Spirit Walker by Michelle Paver – Book Review

The Second Book in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness Series

Dec 8, 2009
Steve Williams

Spirit Walker by Michelle Paver - Orion Publishing

Written by Michelle Paver, Spirit Walker is the second book in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series. Can Torak save the Open Forest from a new and terrible disease?

Spirit Walker by Michelle Paver is the second novel of six in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series. A year on from Torak’s father’s death at the hands of a demonic bear, Torak now pursues the mage who sent the creature. Meanwhile, a great sickness has swept through the forest clans, compelling Torak to venture beyond the Open Forest to the strange ways of the ocean clans. Could it be that the two are connected?

How Can Torak Talk to Wolf? Spirit Walker Answers this Question

Integral to the development of the Chronicle’s of Ancient Darkness series is the plot device of the spirit walker. In Michelle Paver’s ancient world, there are a rare few with the ability to shift a part of their soul into another creature. In Wolf Brother, following the darkest night of Torak’s life when his father was killed, Torak inadvertently “walked” within a wolf, leaving the print of the wolf’s soul forever etched on his own.

This gift explains Torak’s ability to talk to Wolf, and also begins to explain why Torak’s father kept him apart from the other clans. If word had spread of Torak’s unusual ability, the as yet unseen evil of the mysterious Soul-Eaters would have found Torak many moons ago. The depth of symbolism represented in Spirit Walker is a rare treat, and one that delights.

Michelle Paver Introduces New Friends and Enemies in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness Series

In Spirit Walker, author Michelle Paver takes time to expand the reader’s knowledge of the various clans in her ancient world, and adds to the detail of her landscapes, from the nurturing forest to the unforgiving ocean, giving more to the backdrop of the world she created in previous installment Wolf Brother.

This not only advances the faultless detail author Michelle Paver uses as the foundation of her Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series, but allows Paver to introduce further nuance to her series in Spirit Walker, adding depth to characters such as Fin-Keddin, the leader of the Raven Clan, to introducing the Seal Mage and the darkness that hides behind his seemingly placid facade.

Also worthy of note is Michelle Paver’s ability to bring to life the relationship between Torak and Wolf that was started in the previous installment to the series, Wolf Brother. The pair’s deep bond serves as the backbone to the story, and when Paver separates them in Spirit Walker, as she will do often throughout the Chronicle’s of Ancient Darkness series, it is keenly felt by the reader.

It is for the best that this happen however, as it gives the author time to develop the character of Renn, one of Torak’s few friends among the Raven Clan, and to see her, as a budding mage and a girl of formidable skill, come into her own as she and Wolf attempt to help Torak when he is embroiled in the Seal Mage’s plans.

Spirit Walker is a Triumphant Follow-up to Wolf Brother

Where Wolf Brother was a tentative but action packed start to the series, Spirit Walker picks up the saga of Torak’s life with effortless control and elevates it beyond all expectation. Paver is fully in command of her story, and as she weaves a great many strands of plot together, binding them with universal themes of trust, betrayal and friendship, she snares the reader in a web of ancient mystery and intrigue.