Renn fears that she is becoming a threat to Torak and secretly leaves the Forest to seek answers in the Far North. When Torak realises what she's planning, he and Wolf follow her. But someone has been following all their movements and is one step ahead at all times ...

I had no idea that Michelle Paver had written a follow-up to the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, so imagine my surprise and delight when I spotted a copy at a local bookshop. Returning to Torak, Renn and Wolf's world felt like being reunited with old friends, though my memory was a bit hazy about some of the events covered in previous books, but the author fills in the necessary details so that it didn't detract from the enjoyment of the book. All the ingredients that made the original books so memorable are again found in this volume: the familiar and well-loved characters, the descriptions of nature, accompanied by Geoff Taylor's stunning scratchboard artwork, adventure and danger. However, I felt that the 'enemy more evil than any they've ever encountered' fell curiously flat, though.

The second volume, Skin Taker, will be in the shops soon and then duly make its way to my bookshelves. ( )

I was excited to return to the world of Torak and Wolf and Renn, years after the publication of the sixth book in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. Reading this new installment felt like returning to a favorite place that I hadn't been to in a long time: the same beloved forest, the pack-bonds, the marvelous descriptions of wildlife and habitat, the maps (of the Far North and the Island at the Edge of the World) to pour over and follow the characters' travels, Wolf's language ("fast wet" for river). As well, the eeriness and superstition of the ancient time and peoples that had me shivering for Renn and Torak and Wolf. Paver is adept at dropping readers into her story and sweeping them along with her voice and moods. Geoff Taylor's pencil sketches lovingly capture Wolf, Ark the raven, Musk Oxen, vipers, Polar Bears, Narwhal, slingstones, snow masks, fish hooks, halibut, puffin, Snowy Owl, walrus, shearwaters, mammoths, Snow Geese, icebergs, sea-eagle, storms, flowers, kelp, Arctic Fox, the aurora borealis, and the black-line, section break drawings resemble petroglyphs. I read this online, but I'd much rather have a print book in hand, especially for the illustrations, as well as for tactile enjoyment. Writing this review makes me realize how much I enjoyed the story. I need to read it again more slowly, to savor it more. ( )