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Loading... Wolf's Brother (1988)by Megan Lindholm
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. 3.5 stars. This book was weird and delightful, and a very good continuation for the first part which I had read a while ago. While I liked it, my main complaint centers around the fact that the end was a bit underwhelming; I was expecting something quite horrific to happen when everything came to a head - and it did, to a certain extent, but it all seemed to settle down quite fast and in a way that felt a bit too good, too convenient. Even so, it was an entertaining, dark read. I like Robin Hobb's books a lot, so when I found out she has also published a bunch under 'Megan Lindholm' of course I had to go get them! These were the first I read under this name. It's really one story, that was originally divided in two by the publisher, and later pout out as an omnibus called "The Saga of the Reindeer People." I'm not sure why she uses two different names. The style of writing was recognizably the same, although this story is somewhat darker than many of her epic 'Robin Hobb' fantasies. The author's note (you can read it here: http://www.trussel.com/prehist/lindholm.htm) said that she originally conceived this story as a fantasy, but was encouraged to write it as historical fiction by the publisher. It's set in Bronze Age Lapland (Scandinavia), but it still has the feel of fantasy, and some essential-to-the-plot fantastic/spiritual elements. With its scope and early setting, it reminded me at times of Clan of the Cave Bear. It tells the story of a single mother struggling to raise her mentally disabled young son alone, in a society which is intensely dependent on social, tribal life. She has survived and been taken in by different groups because of her skill with herbs, but when she encounters a shaman who tries to take emotional control of her son and claim her as his woman, she flees - but has the luck to fall in with another group - one that treats women more fairly, is somewhat wealthier - and includes a man she may actually like. But not all is perfect - the shaman may be in pursuit, and a series of crimes may be poisoning this tribe from the inside. ...This reread was an interesting experience for me. I can't really remember disliking so many things about this novel. Wolf's Brother is still a decent read but the climax of the novel is so full of melodrama that it's hard to take it serious. Although endings do not appear to be Lindholm's, and most certainly not Hobb's, forte, I felt this one was probably the weakest she has delivered. My reaction to this novel caught me by surprise. The first book in this duology was more or less what I remembered it to be. This one isn't. I guess my taste has developed a bit in the past twelve or so years (or maybe a bit longer, the Dutch edition I read back then was published in 2000) since I last read them. It makes me wonder how some of the other stuff I read back then holds up. Still, if you like prehistoric fiction, you could do a lot worse than these two books. I enjoyed them in a way, just not as much as I did the first time around. Full Random Comments review no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesReindeer People (book 2) Is contained in
The compelling sequel to The Reindeer People , a saga of magic and triumph in an ancient world. Kerlew stared at the immense stone that jutted up from the tundra. Power radiated from it like heat from a fire. It attracted the boy and filled him with fear. And then he was alone. There was a brush of sound, of dark moving shadows and then the sudden flash of a glistening eye. He pressed his palms back against the stone's rough surface and faced the night creatures that surrounded him. The magic is strong in Kerlew. Every day it grows, reaching out to the Wolf spirit that will be his guide. But the magic in Kerlew that calls to the beasts and to the spirit world also calls to Carp, the evil old shaman, who follows Kerlew and his mother, Tillu, across the frozen wastes. When he finds them, he will bind them to him, and shape Kerlew's powers for his own uses. No library descriptions found. |
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This book continues where [b:The Reindeer People|11297113|The Reindeer People|Megan Lindholm|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1334087509s/11297113.jpg|281793] left off. No, really. It's like it was originally one big story, but for marketing reasons the publisher wanted it cut into two parts. Why? As Robin Hobb, she can write thick novels all she wants. Or was it custom back then and now (big novels being "in" / hip / ...)?
Anyway, I ended my review of the first book (see here) with some questions:
Will it shed more light on Carp's influence on Kerlew?
Will Heckram and Tillu live together?
Wil Tillu accept Kerlew's change in behaviour, now that Carp is back?
Will Carp leave her alone or hasn't he changed a bit when he wanted her as his wife?
What will Capiam (leader of the tribe) say of Carp's proposal (shaman of the tribe)?
Capiam as herlord was actually a tyrant. He didn't want to listen to good advice, he didn't want to hear the truth, even if it involved his children. He and his wife alone knew what his children would have to do to be happy. Who cares if they have own wishes? They just have to do like it's been done before: marry with a chosen one, get kids, have a pack of reindeer, etc.... and so on.
Tillu became friends with Kari (Capiam's daughter), learned her valuable info on plants and their healing power. Until Kari got under the influence of Carp.
Joboam's hunger for power also comes into the picture, now and then. Especially in how he mistreats Tillu, Kerlew (he hates the kid), feels like he runs the place and will take over command anytime soon.
Kerlew, like I wrote, succeeds in being fully accepted by the herd, but it takes a lot of effort, blood, sweat, time, anger, ... Kerlew finds his spirit guardian, even though Tillu never really believed in that sort of stuff. She was like the atheist of the folk. But somehow Heckram also was never fully accepted by his folk and maybe that also caused him and her to come together.
Eventually Carp gets what he deserved. Kerlew has seen the light, so to speak, and is able to take matters into his own hands, now that he's older and wiser. But still only a teenager.
The puzzle about who killed Elsa (Heckram's girlfriend), Rolke (despite Tillu helping as much as possible to get him healed), and yes, Kari even, also gets solved... by Kerlew. Prior to all this, Joboam and Heckram, eternal enemies, fight each other to the death. Strangely enough, despite all the slashes and stabbing,
And so, all's well that ends well. Or what did you think? ;-) With most of the trouble gone, maybe Tillu, Heckram and Kerlew can now live a peaceful life in the herd?
I found this part a little less good, hence the three and not four stars. At some point things got better, but not enough to increase the overall score. Regardless, it's a nice story about a boy becoming a shaman in a herdfolk not of his own kind and how this isn't all cakes and ale (I had to look it up, indeed). A story, that, again, was needlessly chopped into two parts. Also nice is the descriptive style of Lindholm, about how the folk lived, the plants, ... She even added a bit of info on this at the end of the book.
Add a few annoying typos... Didn't anyone read this before republishing?
* reinder instead of reindeer
* it instead of if
* he instead of she (especially in the last part of the book when it's about a woman)
* ... ( )