Wolfskin

Desconhecia por completo esta autora e "O filho de Thor" mas conheço várias pessoas que gostam bastante dela e decidi aceitar a recomendação da Célia. Não sei bem porquê mas tinha-a associado à Anne Bishop o que agora percebo que foi um erro pois ambas são muito diferentes na escrita e universos. A escrita de Marillier é muito bonita e poética, com muita imaginação e informação histórica mas sem aquele "despejar de informação" que muitos autores acabam por fazer.
A primeira metade do "Filho de Tor" foi a que mais me custou, pois serve para contar como surgiu a amizade entre Sommerled e Eyvind, enquanto rapazes. Não morro de amores por histórias com crianças e cheguei a pensar em desistir. No entanto, a autora coloca show more estrategicamente alguns mistérios e conflitos que ajudaram a manter o interesse e partir para a segunda metade do livro que se passa nas Ilhas Brilhantes.
Sommerled é desde o início o aparente vilão da história. No entanto como é apenas um rapaz assustado que sofreu bastante na infância ficamos sempre na dúvida se ele é intrinsecamente mau ou apenas produto do seu meio e ambições. Depois há a sua relação com Eyvind. Este é um rapaz lutador e corajoso, de ideais e ambições simples. Só que é essa bondade inata que atrai e mantém Sommeled no seu melhor, impedindo-o de se tornar totalmente mau. Eyvind passa por várias e diversas dificuldades ao longo desta história. Sofre quando tem que agir contra aquilo que acredita e a sua recuperação acontece através de Nessa que se torna a sua mais improvável aliada. Por seu lado Nessa vive em conflito por se apaixonar por um guerreiro do grupo que está em luta com o seu povo e ajudar o seu povo a sobreviver. Foi por causa de Nessa que me apaixonei por esta história. As passagens sobre ela e a sua magia são lindíssimas e transportou-me para um tempo em que nós humanos vivíamos mais ligados à nossa Mãe-Terra.
Em resumo: adorei este livro. Começa de uma forma talvez pouco interessante e lenta mas a pouco e pouco prende-nos, principalmente através dos seus personagens, e faz-nos apaixonar por aquele bonito mundo das Ilhas Brilhantes. show less

Marillier has fast become one of my favorite fantasy authors. Her works are sweeping, her prose masterful, and her characters impossible to ignore. In fact, her characters feel just so real and sympathetic that it's impossible not to care about them and be pulled into her stories. As with the last series I read from her, this series starts with a view into childhood, and moves from there in a careful epic of gorgeous, fluid prose and twists.

I absolutely adored it, and I can't wait to read the next in the series.

Rich lore, beautiful language, and compelling characters, all the things I've come to expect from Marillier. But the pacing suffered in this one, and I grew impatient with the titular character, the Wolfskin (berserk warrior) Eyvik, who took far too long to figure things out that had been apparent to the reader from the first chapter.

Also, it is slow. The story is a slow burn with a long drawn-out ending.

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 show more 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. show less

In her lyrical style, Juliet Marillier has now opened up the exploration of the Light Isles and the world of the Viking warrior. While their culture is viewed by the British and the Irish as the conquered peoples, the other side of these strong warriors is explored. Their spring and summer raidings, the growing up as a young boy with an eye to joining the men on their raids, and finally the effort to colonize the Light Isles (now Orkney Isles) forms the nexus of this book. And yes, there is a strong woman who is easily a match for the strong male figure at the beginning of the book, and her training as a Priestess is every bit as necessary and rigorous in the eyes of her people.

This is my first time reading Juliet Marillier, and overall I really enjoyed the experience. There was only one time that I really, really got annoyed with the story and characters, and it was close to the beginning, so I got over it pretty quickly. The writing was just beautiful: yes, she is very wordy and she takes the time to set up each character, each scene, each part of the story, so her books therefore are pretty lengthy. For the most part, I thought she handled her "wordiness" very well, and only close to the end did the story seem to ramble on. - The story itself is wonderfully crafted and simple at its core: two friends who share a deep bond grow older and embark down very different paths: one good, one evil and destructive. show more Rooted in the story are issues of love, loyalty, betrayal, and courage. On the whole, I loved all the characters and greatly enjoyed their story. - The historical and geographic elements were also fun to read about, too. The settings are Norway and the Orkney Islands of Scotland (called the Light Isles here) and the timeplace is the 800s. That's quite a feat, to be able to craft a meaningful and believable story from over 1200 years ago, and Marillier is able to weave fiction and fact intricately. I will say, however, that I do think the beautiful story she tells *could* be condensed: my copy has 715 pages, and I dont think every one of those pages was absolutely necessary. In her desire to create well-rounded characters and paint a vivid picture for her readers, I personally think that Marillier gets a bit too involved in "backstories." When I think about how much action - how much of a story - takes place from beginning to end, it's almost mind-boggling. I've read a few authors who really seem to like long, lengthy sagas: Edward Rutherford (Sarum) comes to mind...but my favorite passages of hers are some of her simplest. Toward the end, especially, I started keeping a tally of every time a character said the phrase "Get on with it!" 6 times, to be exact. That's how I felt, too. There's a "courtroom scene" that spans about 150 pages and it just goes on and on and on! That's the only time in the whole book that I really felt like Marillier was rambling, but then again I also just had a problem with the scenario: these are Viking berserkers, and I just cant really wrap my mind around them conducting a "Law & Order"-like legal proceeding. I'd almost rather just have a good old battle. The ending, too, left me with conflicting feelings. While I wouldnt say that I didnt like the ending (with respect to what happens to the antagonist), it's certainly not one that I would duplicate in any of my stories. I personally like a "duel of the fates" showdown, a good-vs-evil match; here, I felt like the ending was way too ambiguous, way too generous, and a bit disappointing. If I've had to read for 700 pages about how sadistic and evil someone is, it seems a bit outrageous to expect me to suddenly be able to believe in their "hidden, innate goodness." Right now, the word I'd use is pathetic. But whatever. The only other frowny face I have is this: I dont know if this is a personal opinion of hers, and therefore if it will show up in again in her other books, but I was very irked by a scenario she seemed to present regarding romance...and it kind of soured the otherwise sweet Eyvind-Nessa pairing (and PS--i love Nessa! Other than being a little too eloquent ALL THE TIME, she was a great character!) - Overall, a very pleasing, very enriching story! I definitly recommend it to my 16 friends! show less

I grabbed this at a Hastings book store before it closed down ~10 years ago for 70 cents. Definitely got my money's worth. Very engaging read from a talented author that I didn't know I needed.

Loved the note at the end that wolfskin was derived from berserk.