After my ever-so-slightly-disappointed encounter with Son of the Shadows, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from Wolfskin. It can be a painful process to read the work of a beloved author with the knowledge that the novel in your hands is good, but it isn’t the outstanding masterpiece you were expecting, and I did my best to avoid another Marillier novel because of my fear of that very feeling. Even more disturbing, though, is the fact that virtually none of my friends have read Wolfskin and the public reviews I had to go by promised that readers would either love this tale of Vikings or feel drastically apathetic towards it. Needless to say, I cracked open the spine of Wolfskin with shaking fingers, but by the end of the first paragraph itself, I knew, without a doubt, that I had discovered another legendary story from Juliet Marillier; one I would undoubtedly display on my shelves next to Daughter of the Forest itself. In the cold settlement of Rogaland, young Eyvind dreams of becoming a Wolfskin, an honored Viking warrior who hears the voice of Thor himself in battle. When Ulf, a visionary chieftain, arrives during the winter with his younger brother, Somerled, in tow, Eyvind and Somerled strike an unlikely friendship. Although Somerled is strange, taciturn, and refuses to make any friends beyond Eyvind himself, the two become blood brothers, swearing a life-long oath of loyalty to one another. Years later, Somerled secures Eyvind a spot on the ship of his elder brother who seeks to voyage to faraway islands of fable. Once there, Ulf establishes a peaceful friendship with King Engus and the islanders – a time of joy that is broken with the ruthless murder of Ulf. It is now that Eyvind begins to witness the cunning, ambitious persona that lies under the quiet exterior of his friend as he comes to question not only his loyalty towards Thor – whose battle cry he no longer wishes to follow – but also towards his childhood friend, who asks him to sacrifice the one woman he holds most dear. From the first few pages of Wolfskin itself, a dark, ominous tone is set for the novel. It is the type of creeping feeling there isn’t a name for; the kind where you know terrible events are about to unfold, but you can’t do much about it. What Marillier excels in with Wolfskin is the blurring of lines between good and evil. Although it is established from the very beginning of this tale that Somerled is not necessarily a good person, we see the goodness in him, alongside the evil. We see him create a new type of knot just so he can trap animals and watch as they die, but we also see him risk his life to save that of Eyvind’s. We see that he is a clever and intelligent young man, once timid and afraid of others, but we also see his glowing ambition. At its heart, Wolfskin is the tale of these two friends, of the adventures they’ve experienced together and of the dreams that have brought them to where they are in life. We experience the inner battle that Eyvind faces, that of confronting his childhood friend or dealing with the guilt of not having stopped him before. Marillier makes us see the grays of these two characters so deeply, their flaws right alongside their goodness that it is impossible to know where to place blame and where to weep.As you can imagine, Wolfskin is a dark tale. Its pages contain rape, murder, suicide, massacres, and heavy violence, but still, it remains a story of love and hope.* Unlike the previous Marillier novels I’ve read, Wolfskin is not simply narrated from one perspective; rather, it shifts between the third-person perspectives of Eyvind and Nessa, a priestess and the niece of King Engus. Although Nessa and Eyvind come from different races of now-warring people, the two are drawn to each by fate and their love only offers them greater faith and strength in a time of desolation. Furthermore, their bond is a feeling, one that carries them through the difficult paths they face alone and the respect, equality, and understanding between the two is unrivaled by any other literary couple I have come across as yet. One of the themes that stood out to me throughout the duration of Wolfskin was that of faith. We have literal faith in that the Vikings believe in Thor, the people of the island in their spirits, and even a priest in Christianity. Yet, Wolfskin is not a religious book. It shows us how faith drives our lives – faith in something, whether it be divine or otherwise – and even when our faith in one thing is broken, something else invariably comes along to replace it. Until, that is, we are stripped of everything but our faith in ourselves. Wolfskin explores, so poignantly, of what humans are capable when pushed to their limits, when they have nothing and no one to turn to but themselves and their allies and whether, at the end, their faith stands the true test of time, come what may. Nessa, in particular, as a priestess is constantly told that she will embark on a journey in which she must be prepared to go on, despite losing everything and everyone she holds dear. It is for the strength and compassion she displays on this journey that she will go down as one of my most inspirational protagonists of all time. In addition to literal faith, though, Marillier explores the faith we put in other people, the trust we place in them to do what is right. With Somerled and Eyvind especially, she doesn’t hesitate to break our hearts, time and time again, especially as she builds an attachment to both these characters, despite the flaws that they possess. Ironically enough, I found myself patting myself on the back as I neared the end of this novel for not shedding a single tear. Naturally, I found myself bawling during one particular scene during the last chapter – a scene that continues to take my breath away. It is through this subtle inflection of faith that Marillier enables her characters to grow, making them build that faith within themselves that is formerly lacking, and even the complexity of relationships she builds, no matter how trivial, continue to build throughout the novel, culminating in an ending that is simply utter genius. Like Daughter of the Forest, this novel has forced me to re-evaluate my own life and look out upon it with different eyes. Juliet Marillier, I can only thank you for writing such life-changing masterpieces. From the bottom of my duct-taped heart. *I just want to re-iterate that Wolfskin, although containing characters who are in their teens, is really not for teenagers. If you are not comfortable with any of the subjects I mentioned, or with novels that contain sex, I’d suggest a more light-hearted novel by Juliet Marillier like Shadowfell instead. You can read this review and more on my blog, Ivy Book Bindings.
