Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chronicles of Ancient Darkness | |
| Author |  Michelle Paver |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Orion |
| Publication date | 2004 - |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness is a series of fantasy books by Michelle Paver. The books are the author's first children's books, and have been received well, by adults as well as younger readers.[citation needed] Set in ancient Europe, 6000 years ago in the pre-agricultural Stone Age, the books are about a boy called Torak and his struggles against the forces of evil that killed his father. Torak is left alone in the world, after his father dies, and mother having been dead since he was first born. Torak soon meets a lone wolf cub, called Wolf, and discovers he can communicate with him. They find a friend in a girl named Renn soon into the first book. The rest of the series is about Torak's quest to defeat the Soul Eaters, a group of former clan Mages who seek to control the forest.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
[edit] Torak
The main character of the book; he is a Spirit Walker and he can talk to wolves. He has close ties with the Raven Clan but originates from the secretive Wolf Clan. His mother (of the Red Deer Clan) died when he was very young, and his father was killed by a bear possessed by a demon. He discovers that he is a "spirit walker"— his spirit can move into other creatures, and when this happens he can perceive the world as they do; he becomes the animal. In Outcast, Torak discovers that he is clanless. He also gets cast out because of his Soul Eater tattoo; Torak later cuts this tattoo out, after which he spirit walks into an elk and attacks Renn by mistake.
[edit] Renn
Torak's best friend, the niece of Fin-Kedinn, the leader of the Raven Clan. She also befriends Wolf, and helps Torak many times. Renn is the daughter of Seshru the Viper mage: Renn does not care for her mother, who would have used Renn ruthlessly to further her nefarious plans. She inherited her mother's talent for mage craft, and although she does not like it, she uses it when necessary.
[edit] Wolf
Torak's pack-brother, a young wolf that helped Torak in Wolf Brother and Spirit Walker. He was the only one among his original pack to survive a flood; shortly after this flood, Torak found him. One of his favourite foods is Lingonberries, which Renn uses in Spirit Walker to lure a grown-up Wolf to her and convince wolf that she is not an enemy. Wolf has a strong pack relationship with Torak, calling him Tall Tailless. All humans are "taillesses", fire is "the Bright Beast-That-Bites-Hot", and the sky is "the Up". An arrow is "the long claw that flys". Also, the river is called the "fast wet"
[edit] Bale
Bale is of Seal Clan origin and first appears in Book 2: Spirit Walker. As 'Fa's' mother was of Seal Clan too this makes Bale a cousin to Torak. Their first encounter was a rough one as Bale, Deltan and Asrif had tried to kill Torak because he had 'tainted the sea' with his forest gear, and ripped Bale's skinboat. Bale has also lost his brother to Torak's uncle, Tenris (who was the Seal Clan Mage). Bale reappears in Book 4: Outcast where his ignorance of the forest is highly ironic of the ignorance of Torak's knowledge of the sea. Bale and Renn don't get along very well; he put her in a cave thinking she has the 'sickness' in Spirit Walker, and offends her in Outcast saying that girls shouldn't go hunting and tracking.
[edit] The Soul Eaters
The seven Soul Eaters were once clan Mages, originally called the Healers, but now they seek control of the forest. Each Soul Eater has an attribute of their clan creature, for instance The Viper Mage has the tongue of the viper. Torak's father was once a Soul Eater until they turned evil. They are Tenris, Eostra, Thiazzi, Nef, Seshru, Torak's Father (who is not evil) and one currently unknown who died in the great fire trying to reach the fire opal.
[edit] Fin-Kedinn
The leader of the Raven Clan, he knows from the outset that Torak's uncle and Torak's father were Soul Eaters. In Outcast, he fosters Torak, and we discover he was once in love with Torak's mother.
