Reviews

Schattenkrieger by Kathryn Lasky

mischiefphantom's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

skyzinnia's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

Wow, what a huge comeback from book one. I'm glad I decided to press on.

I didn't like all the constant recap. It seems like every few pages was just a reminder of what happened in the book I just read before this one, or that was just covered. Reminders of everything that happened, the situation he was in, the lineage of certain wolves, etc.

The parts with Gwynneth and Faolan seemed kind of pointless. Why would she tell him any of that or share that information with him? Hey, I know you were struggling with this, but I just wanted to let you know something about it that will make things much worse for no reason. It kind of ties in at the end, but all that could have been taken out and just implied. The book could have been a little shorter with a little less filler that way.

I thought the song he sings for the little golden pup on page 87/88 was beautiful and well thought out. I really liked how that scene was written overall.

This one had a lot more story and explanation to it. It had a crazy plot twist, character development, and an exciting event she really made me look forward to. At the end of this one, I am ready to move on with the series rather than wondering if I should DNF it like I did at the end of the first one.

athena_arisen's review against another edition

2.0

The tension is good, and we get to see the culture of the wild clans, and they are cruel and hypocritical.

Wolves with birth defects are to be left to die, but it is the worst crime a wolf can commit to kill these pups and put them out of their misery instead of allowing the elements to claim them slowly.

They're so cruel to these wolves with varying levels of disability, needlessly. They're bitten, thrown, throttled and abused.

Interested to see how this is hopefully challenged.

darri_reads's review against another edition

4.0

Lasky sure knows how to write a villain. Man was that rough. Not entirely Nyra evil but certainly a runner up, he’d make a good member of St Aggies, just to compare a bit to Guardians

afro8921's review against another edition

4.0

This series covers the dynamics of pack culture wolf clans and what it means to be on the fringes of a pack. Wolf pups born with a deformity are left to die soon after their birth. The gnaw wolves in this series survive being left to die and are made the outcasts of their packs due to birth defects. Ms. Lasky has a winner in her character fallon. Fallon is a gnaw wolf who's character is a interesting mix of vulnerability clothed in dignity. He struggles with his position in the pack and with knowing where and when to use his skills. He's not perfect but you do completely root for him. I will definitely be reading the next one.

kat703's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

hopejune123's review against another edition

4.0

I'm glad to be reading these books even though they're for elementary kids. Honestly, I think these are meant for kids of all ages. Adults, too. Really good and I'm excited for the next!

worms_and_words's review against another edition

4.0

I love it but there are so many words that don’t make sense and are not explained well enough. If you are going to make your own language please explain it more.

lolawolf's review against another edition

4.0

I have truly enjoyed hearing Falon's story told in the audiobook format. There is something cool about hearing his story in his voice. In this volume, Falon finally finds his place in the pack. As it turns out, his place is slightly outside the pack structure which works seeing as his first year was spent being raised by a grizzly bear. I look forward to his next adventure.

cassidylynnereads's review against another edition

3.0

This review is going to be on the shorter side without a separate spoiler section because it's late and I'm tired but I wanted to get this done. This book was definitely a step up from the first book, and the world building takes a back seat to character development and plot movement, which is a very good thing. There were still traditions and rituals that needed to be explained in this book, but it didn't feel like the text was trying to force feed me the information this time, and instead it was appropriately spaced out within the overall story. I still stand by assertion that Faolan is a major Gary Stu, but I think this book is a lot better because he actually faces major struggles to fit in and find his place in this installment. Despite his struggle to fit in, he is still loved by an overwhelming majority of the wolves by the end of the book, and his enemies are always made out to be wrong and annoying in their own right, a typical mark of a Gary Stu character. I thought Heep's whole character and storyline were cheap ways to create tension, but I think that this book majorly picked up the slack from the first installment of action. The action at the end of the book resolved a bit too quickly and conveniently for my liking, but at some points I found myself turning the page in anticipation even though I'd already read these books before. I'd say that's an indication of a well written action scene filled with tension. Overall this was a major improvement from the first book in the series, but I think it could have used some improvements.

Spoiler

Also I know Faolan's new position in the Watch had to happen to advance the plot of the next book, but I feel like this was still pretty early in the series for him to join the Watch. I don't like seeing Faolan suffer, but seeing him struggle to fit in and find his place in the pack made him a lot more relatable. Cutting that struggle off so quickly by causing him to join the elite group of gnaw wolves only a year after he joined the clan, and after he had so many failures that ultimately had little to no repercussions, made the character he was developing into go straight back into overpowered, perfect territory.