This is my first time reading Juliet Marillier, and overall I really enjoyed the experience. There was only one time that I really, really got annoyed with the story and characters, and it was close to the beginning, so I got over it pretty quickly. The writing was just beautiful. - The story itself is wonderfully crafted and simple at its core: two friends who share a deep bond grow older and embark down very different paths: one good, one evil and destructive. Rooted in the story are issues of love, loyalty, betrayal, and courage. On the whole, I loved all the characters and greatly enjoyed their story. - The historical and geographic elements were also fun to read about, too. The settings are Norway and the Orkney Islands of Scotland (called the Light Isles here) and the timeplace is the 800s. That's quite a feat, to be able to craft a meaningful and believable story from over 1200 years ago, and Marillier is able to weave fiction and fact intricately. I will say, however, that I do think the beautiful story she tells *could* be condensed: my copy has 715 pages, and I dont think every one of those pages was absolutely necessary. Toward the end, especially, I started keeping a tally of every time a character said the phrase "Get on with it!" 6 times, to be exact. That's how I felt, too. There's a "courtroom scene" that spans about 150 pages and it just goes on and on and on! That's the only time in the whole book that seemed slow, but that could be contributed to the story: these are Viking berserkers, and I just cant really wrap my mind around them conducting a "Law & Order"-like legal proceeding. I'd almost rather just have a good old battle. The ending, too, left me with conflicting feelings. While I wouldnt say that I didnt like the ending (with respect to what happens to the antagonist), it's certainly not one that I would duplicate in any of my stories. I personally like a "duel of the fates" showdown, a good-vs-evil match; here, I felt like the ending was way too ambiguous, way too generous, and a bit disappointing. If I've had to read for 700 pages about how sadistic and evil someone is, it seems a bit out-there to expect me to suddenly be able to believe in their "hidden, innate goodness." But whatever. - Overall, a very pleasing, very enriching story! I definitely recommend it to fans of historical fantasy :D
What do You think about Wolfskin (2004)?
What a captivating story this was. Marillier has such a way with words. Her stories are filled with rich detail, beautiful prose, and strong character development that it's difficult to find her equal in writing. She is one of my favorite authors. What to say about this book....? It's about 2 boys, one who has a strong desire to be a warrior of Thor, the other a great king. One is a raving sociopath, the other trying to find his way in the world. Along with other characters they make a journey to another land where we meet Nessa who is the island's priestess, and holds much influence over one of these men. It took me while to read this. Not because it was boring. I was captivated, but it was long, and it's also one of those books that has a good amount of depth to it. It's not a light beach read. There's pretty graphic violence, a rape, and murder. If you have read Daughter of the Forest, the content in this is no worse than that. There is no graphic detail except for the violent scenes. Like I said, this author has a way of pulling you in with the characters. It was a really good read, but a bit heavy if you know what I mean. I want to read the next one to find out what happens to the characters, but I need to read a light hearted mindless read before I do that. I do love Mariliier's stories though!
—Jen
From what I have read, Juliet Marillier is a good writer, but there are certain characteristics she has that are not very pleasing to me. This is the story of a young norwegian man called Eyvind. Since he was a child, his greatest dream was to become a wolfskin, a great warrior dedicated to Thor. He eventuanly gets his wish fulfilled, and ends up becoming the strongest of the Jarl's wolfskins. One day, a nobleman, Ulf, arives at the court of Jarl Magnus, asking for his blessing and support in a voyage across the sea, to find the island of Orkney. The story develops around the relations between the norwegians and the people of Orkney (named the Folk, in this book), the blood-oath between Eyvind and Ulf's envious younger brother, Somerled, and the romance between Eyvind and a Folk girl called Nessa. The story itself is very well made, and I was unnable to really explain it correctly. My problems are with the writer. Juliet Marillier appears to like to make her characters suffer. In fact, Eyvind spends most of the second half of the book very weak and almost unnable to do anything. This part is very frustrating to read through. The other problem I have concerns religion. First of all, norse warriors were not dedicated to Thor, but to Odin, the father of the Gods. The reason for this is because, when a warrior died in battle, he would be taken by the valkyries and transported to Odin's hall: Valhalla. It was Odin who rewarded the warriors in the afterlife, not Thor. Second of all, the writer follows a kind of celtic or druidic paganism, based on the power of the forces of nature. She insists on including her religion in her books. In fact, the main conflict is resolved through a magic ritual. These just take the "historical" part of "historical novel", and throw it out the window. However, those are the only problems I have with the book. The author writes wonderfuly, despite those flaws she has, and the story itself is very good. I really liked this book, and I recommend it to anyone who likes this genre.
—David Franco
I absolutely love this author. I have read every book she has written other than the sequel to this one within the last two months. I tend to compare one to the other or this probably would be a five stars. The first half I would give a three but the second half is definitely at least five. I admit to not being real interested in Vikings and they are a big part of this story. It is the story of Eyvind who becomes part of the elite Viking fighters and of his relationship with his childhood friend, Somerled. They become blood brothers as boys and this bond in their culture is forever binding. It is a story of a bond and loyalty and how far that loyalty must go before it becomes impossible. It is also the story of Eyvind and Nessa, a priestess of the light isles, where the Vikings have landed and stayed. Nessa is like so many of Juliet Marillier's characters, an incredibly strong young woman who faces impossible odds to fight for her people and the man she comes to love. There is plenty of magic and mystery!Once Nessa entered the story I LOVED it. I realize now I should have loved it all along! It took me awhile to really care for Eyvind, but then again all men grow and change with time and following his development is part of the book. Somerled is one you just have to read about as he is difficult to describe and figure out. At the end I still wasn't sure although no doubt there was a great deal of evil in him.Looking forward to Foxmask, the sequel.
—Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms)