[edit] Story
[edit] Wolf Brother
Torak is twelve when his father is killed by a bear possessed by a demon. Torak must fulfil his vow to his father to journey to the Mountain of the World Spirit and ask for the Spirit's help in destroying the bear. On the way, he encounters Wolf, who becomes his guide. Torak and Wolf are captured by the Raven Clan, where he is befriended by Renn. The story narrates Torak's, Wolf's and Renn's journey to the Mountain of the World Spirit.Torak has to collect the three parts of the nanuak to get the world sprit to destroy the demon bear.
[edit] Spirit Walker
As the Moon of No Dark waxes high, the clans fall prey to a horrifying sickness, and no one knows its cause. Torak embarks on a search for a cure. His quest takes him across the sea to the mysterious islands of the Seal Clan, where he encounters the Seal Mage who promises to help him make a remedy. He also meets Bale, who later becomes his friend. Torak discovers that he is a spirit walker: his souls can move into other creatures, allowing him to perceive the world as they do. The Seal Mage is not as helpful as he at first seemed.
[edit] Soul Eater
Wolf is captured by the Soul Eaters, and taken into the Far North, where Torak and Renn follow. The Soul Eaters, in their efforts to subjugate all the clans, sacrifice hunting animals to unleash demons, and they plan to control the demons with a fire opal. Torak and Renn endure horrors to rescue Wolf and escape, but the Soul Eaters mark Torak against his will as one of them.
[edit] Outcast
After the secret of his Soul Eater mark is discovered, Torak is cast out by the clans. In hiding, he suffers from a kind of madness. While he is recovering, a Soul Eater uses her powers to draw him to her so she can control him. Renn and Torak's kinsman, Bale, together defy clan law in trying to help Torak. Torak shows the clans that destroying him will not help them in their struggle against the Soul Eaters, and Fin-Kedinn adopts him.
[edit] Oathbreaker
The fifth book's official title has been revealed and confirmed as Oathbreaker, to be published in September 2008. The story will take place in the Deep Forest: in a fan letter published on www.torak.info, Paver hinted that the cover may be green, due to the story's setting. Michelle recently revealed that something terrible will happen at the beginning of the book to someone very close to Torak. Torak then sets out for revenge which takes him to the Deep Forest where the Clans are at war.
Paver announced in a New Years Message to her fans on www.torak.info, made public in late January 2008 that she completed OATHBREAKER on 3rd January 2008. It is slated for an Early-September 2008 release.
Synopsis:
When he was outcast, Torak was the hunted one. The following spring, he becomes the hunter when he swears to avenge the killing of one of his closest friends. To fulfil his oath he must brave the hidden valleys of the Deep Forest, where the clans have reverted to the savagery of an earlier time. Here, Torak finally learns why he is the Spirit Walker and discovers the true cost of revenge.
[edit] Ghost Hunter
The title of the sixth and final book in the series has been confirmed as Ghost Hunter[citation needed] and will be published in September 2009. Paver has said that it will be set in the mountains. In TheClanCast, a podcast in which Michelle Paver answered fans questions about the series, Michelle confirmed (as has been said before on Torak.info due to a fanletter) that Eostra will be featuring "heavily" in the final book.
[edit] Possible Prequel Series
In March 2007, in a question-and-answer session conducted on the fansite www.Torak.info (known to members as The Clan), Paver announced that there may be a prequel series to the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. She also said that she has not been able to give it much thought as she is too bound up with the story of Torak, Renn and Wolf. But with the final Chronicles of Ancient Darkness book, Ghost Hunter being published in 2009, she will soon have time to mull her thoughts over.
[edit] Film Rights
In 2004, Fox 2000 purchased the rights to make feature films of the book series. The first book in the series, Wolf Brother, has been optioned from $250,000 against $1 million. The film series will be produced by Ridley Scott and Erin Upson. A script is in production, according to an answer to a fan letter on www.Torak.info.
[edit] External links
- The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness' Official homepage
- The Big Idea - How "Chronicles of Ancient Darkness" Came About
- Finding Torak's World
|
||||||||
