SOUL EATER: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, Book Three
by Michelle Paver
Katherine Tegen Books/HarperTrophy
Hardcover: 0060728310
Paperback: 9780060728335
Ages 10-up
336 pages

• Read an Excerpt

In the great forests of ancient times, Torak and his friend, Renn, once again hunt.  With them is the giant wolf dog who is never far from Torak's side. Everything seems normal to them until Torak comes across the feather of the fierce eagle owl, which is a bad omen. Though Torak throws it away, the hunt is spoiled when a giant eagle owl swoops from the tree tops and scares their prey away. Then, unexpectedly, Wolf darts away as if in pursuit of new prey. Though they try to follow, he easily out-distances them.

After some debate they decide to continue their hunt for Wolf and not go back to their Raven tribe. Little do they know what this decision will mean as they struggle deeper and deeper into uncharted, frozen lands. This is the beginning of the end for Torak and Renn. 

In the meantime, Wolf has fallen into a trap set by the dreaded Soul Eaters; he has been beaten, drugged and caged. The Soul Eaters are in the process of gathering the fiercest animal hunters to sacrifice. It is the strength of these hunters that will help make the Soul Eaters the strongest tribe. They are power hungry, evil and reek of rotting flesh as they move forward with their evil plan.

Without the help of the White Fox Clan, Torak and Renn might have perished. When attacked by the winter bear, it is Fox Clan member Inuktiluk who helps them and takes them to the frozen river so they can attempt to cross into the dangerous unknown. But even in their worst dreams, they have no idea how horrible it will be when at last they find the beloved animal.

…The tip of Wolf's bushy silver tail was matted with dried blood: but it wasn't that which turned [Torak] ill with fear. It was the slimy greenish-black flesh which showed through in patches. Flesh which stank of rottenness.

"It's the blackening sickness," said Renn. "It's poisoning him. The worms of sickness are eating him up from inside."

Once again, Michelle Paver has created a magical world in which good and evil are constantly at war. Torak and Renn are more fully realized as their characters mature and endure harrowing experiences. Paver's writing is fluid and strong, capturing the language, landscape and personalities of this ancient time. Readers of the first two installments of the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series will be thrilled with this story --- probably the most powerful book yet.

   --- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts (stibbetts@maine207west.k12.il.us)

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