Faelan the Wolf 3: Faelan the Fearless product reviews

Miss Twelve has had a birthday since she helped me review the first two books in the Faelan the Wolf series, but she has not lost her enthusiasm for the trilogy. She was very happy to help once again; far from growing out of the stories, she has assured me that she will be rereading them from the start now that she has finished them all. When I started reading Faelan the Fearless, I felt the same way as she did. There were clues in the first two books as to how the ending would pan out, but I still needed to read to the very end to check that I was right. As it happens, I had guessed only part of the ending. There were some surprises that neither of us had anticipated.

Once again, since I was busy, I gave her the book to read first on the understanding that she would not share her notes with me or discuss the storyline until I too had read to the end and jotted down my own impressions. Despite this arrangement, we discovered that, when we eventually compared notes, our reactions were almost identical. This was useful to know as we formed our opinions quite independently of each other. Miss Twelve's older brother has since requested that she give him the books to read too as he is so intrigued by our review draft. Luckily, we did not reveal the ending!

It was reassuring that many of the loose ends from the previous books were revisited. In the Prologue, Granny reminds Faelan of the prophecies that will shape his future. This is an important link to the earlier plot development. Characters alluded to in the first two books suddenly arrive in person to play out their parts in the unfolding story, and others like Flora the Skunk return to contribute to the conclusion of Faelan's narrative.

The style is highly accessible, not only to advanced readers like Miss Twelve, but also to younger children who might come across the book. There are some charming touches of humour, as when Faelan changes two of the words in the song he sings to energise the chickens. Instead of "mon ami, Pierrot" he sings "mon amie, Poulet". ("Pierrot" is a man's name and "ami" is a male friend; "amie" is a female friend and "poulet" is French for chicken.) In the context Avian, who already knows the original song, would find this extremely funny. And the very idea of a skunk being able to scuttle the opposition in a battle simply by aiming her incredible scent glands at the enemy is even funnier.

The same themes of individuality and equity recur in this book, following their inclusion in Parts 1 and 2 of the series. Tolerance, respect, and mutual support are all endorsed by the new pack leader with the full support of Faelan and his friends. The right of creatures like skunks and chickens to co-exist with carnivores who would in a different world be their natural predators is embedded in the new laws. Wolves who are into the performing and visual arts, and those who are vegetarian or vegan, are encouraged to pursue their own choices. It is not giving too much of the plot away to declare that it all ends "happily ever after". Bring on the movie!