The Wolf (The UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY Series, Book 1)

I chose 'the wolf' wanting something different to my usual reads. Im an avid historical fiction fan, with a tendancy to read books from the roman era. This book caught my attention from the blurb and so i took a gamble, and it certainly paid off. From the very first page i was hooked, and ive read it from start to finish in a matter of hours. Ive not wanted to put it down at all. Im not going to leave any spoilers as i dont want to ruin it for anyone else.
The story starts with a tragedy and betrayel, and from that moment on i was in the lead character's corner willing him to survive and come out on top. There have been many moments in the book that i did not know how the story would go and i just had to read on. The author did a fantastic job of building tension and suspense, to the point of my heart racing and i couldn't read on fast enough. All in all i would highly recommend this book, infact the only 'bad' thing about it is i have to wait until the next one is released to find out what happens next.

It starts with a clandestine meeting in the dark and the rain, which results in a battle where a boy loses his father. Ambition of two separate people fuels their joint desires and a race is at risk of being annihilated.

This book would most likely suit someone who likes comprehensive world stories which include the battle systems, politics and lifestyles of the people populating the world.

The book is written mostly in the first person of Bellamus from the South and Roper in the North. They each have their ambitions for battling the other. Roper an untested boy lately on the throne and Bellamus an upstart with a secret supporter who has the kings ear. They clash in battle against one another, each trying to come up with the greater strategy to beat the might of the other. Strength of numbers is not enough in this battle, cunning and planning are essential. Especially when those who should be your allies may be your greatest foe.

I enjoyed the whole structure of the story, it was engagingly written, even the battles and usually I tend to get bored with those! The politics didn't go rambling on and make me lose track of the story. The characters were well crafted and believable. I anticipate the next book and look forward to reading it.

When I read the synopsis, I couldn't wait to get into the book and devour it. Since I didn't know much about the author at the time other than the fact that he is an anthropologist. He proved his wealth of knowledge in creating peoples of various places and how their life worked. I think, in this case, that's his highest selling point. The author has really thought it through when it comes to the cultures and its peoples. The way they have their religions and belief systems is so wonderfully shown, I am eager to know more about the Unhierea in the later books. (Or at least, I hope I get to know more about them.)

The characters are fairly good. I mean, I can understand their impulses and their decisions, I love Pryce and I absolutely loved the way Gray was written. I can't say enough about Keturah and Roper, they are awesome and fun to read about. They are all well-formed characters with quirks of their own, personalities that are worth remembering even after you are done reading the book. There's one more character that I would love to know more of, I hope in the next book we get to see him more. Bellamus, he's an interesting character and somewhat hidden from us throughout the book, in that, we don't really know much about him. I guess, that's why I am more interested than normal. You know, it's typical that a character with little information is all the more interesting because of it. 

Politics, this book reminded me a lot of ASOIAF series, in that, it had a lot of politics in it. At times, it overpowered everything else. Or at least, that's how it seemed to me. I loved the fact that there were people with their own agenda who were working the scene but the thing is, with this book, it mostly didn't work well. I do not want to compare ASOIAF with this book but the thing is, with ASOIAF, I can read about the politics, it's bearable and even interesting at times but with this one, it just didn't click with me. I think part of the problem is me doing the one thing I told myself I wouldn't. Comparing it with other works with different setups. 

Another problem was the fact that I skimmed through some portions of the book, yes, I am that terrible. It wasn't that it was boring but it was more that sometimes, I just couldn't care enough about it to continue with the same amount of attention. (It's probably my problem and not the problem with the book.) 

What else? Oh, yeah! I am not sure if it's something the author intended or it's something that just is but the way the world is described in this book, it all happens in the a small portion of the world. I would love to know more about the places outside of the contained area, also, I don't really know how such vastly different races are living so near each other? It's not something I understand. (My bad.) 

Overall, I think this book is worth reading if you are into high fantasy and would love to read about politics and awesome characters. If you liked ASOIAF then you might like this.

This was a fantastic introduction to this new epic historical fantasy. Once I'd started reading I was hooked and didn't want to put this book down. The plot is compelling throughout, with some great action scenes and political intrigue. I love books that deal with political intrigue and/or military elements and this book delivered on both those things. I enjoyed seeing our main character, Roper, become a leader. At first I did wonder at how quickly he seemed to settle into the role, but I think it is partly due to the society he lives in and so it actually makes sense. Yes he is only 19 but he has been groomed for this task. There is a great cast of characters, although I did want to see more women in this book. There are women present in this book, one of which is one of my favourite characters, but this is a very male orientated cast. The characters are very well written though, and there are so many great characters that I want to see more from. Unfortunately I thought the world building was a bit lacking. I wanted to know more about the land in which these characters live and more of the history of the world. In terms of the writing, in general it was good, but perhaps a little too heavy on descriptions at times and repetitive. I have to admit to skim reading some sections of this book due to this. Overall I very much enjoyed this book and would highly recommend checking it out. I will definitely be checking out the next book in this series.