I've read nearly all of Marillier's books, loving the Sevenwaters trilogy and having mixed feelings about the others. I have not read Wolfskin, the prequel to Foxmask, but read this one anyway because so many of Marillier's fans adore it. My reaction: mixed. This book is a good example of Marillier's storytelling skills; it bears more resemblance to the original Sevenwaters trilogy than to the Sevenwaters follow-ups or Heart's Blood, which felt much more commercial (faster-paced, less lyrical, more conventional). Still, it's not one I'll re-read. Foxmask follows two main characters: Thorvald, who embarks on a quest to a distant island searching for the father he never met, and Creidhe, who follows Thorvald out of infatuation but grows up along the way. Their parallel storylines are set up well, with a slow-paced, immersive start and gradually increasing tension up to the major events of the last third of the book. Creidhe is a decent but not spectacular heroine, and Thorvald was more interesting than I expected; in all the other Marillier books I've read the male lead was also the love interest, but Marillier chose wisely in not casting Thorvald in that role, allowing him to be selfish and pursue his own interests. Ultimately I couldn't tell whether we were meant to like him or not, and was glad of it. But Somerled was disappointing; from what other characters said about him, I expected someone with more drive and conviction, and was sorry to see he'd turned into such a conventional character. A few more words on the plot and characters. There are several mysteries and puzzles, to which the reader is likely to guess the answers before the characters; but, fortunately (and unlike in the more recent books) Foxmask doesn't depend on mysteries, and characters figure things out as they go rather than wandering about clueless throughout. However, they did frustrate me in that I could often think of several better solutions to their problems than the ones they chose, solutions which tended not to occur to anyone. And then the romance (which is the reason I keep reading Marillier books after all). This one didn't capture my emotions. It wasn't poorly written; I understood the characters' attraction to each other and liked that they shared many of the same values. But their journey from initial meeting to the consummation of their love happened very quickly and easily (as it had to given the structure of the book and the characters' situations), and for me to care about a romance it generally needs to take longer than that, and have more complications and obstacles. Just because it's not my thing doesn't make it bad, and the romance here is secondary to the larger story of the islanders' plight and the main characters' growth and development, but still I was disappointed. Finally, there's that larger story; it's difficult to discuss without giving anything away, so some minor spoilers follow. This story felt a bit mythological, although I'm not sure where it came from. I really liked that Marillier managed to make the two major male characters enemies based on their circumstances without making either "evil." The characters face a variety of moral dilemmas, mostly revolving around the question of when it's acceptable to sacrifice the few for the sake of the many (or vice versa). While I would have liked the book to be a bit less conventional in its answers, the end certainly leaves room for discussion about who was in the right and how the characters should have handled their situations, and it isn't all clear-cut. The drawback to all of this is that the situation itself is contrived in a variety of ways, the characters hemmed in by a bunch of arbitrary rules. (The strangest: There's an extremely remote tribe with no blondes, which requires a blonde woman to conceive its seer. How do they typically manage this?) The book has a fairytale resonance that kept this from becoming too annoying, but the setup is not exactly logical. What really irked me, though, were the modern beliefs of the characters. They're pro-democracy. They're anti-arranged marriage. I have a sneaking suspicion that they also support paternity leave and free universal health care. The phrase "due process of law" is used. (As an American, I'm proud to see phrases from my country's constitution pop up even when an Australian author writes about people living on the Orkney and Faroe Islands over 1000 years ago. But it makes no sense at all, given that these people have neither written laws nor a formal judicial system.) I know Marillier writes feel-good historical fantasy, but this was a bit much. So this isn't a bad book; I see how it could work for a different reader. The writing style is decent and there's a couple of good coming-of-age stories in there. But readers new to Marillier should be buying Daughter of the Forest, not Foxmask.
