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The Blood of Ten Chiefs #1
The Blood of Ten Chiefs
The Blood of Ten Chiefs tells the story of the previous chieftains of the Wolfrider Clan
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
7 people are currently reading
426 people want to read
About the author
Richard Pini
531 books155 followersRichard Pini is one-half of a husband and wife team with Wendy Pini that created, most notably, the Elfquest series.
He was raised in Orange, Connecticut with his three siblings. Richard began writing science fiction stories early in his childhood.
In 1972, Richard and Wendy were married after a courtship of four years. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973 with a degree in Astrophysics. He worked at the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science in Boston until 1975 and Taunton High School until 1979 when he began his career at IBM.
In 1977, Richard and Wendy established a publishing company called Warp Graphics to publish their first Elfquest comic. Richard is credited as co-writer and editor on Elfquest, as well as handling all of the publishing and business aspects of Warp Graphics.
Elfquest was self-published for 25 years and in 2003, licensed to DC Comics. The comic series has won several awards, including the Ed Aprill Award for Best Independent Comic, two Alley Awards, the Fantasy Festival Comic Book Awards for Best Alternative Comic, and the Golden Pen Award.
Richard has also contributed writing for Worldpool, Futurequest, Rogue's Curse, and two Windkin stories.
He has received the Small Press Writers and Artists Organization Award for Best Editor, the San Diego Comic Convention Inkpot Award, and the New York State Jaycees Distinguished Service Award.
Richard and his wife currently reside in Poughkeepsie, New York.
He was raised in Orange, Connecticut with his three siblings. Richard began writing science fiction stories early in his childhood.
In 1972, Richard and Wendy were married after a courtship of four years. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973 with a degree in Astrophysics. He worked at the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science in Boston until 1975 and Taunton High School until 1979 when he began his career at IBM.
In 1977, Richard and Wendy established a publishing company called Warp Graphics to publish their first Elfquest comic. Richard is credited as co-writer and editor on Elfquest, as well as handling all of the publishing and business aspects of Warp Graphics.
Elfquest was self-published for 25 years and in 2003, licensed to DC Comics. The comic series has won several awards, including the Ed Aprill Award for Best Independent Comic, two Alley Awards, the Fantasy Festival Comic Book Awards for Best Alternative Comic, and the Golden Pen Award.
Richard has also contributed writing for Worldpool, Futurequest, Rogue's Curse, and two Windkin stories.
He has received the Small Press Writers and Artists Organization Award for Best Editor, the San Diego Comic Convention Inkpot Award, and the New York State Jaycees Distinguished Service Award.
Richard and his wife currently reside in Poughkeepsie, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
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December 29, 2024Note: Barb and I read this together once, back in the 90s. We started a re-read a couple of days ago, but set it aside because Barb's tastes have changed in the 30-some years since, and she was finding it boring. I'll do a reread of it by myself at some future date, and write a real review after that (I don't remember it well enough to do it justice now!), but that won't be happening very soon.
January 1, 2016
I will warn first that this is probably not the volume with which to begin reading Elfquest. Read at least the first volume or two of the original series first. Cutter, the leader of the elves in that series, is often referred to as "blood of ten chiefs," meaning his ancestors who led the elves before him. This book is an anthology with one story for each generation. Some of the stories were previously mentioned more briefly in the original volumes.
December 18, 2014
Pendulum by Richard Pini
Coming of Age by Lynn Abbey
Plague of Allos by Piers Anthony
Swift-Spear by Mark C. Perry & C.J. Cherryh
Tale of the Snowbeast by Janny Wurts
The Deer Hunters by Allen L. Wold
Tanner's Dream by Nancy Springer
The Spirit Quest by Diana L. Paxson
Lessons in Passing by Robert Aspirin
Night Hunt by Diane Carey
Coming of Age by Lynn Abbey
Plague of Allos by Piers Anthony
Swift-Spear by Mark C. Perry & C.J. Cherryh
Tale of the Snowbeast by Janny Wurts
The Deer Hunters by Allen L. Wold
Tanner's Dream by Nancy Springer
The Spirit Quest by Diana L. Paxson
Lessons in Passing by Robert Aspirin
Night Hunt by Diane Carey
April 21, 2015
It's Elfquest - like visiting an old friend. Nothing groundbreaking, but I enjoyed it.
July 15, 2017
In some ways, the elves of ElfQuest may resemble the other depictions you’re familiar with. They’re nature spirits, highly attuned to their wild surroundings, and to one another. They’re small and occasionally mischievous, but not afraid to lay waste if it comes down to it. They are long-lived, frequently beautiful, and beguiling to any who may spot them, often to their cost.
But in more ways, these elves are nothing like you’ve seen. They are not serene stewards of the woods, making wreaths from wildflowers and cooing to one another. They are predatory, they are carnivorous, they love the feel of blood in their throats. They communed with wolves long ago; they ride them, hunt with them, even share thoughts with them. Unlike the splendid palaces you may imagine they dwell in, they eke out a rude living in caves, tree hollows, or dense Holts. They are keen users of mind-altering substances, especially their beloved dreamberries, to reach deep into their ancestral memories. They are highly sexual, taking several lovers at a time, both male and female.
Any higher purpose or great glory they once had has long since ceded to a need for survival, and a craving for territory against their human competition. Though they are still long-lived, they live each day as if it could be their last. Though they’re as mercurial to us as any elves, it is less about awesome incomprehension, and more not knowing what that rustle in the bush was, or that distant growl.
Indeed, this is the world we are placed in for “The Blood of Ten Chiefs,” the first of four of these ElfQuest short story anthologies. Though a familiarity with the graphic novel is necessary (and highly recommend), it mostly concerns the centuries stretching back from that time.
The main character of the ElfQuest comics is Cutter, the titular “Blood of the Ten Chiefs,” as he is tenth in line of the elves that have led his tribe, the forest-dwelling “Wolfriders”. With interconnecting bits from ElfQuest's writer, Richard Pini, this anthology is ten stories about each of these chiefs, from ten different fantasy authors. In spite of being the title character, Cutter really only features in the connecting passages. These other stories take place far before his birth, stretching back to the very first Wolfrider chief.
The Wolfriders, long ago, made a pact with the forest wolves, to survive in these harsh new lands when their earliest ancestors, the High Ones, could not. Good fortune has come in ebbs and flows for the Wolfriders, from the leanest times when human encroached their territory and prey has been scarce, to more bountiful years, when they could be free and wild, and game was abundant.
Their chiefs have also been a varied lot. They have been fierce, like Timmorn, more beast than elf. They have been aggressive, like the temperamental Two-Spear. Sometimes they have been gentler, like the calm-natured Tanner. And they have not always been male: Rahnee the She-Wolf, daughter of Timmorn, led the early Wolfriders with a will more iron than her father’s. Goodtree wielded potent magic, shifting nature to protect her tribe. Skyfire protected her tribe through cunning and guile; a great relief from her father Two-Spear's bellicose ways.
With such a breadth of characters to draw from, though, it must be said that, until near the end, each story has an essentially similar structure. A young chief doubts his or her own abilities to lead the tribe, some obstacle presents itself (often relating to humans or difficult prey), and through some circumstance, the chief accepts their mantle of leadership, and proves capable of enduring the Wolfriders. There are slight variations in tone and length, some stories more humorous or suspenseful than others, but until near the end when the stories draw closer to Cutter’s time, they’re essentially alike.
It’s also badly advised to approach “The Blood of Ten Chiefs” cold. The stories are thick with proper terms, references to in-universe lore, and ElfQuest's fundamental logic. The comic itself is unparalleled in its depth of worldbuilding, and much of that is clear in these stories. Many concepts of elf nature and culture inform large parts of each plot, such as Sending (telepathic communication), Recognition (love at first sight, in essence), Soul-Names (a secret name known only to those the elf trusts most, through Recognition or otherwise), and so on. In the comics, these are nuanced and beautiful elements, lending empathy and vastness to the cast and their milieu. In many ways, they have made the elves who, and what, they are. Indeed, these elements are used well enough in The Blood of Ten Chiefs, but a prior understanding of them is rather crucial.
Familiarity with the work is perhaps expected of a cult phenomenon like this, but for any high fantasy, it’s a dangerous gamble. It doesn’t come off as lending undeserved appeal through proper names and bizarre behaviour, like so much fantasy does, but it nonetheless remains a barrier that would prevent newcomers. Even myself, a more intermediate ElfQuest fan, found the writing's density and bandying about of names and histories somewhat intimidating.
