Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
Spines of the six first editions
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| Author | Michelle Paver |
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| Illustrator | Geoff Taylor (chapter headings) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fantasy |
| Publisher | Orion |
| Published | 2004–2009 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback), audiobook (CD & cassette) |
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness is a series of six historical fantasy novels by the British author Michelle Paver, her first books for children. The books chronicle the adventures of Torak, an adolescent boy from the Wolf Clan, and his friends Renn and Wolf. The main story arc revolves around Torak and his quest to defeat the Soul Eaters, a group of evil clan mages who seek out to destroy all life in the forest. Paver has called it simply "a single story: the tale of Torak's discovery of himself and his world."
Since the 30 May 2004 release of the first book in the series, Wolf Brother, the series has gained critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. Wolf Brother became a national bestseller in the United States, and the rights to the series were bought by 20th Century Fox to be made into major motion pictures. In October 2013, Nick Hirschkorn's production company Feel Films picked up the film rights, with Will Davies attached as screenwriter.
The books are set 6000 years ago in prehistoric Europe during the Stone Age. The main character, Torak, alone in the world, soon meets a lone wolf cub, Wolf, with whom he can communicate (having spent around three months in a wolf den as a baby). A girl named Renn, who is part of the Raven Clan, soon befriends them and supports them throughout the series. Torak's quest, along with Renn and Wolf, is to defeat the Soul Eaters, a group of former clan mages who have turned to evil, and who seek to control the forest. The story is told from three different third-person narratives: Torak, Renn and Wolf.
For the concluding book Ghost Hunter (2009) she won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children's writers.
Torak, the main character, begins the series as a naive, defensive, and curious boy of twelve. Over the course of the novels, he acquires several spiritual titles, including "Spirit Walker", and "Soul Eater": this last title causes numerous difficulties. He is slow to mature emotionally, but from the fourth book on he is described as taller and brave, in sharp contrast to the short, scrawny boy portrayed in the first three books. He becomes protective of Renn in the later books as they grow closer: this often annoys and frustrates her. He has the power to vanquish the Soul-Eaters and at first despises his power: he eventually grows to accept it.
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