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Promise of the Wolves: A Novel (The Wolf Chronicles)
Promise of the Wolves: A Novel (The Wolf Chronicles)
Author: Dorothy Hearst
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book

List Price: $25.00
Buy New: $6.00
You Save: $19.00 (76%)



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Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 67 reviews
Sales Rank: 190777

Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4

ISBN: 1416569987
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781416569985
ASIN: 1416569987

Publication Date: June 3, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: 341 pp. Signed by the author.

Also Available In:

  • Audio CD - Promise of the Wolves: Wolf Chronicles Book One (Wolf Chronicles)
  • Hardcover - Promise of the Wolves (The Wolf Chronicles)
  • Hardcover - Promise of the Wolves Signed
  • Kindle Edition - Promise of the Wolves: A Novel
  • Audio CD - Promise of the Wolves

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description

WHAT IS
THE PROMISE OF THE WOLF?

NEVER CONSORT WITH HUMANS.

NEVER KILL A
HUMAN UNPROVOKED.

NEVER ALLOW A MIXED-BLOOD WOLF TO LIVE.

At least that's what the wolves of the Wide Valley believe. Until a young wolf dares to break the rules -- and forever alters the relationship between wolves and the humans who share their world.

This is the story of such a wolf. Born of a forbidden mixed-blood litter and an outcast after her mother is banished, Kaala is determined to earn a place in the Swift River pack. But her world is turned upside down when she saves a human girl from drowning. Risking expulsion from their pack and exile from the Wide Valley, Kaala and her young packmates begin to hunt with the humans and thus discover the long-hidden bond between the two clans. But when war between wolves and humans threatens, Kaala learns the lies behind the wolf 's promise. Lies that force her to choose between safety for herself and her friends and the survival of her pack -- and perhaps of all wolf- and humankind.

Set 14,000 years ago, Promise 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.


Customer Reviews:   Read 62 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars Well-Written Wolf Tale Lacks Tension   October 3, 2008
Yawn...

I never knew wolves could be so boring. Kelley Armstrong's werewolf books have a zip and energy this story lacks, and is sorely in need of finding.

I understand that Hearst's book is not a horror novel, but surely a wolf novel wherein wolves interact with humans and have thought processes like humans could have more tension. I grew tired of reading about how hard it was for the wolves to find food, and if that was the main point of this story than it succeeds in making that understood. This is not a title I will recommend to children in my elementary school. I forced myself to trudge through the first 100 pages, and I don't want my students to trudge as I did.



5 out of 5 stars Wolf/human co-evolution   September 4, 2008
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I really enjoyed "Promise of the Wolves". We all know that the dog is man's best friend. We also know that our most loved pet is descended from the wolf. But how in the world did two competing predators become friends?
What were the reasons? the costs? the benefits?
Ms. Hearst is giving us a fictional glimpse of how this story might have unfolded. The wolves are holding back, wary and mistrusting. But Kaala is fascinated by and drawn towards the humans at a time in evolution when our hunter/gather ancestors were becoming more sedentary.
I could feel the harmony and the tensions of the wolf pack. We learn with the pups how a wolf pack functions, thrives, and survives. The humans, less wise in the ways of nature than the wolves, are divided: some feel they should continue to respect traditions and remain part of the balance, while others, overly confident and egotistical, prefer to breakaway and proclaim themselves `top dog'.
Wolf/human co-evolution is a fascinating subject. I look forward to the next book to see where Kaala will take us.



5 out of 5 stars Promise of the Wolves Delivers!   August 29, 2008
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Promise of the Wolves is a wonderfully written and researched fantasy novel (to some extent) about wolves and the evolution of dogs. I found this debut novel absorbing from the beginning. Like Watership Down, I find it suitable for some young adult readers (though the later was a much more disturbing novel) but, in my opinion, is geared towards an adult audience.

I am quite familiar with both the books, authors, and organizations the author consulted and read in the writing of this book due to my interest in both wolves and dogs. It was with sadness that while I was reading this book that I learned that the bill to end aerial hunting of wolves in Alaska was defeated. Thus the war between humans and wolves continues with humans having the immense advantage and the desire to decimate wolf populations.

I loved this book and the character of the protagonist wolf, Kaala, who fights to keep wolves and humans together. It is, for most, a fantasy but the people at places like Wolf Park continue to battle, like Kaala, for harmony between the species. The line that states humans need wolves to stay a part of the natural world is so true, but mostly forgotten.

A big thank you to Dorothy Hearst for writing this novel that took me for awhile into the fantasy life of the ancient wolves from Kaala's perspective.



4 out of 5 stars Lives Up To The Promise   August 22, 2008
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Anyone who is fascinated by the life of the wolf and enjoys a good fantasy will appreciate the unfolding of the human/wolf relationship in this book. Well written and descriptive, Ms Hearst accurately interprets body language of the animal world as she paints vivid pictures of pack relationships and the strong bonds of canis/homo sapien bonding.


3 out of 5 stars good first novel   August 22, 2008
this was a good first novel. There were times where it lagged and got long and boring but it think with work it will be better novels in the future.
Good author.


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