Who’s Afraid of The Big Bad Wolf?
The first thing that came to my mind when I read the title of C.S. Lakin’s new fantasy, was the little ditty sung by those unsuspecting pigs! Wolves are often featured in stories and fairy tales — Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs — just to name two. And what was the fate of these big, bad wolves: a woodsman kills the first and the second comes to a grisly end in a boiling pot set in the fireplace. Fairy tales can be a little grisly, in fact I think many have been banned because of the fear of upsetting youthful readers. One expert suggests that tales of marauding wolves stemmed from a real threat from wolves to chickens, livestock and small children.
And of course, wolves are depicted in the Bible as savage (Acts 20:29), ravenous (Gen. 49:27), seeking to destroy (Jer. 5:6). They are used metaphorically for false teachers and prophets, dishonest public officials and selfish religious leaders.
According to Wikipedia, wolves have had a PR change in recent years. Films such as Shrek and Hoodwinked have portrayed wolves in a more positive light. So it is with the character of Ruyah in C.S. Lakin’s The Wolf of Tebron.
I was intrigued with Ruyah from the start. Like the lion, Aslan, in C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books, Ruyah is definitely a wild animal. Ruyah is all wolf. He hunts for pheasants and rabbits. He gets the urge to howl at the moon. But Ruyah is something much more. Filled with the wisdom imparted by other wolves, Ruyah serves as Joran’s guide and protector. He is gentle and loving with Joran. Yet his fierceness is displayed when fighting for Joran’s life and soul. This silver-haired majestic, monster of a wolf is a force to be reckoned with. And he is a wonderful character. Thank you Ms. Lakin for creating him.
All Joran wanted was to live a peaceful life in his forested village of Tebron. But when his wife, Charris, is captured by the Moon in a whisk of magic, he must go on a grueling journey to the four corners of the world to rescue her. On his way, he befriends a wolf named Ruyah who becomes a trusted companion while he solves riddles and eventually battles the Moon to save his wife.
Tomorrow, my thoughts on the novel as a whole.
Check out other bloggers’ thoughts on The Wolf of Tebron:
Sally Apokedak
Amy Bissell
Red Bissell
Jennifer Bogart
Thomas Clayton Booher
Keanan Brand
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Katie Hart
Bruce Hennigan
Christopher Hopper
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Allen McGraw
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Donita K. Paul
SarahFlan
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
James Somers
Donna Swanson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Nicole White
Elizabeth Williams
Dave Wilson
(I received The Wolf of Tebron from the publisher in return for an honest review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.)
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