Secrets of the Wolves (Wolf Chronicles)

The second mesmerizing installment in The Wolf Chronicles finds Kaala struggling with the consequences of forming the first mixed wolf-human pack.

• Fantastical plot based on science: Rich with mythology and spiritual lore, The Wolf Chronicles series began 14,000 years ago, but at the heart of the story is a scientific theory that is alive today: co-evolution, the idea that it was wolves, and later dogs, that made humans the dominant species on the planet by teaching us to hunt cooperatively, hold territories, and form complex societies. One young wolf, Kaala, is charged with watching over humans and keeping them connected with nature. She must lead a group of wolves to live amongst the humans for a year—without anyone winding up dead. But when the prey diminishes, inevitable tensions between the species arise.

• Raves from readers and reviews: Dorothy Hearst’s first Wolf Chronicle installment was an auspicious debut. The critics weighed in, calling Promise of the Wolves and Hearst’s writing: “Enchanting,” “Tolkien-esque,” “a natural talent for writing action and setting scenes,” “beguiling,” “dazzling,” and more. The reader reviews for this author are equally passionate, as one reader put it: “Humans can learn a great lesson from the wolf pack. This book is a tribute to them.…I wanted to read it very slowly and did not want it to end.”

"In the second of The Wolf Chronicles, set 14,000 years ago, the relationship between a pack of wolves and a tribe of primitive humans continues to evolve. Under the edict of the secretive Greatwolves (who rule Wide Valley), young wolf Kaala and her chosen human TaLi — with the help of the irreverent raven Tlitoo — must prove that humans and wolves can cooperate by keeping peace between them for one year, under pain of death for all in the valley. Factions among both the different wolfpacks and the Greatwolves themselves put the experiment at risk. Meanwhile, TaLi's tribe is tempted to reject their traditional harmony with nature and her intended shamanistic role as krianan. Despite the heavy-handed supernatural elements and environmental message, Hearst (Promise of the Wolves) writes convincingly and engagingly of lupine behavior, and the interactions among wolves and wolfpacks never fail to captivate. Though the backstory is well integrated with the ongoing saga, the trilogy's middle installment includes much tortuous interspecies mysticism devoted to Kaala and TaLi's destined roles, while leaving their immediate situation irritatingly unresolved. (Aug.)" Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Years of research into the world of wolves combines with mythical tale-telling to present a fantastical adventure set in a world filled with lore. The rules of the Wide Valley wolves were clear: Never consort with humans; never kill a human unprovoked; never allow a mixed-blood wolf to live. But they were rules destined to be broken.

Now, in the second riveting installment of The Wolf Chronicles the stakes are higher than ever. Young Kaala of the Swift River pack shattered the rules of the valley and exposed the lies hidden beneath them. Now, responsibility for the consequences rests with her. Along with her young packmates and the humans they have befriended, she must find a way for the wolves and humans of the Wide Valley to live in harmony. If they succeed, Kaala will finally prove herself worthy of her pack. But if she fails, the Greatwolves who rule wolf-kind will kill every wolf and human in the valley.

Told from the wolf s point-of-view and set 14,000 years ago in a time when the cultures of wolves and humans were not so different, Secrets of the Wolves transports us to a world where instincts are our only compass and cooperation between potential enemies could mean the difference between life and death.

The second installment in The Wolf Chronicles finds Kaala struggling with the consequences of forming the first mixed wolf-human pack.