Chronicles of Ancient Darkness

Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
Spines of the six first editions
AuthorMichelle Paver
IllustratorGeoff Taylor (chapter headings)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreHistorical
PublisherOrion
Published2004–2009, 2020–2022
Media typePrint (hardcover & paperback), audiobook (CD & cassette)
No. of books9

Chronicles of Ancient Darkness is a series of historical fantasy novels by the British author Michelle Paver and her first books for children.[1] The books chronicle the adventures of Torak, an adolescent boy, and his friends Renn and Wolf. The main story arc revolves around Torak and his quest to defeat the Soul Eaters, a group of power hungry 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."[1]

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.[2]

The books are set 6000 years ago in prehistoric Europe during the Stone Age. The main character, Torak, alone in the world, meets a lone, scared 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, 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.[3] The story is told primarily from three different third-person narratives: Torak, Renn and Wolf. Later books introduce an additional third-person narrative from the perspective of Dark.

For the book Ghost Hunter (2009) she won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a book award judged by a panel of British children's writers.[4][5]

In 2019, Paver announced that she would be returning to the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness with three further books, set after the end of the main series, once again following Torak, Renn and Wolf. The titles of the books were announced as: Viper's Daughter, Skin Taker and Wolfbane.

  1. ^ a b "An Interview With Michelle Paver". The New York Times Sunday Book Review. 15 July 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  2. ^ Page, Benedicte (8 October 2013). "Hirschkorn buys film rights to Paver's 'Chronicles'". The Bookseller. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Michelle Paver". Authors: Interviews. BookBrowse. n.d. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference prize2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference relaunch was invoked but never defined (see the help page).