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| Promise of the Wolves: A Novel (The Wolf Chronicles) | 
| Author: Dorothy Hearst
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
Buy New: $11.50
You Save: $13.50 (54%)
New (37) Collectible (3) from $11.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  61 reviews
Sales Rank: 23106
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: New.
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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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 56 more reviews...
 Promise of the Wolves August 13, 2008
Promise of the Wolves is a great novel for any lover of wild life. It puts our species and its place in the overall scheme of life on this planet in proper prespective.
The Wonder of Wolves -- and Dogs! August 3, 2008
I'm a lover of all kinds dogs. While I don't have a dog because I'm a city dweller (I have a cat -- much saner in a smallish flat), I miss the eager, unflappable love and companionship that dogs provide. I'd never really thought about how dogs came to be, until I read Dorothy Hearst's book -- and she really got me thinking. This is the first of three books, which tells an engaging story of Kaala, a wolf in prehistorical times who is drawn to TaLi, a girl, and the resulting conflicts that arise within her pack as well as in the human tribe when a wolf and girl become friends. The fantasy elements are wonderful -- the spirit world of the wolves is rich and tantalizing, and there's just enough detail to make you want more. The Greatwolves, the Ravens, the Krianan, and the mystery of the spirit world -- it was all a delight to read. I really liked the depictions of pack life, and reading about the rules governing the roles and decisions made in a wolf pack. The generational conflict between the younger and older wolves, as well as the conflicts between the wolves who want to try new ways versus the tradition-bound "old school" wolves was captivating. There's so much here for anyone who likes dogs, both kids and adults, or anyone who likes a well-told story -- and the book is amazingly well written. A highly entertaining tale, and I can't wait for the second installment! More will be revealed about when dogs were wolves....
 A great read aloud book August 2, 2008
If you've ever wondered what animals think or how dogs became our best friends,read this book,preferably to your kids. It's not great literature but if you love animals and kids and story time together then this is your book.
These wolves grow on you July 26, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
You think this book won't engage you. It's just an animal story, a fantasy, and about wolves who talk and think like people--not even present wolves, but wolves way back in prehistoric time. But these wolves grow on you. Like dogs, they sneak into your heart and before you know it, you're enmeshed in the life-and-death affairs of the Swift River pack and you deeply care about them, because they are not so different, and you recognize their goals and their conflicts among themselves and with humans as your own.
You meet little Kaala SmallTeeth as a pup, ostracized by her pack because she was born of "mixed blood." You follow and empathize with her struggles to fit in and be accepted and you admire her for her persistent independence, curiosity, and refusal to conform. The story moves to a wider angle view, from Kaala's small pack to the primordial relations between wolves and humans and how the two species were beginning to affect each other. This overarching perspective, in line with the latest research on wolf-human interdependence, is a bird's-eye view of the beginnings of a bond that would eventually lead to unexpected evolutionary benefits for both species, among them the development of the dog. The novel also provides much food for thought on the human desire to control nature and how this has led to our current environmental crisis.
The story has a mythological element that locates it in a prehistoric past, with spirit wolves, magical thinking, and forces too big to be understood orchestrating events but always responsive to pivotal actions by humans, wolves, and even birds that can turn the course of events from disaster to deliverance. This mythological element gave me an inkling of the mind-set of these long-ago ancestors of ours, who lived in a dialogue with the natural world.
From J. Kaye's Book Blog July 18, 2008
Wolves born of the Swift River Pack weren't allowed to mix bloodlines with outsiders. Pups from such a predicament weren't allowed to live. They were killed by the pack leader and this is where Kaala's story begins. She was born of mixed blood, but was spared her life. Ruuqo and the rest of the pack didn't make life easy though. Like all other pups, she will have to struggle in order to survive. The weak will not make it. This book is her story.
Anyone who has a love of wolves will appreciate the effort Hearst has put forth in this debut novel. PROMISE OF THE WOLVES is the first in The Wolf Chronicles. More is to follow!
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Wildlife, nature and the Environment
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