Foxmask is the story of a young man on a journey to answer questions about his past, a young woman trying to figure out her future and a guy who's just too nice for his own good. And despite a few things which would usually be big strikes against the story for me, I really enjoyed it. The setting seems somewhat Norse inspired, and I loved the emphasis in worldbuilding on islands, on boats, on fishing, etc. It made for a slightly unusual and refreshing setup. Our main character, Thorvold, finds out at the beginning of the book that the man he thought was his father is not, in fact, his father. His father was actually a cruel, hard man, exiled from their island years gone. His world is devastated by the news, and here we get the first of the things that woiuld usually bother me but doesn't here.I don't like Thorvald. Not in the manner of "he's a jerk but I want him to become better" but in a full blown "this guy is an idiot and I don't understand why his friends put up with his nonsense" sense. He's clever and talented, but spends almost all his time brooding and indulging in self-reflective... well, let's call it bullshit. He sets off on the journey that makes up the majority of this book because he wants to find his father for some reason. I guess there's a "see where I came from" sort of rationale, but really, he's been told this guy was a jerk. I cannot really understand why it is *so* vital he find his dad. And then, once he think he's found the guy, he just sort of assumes the relationship. Creidhe is our second main character, and she's infinitely more likeable, though only a lack of martial prowess prevents her from tipping into Mary Sue territory (and don't give me that "original fiction characters can't be Mary Sues" nonsense, they completely can.) She's great at cooking, at needlecraft, at dealing with children, at midwifery. She's absolutely beautiful, and level-headed, brave and strong and her biggest fault is putting up with Thorvald's self-centered nonsense. She's a better friend to him than he deserves.This can also be said of Sam, the third in our trifecta of starter characters. Unfortunately, there's not much else I can say about Sam. He's a simple fisherman, wise if not clever, kind and dilligent and devoted to his friends. But he seems almost ancilliary to the story being told here - he's there to get the other two to the island and to give Thorvald someone to talk to, complain at, and sometimes rail against. Which is a shame, because I rather like his type of character, and all too often, then basically get walked all over by the main characters until a narratively appropriate moment.The story sees Thorvald convincing Sam to take him in his boat to follow the way his father took in exile. Sam, wise man that he is, points out that this is sort of a stupid thing to do, but in the end goes along with it. Creidhe, learning of their plans, stows away in the boat, and they wind up on the island they were aiming for, alive but with a damaged boat.What they find isn't what they expect. The island is under a horrible curse, born of terrible mistakes and cultural differences, and our group members each find themselves facing different, horrible challenges. Spoilers! What I liked about this was that Thorvald, as big a jerk as he was being, is generally acknowledged to be a jerk. His behavior toward most of those around him is not only called out, but he comes to actually recognize it in himself and strives to be better, by the end. I went from not wanting to read about him to actually being impressed in spite of myself by about the 3/4 mark. And his actions cost him. It gave the story a bit of reality which is so often lacking in the world of fantasy books. I may have to look into the other books in this series. This one wound up being a pleasant surprise, beautifully written and different from the norm in a lot of ways I really enjoyed.
What do You think about Foxmask (2005)?
Foxmask, sequel to Wolfskin, was a wonderful blend of fantasy, gaelic folklore, and myth. Author Juliet Marillier, as always, is in fine form. She has a masterful use of language and displays it beautifully. I really enjoy her themes of family love, loyalty to promises given, and the search for solutions to seemingly impossible problems. The character of Foxmask was quite compelling, a little boy/fox/seer who has the ability to bring a violent tribe, the Unknown, to peace, simply by his existence. He is stolen from their midst, and believing that a neighboring tribe, the Long Knife, are responsible, the Unknown use mystic powers to wreak havoc--even killing all the Long Knife newborns immediately after birth. Like all Marillier novels, there is a compelling love interest, which makes the story all the more sweet. The ending brought tears to these old eyes. It was good to see the lives of Eyvind and Nessa, the protagonists from Wolfskin. It was very interesting to follow Thorvald's search for his true father--the evil Somerled from Wolfskin. If you are a fan of fantasy, you'll enjoy both Wolfskin and Foxmask. I wish Marillier had plans to write another in The Light Isles series, but I do not think she does. And lastly, if you, like me, love beautiful covers, Kinuko Y Craft does the covers for both books. They are lovely. She is one of my favorite illustrators. She also illustrated covers for two other Marillier books: Wildwood Dancing and Cybele's Secret. It makes it an absolute must that I own these books and keep them on my bookshelf--not only because I'll reread them but also because of their beauty. The cover designs of books often are the reason I try a new author.
—Marci
Thorvald, the young son of Margaret, widow of the slain king and Eyvind's war leader, has always felt apart and at odds with all he knows. He learns upon his coming to manhood that he is not his father's son but that of the love that Margaret bore for the hated Somerled and that Somerled was not killed for his treachery but sent on a boat, adrift with little more than a knife and skein of water, doomed to the god's will. Thorvald is determined to find a boat and cast off to the West in a desperate bid to find a father he never knew...and to find out if he is made of the same stuff as the henious traitor. The tragedy of this scheme would be horrific enough...if it were not for the fact that Creidhe, the winsome daughter of Eyvind and Nessa has loved Thorvald since birth and unbeknownst to him conspires to go along on this most perilous of quests.What happens to them on their journey of discovery will ultimately change the lives of all they know and love...and will doom (or redeem) an entire people.Stunning! I haven't been able to put this down and my family have had to put up with me walking around in a daze as I've been sucked into the life on these misty isles! It was a little slow to start but turned into one of Marillier's best yet. The characters grew and developed so much yet it was all so believable. The only thing I found difficult was (view spoiler)[ the fact that Niall was truly Somerled. I think this is because I had a picture of Somerled in my head from Wolfskin and it didn't coincide in any way with my picture of Niall (hide spoiler)]
—Susan
Juliet Marillier is quite adept at conveying human emotion. As in many of her other books, the characters reach points where all hope is lost and despair is brought to the forefront, but they continue on in a miserable state. It always brings tears to my eyes when hope is rediscovered & life, resuscitated! I give it 4 stars, instead of 5, because the first 3/4ths moved along at a bit too slow of a pace for me, but that last 1/4...well, let's say I stayed up 2 hours past my bedtime to finish it last night!
—Latharia
