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Spirit Walker: Summary and book reviews of Spirit Walker by Michelle Paver, plus links to an excerpt from Spirit Walker and a biography of Michelle Paver.

Spirit Walker

Spirit Walker
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #2
by Michelle Paver
Hardcover: Mar 2006,
368 pages.
Paperback: Feb 2007,
384 pages.

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BOOK SUMMARY

A cry echoed through the Forest.
He froze.
It was not the yowl of a vixen, or
a lynx seeking a mate. It was a man.
Or something that had once been a man.
With a creeping sense of dread,
Torak watched the light between the
trees begin to fail. . . .

Torak is a boy apart. A boy who can talk to wolves. A boy who must vanquish the Soul-Eaters . . . or die trying.

As the Moon of No Dark waxes large, the clans fall prey to a horrifying sickness. Fear stalks the Forest. The very breath of spring seems poisoned. No one knows the cause -- and only Torak can find the cure.

His quest takes him across the sea to the mysterious islands of the Seal Clan. Here Torak battles an unseen menace and uncovers a betrayal that will change his life -- forever.

Spirit Walker is a spellbinding story of fellowship, treachery, and self-sacrifice that takes the reader further on the journey that began in Wolf Brother.
BookBrowse

Spirit Walker is the second in a planned six part series set 6,000 years ago in the forests of Northern Europe. It's a fantastic adventure set in a meticulously researched world of hunter-gatherers, which, as Paver comments, is a misleading term that conjures up a picture of someone casually spotting a clump of berries and saying, 'Oh, good, I think I'll gather some of those'.  (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).

Full Review Members Only (281 words).

Media Reviews

  Kirkus Reviews
Paver incorporates vivid descriptions of her characters' woodcraft and other skills, as well as credible views of their oneness with the natural world and animistic beliefs - details that enrich her complex tale without impeding its quick pace.

  Booklist
Maintains the momentum and convincing characterizations of Wolf Brother.

  The Herald (UK) - Ann Johnstone
...another gripping, taut adventure in the ancient world.'

  Daily Telegraph - Edward Malnick
The perfect concoction of action and narrative is what makes the book so attractive. ...Paver has succeeded in producing a first-class story supported by substantial moral messages... unclouded by the present day.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Molly Parker
Spirit Walker
Spirit Walker is a book I recommend to people aged 10+, but maybe some younger people. I am 9, and yet I loved this book. I have also read Wolf Brother and Soul Eater, books 1 and 3 in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. There will be 6 books in...   Read More

To research The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series, Paver spent time with a guide in the forests of Finland (some Finnish forests are still much as they would have been 6,000 years ago). She learned how the people lived by studying archaeology; and to understand what they might have thought she studied many groups including:
  • The San Tribe of South Africa (formerly known as the Bushmen).
  • The Ainu of Northern Japan.
  • The Inuit, (sometimes known as Eskimos, which simply means 'eater of raw meat', whereas their preferred name Inuit means 'the people' or 'real people').
  • The Sami of Northern Europe (the Sami were formerly known as Lapps which means 'a patch of cloth for mending' - like the Inuit and San, the Sami feel their former given name...

Continued...  Beyond the Book (members only)

Readalikes Full readalike results are for members only

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These are 2 of the 8 readalike suggestions for Spirit Walker. Members have full access to all readalikes. If you are a member, please login. To find out more about membership, click here.


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