended audience
Ages 10 up
Interest level
MG
Literary form
fiction
http://library.link/vocab/ext/novelist/minGradeLevel
  • 5
  • 9
Reading level
4.5
http://library.link/vocab/resourcePreferred
True
Series statement
Chronicles of ancient darkness
Series volume
1
Study program name
Accelerated Reader
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Voyages and travels
  • Prehistoric peoples
  • Wolves
  • Demoniac possession
  • Bears
  • Reading (Middle school)
Target audience
juvenile
Label
Chronicles of ancient darkness. | Wolf brother, Michelle Paver
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Dimensions
22 cm.
Edition
First American edition.
Extent
295 pages
Isbn
9780060728250
Lccn
2004008857
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
Label
Chronicles of ancient darkness. | Wolf brother, Michelle Paver
Publication
Copyright
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Dimensions
22 cm.
Edition
First American edition.
Extent
295 pages
Isbn
9780060728250
Lccn
2004008857
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations

Subject

Genre

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