Foxmask: Children of the Light Isles, Book Two

I loved it. Couldn't put it down. Actually I checked out the author's other book in the series (Wolfskin) from the library a few days ago and devoured that book in a day. I already owned "Foxmask" since I had bought it at the Dallas airport (but never read it) on a trip to Texas in 2006. I was on such a high after reading "Wolfskin" that I simply had to dig in and finally read "Foxmask." I wasn't disappointed. I tried finding online a plot summary for the book before I got too involved. I couldn't find one. So I had to read the book kind of blindly. That was kind of easy since the author drops loads of hints in the book so the reader can pretty much figure out what is going to happen before it does. For example, the conversation the hermit had with Creidhe and it was clear she had identified who Thorvald's father was. This book was definitely well research and planned. It all fit together. Although I found parts of it a little slow, I think that was because I was more interested in Creidhe's tale rather than Thorvald's tale. The book really is two tales interrelated, and a wonderful follow-on to THE TALE presented in "Wolfskin." I think I would have liked the book better if Creidhe has been able to read and write. And I think I would have liked the book better if there had been at least one more glimpse of how Foxmask has ultimately fit into the culture (tribe) he has been produced to serve. But maybe that will be handled in the next book in the series if there is one. I also hope the next book will explain how Creidhe and her hubby fit back into society. 5 stars!

Like many people, I enjoy curling up next to the fire with a good book in the winter time. The weather has been more than cooperative this year with colder than usual temps. My chosen reading material was very engaging as well. This is a great continuation of Wolfskin, the story of Eyvind and the lovely Nessa focusing on the adventure and life lesson of their daughter, Creidhe. Feeling compelled, Creidhe stows away on a boat with her childhood friends, Thorvald and Sam, who set off to find Thorvald's long lost (and maybe lost for the best) father, the banished Somerled. What they find when they reach the Lost Isles is that nothing and no one is as they seem. The characters are drawn in a way that makes you care about them. They each have good qualities and bad, like real people. Watching the three young people grow and reach a better understanding of the world is a great way to pass the winter weather. There is just the right touch of mysterious magic combined with a good amount of real humans struggling to use the same skills we all have. I look forward to the next installment in this series.

Thorvald, at the age of 18 years, has just been told about his true parentage. He immediately sets on a mission to find his father, with the help of his friend, Sam, an experienced sailor. What Thorvald doesn't expect is that his other friend, Creidhe, stows away on the boat and isn't found until it's too late to turn back. So the three journey together where they come across the Long Knife People. After hearing their story, Thorvald and Sam decide to stay on and help. Thorvald also believes that Asgrim, the leader of the Long Knife People is his father, so he decides to become a great warrior to make him proud. What he doesn't realize until too late is that Asgrim had other plans for Creidhe and when those plans go awry, she is thought to be dead. Instead, Cheidhe is on the Isle of Clouds, the exact place where the Long Knife People fight year after year to find Foxmask, the seer of their enemy. Thorvald makes it his mission to train the men to become true warriors and return Foxmask to his rightful place. On his journey, Thorvald learns about power, hope, sorrow, love and the importance of family. Not being an avid fan of fantasy, I was a bit apprehensive when I first got this book, it being over 500 pages. After getting through the beginning, I couldn't put the book down. Thorvald's journey is fascinating. Juliet Marillier has a way of describing characters and places. With all the twists and turns in the novel, it was hard to predict what would happen next. I went from loving a character to hating them. This was the first book I've read by Juliet Marillier, but now I can't wait to read the rest. I'd recommend Foxmask to fantasy readers and nonreaders alike. I thought that this book was amazing and I can't wait to read more by Marillier.

I really enjoyed this book. I found it to be as well-written and as interesting as Wolfskin. Keep up the good work!

I loved the first two volumes of the Sevenwaters series. I loved Wolfskin. Of Foxmask, I have the same opinion as I did of Child of the Prophesy - very readable, with well-portrayed characters and a good plot... but it could have been pulled together better. One mildly disappointing surprise was the slip in the author's treatment of dialogue. I've never known her approach to be less than crisp and poignantly effective. In Foxmask, however, there were instances when a group of exhausted, dirty warriors - good folk, but simple - would be sitting around a fire. Suddenly, one would rise and pronounce a speech fit for podiums and marble halls. Declarations of love, too, seemed somewhat over-dramatized - which shadowed the fact that those scenes really were dramatic and un-trivial. Some of the more significant emotional moments seemed a tad rushed, while some of the inconsequential ones ran a little loose and lengthy. Nonetheless, the story is still the magical, intriguing, and utterly human tale we have come to expect from this fine writer. It is steeped in history and legend. If our world's mythology had not actually held some of these tales, it very easily could have. Nothing here feels foreign or forbidding. For those who liked Wolfskin, I will say that the story of Eyvind and Somerled is, indeed, continued and concluded to perfect satisfaction. However, the main focus is on Eyvind's and Nessa's daughter, Creidhe, who follows Margaret's son across the sea, to the Lost Isles, where Somerled might, or might not, have ended his journey. There is quite a complicated web, here, of friendship, abandonment, mislaid trust, dangerous assumptions, ambition, and love. It is impossible to predict, from the first, the pattern of the story. Like life, it takes wholly un-looked-for twists. Because of that, the books is quite difficult to put down until you've turned the last page. I do recommend it, highly.