Review: People of the Wolf by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear

People of the Wolf by W. Michael Gear (review from 2014)
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In the dawn of history, a valiant people forged a pathway from an old world into a new one. Led by a dreamer who followed the spirit of the wolf, a handful of courageous men and women dared to cross the frozen wastes to find an untouched, unspoiled continent. Set in what is now Alaska, this is the magnificent saga of the vision-filled man who led his people to an awesome destiny, and the courageous woman whose love and bravery drove them on in pursuit of that dream.

A sweeping epic of prehistory, People of the Wolf is another compelling novel in the majestic North America's Forgotten Past series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear

So, I've been reading this book for a while now, and I finished it a few days ago. It took me about 6 weeks to read (reading a chapter or two each night), because it is just so long.

I loved the premise of this one--well, I love any fantasy novels set in prehistoric times--but I have mixed feelings on this book.

The descriptions and imagery were great. No problem there. Each scene felt real and authentic. The writers--a husband and wife team--are archaeologists and you can tell from reading that they definitely know their stuff.

But the actual writing itself--in terms of *writing*. It wasn't that great. It was engaging, sure. But there were some pacing issues. And at times it just got too bogged down by all the description--actions scenes didn't read quite as 'action-y' as they should've done.

And let's talk about the fantasy world part. So, one of the main characters is a Dreamer. It's pretty obvious that the Gears have created a really complex world, but it was just too complex and not explained enough. Only about 60% of the time, was I able to follow what was actually happening during these scenes. And the final climax--well, it just got confusing. And, although I know the right people won, I wasn't sure how they won.

Also: timing. As I was reading, I never really had a proper sense of how much time was passing. I thought it was only a few weeks--but then suddenly we were told a year had passed. And this particularly happened at the end. One moment, we're told that the Dreamer can see a woman has conceived, then a few pages later the baby's born.

I think the ending felt really rushed, particularly because of these timing issues. I mean, we've had about 400 pages of details and the events leading up to it. And then it was just suddenly over, but the last pages covered at least ten months with no apparent warning--or maybe I missed it.

But the main characters themselves were very real and believable. Each of the main characters stood out and was instantly recognisable, just from the way they talked/acted/behaved. And I think that's what saved the book for me, and made me sure to finish it. Dancing Fox was my favourite character, shortly followed by Runs In Light/Wolf Dreamer and Heron. I also quite liked Ice Fire, though I wasn't immediately clear that he was one of the 'Others'.

There are A LOT of characters in this book, and some of them have very similar names, so I had to concentrate as I read to make sure I didn't misread a name. Some of the background characters especially blurred into one another. But it had a strong community feel, which I loved.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and am pleased I read it. If I see the sequel in a shop, I'll probably buy it--but for me it's not one of those books that I finish and then just have to look up book two and buy it now.

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