Book Review - Through Wolf's Eyes
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book review,
firekeeper,
jane lindskold,
through wolf's eyes
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| Cover image courtesy of Barnes and Noble. |
Author: Jane Lindskold
Publisher: Tor Fantasy
Publication Date: June 17, 2002
Version I Read: Mass Market Paperback
Rating: 5/5
This is one of those books I read a long time ago and recently reread. Needless to say from my high rating, Through Wolf's Eyes holds up. Big time.
Years ago, the king of Hawk Haven disowned his youngest son, and the prince left on an expedition to found a colony on the other side of the mountains. He was never heard from again. Now that the king's other children have died and a fight for succession has erupted, an earl decides to lead an expedition to find out what happened to the missing prince, and, hopefully, bring either him or any heirs back.
Thus begins the tale of Lady Blysse, or, as she would rather be known, Firekeeper. A survivor of Prince Barden's ill-fated expedition, she has been raised by wolves (bigger, more intelligent wolves that live beyond the mountains), leaving her more wolf than human. With some urging from her adopted family, she chooses to return with the humans to their kingdom, the kingdom of her birth.
Spoilers!
This book knows how to do political intrigue! As the plot centers around the extended royal family fighting over the throne, unsurprisingly, there is a lot of plotting and a couple of assassination attempts, as well as strategic marriages and characters plotting out their every move. Allister Seagleam, who is the son of the king's sister who was married off to the Bright Bay nobility to ensure peace and eventual unification of their two lands, is also in the running, to the chagrin of the Hawk Haven nobility, even though a decent portion of the people support his claim. In one of the later chapters, we get the history of the Bright Bay throne explained to us too, and it is similarly creative, fascinating, and realistic. One thing that doesn't clutter up the story is the fact that there is nothing barring women from holding positions of power (in fact, Hawk Haven was founded by a woman), meaning Lindskold doesn't take unnecessary time on feminist stories that have been done to death in similar stories.
I love the setting, specifically the idea that the kingdoms where the story takes place were founded after colonizers from the Old World withdrew to deal with issues closer to home. This idea is interesting, because it is not only something I haven't seen in fantasy too often (and gives it a very "New World" feel), but it adds an extra angle to the people in power: that their power is only somewhat solidified.
Firekeeper herself is a great character - both naive in the ways of humans and wise in the ways of the world. The way her mind works is very well-written, as she constantly compares the goings-on in the human world to how the animal world works, most commonly and perhaps obviously, to power dynamics in wolf packs. Firekeeper's relationship with Blind Seer is also something of note; most readers would expect her to eventually fall in love with a human (namely Darian), but not Firekeeper. Her soulmate truly is Blind Seer and, while she is searching for a way to become a wolf in body as well as in spirit through forbidden ancient magics, she shares a kind of beautiful bond with him in spite of the fact that they are of two different species.
Pretty much all of the other characters, especially Sapphire, Derian, Elise, and Doc, are distinctive and well-rounded. I appreciate that the main villain's motivation is that he feels tossed aside after the death of his wife, who would have been Queen, and so he wants to take the power he feels is rightfully his.
The fact that magic in this world is rare and not even accepted (considered to be a relic of the Old World and not something any of them want; it is something they fear enough to go to war over the threat of it being used) is also nice, and gives the story a realistic feel while still maintaining the power and majesty of fantasy.
Perhaps the best part of the story is the ending and the resolution to the conflict. Firekeeper is not chosen to be the next queen. She is not even Prince Barden's daughter but the daughter of another member of the expedition. I love that the king knows this and accepts her into his court anyway, because he appreciates her wisdom and he genuinely likes her. Instead, the crown will go to the character that perhaps gets the best development in the story: Sapphire Shield. Sapphire goes from being an alpha bitch completely under the control of her mother to a strong independent woman and remains a complex character. Her betrothal to Allister's son ensures the promise made years ago to unite the kingdoms of Hawk Haven and Bright Bay into a stronger whole. This makes the end of the story not only perfectly logical, but also emotionally satisfying.
Years ago, the king of Hawk Haven disowned his youngest son, and the prince left on an expedition to found a colony on the other side of the mountains. He was never heard from again. Now that the king's other children have died and a fight for succession has erupted, an earl decides to lead an expedition to find out what happened to the missing prince, and, hopefully, bring either him or any heirs back.
Thus begins the tale of Lady Blysse, or, as she would rather be known, Firekeeper. A survivor of Prince Barden's ill-fated expedition, she has been raised by wolves (bigger, more intelligent wolves that live beyond the mountains), leaving her more wolf than human. With some urging from her adopted family, she chooses to return with the humans to their kingdom, the kingdom of her birth.
Spoilers!
This book knows how to do political intrigue! As the plot centers around the extended royal family fighting over the throne, unsurprisingly, there is a lot of plotting and a couple of assassination attempts, as well as strategic marriages and characters plotting out their every move. Allister Seagleam, who is the son of the king's sister who was married off to the Bright Bay nobility to ensure peace and eventual unification of their two lands, is also in the running, to the chagrin of the Hawk Haven nobility, even though a decent portion of the people support his claim. In one of the later chapters, we get the history of the Bright Bay throne explained to us too, and it is similarly creative, fascinating, and realistic. One thing that doesn't clutter up the story is the fact that there is nothing barring women from holding positions of power (in fact, Hawk Haven was founded by a woman), meaning Lindskold doesn't take unnecessary time on feminist stories that have been done to death in similar stories.
I love the setting, specifically the idea that the kingdoms where the story takes place were founded after colonizers from the Old World withdrew to deal with issues closer to home. This idea is interesting, because it is not only something I haven't seen in fantasy too often (and gives it a very "New World" feel), but it adds an extra angle to the people in power: that their power is only somewhat solidified.
Firekeeper herself is a great character - both naive in the ways of humans and wise in the ways of the world. The way her mind works is very well-written, as she constantly compares the goings-on in the human world to how the animal world works, most commonly and perhaps obviously, to power dynamics in wolf packs. Firekeeper's relationship with Blind Seer is also something of note; most readers would expect her to eventually fall in love with a human (namely Darian), but not Firekeeper. Her soulmate truly is Blind Seer and, while she is searching for a way to become a wolf in body as well as in spirit through forbidden ancient magics, she shares a kind of beautiful bond with him in spite of the fact that they are of two different species.
Pretty much all of the other characters, especially Sapphire, Derian, Elise, and Doc, are distinctive and well-rounded. I appreciate that the main villain's motivation is that he feels tossed aside after the death of his wife, who would have been Queen, and so he wants to take the power he feels is rightfully his.
The fact that magic in this world is rare and not even accepted (considered to be a relic of the Old World and not something any of them want; it is something they fear enough to go to war over the threat of it being used) is also nice, and gives the story a realistic feel while still maintaining the power and majesty of fantasy.
Perhaps the best part of the story is the ending and the resolution to the conflict. Firekeeper is not chosen to be the next queen. She is not even Prince Barden's daughter but the daughter of another member of the expedition. I love that the king knows this and accepts her into his court anyway, because he appreciates her wisdom and he genuinely likes her. Instead, the crown will go to the character that perhaps gets the best development in the story: Sapphire Shield. Sapphire goes from being an alpha bitch completely under the control of her mother to a strong independent woman and remains a complex character. Her betrothal to Allister's son ensures the promise made years ago to unite the kingdoms of Hawk Haven and Bright Bay into a stronger whole. This makes the end of the story not only perfectly logical, but also emotionally satisfying.
The Verdict: An engrossing and compelling book that amazingly combines the story of a feral child raised by wolves and a political struggle for a crown.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
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