Wolfskin (original 2002; edition 2003)

Sat down and finished this off in one gulp, three hundred pages in one go, this evening. That seems to be the best way for me to read Marillier's work: I remember doing the same with her other books to finish them, and enjoying them much more at that break-neck pace. Wolfskin is sort of more in my line of work, you might say, since it involves Norse settlement of the Orkney islands: the Norse culture was familiar to me, if not always entirely in step with what I know, and I think Marillier toed the line pretty well.

I don't actually know what I think of the book as a whole. On the one hand, I definitely enjoyed it, and I was intrigued when the fairytale aspect came in -- very late in the story, so that I'd suspected that this wasn't a fairytale retelling at all -- but the pace is difficult and the characters... Eyvind is, of necessity, lacking in self-knowledge, lacking in understanding of his own capabilities, and Somerled is barely likeable -- Marillier does do well in showing the man he could be, in some moments, but from very early on it's obvious where it's all going. Nessa is more fun, though there's something so horribly clichéd about the princess-priestess whose children will carry on the royal line; it's so often a feature of books about Guinevere and so on, which is perhaps why it bothers me, and it's so often badly done.

Still, overall I quite enjoyed this story of cultures meeting, of two worlds finding a way to join without wholly destroying one another. I'm looking forward to reading Foxmask. I'm back to being ambivalent about Marillier, after adoring Heart's Blood when I read that, but there's plenty to enjoy even so. ( )

http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2003/07/wolfskin-juliet-marillier.html ( )

SAGA OF THE LIGHT ISLES

I absolutely adore Marillier's work, but this particular book didn't spark my interest. I can't really pinpoint why I didn't like it, except that I didn't care much for the characters. If you're a devote Marillier fan, you should probably give this one a try despite my own lackluster response, However, readers new to this author should try her 'Sevenwaters' series, instead. ( )

In Wolfskin, Juliet Marillier weaves us a wonderful story. One of magic and conquest, a tale of the Vikings coming to the Light Isles (Orkney Islands), of brothers turning against brothers with murder and revenge, including a sweeping love story. By reworking an old Norse tale called The Bone Harp, and infusing touches of Celtic mythology, she has created a story that is hauntingly beautiful.

Hauntingly beautiful, yes, but also a very wordy book that takes a very long time for the story to unfold. I am a big fan of this writer, but I feel this particular book could have used an editor with a firm hand. I believe this story would have benefited if this book had been cut back by at least 50 to 60 pages.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this reading experience, and, as Wolfskin is the first of two books, I look forward to continuing with this story. If you are, like me, a fan of historical fantasy, then I am sure you would love this book as well. ( )