Status
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Description
A Companion to Wolves is the story of a young nobleman, Isolfr, who is chosen to become awolfcarl --a warrior who is bonded to a fighting wolf. Isolfr is deeply drawn to the wolves, and though as his father's heir he can refuse the call, he chooses to go. The people of this wintry land depend on the wolfcarls to protect them from the threat of trolls and wyverns, though the supernatural creatures have not come in force for many years. Men are growing too confident. The wolfhealls are small, and the lords give them less respect than in former years. But the winter of Isolfr's bonding, the trolls come down from the north in far greater numbers than before, and the holding's complaisance gives way to terror in the dark. Isolfr, now bonded to a queen wolf, Viradechtis, must learn where his honor lies, and discover the lengths to which he will to go when it, and love for his wolf, drive him.… (more)
User reviews
If you are invested in the fourteen-yo-girl SQUEE that is so deeply embedded in the companion-animal genre, bypass this one. But if you were a fourteen-year-old who has now grown up, and wonders what you were thinking back then--? Then Companion to Wolves is a must-read.
Characters: Far too many characters in there, with names which sound so similar that it is impossible to keep them apart. In half the cases it's not plain whether this is a wolf or a human, and the tendency to change names doesn't help either. Characterisation is not done too well, as a result - there are too many characters to sketch, so nobody gets enough attention to make them truly interesting. Motive remains a mystery even in the central character's case, and it leaves them lifeless.
Style: Nordic. Got that (and if I hadn't, the apparent permanent snow cover would have been a heavy hint). Still, some of the more colourful mythology could have used a lot more build-up. As it is, it's just shoddy worldbuilding that relies on the reader having at least a vague idea about trolls and the Edda version of elves. Also, the sex could have had more interesting causes than "gee, my wolf went into heat" and "oh my gosh, she's doing it again".
Plus: It's an interesting underlying idea.
Minus: It's a story that tries too much on far too few pages. Nothing gets fleshed out properly. The worldbuilding is rudimentary, with far too many sudden, convenient solutions. Too much telling, not nearly enough showing.
Summary: Nice idea, badly executed.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but the names in this book really tripped me up at first. I have a longstanding interest in Norse mythology, and I'm usually very good with names, but these ones threw me. I found myself referring to the
But what initially seemed like a major challenge quickly faded to the status of a minor impediment. Tricky names aside, this is a wonderful book.
I can't pinpoint the moment it happened, but I sank straight into the story. I became immersed in the politics of the wolfheall. Despite the characters' status as warriors who stand between their people and the trellish threat from the north, this isn't really an action-oriented book. The novel's driving force comes from its characters and the things that happen to them between the battles. I thought the authors did a fantastic job of examining how these people would deal with the situations they find themselves in. The character dynamics are excellent, and I loved how the authors dealt with the bond between these men and their wolves. It was completely absorbing. I didn't want to put it down.
This was a great piece of stand-alone fantasy. I highly recommend it and am looking forward to reading more by both authors, separately or together.
The story follows four years of Lord Gunnarr’s son, Njall, who is taken as tithe at the age of sixteen and trained as a wolfcarl and bonded to one of the alpha female’s cubs. Instead of having a distinct plot it runs more like a slice-of-life, as is Monette’s style. This might annoy some who depend of structure, but it never feels slow in pace or lacking in direction.
I have been an avid fan of Sarah Monette’s, ever since I picked up the Doctrine Of Labyrinths series, though I was a little hesitant to purchase A Companion To Wolves, as I feared a co-written novel would lack quality. I am so glad I decided to ignore my worries.
It is one of the only co-written books I have read, and fully expected the perspective to swing back-and-forth between two (or more) characters as Havemercy did, but unlike Jones and Bennett, Monette and Bear have only one main character. It suffers none of Havemercy’s failings (though did have several of its own) as it didn’t read like a glorified role-play. It was smooth and polished as a work and gritty and rough as an experience. The realism of it made it beautiful. The only creatures described with any beauty were the wolves, the men all had lice, the women were worn from the harsh life and imposed gender roles. And the character development is slow but natural.
A few of the faults lie in the action. The battlescenes are quite bland and hollow, not described or fraught with tension at all. It is a shame, as that would have made the novel perfection. Another problem I had with the book was the names of people. I am not good with them to start with, but faced with hoards of side characters with difficult to pronounce, difficult to remember names I strain to keep them all aligned. It doesn’t help that, once the tithe boys have bonded with a wolf, they choose a new name for themselves. This isn’t really a fault with the book, as the names reflect the Nordic influence on the world, but a minor grievance with my own mind.
Overall, I enjoyed every page. While it is a coming-of-age tale, it didn’t feel like it. It is more an exploration of the meaning of honour and love, with gay Vikings and huge kickass wolves. Actually, not gay. I don’t think Njall thinks much of either gender, and is still working through the maze of his father’s disapproval, his she-wolf’s needs and his own desire. By the end he finds a kind of peace though he is still on the fence. But yes, this is one series I will be following with great attention and eagerness. Bear has seemed to have tempered Monette’s lust for angst, and I will also be looking out for Bear’s other novels too. I am very impressed by them both.
Characters: 9/10
Setting:8/10
Plot: 8/10
Dialogue: 9/10
Overall: 8.5/10
The depictions of scenes and life within the wolfthreat were really engagingly drawn--I was almost sad when the plot picked up and the main character wasn't going to be going about learning his place in normal life there.
The trolls made me uncomfortable, and I was glad near the end when he made the decision he did. War in fantasy can all too easily be just about the humans battling the monsters, it's much more engaging when the monsters are human enough that the war, like real-world war, becomes objectionable.
I recommend it. But not if you're prurient about sex. The book has some very rough and conflicted depictions of sex between men. But I appreciated it, because it rang true for me. This is what sex can be like if you do it out of a sense of duty or social compulsion. There's also a thwarted rape scene, which I think gets handled well, and I was really pleased about the arrangement the main character ends up in--it made sense. Also not for you if you get frustrated by lots of confusing nordic/anglo-saxon names and terms. There were a couple of places when I had to read a passage several times or refer to earlier pages to get the names figured out, but I do like the atmosphere that the words lent.
On a different level, the story is very concerned with gender roles. The main character, Isolfr, is a man bonded to a female
However, I felt the book came across like a cultural anthropology text: an analytical view of events. The main character consistently feels shame, embarrassment, or apologetic and it's all wrapped up in gender role confusion. While he cares for the (many, many) characters around him, he does it it an 'I'm responsible for them' way. Throughout most of the book, his choices are made by others or by circumstance and he reacts or rolls with the punches. Even in the conclusion, the writing style led toward 'happy ending', but Isolfr was waiting to be hurt again, rather than finding contentment. Each time he triumphed, he felt terrible, and by the end, I could only feel pity for this odd character doing all he could just to survive within his culture.
It's an interesting tale, if you read it like a gender study, but don't expect to get close to any of the characters because IF you can keep all those similar names sorted out, a third of them change, and many of them will die over the course of the book. Even then, the main character is emotionally distant and everything filters through him.
The characters- both human and otherwise- are all interesting and complex. I loved that the non-human characters didn't think or act like humans.
The book took a lot of
This happens to the main
I love the fact that it uses Norse mythology, history and culture as a base, I've always been a mythology/history nut so... :D I also love the fact that they obviously researched their stuff. The names, culture, behaviour (of men and wolves)... The attention given to the trolls and elves to make them both fit the mythology/culture and keep them different from those generic fantasy trolls and elves... It all created such an interwoven whole that sucked me right in and kept me there.
If there is another story in this universe, my only hope is that there will be fewer names to keep track of so that I can concentrate on the beauty of the story and relationship between the warriors and their wolves.
I was not bothered by the m/m aspect as the fantasy was foremost
That sounds sort of negative, doesn't it? I really quite liked the book - the emotional situations were fairly compelling - but it really is more romance than fantasy. Gay male sex doesn't do much of anything for me, alas, but if it does, this is doubly a book to pick up.
I want to first say that this book was nothing like what I thought it was going to be and then turned out to be more in some areas.
I know, I'm talking in circles
With that being said, the writing by both authors was a work of art. Once I started reading, I very reluctantly put it down (and that's only because I need to sleep) but quickly resumed reading the next day.
Watching Isolfr grow up and navigate his new life as well as the adventure/battle aspect of the plot was worthwhile. I can't really say more because I'm afraid of giving out spoilers.
I will be reading the next book in this series because I'm interested in the world that these two authors have created.
Would I recommend this? Only for those not squeamish about certain topics.
Fascinating world building at the higher level, a bit icky lower down
Really should be four stars based how I felt when I finished it, but the problematic parts preclude that.
This one is set in a Norse-like fantasy world where psychic dire wolves bond with
I think I've talked myself into almost lowering the stars on this one even though I was kept in this story well enough to give it the four I originally put up. I'll leave the four, but be wary of this one. Interesting concept, but difficult themes. Only pick it up when you're in a good place to do so.
First, let me say that I am so glad I bought it instead of getting it from the library. This is a book I want to reread.
Also, let me say that I'm totally squicky about noncon, having been warned in advance. I didn't read sadism in the sex, although there's always a chance I'm reading it that way
I wish ACTW were a bit longer, maybe by two short chapters, and that those chapters were located in the early-middle and the full-middle. I would have liked to see more of life in the werthreat, to prevent all these guys from becoming a litany of unpronounceable names until they show up again a hundred pages later.
I'm still not sure how I feel about the names themselves. I suspect I wouldn't have any issue if they were in any language I already know how to transliterate (Japanese, Russian, any Latin-based language, and some Greek, if in Roman alphabet), but all I know of Norse-Germanic is to turn j's into y's. And that made the reading process feel like stubbing my toe on 75% of the names in the book. (Ow.) Luckily, the story held my interest and eventually my
I also think the ending came a little too soon, but...*sigh* Everything I would add seems gratuitous when I think about it. I just want MORE. More of the 'verse. More detail. More color. More stories. More adventures. More sex. More snark. More people loving and protecting each other as well as they can. I like that in a book. A lot.
All in all, I enjoyed the hell out of reading -- I didn't want it to end. And that's a rec, assuming you dig fantasy, gay not-Vikings, wolves, wolves bonded to men, lots of sex, trolls, dungeon crawls, huge battles, etc. I just wish there were more.
Not the best work from either Monette or Bear, and at times the characters do get hard to tell apart, but if this is your thing, it's definitely enjoyable.
I never wanted to stop. The concept was just fascinating and very well done. The writing was also very good. I felt like I was in the story most of the time. Sometimes the politics and everything was a little tiring but it was still interesting to read
The writers are consciously answering themes in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, but the book stands on its own quite well. The hero is embroiled in multiple levels of politics, with a life complicated by everything from his relationship with his estranged father to the reflections of wolfpack interactions on their bonded humans.
I was less impressed with the wolfthret and the generations-long war with the trolls. There are far too many characters, and Monette and Bear don't write compelling battles. The trolls crush the wolves and humans throughout, razing their villages and forcing them to retreat at every turn, but I never really got the feeling of approaching doom. The writing and plot are a bit uneven; I wish the authors had focused a little more, either on the ramifications of becoming part of the wolfthret or on the war.