Review of: Soul EaterBy: Michelle PavertAfter Wolf is captured by the Soul-Eaters, Torak and Renn must travel north. To the base of the Soul-Eaters. But it's going to be hard, as they encounter many other problems on the way, one that threatens to derail their plan, and maybe even kill them. And above all: If they do get to Wolf, will he even remember Torak? Or will the Soul-Eaters have done something unspeakable to him? The answer to both questions: I don't care.tThis book had a completely unrealistic story, which I can give several examples of. Number one, what's this "fire-opal"? It seems to have several random properties, such as here on pg. 237. "It touched rock. That means the demons are free!" It's an obvious plot device that never really gets explained. Number two, on pg. 176 one of the Soul-Eaters is obviously certain that their base is sealed: "The Eye is closed. Nothing can get in or out." But both Torak and Renn manage to do both pretty easily. And finally, there's this thing that Torak can do called spirit-walking. Michelle Paver, did it ever occur to you that maybe you could explain that aspect of the book? It's fine if it's supposed to be a mystery. But usually that means putting in some clues so your readers can make educated guesses rather than just wonder if it will be explained later.tAnother complaint I had about this book was how many exclamations there were. It seemed like every dialogue sentence had an exclamation mark at the end of it. For example, take this passage from pg. 74. "North! Two children who don't know the ways of the ice! You'd be dead before the next sleep! Get in!" It seemed like it was an attempt to make everything exciting, and I mean everything. There's half a page dedicated to getting into sleeping bags, on pg. 70. tMy third complaint, and definitely not my last, is that I didn't even know that Wolf was a wolf until pg. 69. After all, I couldn't believe that any author would be that uncreative with their names of characters. But needless to say, Michelle Paver felt that this was the time to introduce a character, in a book for kids older than about two, who was named after the animal that they were. My penultimate complaint of the review is that the book was always in third person, but switched between different viewpoints without even telling you in the chapter title. The only way to find out who it was was to take clues from the description of the place that they are in. And if the viewpoint is Wolf, it will talk about Tall Tailless, usually. When I'm reading a book, unless it's a mystery or something, I usually don't want to have to do any extra work to figure out anything. But with this book, I had to do a lot.tThe last reason that I didn't like this book is that Torak and Renn are not very believable characters. I don't care how close an animal is to me, I'm not going to go on a quest where I could likely die just to save it. And I definitely wouldn't go because my friend's "pack-brother" is in danger. Although they do stumble across another problem when they get there, their first motive is not believable.So, in conclusion, if you value your life (or at least a couple hours of it) don't read this book. Trust me, it's not worth it. (I could try to think of a memorable quote to end this review with, but I guess that would defeat the point.)
I really enjoy the prehistoric fiction that I’ve read (the Earth’s Children series and The Gathering Night pop immediately to mind), so when I picked Soul Eater up at a sale, I figured it’d be worth a try.This is actually the third in a series, but there was nothing on the outer cover of the book to indicate this. All it says is that it’s part of the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. It’s okay, though, because the book works perfectly well as a stand-alone. There are references to what has happened earlier in the series, but it’s done with tact and felt more like character backstory than a recap. There’s also a little bit of a cliffhanger to show what will come next, but this, too, is done very well and I never felt like I’d been cheated out of a satisfying ending. Honestly, this is a series done right. Really, really right.Torak’s beloved wolf companion has been kidnapped. Unable to waste time getting help, he and his friend Renn head north, following the path of the kidnappers.It’s an interesting story that is so much more than just a travel narrative (though they do get to meet a tribe from a different culture, and that was lovely). There are choices, there’s some character development, there’s action, there’s friendship… And, of course, there’s all that survivalist stuff that I love so very much.I loved reading this as an adult, but I think that 12-14 year old me would have loved loved it. The main characters are around that age, and I think it fits right in with the likes of Shabanu, A Girl Named Disaster, and other adventure stories aimed at that age group.
What do You think about Soul Eater (2015)?
Another wonderful tale in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series. In this episode Torak and Renn track after the Soul Eaters who have captured Wolf to use him as a sacrifice in their quest for power. The historical accuracy that has made the previous books so strong in my opinion, continues here in Soul Eater. The details of the ways in which the people of the north lived and used every part of the seals was incredibly interesting and flawlessly woven into the tale. I could feel the cold biting through their skin and the fear of paddling over the black icy water. The environment is just as strong of a character as the people and animals.As the series progresses, the only things that bother me is that we learn that this is another "Chosen One" story and it is beginning to feel a bit formulaic. I won't rehash my views on the 'chosen one' style of story in every review, but it was disappointing to find it headed in that direction. That aside, I really enjoyed the darker tone of this story. The threat of the Soul Eaters is strong and dangerous and it wasn't easy to imagine how Torak and Renn would get out of this situation in one piece. One of the strengths in these books is how much respect is paid to the death of an animal. When the animals are killed senselessly in Soul Eater, it is horrific to the main characters of the book and not even remotely overlooked as it can be in other books I've read. This is such an important lesson to be taught to children and adults alike.The resolution was extremely credible. There was no miracle at the end to save them. It was all cleverly told so that when the end came I believed in the choices that the characters made. Their internal growth was visible and you could feel that there was still much for them to learn and to deal with in the future.
—Xander
this book had its climax at the end of the middle. the rest of it was sort of tacked on as extra so that was weird. you know i love these books but i couldnt really get into this one as much. i just thought it was very simple. like wolf is taken so torak goes looking for him. we know its the soul eaters but like, why did they need WOLf wolf? why not a random wolf? because the fact that they wanted torak to come out was never discussed by the soul eaters. the end is sad though, with the tattoo :/but let me just praise her writing style and attention to detail and amazing dialogue and everything else. shes so talented!! i love this. its just in a genre all its own.
—Vixen
"Soul Eater" is the third book in "Chronicles of Ancient Darkness", but there will be six books in all.The story continues to follow Renn and Torak in their pursuit of the Soul Eaters, who have captured wolf; Torak's canine companion and ‘pack brother’. Wolf is to be used in a series of sacrifices to protect the Soul Eaters from the demons they are to unleash into the world.Torak and Renn pursue the Soul Eaters and try to prevent the evil they wish to release. Torak is a spirit walker and is able to free his souls from his body and enter other creature's bodies. He enters an ice bear’s body multiple times to fight the Soul Eaters, and once he almost loses his souls, but wolf reminds him of his humanity.The book ends in a satisfying way, but I find the story occasionally summarizes events rather than giving us all the fascinating details that would make the story more realistic, compelling and exciting.
—Pauline
