Ghost Hunter - Michelle Paver

All good things must eventually come to an end.

Those who read my review last year of books four and five, Outcast and Oathbreaker, will already know how excited I have been about the sixth and final installment of Michelle Paver's Chronicles of Ancient Darkness.

Set 6,000 years ago, Paver's series follows the young Torak in his fight against the Soul Eaters and save the clans of the Forest, Mountains and Sea from evil. Torak is accompanied in his journey by his Raven clan friend, Renn, and his pack-brother, Wolf.

In the final novel, Torak finds himself up against the last and deadliest of the Soul Eaters, the Eagle Owl Mage, Eostra. Wolf is now a fully grown adult and has his own family and cubs with mate Darkfur. Eostra is casting a dark cloud of evil over the clans, and Torak leaves to stop the evil mage and exact revenge for his father's death. When Wolf's pack is mortally attacked, he too is forced to leave the Forest, and all three friends find themselves on a dark journey. Without giving anything away, suffice to say that Ghost Hunter is possibly the most exciting book of the series. With characters old and new, Paver expertly takes the story down new paths with Torak and his companions again forced to make some difficult choices.

It is the tangible nature of Paver's world that is so compelling. The smell of the trees, the feel of the earth, the method of making a bow, knife or skin paddle boat. These are not words pulled from thin air, but observations made by the author as she spent time with the Inuit and Sami peoples of the Arctic. Paver's storytelling is intricate, as she draws together these details while weaving a tale full of beauty and horror. Torak's plight is unimaginable. An orphan struggling to survive in a world he little understands, his mission against evil thrust upon him, Torak is forced to find his own way and confront his greatest fears.

I consider myself a spiritual person, one with a deep connection to the world around me, something I share with the clans in Paver's world. These hunter-gather tribes have a solemn reverence for and understanding of Nature, something which should appeal to the young audience that Paver is aiming for. I was never afraid that this series would disappoint, though I was very intrigued with how the series would be ended. With this wonderful tale carried expertly through six books, we are granted a finale so thrilling and heart-wrenching, that this particular reader considers well well worth the wait.

Although satisfied with the outcome of the tale, there is an inevitable sense of loss when such a beautifully crafted series comes to an end. I cannot recommend this fabulous series enough and hope that it will reach the wider audience that it deserves.