Wolf & Iron

This is a book that I enjoy reading again and again, about a man's journey across the country with the wolf who has adopted him as a packmate. Don't get me wrong, there are some flaws. One of the best things about this book is the detail it goes into concerning survival in a post-apocalyptic world. But, it seems to have a lack of balance concerning these details. Sometimes it goes overboard, giving huge amounts of information about things that have nothing to do with the situation. The amount of knowledge that Jeebee happens to have is a bit extreme -- every time he needs to know something in order to survive, it's an amazing coincidence that he just so happened to learn about it, before. Yet, at the same time, it completely ignores other details that I felt were vital to the story. For example, at one point Jeebee is attacked by a bear. He figures out how to use the nearby river's freezing water to help the massive bruising, he takes antibiotics, makes a crutch out of a tree branch, gets Wolf to bring him food, all these things to survive the ordeal, and yet there is no mention of the need to stitch the wounds closed! His scalp was hanging in front of his eyes, but after he pushes it back in place, there's no mention of it again, not even to describe the huge scar it must have left. No timeframe is given, so that you don't really know when the story takes place. There's no mention of television, or computers, or music, or anything modern that the characters might be missing (aside from electricity and gas). And, it skims over things that I would have found interesting, such as the romance between Jeebee and Merry, and also how she survived, how she dealt with the lack of feminine products, birth control, etc. Beyond that, it is an excellent story. It covers a lot of ground, goes into a lot of detail about survival. I wish there was a sequel, to tell the further adventures of Jeebee, Merry, and Wolf!

I read this book for the first time about 10 years ago. I have read it twice more since. It is simply one of the most enjoyable reads I have ever had. I have been hoping that Gordon comes back to these warm, great characters of Jeebe & Wolf and gives us a second book. It is just a great book. If you share my view of this try to find a copy of Sterling E. Laniers "Hiero's Journey" another great tale of comraderie between a man and his best friend who isn't quite human...Gordon Dickson's a great writer.

This was the first Gordon Dickson book I ever read, and it has made me a fan. The book traces a man on a trek across country after a collapse of civilization. In the process, he makes friends with a tamed wolf, and meets up with a man and his daughter who saw the disaster coming and prepared for it by establishing a trade route. They travel a large loop through the mid-section of the country in a wagon, buying, selling and trading with the small pockets of surviving humanity. It is a really thick book, but our whole family read it and all of us loved it!

Well reading the other reviews you can see that the book is an enjoyable one to say the least. I agree that Jeebee's realationship with Merry could have been more polished. On the other hand I still marvel at Mr. Dickensons ability to explore the smallest idea and make it iteresting. I have never in my life wondered at how to make a common nail and even if I did where I would get the materials to do so.

This was the best book I've read in a long time. It was full of suspense and interesting characters. It was so good I couldn't put it down. I read it all in one sitting, and have read it 4 times since I purchased it.