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adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This has been on my shelf since I was the target demographic, and now that I'm 24 I finally decided to pick it up. Take all this with a grain of I'm not 12 anymore. It was a slow start, but once they finally got around to the journey it was a fun quick read. Torak needs a little more character development, he seems stoic and not much else, whereas Renn has aspirations that may contradict her calling and it strong willed in the faces of the men in her life. I guess 2000s middle grade books really love the Chosen One trope, I've read so many with ~prophecies~ it's almost a given, though not always a downer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Gore
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
I grew up with this series. It might as well have raised me. The first time I experienced it, it was read to me. Since then, I've read it over 20 times. I've listened to it on my old narrated CDs so many times, and I'm not an audiobook girly. It helps that Ian McKellen is the narrator for each of the 9 books!
Each time the next book in the series was released, I'd reread what was out already to prepare myself for it. This story is so central to my narrative brain, that I cannot help but come back to it time and time again. I see its impact in everything I write and what I prefer to read.
It's the Stone Age. 6000 years after the last Ice Age.
We begin our story with a young boy, Torak, who wakes to realize the disastrous, violent attack he and his father suffered at the hands of a giant bear wasn't a horrible dream. His father is dying, and with his final oath for Torak is to find a mountain no one has ever truly seen and do what needs to be done to rid the forest of this bear. A bear he knows has a demon from the Otherworld trapped in it. A bear that, for some reason, sought them out. He sends his son with his knife, and the promise that his guide will find him.
Torak is alone. He's hunted by a bear stronger than anything alive. He's desperately trying not to get himself killed, while navigating the clans he's been kept apart from, prophecies he's never heard of, and an annoying wolf cub he's become the less-than-eager guardian for. The worst dangers might come from the bear, but the risk from man might just outweigh the promise of allies and maybe even friendship.
And it's Torak's heart's blood on the line. Defeat the bear, or die trying.
Each time the next book in the series was released, I'd reread what was out already to prepare myself for it. This story is so central to my narrative brain, that I cannot help but come back to it time and time again. I see its impact in everything I write and what I prefer to read.
It's the Stone Age. 6000 years after the last Ice Age.
We begin our story with a young boy, Torak, who wakes to realize the disastrous, violent attack he and his father suffered at the hands of a giant bear wasn't a horrible dream. His father is dying, and with his final oath for Torak is to find a mountain no one has ever truly seen and do what needs to be done to rid the forest of this bear. A bear he knows has a demon from the Otherworld trapped in it. A bear that, for some reason, sought them out. He sends his son with his knife, and the promise that his guide will find him.
Torak is alone. He's hunted by a bear stronger than anything alive. He's desperately trying not to get himself killed, while navigating the clans he's been kept apart from, prophecies he's never heard of, and an annoying wolf cub he's become the less-than-eager guardian for. The worst dangers might come from the bear, but the risk from man might just outweigh the promise of allies and maybe even friendship.
And it's Torak's heart's blood on the line. Defeat the bear, or die trying.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent