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Wolf Chronicles #3
Der Traum der Wölfe: Die Wolfs-Chroniken 3
Vor 14.000 Jahren wurde das Schicksal von Menschen und Wölfen entschieden …
Das große Finale der Wolfs-Chroniken
Die junge Wölfin Kaala weiß, dass es ihre Aufgabe ist, Frieden zwischen den Menschen und Wölfen zu stiften. Gelingt ihr das nicht, ist das Gleichgewicht der Natur und damit der ganzen Welt in Gefahr. Als sich einige Wölfe aus ihrem Rudel widersetzen und nicht bereit sind, sich mit den Menschen einzulassen, bleibt Kaala nur noch eine Chance. Gemeinsam mit ihrer Freundin, dem Mädchen TaLi, muss sie endlich ihre Mutter finden und das wahre Versprechen der Wölfe einlösen. Zum ersten Mal lässt sie die Grenzen des Großen Tals hinter sich und begibt sich auf eine lange, gefährliche Reise.
Das große mythische Abenteuer von Mensch und Wolf ist nie zu Ende!
Das große Finale der Wolfs-Chroniken
Die junge Wölfin Kaala weiß, dass es ihre Aufgabe ist, Frieden zwischen den Menschen und Wölfen zu stiften. Gelingt ihr das nicht, ist das Gleichgewicht der Natur und damit der ganzen Welt in Gefahr. Als sich einige Wölfe aus ihrem Rudel widersetzen und nicht bereit sind, sich mit den Menschen einzulassen, bleibt Kaala nur noch eine Chance. Gemeinsam mit ihrer Freundin, dem Mädchen TaLi, muss sie endlich ihre Mutter finden und das wahre Versprechen der Wölfe einlösen. Zum ersten Mal lässt sie die Grenzen des Großen Tals hinter sich und begibt sich auf eine lange, gefährliche Reise.
Das große mythische Abenteuer von Mensch und Wolf ist nie zu Ende!
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
35 people are currently reading
1665 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
December 13, 2014
This was one of my favorite series, and one I looked forward to sharing - until the very last pages of the book. I am almost speechless with disappointment, even anger, and can think of half a dozen different ways the author could have preserved the essence and intent of her ending without... Well, I'm sad to say that this will NOT be a series I can read with joy over and over again. I feel betrayed, though I'm sure more artistically sensitive folks will continue to rave about the courage it takes for a writer to do such a thing. I wish I could break my review stars into two - four stars for most of the book, negative-5 for the ending. A horrible way to end a great series.
February 25, 2018
RAGE! I've never felt so betrayed by an author before. The ending to the series is so bad, I would advise people to skip this series entirely or stop reading a few pages before the end and just make up your own ending. If you do choose to read it, or have read the first two books and want to know what happens, it's worth reading once. The story in the third book is very interesting for the first 99% of the book, but then be prepared to have the rug pulled out from under you.
The first book in this series was intriguing, one might even say it had a lot of promise (pun intended). The second book was a bit dull in the middle, and took me many months to get through, but by the end I was invested and wanted to see how things ended. So I continued to the third book.
For the audiobook version specifically: Kudos to Justine Eyre for a wonderful performance for all three books.
The third book basically repeats the plot of the second book with new humans. The repetitiveness, along with the humans stupidity in believing everything DavRian says, and nothing TaLi says, gets annoying. Nonetheless, this book was consistently exciting and I read it faster than either of the previous two. Kaala faces challenge after challenge, as expected, and by the climax of the book I could barely put it down. But oh, that ending. It is so unsatisfying and abrupt. And that last 1% of the book has reduced my rating from 4 stars to 2. The ending barely lasts a few pages (I listened to the audiobook so I don't know the exact page count), leaves many plotlines open (not open-ended, just incomplete), is completely unsatisfying, gives no closure to beloved characters, and just plain shits on the reader who invested many hours in this trilogy. The epilogue does nothing to change the lack of satisfaction. I don't really care about the epilogue, we all knew this was a story about the domestication of dogs, I care about the characters I spent 30 hrs with.
See below for my full, spoiler-filled thoughts on the ending.
Spoiler-filled thoughts as I went through the novel:
The first book in this series was intriguing, one might even say it had a lot of promise (pun intended). The second book was a bit dull in the middle, and took me many months to get through, but by the end I was invested and wanted to see how things ended. So I continued to the third book.
For the audiobook version specifically: Kudos to Justine Eyre for a wonderful performance for all three books.
The third book basically repeats the plot of the second book with new humans. The repetitiveness, along with the humans stupidity in believing everything DavRian says, and nothing TaLi says, gets annoying. Nonetheless, this book was consistently exciting and I read it faster than either of the previous two. Kaala faces challenge after challenge, as expected, and by the climax of the book I could barely put it down. But oh, that ending. It is so unsatisfying and abrupt. And that last 1% of the book has reduced my rating from 4 stars to 2. The ending barely lasts a few pages (I listened to the audiobook so I don't know the exact page count), leaves many plotlines open (not open-ended, just incomplete), is completely unsatisfying, gives no closure to beloved characters, and just plain shits on the reader who invested many hours in this trilogy. The epilogue does nothing to change the lack of satisfaction. I don't really care about the epilogue, we all knew this was a story about the domestication of dogs, I care about the characters I spent 30 hrs with.
See below for my full, spoiler-filled thoughts on the ending.
Spoiler-filled thoughts as I went through the novel:
December 7, 2014
After much anticipation, I dove into this book ready to see Kaala succeed & then happily trot off into the sunset. *mild spoiler alert* Needless to say that didn't happen. I got to the end last night & was so disappointed. Not only with the sad happening, but how it just ends so quickly with that. I want to know what happened afterward & down the road! Anyway, that's the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars. The series as a whole was amazingly fun to read, unique, and I loved it.
April 19, 2015
I really enjoyed the first two books in this series. Unfortunately it felt like this book was just a repeat of the same events and problems that have occurred in the other books, and to me it just felt boring. The stakes never change, the events keep repeating themselves (the humans like us, no they don't, the humans like us, no they don't), and the uncomplex villains left me feeling like I wanted more out of the book. The ending was also very abrupt. I thought the epilogue was a nice tag to the ending, but I wished it was a little longer, to get the bitter taste of the ending out of my mouth.
May 20, 2015
That ending is pure shit, no more no less.
Instead of having a rewarding ending, the epilogue is a completely shitfest of epic proportions.
Not only the main character , her sacrifice is for nothing at all.
The story doesn't achive nothing, the only resolution it have is failure, the view it have about the future is of a bleak, decaying one, about humans not learning anything, a misanthropic view.
And you can say to rebute me: "but it have a glimmer of hope"; and I can answer you: "A glimmer of hope my ass, Chatoyance's stories have a glimmer of hope and are still a misanthropic little shit."
So, is this book shit? yes, it is.
December 27, 2017
So, I had read the first book and absolutely loved it. read the second one, thought it was dark and mean spirited. Got ahold of the third one and....became only the second book this year that i didn't finish.
Getting halfway through this book was a chore unto itself. Calling the finale of this trilogy a schlog is an understatement. books two and three could have easily been condensed into a single book. The flow basically goes like this.
1. wolves hunt with humans
2. Great wolves are jerks and threaten to kill main character but don't
3. Davrian (human dude) is a jerk
lather rinse repeat. that is seriously all books 2 and 3 are. They repeat the whole "you can't be lesser than humans when you hunt with them" warning to the main character at least 4 times and it gets extremely repetative. The main character is supposedly this amazing "will save the wolves and humans" character but the ending amounts to everyone running away. It's like they got the bad ending of a visual novel.
I thought at LEAST i'd get a happy ending with humans and wolves living side by side. NOPE! Honestly, i'm glad i skipped to the final 2 chapters halfway through. This was such a boring, boring read. Which is so heartbreaking considering how great the first novel was.
Something i found weird was, The book kind of just...abruptly ends. The epilogue doesn't explain anything and honestly it feels like the author realized she hit a page count and went "well, i COULD write an actual ending, but i hit my word count. so i'm good."
Sad ending to what started as a series with great potential. Wish i could have stayed for the final half of the book, but the heart just wasn't there. i HATE DNF's, but this is one of the few instances in which i had to. I gave this series a GREAT chance. 2 1/2 out of 3 books. That's pretty darn good. All in all, boring, boring book that resolved nothing.
1.5/5.
Ugh. i need to read something else to wash my brain.
Getting halfway through this book was a chore unto itself. Calling the finale of this trilogy a schlog is an understatement. books two and three could have easily been condensed into a single book. The flow basically goes like this.
1. wolves hunt with humans
2. Great wolves are jerks and threaten to kill main character but don't
3. Davrian (human dude) is a jerk
lather rinse repeat. that is seriously all books 2 and 3 are. They repeat the whole "you can't be lesser than humans when you hunt with them" warning to the main character at least 4 times and it gets extremely repetative. The main character is supposedly this amazing "will save the wolves and humans" character but the ending amounts to everyone running away. It's like they got the bad ending of a visual novel.
I thought at LEAST i'd get a happy ending with humans and wolves living side by side. NOPE! Honestly, i'm glad i skipped to the final 2 chapters halfway through. This was such a boring, boring read. Which is so heartbreaking considering how great the first novel was.
Something i found weird was, The book kind of just...abruptly ends. The epilogue doesn't explain anything and honestly it feels like the author realized she hit a page count and went "well, i COULD write an actual ending, but i hit my word count. so i'm good."
Sad ending to what started as a series with great potential. Wish i could have stayed for the final half of the book, but the heart just wasn't there. i HATE DNF's, but this is one of the few instances in which i had to. I gave this series a GREAT chance. 2 1/2 out of 3 books. That's pretty darn good. All in all, boring, boring book that resolved nothing.
1.5/5.
Ugh. i need to read something else to wash my brain.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2016
The ending broke my heart. Ever since I had started reading, I had hoped for Kaala's success. But how could she have succeeded? Yet I still hoped. I knew what would become of the wolves who stayed by the human's side. And I knew fear would always win. And it did. It brought so much destruction to everything Kaala had worked for.
I am so sad, ugh, but let's get on with the review...
It's the third and final book of the series, in which the protagonist ventures out of her known lands. She ventures out into the bigger world, confronting more complex societies and politics...and gradually developed herself as a leaderwolf and began to bear the gravity of her role and her choices.
The Wolf Chronicles: a story that found me entirely by accident, and it tore through me and broke me open. I loved the story. I laughed. I cried. I don't think I can bear to read it again because it was so haunting, so real, so powerful...
It honestly hurts me that I knew Kaala would fail. I wanted so much for her to succeed. But humans will never be able to live with the wild by their side. We are too selfish, to afraid to trust and give into our origins. The author must have known that, too.
I am so sad, ugh, but let's get on with the review...
It's the third and final book of the series, in which the protagonist ventures out of her known lands. She ventures out into the bigger world, confronting more complex societies and politics...and gradually developed herself as a leaderwolf and began to bear the gravity of her role and her choices.
The Wolf Chronicles: a story that found me entirely by accident, and it tore through me and broke me open. I loved the story. I laughed. I cried. I don't think I can bear to read it again because it was so haunting, so real, so powerful...
It honestly hurts me that I knew Kaala would fail. I wanted so much for her to succeed. But humans will never be able to live with the wild by their side. We are too selfish, to afraid to trust and give into our origins. The author must have known that, too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2023
(contains spoilers)
Absolutely loved the series, and was ridiculously hyped to end it after the high of all plans eventually coming together.
The great wolves getting their dues. Mil deserved everything she got and more.
Only to be confronted by such a cavernous hole that was the anticlimactic ending.
Like.... What was the point in so many things.
The hours and hours of anticipation.
The clear indication she was turning into a leader.
Disbanded the entire pack and everything they worked towards.
Leaving DavRian alive a stone throw away after being told she could kill him within the law of the promise if she was defending her own life or the lives of her pack...
Poor Azzuen his whole life was dedicated to her. To lose her just so she can say "I love you" when she could have tugged on her tunic as she has so many times before and revisited the other real whenever she chose after resting to do that.
There's so many avenues this could have gone down to end so epically which is so deflating.
Absolutely loved the series, and was ridiculously hyped to end it after the high of all plans eventually coming together.
The great wolves getting their dues. Mil deserved everything she got and more.
Only to be confronted by such a cavernous hole that was the anticlimactic ending.
Like.... What was the point in so many things.
The hours and hours of anticipation.
The clear indication she was turning into a leader.
Disbanded the entire pack and everything they worked towards.
Leaving DavRian alive a stone throw away after being told she could kill him within the law of the promise if she was defending her own life or the lives of her pack...
Poor Azzuen his whole life was dedicated to her. To lose her just so she can say "I love you" when she could have tugged on her tunic as she has so many times before and revisited the other real whenever she chose after resting to do that.
There's so many avenues this could have gone down to end so epically which is so deflating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2015
Let me start off by saying: this was an excellent book. I enjoyed it, and the books before it in the series, immensely.
It would have gotten 4 stars, but the ending was so abrupt and jarring. It was very disappointing and it was NOT the way to end an epic trilogy, it felt like the author just wanted the series done and over with. It felt like a cop out, an easy way out...and that pissed me off. A lot. There was also NO closure on any of the other characters that I grew to love throughout the series - what did they do afterwards?
I have read other books with a disappointing ending, for example The Sight by David Clement Davies, and even though the ending was sad in that book...it was executed well and made sense for the story. This ending did not make a lick of sense.
Because of the way the series ended, sadly I don't think this series will be one I will read again. That is how bad the ending was.
It would have gotten 4 stars, but the ending was so abrupt and jarring. It was very disappointing and it was NOT the way to end an epic trilogy, it felt like the author just wanted the series done and over with. It felt like a cop out, an easy way out...and that pissed me off. A lot. There was also NO closure on any of the other characters that I grew to love throughout the series - what did they do afterwards?
I have read other books with a disappointing ending, for example The Sight by David Clement Davies, and even though the ending was sad in that book...it was executed well and made sense for the story. This ending did not make a lick of sense.
Because of the way the series ended, sadly I don't think this series will be one I will read again. That is how bad the ending was.
February 1, 2015
I loved this series from start until almost finish. I was so excited that I finally had time to read it and plowed through it in a couple days. But the ending is what made me give this book a low rating. It was abrupt and jolting, and, to a non-writer, didnt make logical sense. I wish Ms. Hearst had thought of something else, because the ending that was given was not suitable to the epic tale it had been before. It was almost as if she just wanted to be done with the series!
October 1, 2016
Mini Review: The first half of this book is pretty much on par with the first two other than being a little repetitive. Sadly, I agree with the majority of people who read this book; the ending is ridiculously abrupt and makes no sense for this trilogy. There is no closure whatsoever! I've read some terrible endings, and this is one of the worst.
March 30, 2015
Not as highly rated as I felt that it was a depressing tale of failure after failure for Kaala. The book really could have ended a book and a half ago for the amount of obstacles that Kaala and her pack were constantly up against... Especially for the ultimate ending of the story...
March 2, 2015
Terrible ending to an otherwise engaging series! This final volume had a lot of ups and downs, but I thought it would ultimately pay off. So wrong. That ending was such a cop out.
May 28, 2018
I love wolves, I believe in keeping the balance and live in harmony with everything and everyone, but I didn't like the message given in the end...no spoiler alerts.
June 18, 2021
*spoiler alert* I chose this book because I like to read books about animals. I didn't realize it was book 3 out of a series so it made it a bit harder to read. I enjoyed the main point of the story of survival and strength. It kept me interested by the strong bond formed between the wolf and the human girl. The wolf and the girl also formed the relationship with a raven and set out to find the wolfs mother. The wolf die at the end because she had a lot challenges along her journey.
The book was kind of hard to follow some what due to not reading book one and book two but some of it was due to a difficult story line to follow. Another difficult thing was to keep track of all the characters because there names were difficult to pronounce and there were too many.
The book was kind of hard to follow some what due to not reading book one and book two but some of it was due to a difficult story line to follow. Another difficult thing was to keep track of all the characters because there names were difficult to pronounce and there were too many.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2022
De eerste twee boeken waren een fantastisch begin en midden voor deze trilogie.
Met het derde deel leek de auteur niet al te veel moeite meer te willen steken in dit project. Hoofdstukken gingen van 25-30 pagina's elk naar 8-10. De herhalingen volgden elkaar steeds op, tot het punt dat je het beu bent en wilt opgeven.
Het einde is bruut, simpel, voorspelbaar, jammer. Wat begon als een atypische fantasy/historische reeks die mijn interesse had na het eerste boek, verviel gelijkelijk aan in een zwart gat.
1/5
Met het derde deel leek de auteur niet al te veel moeite meer te willen steken in dit project. Hoofdstukken gingen van 25-30 pagina's elk naar 8-10. De herhalingen volgden elkaar steeds op, tot het punt dat je het beu bent en wilt opgeven.
Het einde is bruut, simpel, voorspelbaar, jammer. Wat begon als een atypische fantasy/historische reeks die mijn interesse had na het eerste boek, verviel gelijkelijk aan in een zwart gat.
1/5
April 22, 2017
Wow. A good read and definitely thought-provoking...but I wasn't prepared for just how dark and heavy the last 1/4 would be. I just finished and feel a bit stunned.
December 15, 2015
I wish every single person on the planet read this entire series. Dorothy Hearst has made a wonderful connection between fantasy and reality. The legends and tales in this trilogy are so beautifully written that I, as a reader, found myself fully emerged and even believing in them.
This trilogy really makes you think about the world around you. It really makes you wonder whether you're doing right by it or not. Whether you're being the greedy, selfish part of creature or if you're upholding the balance.
And although I know that the book wouldn't have been as great as it was if none of those tragedies happened. And that the impact it had on me wouldn't be as strong.
10/10! Would definitely recommend it.
This trilogy really makes you think about the world around you. It really makes you wonder whether you're doing right by it or not. Whether you're being the greedy, selfish part of creature or if you're upholding the balance.
And although I know that the book wouldn't have been as great as it was if none of those tragedies happened. And that the impact it had on me wouldn't be as strong.
10/10! Would definitely recommend it.
August 1, 2022
Obviously, I was not finished yet when I wrote this, so this is not really a review. I love these books a lot because the author's craft and the plotline are astounding. But here's one criticism. I have realized that both of the love interests are first cousins.
We know that lovely, strong-minded Kaala is struggling here. Should she mate with Pell or Azzuen? People are going to hate me for this, but I think that she should be with Pell.
Here's why:
-Kaala is related to all of the wolves in her Pack, she even states that previously.
-According to the family tree, she and Azzuen are first cousins. Rissa is Azzuen's mother. Rissa is Nessa's sister, who is Kaala's mother. If they were to mate, this would be extreme incest. I know that wolves likely don't care, but still... it's kind of nasty.
-Pell likes her so much that he always stands up for her, and dumped his high Pack role for her.
Let's see, what do you all think of the AzzuenXKaala ship now?
Edit: Oh, nvm, she is too dead for that LOL
We know that lovely, strong-minded Kaala is struggling here. Should she mate with Pell or Azzuen? People are going to hate me for this, but I think that she should be with Pell.
Here's why:
-Kaala is related to all of the wolves in her Pack, she even states that previously.
-According to the family tree, she and Azzuen are first cousins. Rissa is Azzuen's mother. Rissa is Nessa's sister, who is Kaala's mother. If they were to mate, this would be extreme incest. I know that wolves likely don't care, but still... it's kind of nasty.
-Pell likes her so much that he always stands up for her, and dumped his high Pack role for her.
Let's see, what do you all think of the AzzuenXKaala ship now?
Edit: Oh, nvm, she is too dead for that LOL
January 27, 2021
Really an unsatisfying ending - so many other possibilities - and SOO many questions go unanswered- this did not have to be the end of the series or of Kaala.
I'm slightly disappointed that we couldn't get to know Gaanon and the other streckwolves better before they take over the promise. Especially considering Kaala's lineage (another sour spot to me, because if Neesa really loved Hilin why would she consent to pups with a streckwolf?)
I get trying to get your audience to FEEL. And killing off the heroine is definitely one way to get them to feel - miserable. The epilogue is trying to give hope after all the sadness you feel - but its too little and too late.
I agree with other reviews, you can read Dorothy's ending, but I would suggest reinventing your own ending.
Personally, I'm going to think of Kaala and Azzuen raising their pups along with Pell and Mara and their litter, and TaiLi and BreLan's kids.
I'm slightly disappointed that we couldn't get to know Gaanon and the other streckwolves better before they take over the promise. Especially considering Kaala's lineage (another sour spot to me, because if Neesa really loved Hilin why would she consent to pups with a streckwolf?)
I get trying to get your audience to FEEL. And killing off the heroine is definitely one way to get them to feel - miserable. The epilogue is trying to give hope after all the sadness you feel - but its too little and too late.
I agree with other reviews, you can read Dorothy's ending, but I would suggest reinventing your own ending.
Personally, I'm going to think of Kaala and Azzuen raising their pups along with Pell and Mara and their litter, and TaiLi and BreLan's kids.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2024
I've been waiting so long to get/read this book. I kept thinking that the picture featured on Goodreads wasn't the actual cover...just a place holder...but it's not. Talk about a disappointment after the last two were so pretty. But, the cover isn't what's really important, it's the words and story inside. I thought this conclusion was well paced. The ending though...after everything Kaala had gone through, made me think "that's it?". Good series but the ending was a slight letdown.
October 2, 2020
I like to keep my books in pristine condition, so I am careful about the way I handle them. Yet when I finished this one, I wanted to throw it against the wall and trample on it. What the heck was this ?! I loved the first book. I really liked the second one, although there were some moments I did not enjoy quite as much. But this?! I don't think I have ever read such a bad ending to a series.
Want to read
April 2, 2013When is Spirit of the Wolves coming out?
March 2, 2016
This is the third book in a trilogy. I loved the first two books and waited eagerly for the third. I must admit, however, that I agree with many others who were disappointed in the ending.
May 12, 2018
Book 3 of the Trilogy (The Wolf Chronicles) Set 14,000 years ago, Spirit of the Wolves takes us to a land where time is counted in phases of the moon, distance is measured in wolflengths, and direction by the scent of the nearest trail. Years of research into the world of wolves combines with mythical tale-telling to present a fantastical adventure set in a world filled with lore.
Kaala is now only a year old. She is a wolf of mixed blood--her mother had bred outside the Wide Valley--a law punishable by death--but Kaala had been spared by the Great Wolves altho her mother, Reesa was banished from the Valley, and the rest of her pups were killed.
Her human, TaLi, a young teenager who Kaala has grown t0 love as a packmate, even tho they cannot speak to each other (altho they can communicate), are banished from the Wide Valley. Their wolf (Azzuen and Marra) and human (BreLan and MikLan) friends choose to go with them as they are equally devoted to each other as Kaala and TaLi are. Tlitoo, a pesky raven, who has been with Kaala since she was born and has often been very helpful, also joins them. Pranna and Amma are small, mangy wolves from a different pack in the Wide Valley, but they believe in Kaala and join them as well, as does Pell, a large, and strong male from the strongest pack in the Valley, but his interest is in mating with Kaala.
But outside the Wide Valley, things are very different. Human villages are larger, but there are also larger animals that can easily be taken down with humans and wolves working together, as Kaala had shown her own tribe. But there are also many more Great Wolves outside the Valley that are against Kaala and TaLi and the others. Just as TaLi starts to show these humans how helpful the wolves can be, RalZun--a young man (who had wanted TaLi as his mate) had followed them from the Valley to stop the bonding of wolf and man and fills the humans' heads with lies and sets up "incidents" that he blames on the wolves and claims that all the wolves of the Wide Valley are the same.
Kaala, with the help of the raven, Tlitoo, finally finds her mother, but it is not the joyful reunion she had dreamt of. She learns that her father was not a wolf, but a "small not-wolf" (the ancient precursor to dogs who already had shorter muzzles, rounded heads and floppy ears who were much more readily accepted by humans than wolves for their juvenile appearance and submissive attitudes).
Just when it seems that RalZun and the others will destroy all the wolves, and even the forest if need be, Tlitoo shows why he has remained with Kaala--that the two of them are the Nejakilakan--a legendary duo who can take others to a place between life and death where secrets are revealed. But the trips must be brief for if they remain too long, one or more of them may not be able to return to the land of the living. The final sacrifice.
Kaala is now only a year old. She is a wolf of mixed blood--her mother had bred outside the Wide Valley--a law punishable by death--but Kaala had been spared by the Great Wolves altho her mother, Reesa was banished from the Valley, and the rest of her pups were killed.
Her human, TaLi, a young teenager who Kaala has grown t0 love as a packmate, even tho they cannot speak to each other (altho they can communicate), are banished from the Wide Valley. Their wolf (Azzuen and Marra) and human (BreLan and MikLan) friends choose to go with them as they are equally devoted to each other as Kaala and TaLi are. Tlitoo, a pesky raven, who has been with Kaala since she was born and has often been very helpful, also joins them. Pranna and Amma are small, mangy wolves from a different pack in the Wide Valley, but they believe in Kaala and join them as well, as does Pell, a large, and strong male from the strongest pack in the Valley, but his interest is in mating with Kaala.
But outside the Wide Valley, things are very different. Human villages are larger, but there are also larger animals that can easily be taken down with humans and wolves working together, as Kaala had shown her own tribe. But there are also many more Great Wolves outside the Valley that are against Kaala and TaLi and the others. Just as TaLi starts to show these humans how helpful the wolves can be, RalZun--a young man (who had wanted TaLi as his mate) had followed them from the Valley to stop the bonding of wolf and man and fills the humans' heads with lies and sets up "incidents" that he blames on the wolves and claims that all the wolves of the Wide Valley are the same.
Kaala, with the help of the raven, Tlitoo, finally finds her mother, but it is not the joyful reunion she had dreamt of. She learns that her father was not a wolf, but a "small not-wolf" (the ancient precursor to dogs who already had shorter muzzles, rounded heads and floppy ears who were much more readily accepted by humans than wolves for their juvenile appearance and submissive attitudes).
Just when it seems that RalZun and the others will destroy all the wolves, and even the forest if need be, Tlitoo shows why he has remained with Kaala--that the two of them are the Nejakilakan--a legendary duo who can take others to a place between life and death where secrets are revealed. But the trips must be brief for if they remain too long, one or more of them may not be able to return to the land of the living. The final sacrifice.
August 2, 2024
My heart...
I thought that the most frustraiting thing in the book would be the anoying humans, both the ones brought to fear EVERY SINGLE TIME and those that knew only to lie and hurt for their own benefit over and over again. But that ending...
The task was passed on. I did not love it, but sure, I could accept it. Kaala would make her pack stronger and keep watch over the humans from afar, with Tali, Azzuen and the rest of the team by her side, and once that was no longer posible, her children would inherit the task and so on. Well, that did not happen, and it looks like I will need to use some Nejakilakin magic and rewrite the story to such an end in my memory if I can.
I do not mind the killing of characters, I actually love it when done right. The other deaths in the series were painful, but well writen. This ending was rushed. I do not know why, and I do not wish to blame the author, as I have loved it until the last pages of the book, which makes it even more frustrating, but it WAS rushed.
I read the first book when I was a teen, and in some way, it has been in my thoughts ever since. Now, there is no closure, and how does it hurt... Not only Kaala's story is left unfinished, but everyone else's is too.
I know I am overreacting, but it just hurts that much. And that is also the reason that, instead of a review, this feels more like a rant to hopefully help me clear my mind. I was so happy to revisit the story, but maybe I should have taken it as the end after the first book...
I thought that the most frustraiting thing in the book would be the anoying humans, both the ones brought to fear EVERY SINGLE TIME and those that knew only to lie and hurt for their own benefit over and over again. But that ending...
The task was passed on. I did not love it, but sure, I could accept it. Kaala would make her pack stronger and keep watch over the humans from afar, with Tali, Azzuen and the rest of the team by her side, and once that was no longer posible, her children would inherit the task and so on. Well, that did not happen, and it looks like I will need to use some Nejakilakin magic and rewrite the story to such an end in my memory if I can.
I do not mind the killing of characters, I actually love it when done right. The other deaths in the series were painful, but well writen. This ending was rushed. I do not know why, and I do not wish to blame the author, as I have loved it until the last pages of the book, which makes it even more frustrating, but it WAS rushed.
I read the first book when I was a teen, and in some way, it has been in my thoughts ever since. Now, there is no closure, and how does it hurt... Not only Kaala's story is left unfinished, but everyone else's is too.
I know I am overreacting, but it just hurts that much. And that is also the reason that, instead of a review, this feels more like a rant to hopefully help me clear my mind. I was so happy to revisit the story, but maybe I should have taken it as the end after the first book...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2019
I finally finished this series, and to tell you the truth, it was not fun. None of the characters had an individual voice, they were all the same and I find myself not really caring about anyone, they were all so flaverless. The villens are not scary at all, and I felt really insulted at the end when the great wolves were killed by the crows, yes, these giant wolves were killed by crows I mean do you really think I am going to buy that!? I am also sorry to say that the writing was not that great either, it was simplistic and rushed and just not for me. Oh, and one last thing before I get on to more positive stuff: The wolves. They acted too much like the humans, so I think it's a little misleading when you promise to tell me about wolves but fail to show me any. Anyway, I liked the ending and I think it was very bold of the author to kill off the main character like that, even though how she died is a little silly to me. Well that's the end of my review, my apologies if it's sloppy, I am just eager to move on from this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2019
I loved the entire series. I thought the ideas were great and to a point believable. I could see humans having a deeper connection to the earth around them and therefore communicating with other creatures. I thought the family life of the wolves was depicted accurately. However, the third book lost me. It felt so far removed from the first two and it seemed like it should’ve been a different series to a point. The ending for me was the worst. It just fell short of what I was expecting for Kaala. It also seemed like the ending was rushed, like the author was tired of the story and just wanted to finish it. And none of the interactions between any of the main characters from the third book seemed in line with how they had acted in the beginning to the end. I wanted more epilogue and more conclusion.
October 10, 2017
It pains me so much to give this book three stars. Because for the majority of the book it was amazing. In fact, despite a 'sameness' in parts with the previous novel in the series, I really enjoyed it...until the final few pages. I can think of so many other ways to end the trilogy that would be happier and more satisfying. It's not that I have to have a happy ending in a book; far from it. But I feel betrayed by the ending of this novel. And angry. And sad. It almost feels like I've been cheated by the author after investing so much in the series. 😥 Which I don't want to feel like, but it's just so frustrating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2020
I loved this series so much and I must say this one DESTROYED me when i finished it! The ending deserves a 1 star from my heart lol! It broke me so hard! I have not had that reaction to the ending of a book in quite some time! I purchased the Ebook which is probably a good thing because if it had been a physical copy it would have the slung across the room! I was devastated when I found out that Kaala stayed too long trying to save her girl and the rest of her pack and that her and Azzuen would not get to have their pack after all. Such an amazing book and definitely made me think about some things!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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