Also, this may just bother me, but the dependence of humans as the perennial enemy grew quickly tiresome. I know it’s par for the course: this is a story from the late 70s, those in touch with nature must be at odds with those who are not, and many things the Elves have that humans don’t has created irreconcilable misunderstanding between them. But it nonetheless can only invite cliché to this setting. The few times the writing flirts with the idea of humans developing into something more than a monster (especially in Robert Asprin's entry), it’s like they’re harshly corrected for considering it. It’s a pity; inviting ambiguity into the elves' enemies would also invite it into the elves, as well.
Nonetheless, ElfQuest has often gripped anyone who comes across it, and The Blood of Ten Chiefs is bound to satiate anyone after more of their lore and adventures. It falls into one or two pitfalls that any fantasy anthology might, but it remains a rich read for any ElfQuest enthusiast; maybe even potentially making a few new enthusiasts if they let it.
But in more ways, these elves are nothing like you’ve seen. They are not serene stewards of the woods, making wreaths from wildflowers and cooing to one another. They are predatory, they are carnivorous, they love the feel of blood in their throats. They communed with wolves long ago; they ride them, hunt with them, even share thoughts with them. Unlike the splendid palaces you may imagine they dwell in, they eke out a rude living in caves, tree hollows, or dense Holts. They are keen users of mind-altering substances, especially their beloved dreamberries, to reach deep into their ancestral memories. They are highly sexual, taking several lovers at a time, both male and female.
Any higher purpose or great glory they once had has long since ceded to a need for survival, and a craving for territory against their human competition. Though they are still long-lived, they live each day as if it could be their last. Though they’re as mercurial to us as any elves, it is less about awesome incomprehension, and more not knowing what that rustle in the bush was, or that distant growl.
Indeed, this is the world we are placed in for “The Blood of Ten Chiefs,” the first of four of these ElfQuest short story anthologies. Though a familiarity with the graphic novel is necessary (and highly recommend), it mostly concerns the centuries stretching back from that time.
The main character of the ElfQuest comics is Cutter, the titular “Blood of the Ten Chiefs,” as he is tenth in line of the elves that have led his tribe, the forest-dwelling “Wolfriders”. With interconnecting bits from ElfQuest's writer, Richard Pini, this anthology is ten stories about each of these chiefs, from ten different fantasy authors. In spite of being the title character, Cutter really only features in the connecting passages. These other stories take place far before his birth, stretching back to the very first Wolfrider chief.
The Wolfriders, long ago, made a pact with the forest wolves, to survive in these harsh new lands when their earliest ancestors, the High Ones, could not. Good fortune has come in ebbs and flows for the Wolfriders, from the leanest times when human encroached their territory and prey has been scarce, to more bountiful years, when they could be free and wild, and game was abundant.
Their chiefs have also been a varied lot. They have been fierce, like Timmorn, more beast than elf. They have been aggressive, like the temperamental Two-Spear. Sometimes they have been gentler, like the calm-natured Tanner. And they have not always been male: Rahnee the She-Wolf, daughter of Timmorn, led the early Wolfriders with a will more iron than her father’s. Goodtree wielded potent magic, shifting nature to protect her tribe. Skyfire protected her tribe through cunning and guile; a great relief from her father Two-Spear's bellicose ways.
With such a breadth of characters to draw from, though, it must be said that, until near the end, each story has an essentially similar structure. A young chief doubts his or her own abilities to lead the tribe, some obstacle presents itself (often relating to humans or difficult prey), and through some circumstance, the chief accepts their mantle of leadership, and proves capable of enduring the Wolfriders. There are slight variations in tone and length, some stories more humorous or suspenseful than others, but until near the end when the stories draw closer to Cutter’s time, they’re essentially alike.
It’s also badly advised to approach “The Blood of Ten Chiefs” cold. The stories are thick with proper terms, references to in-universe lore, and ElfQuest's fundamental logic. The comic itself is unparalleled in its depth of worldbuilding, and much of that is clear in these stories. Many concepts of elf nature and culture inform large parts of each plot, such as Sending (telepathic communication), Recognition (love at first sight, in essence), Soul-Names (a secret name known only to those the elf trusts most, through Recognition or otherwise), and so on. In the comics, these are nuanced and beautiful elements, lending empathy and vastness to the cast and their milieu. In many ways, they have made the elves who, and what, they are. Indeed, these elements are used well enough in The Blood of Ten Chiefs, but a prior understanding of them is rather crucial.
