Wolfskin

By Juliet Marillier

Book Overview

Wolfskin is the first of a fantasy duet in The Light Isles series from Juliet Marillier, weaving history and folklore into a saga of adventure, romance, and magic.

All young Eyvind ever wanted was to become a great Viking warrior---a Wolfskin---and carry honor out in the name of his fathergod, Thor. He can think of no future more glorious. The chance to make it happen is his when his chieftain, Ulf, is brought the tale of a magical land across the sea, a place where men with courage can go to conquer a land and bring glory to themselves. They set out to find this fabled land and discover a windswept and barren place, but one filled with unexpected beauty and hidden
treasures . . . and a people who are willing to share their bounty.
Ulf's new settlement begins in harmony with the natives of the isles led by the gentle king Engus. And Eyvind finds a treasure of his own in the young Nessa, niece of the king, seer and princess. His life will change forever as she claims his heart for her own.

But someone has come along to this new land who is not what he seems. Somerled, the strange and lonely boy that Eyvind befriended long ago, has a secret---and his own plans for the future. The blood oath that they swore in childhood binds them in lifelong loyalty, and Somerled is calling in the debt of honor. What he asks of Eyvind might just doom him to kill the only thing that Evyind has ever truly loved.

Will the price of honor create the destruction of all that Eyvind holds dear?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765306735
• ISBN13: 9780765306739
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 493 Pages
• Weight: 1.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Fantastical, earthy, emotive, pure wonder

DON'T listen to the low reviews this book has gotten- wolfskin is positively magical. after reading wildwood dancing by juliet marillier, and being so struck by the beauty of her prose, i knew i HAD to read more. so i picked up wolfskin and was enthralled. wolfskin and its sequel, foxmask, which is just as incredible, if not BETTER, have become my two favorite books of all time. juliet spins these tales so mindblowingly that you can't put them down. wolfskin is similar to a classic fantasy novel- full of blood, sex, adventure, secrets, and magic- but there's so much more to it. it is the heartwrenching love story of two young people brought together by fate. it is the painful and joyous growth of a boy to a man. it is a story of the bonds of brotherhood, family and friendship, blood debts, and personal evolution. it's packed to the brim with drama, betrayal, sorrow, carnality, bloodlust, tricks and killings, marriages and births, and above all, destiny. not only did i thoroughly enjoy the captivating and effortlessly fluid stream of words that juliet has put together, but i fell in love with the characters and the settings, became obsessed with viking and pictish history, and truly questioned my own morals. you will find yourself crying and pounding your pillow and letting out little laughs of triumph. honestly, buy this book today. you'll LOVE it.

Fine piece of historical literature

This book is one of the most interesting books of historical literature I have read in a long time. I really enjoy the characters and the plot keeps you guessing. It's not always a happy book, and you don't always like what happens, but it makes you keep wanting to read on. I really enjoy this author's work!

personal growth that isn't at the reader's convenience

Reading over the reviews other readers have given, I can see frustration in the lines. too little, too late, some say....can't find the good part, others say. If you've read the Sevenwaters Trillogy, and you expect this to be also the Sevenwaters Trilogy, then yes, you're to be frustrated. The main character is not so perfect, here. Indeed, a great deal of psychological and sociological ugliness happens in this book, and there's many times when you want to reach into the pages and grab necks and thump heads, but that is the power of Juliet Marillier's writing. The first chunck is slow. Yes, indeed. Painfully so. But folks, get past the first bit, and you won't be sorry. It's a story of the evolution of personal mentality and ethics and awareness that takes the book to span. The psychology is good. The characters breathe. It isn't a tidy story...the convenient thing doesn't happen, and it does not bend to the reader's want for instant and complete gratification. I ADORE this book, even more than Daughter of the Forest, because of that.

Wonderful Beatiful Book

This book surprised me. People told me that, yeah, it was decent, but nothing to the Sevenwaters trilogy. I walked around it at the book store for nearly a year, thinking, I'll get it in paperback. I mean, I don't *really* want to read it. Finally, I gave in, got it. I've been reading some crappy books, lately. I was not expecting much here, either.Stupid, stupid me. I re-read the Sevenwaters books every few month, at least in pieces. It shocks me now that I could have expected anything but excellence from Wolfskin.The story is set in Norway and in Orkney, in the days of Vikings. The main character is, in fact, one of these northern warriors - the very best. He is a very simple man, is Eyvind. All he wants is to be a brave warrior for three, maybe five glorious years, and then to die a brave and glorious death. He is, for lack of a better word, wholesome. Despite the fact that he basically kills people for a living.ššWhen Eyvind is a boy, his brother brings home another boy child - Somerled - and asks Eyvind to teach this boy to be a man. Somerled is as complicated a person as Eyvind is simple; as unhappy as Eyvind is content; as brilliant as Eyvind is strong; as strong as Eyvind is brilliant - which is to say, not much. Nobody likes Somerled. Spending time with him loses Eyvind all his friends for the few months each year when Somerled is visiting. And yet... They become brothers, in more ways than one.ššEventually, they grow up. Eyvind is the warrior he intended to be. Somerled seems to have a brilliant future at court. Everything seems right and just as it should be, except for some things that Somerled does - some things that are less than humane, less than conscionable - some things that are beyond Eyvind's ability to believe of his friend. Eyvind genuinely believes in the goodness of people and certainly in the goodness of his friend. He refuses to follow his suspicions to their logical conclusion. He refused to see the clues.ššAn expedition mounts to sail across unknown waters, to find a place of rumors - a beautiful place, that promises advantages beyond count. Both men find themselves on the ships. Then, both men find themselves on the Light Isles, which are everything they could have expected or imagined. Here is a new place - a place for new beginnings, a place for opportunities, a place where a man like Somerled - weak, but brilliant - can have a worthy place. The only problem is that a place this beautiful has not been sitting unoccupied in the ocean all these years. It has a people and a long, deep history. There is a girl here, as beautiful as her land - Nessa. She sees in Eyvind more than he thinks of himself. And, soon enough, Eyvind begins to see things more clearly - all sorts of things, including his friend. And what he sees scared Eyvind, though he be a great, fearless warrior. It scares him and his bonds of brotherhood with Somerled begin to chafe. Unbearably.ššThis is not an easy story to fi

Extraordinary

Having read The Sevenwaters Trilogy, I was somewhat nervous about reading this new effort by Marillier. Too often in the past, I have been disappointed by second series from an author. Not this time.I won't try to compare the two, as this is a more realistic painting, with less, though not empty of, the magical elements of the old myths and legends. It is an excellent psychological portrayal of disparate personalities, forged in totally different settings and cultures.Marillier's blending of historical reality and fantastical imagination was well paced, beautifully worded and ended with a combination of both hopefulness and a fear for the future. All the characters came vividly to life.The basis of the story is written in other reviews, but the beauty of the book is in how it is brought to life. There is no stereotyping, no simplistic escapes. There is no dumb Norseman, no feministic ranting, no male chauvanistic chest beating.For a reader who likes depth to his or her fantasy reading, who likes character and plot development over gory action, this is the book for you.