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A review by robinbridgefour
Black Wolves by Kate Elliott
4.0
The Black Wolves blends a variety of cultures with political intrigues and a touch of magic in this world.
There were many times I thought I knew where the story was going just to be abruptly surprised when the direction swiftly changed and went a new direction altogether.
There are plenty of villains roaming around and the good guys aren’t just good, they are complex and depending on what side of the battle you are one might be described a little villainous as well. I did have a few favorite characters in Sarai, the bastard daughter of a clan that seems very middle eastern culturally speaking. She is strong since she has been an outcast in her clan all of her life. I love how smart and cunning she is. Lifka is also a strong female character, she should be a slave but was taken in by a family and raised as their own. Now bonded to an Eagle and enemy of the prince she will have to fight to save her family and keep her own skin.
There are a dozen great story arcs happing in the middle of the main arc and so the pacing of the story takes awhile to get going. One reason is that this starts with a set of characters and we read 7-8 chapters with them before time jumping 44 years into the future. I was really invested in the main characters in the beginning and when we return to the story not all of them are alive and things have really changed. It did take awhile for everything to pick back up again after that, but it did.
The worldbuiding is interesting, once upon a time the creatures now called Demons were called Guardians and acted as Judges seeking justice in the land. But time has changed and now they are considered evil and hunted to be killed. There is a subtle magic here. It is not overt but there are bonds between Eagles and people that allow them to have a partnership. There are also places called Demon Coils that are scattered across the land and seem to play a part in the roles of the Guardians and other who a considered demon touched. I liked this part of the world the most.
Even with a few of the pacing issues I really got into the story and with how it ended I’ll be excited to see what happens to all the characters in the next book of the series. The good news was there are a lot of strong women characters to root for and a few men that I really liked as well. But the characters I hated I really hated, they were so awful that I just wanted someone to kill them soon. While I got my wish on a few of them there are still plenty left for the next book out in 2020. I’ll be back to this world then.
“Dannarah, never forget that a king wields many weapons, and some of them are men. The soldiers I command are sometimes kinsmen but most, however valuable, are expendable in the service of victory. Do not deploy them lightly, or incompetently. Do not waste them, because the best ones take far more time to train than they do to die. But never mistake them for something they are not. Do you understand me?”
There were many times I thought I knew where the story was going just to be abruptly surprised when the direction swiftly changed and went a new direction altogether.
There are plenty of villains roaming around and the good guys aren’t just good, they are complex and depending on what side of the battle you are one might be described a little villainous as well. I did have a few favorite characters in Sarai, the bastard daughter of a clan that seems very middle eastern culturally speaking. She is strong since she has been an outcast in her clan all of her life. I love how smart and cunning she is. Lifka is also a strong female character, she should be a slave but was taken in by a family and raised as their own. Now bonded to an Eagle and enemy of the prince she will have to fight to save her family and keep her own skin.
There are a dozen great story arcs happing in the middle of the main arc and so the pacing of the story takes awhile to get going. One reason is that this starts with a set of characters and we read 7-8 chapters with them before time jumping 44 years into the future. I was really invested in the main characters in the beginning and when we return to the story not all of them are alive and things have really changed. It did take awhile for everything to pick back up again after that, but it did.
The worldbuiding is interesting, once upon a time the creatures now called Demons were called Guardians and acted as Judges seeking justice in the land. But time has changed and now they are considered evil and hunted to be killed. There is a subtle magic here. It is not overt but there are bonds between Eagles and people that allow them to have a partnership. There are also places called Demon Coils that are scattered across the land and seem to play a part in the roles of the Guardians and other who a considered demon touched. I liked this part of the world the most.
“To become one of the nine Guardians, those whom your father also called demons, you must die in the pursuit of justice. Then the land restores you in the form of a Guardian with cloak and horse so you can continue to seek justice as a judge in the land.”
Even with a few of the pacing issues I really got into the story and with how it ended I’ll be excited to see what happens to all the characters in the next book of the series. The good news was there are a lot of strong women characters to root for and a few men that I really liked as well. But the characters I hated I really hated, they were so awful that I just wanted someone to kill them soon. While I got my wish on a few of them there are still plenty left for the next book out in 2020. I’ll be back to this world then.