Familiarity with the work is perhaps expected of a cult phenomenon like this, but for any high fantasy, it’s a dangerous gamble. It doesn’t come off as lending undeserved appeal through proper names and bizarre behaviour, like so much fantasy does, but it nonetheless remains a barrier that would prevent newcomers. Even myself, a more intermediate ElfQuest fan, found the writing's density and bandying about of names and histories somewhat intimidating.
Also, this may just bother me, but the dependence of humans as the perennial enemy grew quickly tiresome. I know it’s par for the course: this is a story from the late 70s, those in touch with nature must be at odds with those who are not, and many things the Elves have that humans don’t has created irreconcilable misunderstanding between them. But it nonetheless can only invite cliché to this setting. The few times the writing flirts with the idea of humans developing into something more than a monster (especially in Robert Asprin's entry), it’s like they’re harshly corrected for considering it. It’s a pity; inviting ambiguity into the elves' enemies would also invite it into the elves, as well.
Nonetheless, ElfQuest has often gripped anyone who comes across it, and The Blood of Ten Chiefs is bound to satiate anyone after more of their lore and adventures. It falls into one or two pitfalls that any fantasy anthology might, but it remains a rich read for any ElfQuest enthusiast; maybe even potentially making a few new enthusiasts if they let it.
May 23, 2015
Much like Thieves World, this is an anthology of short stories strung together to form a longer narrative. By and large the different stories are not connected, and it will be confusing to anyone who is not familiar with Elfquest.
That being said, this is one of my all time fave books. The World Of Two Moons is a great setting (or it WAS before all the stupid time travel) and the Wolfriders are one of the most visceral, authentic seeming groups of elves in fantasy lit EVER.
I don't reccomend starting with this novel, but if you're already familiar with Elfquest then you can't miss!
That being said, this is one of my all time fave books. The World Of Two Moons is a great setting (or it WAS before all the stupid time travel) and the Wolfriders are one of the most visceral, authentic seeming groups of elves in fantasy lit EVER.
I don't reccomend starting with this novel, but if you're already familiar with Elfquest then you can't miss!
September 27, 2017
If you never encountered or don't remember much of Elfquest, it was a series of graphic novels about "elves" (aliens) who crash on Earth the World of Two Moons. The first elves were tall, delicate things, not at all adapted to live on the harsh Earth World of Two Moons. They could also do magic. One of those early elves shapeshifted herself into one of Earth the World of Two Moons' creatures: a wolf. She then bred with real wolves, hoping to make her own race more able to survive through the introduction of bloodlines from a native species. And from that, the Wolfriders were born. Wolfriders and their generations long war with the humans of that planet.
The graphic novel series centered around the eleventh generation chief, but each previous generation had a chief as well. The Blood of Ten Chiefs is an anthology, a story about each of those previous ten leaders.
There were some really big name authors in this book!
"Pendulum" - Richard Pini
"Coming of Age" - Lynn Abbey
"Plague of Allos" - Piers Anthony
"Swift-Spear" - Mark C. Perry & C. J. Cherryh
"Tale of the Snowbeast" - Janny Wurts
"The Deer Hunters" - Allen L. Wold
"Tanner's Dream" - Nancy Springer
"The Spirit Quest" - Diana L. Paxson
"Lessons in Passing" - Robert Lynn Asprin
"Night Hunt" - Diane Carey
Unlike most anthologies I've read, almost all of stories in this book were quite good. One I didn't finish, two I was bored with but finished, but all the rest were good. Maybe surprisingly, Piers Anthony's was one of the weakest for me (I just didn't believe his characters acted like reasonable people). C. J. Cherryh's (with Mark C. Perry, not sure why he got top billing) was easily the strongest of them all, and I was still thinking about it even after finishing all the others after it.
I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I had liked Elfquest back long, long ago (the early 80s!), I hadn't at all expected it to hold up now.
There were four other anthologies in this series, but sadly none of the rest seem to be available in ebook format. (I suspect this one isn't officially out in ebook format either, it had a few mistakes that made it seem scanned.)
The graphic novel series centered around the eleventh generation chief, but each previous generation had a chief as well. The Blood of Ten Chiefs is an anthology, a story about each of those previous ten leaders.
There were some really big name authors in this book!
"Pendulum" - Richard Pini
"Coming of Age" - Lynn Abbey
"Plague of Allos" - Piers Anthony
"Swift-Spear" - Mark C. Perry & C. J. Cherryh
"Tale of the Snowbeast" - Janny Wurts
"The Deer Hunters" - Allen L. Wold
"Tanner's Dream" - Nancy Springer
"The Spirit Quest" - Diana L. Paxson
"Lessons in Passing" - Robert Lynn Asprin
"Night Hunt" - Diane Carey
Unlike most anthologies I've read, almost all of stories in this book were quite good. One I didn't finish, two I was bored with but finished, but all the rest were good. Maybe surprisingly, Piers Anthony's was one of the weakest for me (I just didn't believe his characters acted like reasonable people). C. J. Cherryh's (with Mark C. Perry, not sure why he got top billing) was easily the strongest of them all, and I was still thinking about it even after finishing all the others after it.
I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I had liked Elfquest back long, long ago (the early 80s!), I hadn't at all expected it to hold up now.
There were four other anthologies in this series, but sadly none of the rest seem to be available in ebook format. (I suspect this one isn't officially out in ebook format either, it had a few mistakes that made it seem scanned.)
July 20, 2024
My copy of this book has seen better days. The cover looks like something's been eating chunks off of it. The pages are yellow and rippled with water damage. Every time I pick up the poor thing, the cover flakes off tiny bits.
Until I have a better copy, I am not letting go of it. No way, no how. Just nope.
I've been obsessed with ElfQuest since I was in my mid-teens and my brother had a few comics. My introduction to the elves was when Cutter was talking about how he met Leetah, and how in love they were. The trolls holding them captive were disgusted.
The first thing I bought from the first paycheck from my first job was the first ElfQuest graphic novel.
tbc
Until I have a better copy, I am not letting go of it. No way, no how. Just nope.
I've been obsessed with ElfQuest since I was in my mid-teens and my brother had a few comics. My introduction to the elves was when Cutter was talking about how he met Leetah, and how in love they were. The trolls holding them captive were disgusted.
The first thing I bought from the first paycheck from my first job was the first ElfQuest graphic novel.
tbc
August 24, 2018
This story carries the reader into the history of the first elves and how the wolf-rider tribe came to be.
February 13, 2021
Love it and own the book
April 8, 2016
My second Elfquest novelization.
I liked this much better than the one about the main series. This is an anthology rather than a linear story. Also, these aren't stories I know by heart. The characters are characters I am less familiar with and that is to it's advantage.
A book that has a variety of stories has a higher chance of me liking it in part if not in full. And I would say a 3/4's of these stories were good and kept my interest. I liked the earlier tales more. They focused on the elves early on and the struggles of blending a tribe that was part mortal and part immortal. The characters thought differently and it was interesting to read about the bonds and divides in the past. The more closer to the main stories time the weaker the stories. Because those characters have already been defined and the environment and relationships with humans are well established.
I liked this enough to order volume 2 from amazon. So, I will look at that in the future too.
I liked this much better than the one about the main series. This is an anthology rather than a linear story. Also, these aren't stories I know by heart. The characters are characters I am less familiar with and that is to it's advantage.
A book that has a variety of stories has a higher chance of me liking it in part if not in full. And I would say a 3/4's of these stories were good and kept my interest. I liked the earlier tales more. They focused on the elves early on and the struggles of blending a tribe that was part mortal and part immortal. The characters thought differently and it was interesting to read about the bonds and divides in the past. The more closer to the main stories time the weaker the stories. Because those characters have already been defined and the environment and relationships with humans are well established.
I liked this enough to order volume 2 from amazon. So, I will look at that in the future too.
January 11, 2009
Wow...looking under the Asprin books, seeing this takes me back! The first few "ElfQuest" anthology novels were outstanding...the collection of stories were great and if you're an EQ fan, they're definitely MUST READS!
Read
June 29, 2009Man, I read this so long ago. I remember enjoying it... in high school. The comics leave the history of the ten chiefs pretty open, so there's plenty of room for good storytelling. Probably not terribly appealing if you haven't read (and enjoyed) the comics, though.
February 24, 2009
Re-read from 3/29 to 4/3. The first book to really expand the Elfquest universe.
February 8, 2015
Good start. I like about half the stories. mostly the early years.
Read in January, 2010
Read in January, 2010
February 2, 2015
It was years ago that I read this. I think it's time for a re-read.
April 2, 2015
I was kind of ashamed of owning this book, and I read it mostly because I had had it lying around for years. It was better than I expected, though the Piers Anthony story is the absolute pits.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews