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Shieldwolf Dawning
For 13-year-old Samarra, life behind the sheltering walls of the planet Gaia is stifling. But when she convinces her brother, Cassian, to run away to another world, everything they know is turned upside-down. Forced to join the Shieldwolves, an order of shamans, brother and sister find themselves in the middle of an escalating war between two magic factions.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 9, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 14, 2014
This book really struck a chord with me because it expertsly balances entertainment with teaching philosophy. Siblings Cassian and Samarra live in a society where the rich live behind tall walls and the poor try to survive in the Badlands. Samarra finds life behind the walls unbearable, so when she finds a green tablet that will take them to another world, she jumps at the opportunity. The siblings escape to an alternate world where life isn’t grounded in the reality they are familiar with. When Cassian is kidnapped, Samarra faces a number of ethical decisions that have far-reaching consequences. The novel touches on a variety of philosophical topics, from moral judgment to environmental stewardship. The plot encourages the reader to inquire about thinking habits. The author does an excellent job of seamlessly and organically incorporating themes into the text. This would be a great book to be read by a class and used as a base for philosophical discussion, although it also can also be informative when read individually. Whether you're a teacher or a parent, this is a great book for doing philosophy with children in a way that will keep them interested.
September 23, 2014
Shieldwolf Dawning is my favorite fantasy book! I identified with Samarra so much it could have been written about me. Samarra's little brother Cassian reminded me so much of my sister that I could almost imagine it was us!
The characters are very well developed and Nemorin has done a fantastic job of creating a fantasy world full of magic and amazing creatures. I can easily see this being translated into movies or tv!
The only break I took from reading the novel was when I went out to lunch with my sister and we spent the entire lunch talking about Shieldwolf Dawning.
If you are a fan of fantasy books you will love Shieldwolf Dawning. Nemorin is really a terrific author and I cannot wait to see what is next.
The characters are very well developed and Nemorin has done a fantastic job of creating a fantasy world full of magic and amazing creatures. I can easily see this being translated into movies or tv!
The only break I took from reading the novel was when I went out to lunch with my sister and we spent the entire lunch talking about Shieldwolf Dawning.
If you are a fan of fantasy books you will love Shieldwolf Dawning. Nemorin is really a terrific author and I cannot wait to see what is next.
October 19, 2014
I enjoyed reading this book. There is a good mixture of mystery,fantasy, fun and love and a lot of thought provoking lessons for young and not so young readers.
The ending leaves us curious about what the future will bring...maybe a sequel?
The ending leaves us curious about what the future will bring...maybe a sequel?
December 3, 2014
“Letting fear stop you from doing something is a choice.”
There are so many great quotes in this book, I don’t know where to begin. But I’m also left with questions, wondering “am I unclear or are these things unanswered?”
Dying to discuss this book, the Flux, the flux, a lot of things.
There are different worlds, species, battles, adventures: it’s Sci-fi or Fantasy, it’s YA, it’s a good read for any age, whatever you need to call it, fine.
This rose is a rose is Samarra. Hither & thither, hell & high water; she’s there. She is Herself, her fully-formed, very real, very relatable self. We follow this girl on her journey from one way of life to a whole new planet. (Her choice to take a leap of faith, quite literally, into a total unknown in hopes of a better life for what is left of her “family” – one younger brother: pretty brave.) She is easy to like almost immediately but I knew “THIS is a well-written character” when, in trying to learn Meditation, she is: Still. Quiet. Cookie. > Now we can be friends! That is perfectly captured for anyone who has ever been to yoga class.
Like most real YA, her strength (spirit, moxie) is still a bit wild – she rails at things, people, her “situation”. If her race is given, I missed it but she’s human-type (gaian) (with blue dread-locks) on a planet where that’s the minority and a snide comment is made about “taking more gaians than mandated…standards fall dismally low.” There are veiled and not-so-veiled references to quotas, prejudice, and racism. She’s young enough & sheltered enough to not really understand it when she sees it between two of her friends. (It’s a nice jumping off point if you’re reading this with your kids.)
Samarra may not know much about racism but she’s knows about rude and when it’s aimed at her she fights like a brawler. She learns to train, including daily meditation, to control herself, her rampant emotions but instead of this reducing her by “falling in line” – she gains. She learns to look inward, to ask bigger questions, to understand her place in the universe. Inside she finds a kind of peace & connection & strength & gifts. We see her growth in many ways. On her travels she is faced with obstacles, danger, and choices.
(It struck me as sad that again & again, the characters we meet are openly surprised that she keeps her word, comes back to help, etc – even a friend expresses confusion. Nice world.)
Samarra’s loyal and honest; she never seems to see another option, just moves doggedly forward toward her goal. One magical creature points out that she doesn’t need something (equipment to do magic), “You are strong. Your heart is good and your spirit is just.”
( vs. what the treasure-loving dragon advised her earlier about “the moral decision is not always the best decision.” I could read more chapters on that complex character, she’s never really explained; it seems like there was more that was maybe edited out?)
There are moments when you get a whiff of something, like an ancient text, “The power you seek is in you…”, and there is something familiar about “Heed the laws, practice what is just and good…and judge incorruptibly” (hmm…Micah 6:8? not that I’m so holy but that verse is on the side of the law school building downtown “Do justice, Love mercy, and walk humbly with your God”)
And the things that go unsaid, things you may miss if you don’t read between the words, about this new life in the bio-dome, daily meditation, Shaman training, finding your personal connection to the elements, even the meals that are briefly described (psst: vegetarian).
Pay attention, there’s secret stuff in this book. Even if you read it for adventure with talking reptiles on a planet with 2 moons, you might accidentally (incidentally) learn about balance, interconnection & respect for the planet. You’ll have no idea, like Samarra, that all this time it’s been about Hozho, the Navaho word for being in harmony with All that Is.
We go into battle with Samarra; we see her mature and find her feet but it’s nice when she reminds us that under all that is still a little moxie, still Herself.
November 3, 2014
Fantasy books are some of the hardest books to get right nowadays. There is plenty of choice when it comes to series and setting from the real world to realms that have been created in the minds of the authors but sadly there is a huge volume of fantastical work out there that does a discredit to the genre.
Thankfully this book is not one of them. This book is a gem that really does make me thankful that there are fantasy writers out there who take the time to craft their own universe with their own influences rather than produce something that is little more than Harry Potter, The Wheel of Time or Lord of the Rings with a few names changed but essentially the same.
This book is aimed at young adults from around middle school age upwards, but is something that can easily be read and enjoyed by adults. Dealing with two young main characters (Samarra, aged 13 and Cassian) that find themselves in extraordinary circumstances that are far removed from what they would consider reality, Nemorin manages to bring a fresh life to a well-loved, tried and tested plotline.
The writing style is engaging from the outset and the different magical factions are not what you’d expect from power hungry mages. The characters that comprise the Shieldwolves are surprisingly likeable and Samarra is a character that you cannot help but fall in love with. Cassian I found harder to like but because of his characteristics not because he was badly written (far from it!)
The novel itself is driven by the characters as much as the plot and deals with the wisdom of morality as much as life and death within a fantasy realm. There are plenty of strong themes that run throughout the narrative as well with a focus on nature and respecting the environment, hope and a real sense of everything being connected.
Each of these themes was quite skillfully woven into the writing, you aren't being spoon fed a moralistic lesson about how we should all be kind to the environment and recycle or terrible things will happen. Instead these motfis are quite subtle and help to enhance the story.
The idea of everything being connected is shown quite strongly by the relationship between Samarra and Cassian, how they are assimilated into the Shieldwolves and how the siblings affect their adopted clan and how the Shieldwolves, in turn, affect them. The theme of connectedness develops even further than this with the larger scale picture of how the different factions of mages all impact one another for better or for worse.
Samarra as a character also manages to have her own theme of hope throughout the book, hope that despite the darkness she and Cassian have found themselves in and the suffering they have to endure that they can survive and find light even in the darkest of places.
Though both of these themes have a strong impact on the reader and the narrative, the most important theme within in the book was that of respecting nature and the environment. This theme has been badly written in the past, especially during the 1990s when kids TV and movies were obsessed with it and teaching the younger generation how and why they should care about the environment. I has happy to find that this was not the case in Shieldwolf Dawning.
The ideas of respect for nature and the environment in this book seem to be born more out of the ideals of Buddhism and Native American teaching and incorporates the idea that nature is connected as much to us as we are to one another.
I enjoyed reading this book and found it hard to resist picking it up and reading it again and I look forward to reading more from Selena Nemorin.
Thankfully this book is not one of them. This book is a gem that really does make me thankful that there are fantasy writers out there who take the time to craft their own universe with their own influences rather than produce something that is little more than Harry Potter, The Wheel of Time or Lord of the Rings with a few names changed but essentially the same.
This book is aimed at young adults from around middle school age upwards, but is something that can easily be read and enjoyed by adults. Dealing with two young main characters (Samarra, aged 13 and Cassian) that find themselves in extraordinary circumstances that are far removed from what they would consider reality, Nemorin manages to bring a fresh life to a well-loved, tried and tested plotline.
The writing style is engaging from the outset and the different magical factions are not what you’d expect from power hungry mages. The characters that comprise the Shieldwolves are surprisingly likeable and Samarra is a character that you cannot help but fall in love with. Cassian I found harder to like but because of his characteristics not because he was badly written (far from it!)
The novel itself is driven by the characters as much as the plot and deals with the wisdom of morality as much as life and death within a fantasy realm. There are plenty of strong themes that run throughout the narrative as well with a focus on nature and respecting the environment, hope and a real sense of everything being connected.
Each of these themes was quite skillfully woven into the writing, you aren't being spoon fed a moralistic lesson about how we should all be kind to the environment and recycle or terrible things will happen. Instead these motfis are quite subtle and help to enhance the story.
The idea of everything being connected is shown quite strongly by the relationship between Samarra and Cassian, how they are assimilated into the Shieldwolves and how the siblings affect their adopted clan and how the Shieldwolves, in turn, affect them. The theme of connectedness develops even further than this with the larger scale picture of how the different factions of mages all impact one another for better or for worse.
Samarra as a character also manages to have her own theme of hope throughout the book, hope that despite the darkness she and Cassian have found themselves in and the suffering they have to endure that they can survive and find light even in the darkest of places.
Though both of these themes have a strong impact on the reader and the narrative, the most important theme within in the book was that of respecting nature and the environment. This theme has been badly written in the past, especially during the 1990s when kids TV and movies were obsessed with it and teaching the younger generation how and why they should care about the environment. I has happy to find that this was not the case in Shieldwolf Dawning.
The ideas of respect for nature and the environment in this book seem to be born more out of the ideals of Buddhism and Native American teaching and incorporates the idea that nature is connected as much to us as we are to one another.
I enjoyed reading this book and found it hard to resist picking it up and reading it again and I look forward to reading more from Selena Nemorin.
November 10, 2014
Shieldwolf Dawning is the kind of book that has you turning the next page just to see what kind of world the author was working with. Mixing elements of sci-fi and fantasy effortlessly, Selena Nemorin manages to set an adventure to paper in a way that you won't see done very often. While there are some tried and true tropes of both genres that it leans on initially, it blossoms into a beautiful story. Samarra Dawning starts off as a meek, yet fiery thing, but grows into a person who is more confident in her choices, even if some of the ones that she's had to make were difficult. She's held back by certain people early on, but some new scenery opens up her mind and her possibilities in life.
Speaking of new scenery, Kairuhan is a planet full of life that is similar to ours, but so exotically different. Beyond just the frog-like platophibians or the bird-like archeops (who round out the trio of humanoids, along with the gaians), there world is abound with amalgamations of science fiction and fantasy, like huge fire ants, dragons and pixies. It is most certainly a world that has taken a great amount of thought into play, and one that has potential to expand with later visits to the narrative, if the author should so choose.
Shieldwolf Dawning is a wonderful romp through the imagination that is perfect for adolescents, and a fun read for adults that still have a childlike gleam to them.
Speaking of new scenery, Kairuhan is a planet full of life that is similar to ours, but so exotically different. Beyond just the frog-like platophibians or the bird-like archeops (who round out the trio of humanoids, along with the gaians), there world is abound with amalgamations of science fiction and fantasy, like huge fire ants, dragons and pixies. It is most certainly a world that has taken a great amount of thought into play, and one that has potential to expand with later visits to the narrative, if the author should so choose.
Shieldwolf Dawning is a wonderful romp through the imagination that is perfect for adolescents, and a fun read for adults that still have a childlike gleam to them.
October 1, 2014
I really liked it! Read my full review on my blog: http://bit.ly/1nIjQPq ~Happy Reading :)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews