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Wolf's Cub: A Fantasy
Herric, the youngest son of the Wolf King of Athgar, never wanted power or his father's throne, but with barbarians invading his land, Herric gives up his dreams of scholarship and learns to be a warrior
- GenresFantasy
408 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 24, 2008
Can't help it. I wrote it, and it's my baby and so I love it. Poor thing...its sequel Gryphon King never got to press, as the publisher decided to declare bankruptcy.
I'm a better writer now, but this story still speaks to me.
I'm a better writer now, but this story still speaks to me.
December 5, 2014
Starting this story feels like biting into an incredibly rich brownie, filled with every kind of sweet, nutty, chocolatey goodness. The writing is very rich and it’s frankly, a pleasure to read. When Mackay Wood describes the frustration of people far from the front lines with no news of how their loved ones are faring in the war, you feel it. You feel just how boring an 11-year-old girl would find it to be whisked to a far-off land to sit at the King’s table for dinner every night when she’d rather be rough-housing with her friends. You feel the anxiety of Malver, a benign old man with hidden magical knowledge who fears running out of time to make the world as safe as possible for those he will leave behind at death.
The title of this book, “Wolf’s Cub”, refers to Prince Herric, the heir to the throne of King Alric. He’s not the eldest son --- the expected heir was killed in battle and another son was imprisoned for sorcery (which, in this world, is tantamount to heresy). Early in the book, the 18-year-old Herric is told he must break his engagement to the girl he loves (and marry an 11-year-old) for the good of the kingdom of Athgar. He’s shattered by the news, but does his duty.
The purpose of this marriage is to cement the alliance with Gara, a critical province in defending the kingdom from the marauding Halga tribes, whose homeland lies across the ocean; for some reason the coastal kingdom of Athgar not only lacks a navy, but also has no interest in building one.
The story opens with Herric surveying the damage wreaked by Halga savages on innocent farm folk, and we see that the Prince is not only concerned for the strength of his kingdom, but the welfare of all its inhabitants.
If you like fantasy stories involving warfare and politics --- but dislike detailed descriptions of torture or explicit sex, then this book is in your ballpark. The number of plotlines seems right for the book, too: the kingdom faces an external threat; the Prince has to impress the nobility that he’s going to be a strong King; his bride wonders if he can ever love her, given the circumstances of their marriage; and the Kingdom’s history of conflict with magicians threatens its own citizens with hidden magical talent (while also harming diplomatic relations with a neighboring kingdom of mages). These are nicely intertwined: not so complex that you’re always losing track, but complex enough to maintain that richness I mentioned above.
The editing’s not perfect --- you do get some minor spelling errors, like “no” for “not”, or “me” for “men”. Personally, I feel the book’s biggest flaw is the overall length; it could easily be told in half as many words. Too many chapters seemed to be spent entirely on setting descriptions, or on characters’ internal ruminations about how mysterious the mysteries were, or how slow the war was progressing, while the various plotlines remained in stasis. I say this with a heavy heart, and I wish to stress that I truly enjoyed the writer’s skill with words, so I only rarely skipped ahead and mostly soldiered on.
The title of this book, “Wolf’s Cub”, refers to Prince Herric, the heir to the throne of King Alric. He’s not the eldest son --- the expected heir was killed in battle and another son was imprisoned for sorcery (which, in this world, is tantamount to heresy). Early in the book, the 18-year-old Herric is told he must break his engagement to the girl he loves (and marry an 11-year-old) for the good of the kingdom of Athgar. He’s shattered by the news, but does his duty.
The purpose of this marriage is to cement the alliance with Gara, a critical province in defending the kingdom from the marauding Halga tribes, whose homeland lies across the ocean; for some reason the coastal kingdom of Athgar not only lacks a navy, but also has no interest in building one.
The story opens with Herric surveying the damage wreaked by Halga savages on innocent farm folk, and we see that the Prince is not only concerned for the strength of his kingdom, but the welfare of all its inhabitants.
If you like fantasy stories involving warfare and politics --- but dislike detailed descriptions of torture or explicit sex, then this book is in your ballpark. The number of plotlines seems right for the book, too: the kingdom faces an external threat; the Prince has to impress the nobility that he’s going to be a strong King; his bride wonders if he can ever love her, given the circumstances of their marriage; and the Kingdom’s history of conflict with magicians threatens its own citizens with hidden magical talent (while also harming diplomatic relations with a neighboring kingdom of mages). These are nicely intertwined: not so complex that you’re always losing track, but complex enough to maintain that richness I mentioned above.
The editing’s not perfect --- you do get some minor spelling errors, like “no” for “not”, or “me” for “men”. Personally, I feel the book’s biggest flaw is the overall length; it could easily be told in half as many words. Too many chapters seemed to be spent entirely on setting descriptions, or on characters’ internal ruminations about how mysterious the mysteries were, or how slow the war was progressing, while the various plotlines remained in stasis. I say this with a heavy heart, and I wish to stress that I truly enjoyed the writer’s skill with words, so I only rarely skipped ahead and mostly soldiered on.
March 5, 2009
i feel in love with this book.
at first i didn't know what was going on and i got kind of lost, but as i continued reading i just started to want to know more and more itching to see how it ends...
i think the characters in this book are the most memorable. i remember feeling like i was there with them, patting them on the back as they went through what they did and i really enjoyed being able to be "sucked into" the story.
at first i didn't know what was going on and i got kind of lost, but as i continued reading i just started to want to know more and more itching to see how it ends...
i think the characters in this book are the most memorable. i remember feeling like i was there with them, patting them on the back as they went through what they did and i really enjoyed being able to be "sucked into" the story.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews