Book Review -- The Sight

Title: The Sight
Author: David Clement-Davies
Genre: YA fiction, beast fable
Pages: Paperback, 554'
Published: 2002
Opening lines: "In the beginning was a castle high on a craggy precipice. The air around it was so cold that it seemed the sky itself would crack like ice."

"In the shadow of an abandoned castle, a wolf pack seeks shelter. the she-wolf 's pups will not be able to survive the harsh Transylvanian winter. But something more threatening than the winter wind stalks the pack -- a long wolf, Morgra, possessed of a mysterious and terrifying power known as the Sight. And with her travels a raven, a bird that feeds on the dead.

"Morgra's arts show her that one of the pups born beneath the castle holds a key to the power even stronger than her own -- the power that could give her control of this world and the next. but the pack she hints is brave and loving. They will do anything to protect their own, even if it means setting in motion a battle that will involve all of nature, including the creature wolves fear the most -- Man."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts: I picked up this book because I love wolves. It caught my attention several times, but I never bothered to buy it. However, when I found it at the library, I jumped at the opportunity! Even though I had an idea it dealt with wolves, I was not ready for a beast fable. It reminds me of Watership Down.

The storytelling in this book was intricate and simply beautiful. Clement-Davies has a way with words and is able to craft a beautiful world that is very three-dimensional and easy to get into. Even though it follows wolves as the central characters, I felt a kinship and closeness with them that is sometimes is hard to find in books following humans. He pulls Christian myth/themes very heavily into the book. But, even with that, it is a very, very dark story. It permeates the whole book and sets the mood. To me, it was effective.

That being said, I found this book rather hard to get into. At several points, I would force myself to read "just one more page." I found it interesting that the library shelves this book with adult sci-fi while it is actually geared toward the younger reader (12+). At that age, I would have had a hard time not putting this book down. It is extremely dense. Usually it takes me a week or less to read a book, and I found myself struggling through for 2 weeks! I enjoy reads that make you think and engage the reader, but this book just made me feel bogged down. While the majority of the book is a build up to the final conflict, I wondered if he could have done it in a less wordy/dense way. It wasn't until the last 20 pages that I felt the pace actually picked up. Yes, the final conflict will invariably bring action, there needs to be a little more interest in a book.

Aside from my feelings of being bogged down, my biggest issues is the author's lack of research into real wolves. The second breeding pair in the pack is an absolutely no-no. Also, the nearness of rival packs without the main pack knowing is unbelievable. And a whole pack will rear pups. It could have taken him a few minutes to skim a book and get this easily accessed information. Even though the story is beautifully crafted, this actually undermines it.

Rating: ☆ ☆
Currently: Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Current Pages: 11224
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