Sometimes it’s Great Reading Just for Fun

White Fang and Call of the Wild by Jack London were the first two books I read in less than a week that weren’t required for a book report or school project.

Since then—the summer between my sixth and seventh grades—I have always loved stories about courageous dogs and wolves.

So when I spotted Promise of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst on display at the local Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, I couldn’t resist.

Despite all of the reading I do on a daily basis for work, I read the prologue nearly through right there in the store for fun.

It reaches back 40,000 years ago to tell the story of Lydda, a young wolf—nearly grown, so weak and hungry that she went off into the forest to find the biggest elk that she could. Her plan was to challenge it to a fight to the death.

“Weak as she was, she knew it would be her death,” Hearst writes.

But instead, Lydda encounters a young human—nearly grown and himself weak and hungry.

After a cautious gaze and a subsequent warm embrace, the two set out on a hunt together. They kill. And they can both return to their families with enough meat to survive a little while longer.

I had never heard of this interesting work of fiction or its author, but by the time I started the prologue, I was hooked.

So I turned over the hardback, large print edition to read the back cover—I never read the back first because I only buy books that I would purchase for nearly any price.

I was pleasantly surprised—their price: $17.95, but at Ollie’s: $2.99.

I have now finished the prologue and the first chapter and I am enjoying this.

The first chapter is set 14,000 years. It tells the story of Kaala, the most determined pup of an illegitimate, mixed-blood litter that was spared, in part, because she showed her willingness to fight the leader of her pack for her life. And Hearst gives Kaala an interesting first-person voice.

The publisher’s press release compares the book to The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel and Watership Down by Richard Adams.

After reading the prologue and the first chapter, I could only make loose comparisons to either. But if the story develops in either vein I think I would be more than satisfied because I liked both.

Based on Hearst’s descriptive scenery that mentally put me right out there in the cold with Lydda and on the battlefield with Kaala, however, I was more reminded of Jack London’s style.

If you’re not a big fan London or animal-based wilderness tales, this may not hold your attention. But if you are, Hearst—in the first 30 pages of Promise of the Wolves Hearst—has tapped a vein that runs deep into the style of both White Fang and Call of the Wild, two of my favorite books.

It’s not about history, poetry, nationalism or journalism, which are the subjects I normally immerse myself in for growth and personal development. But sometimes, it’s just great to read for reading’s sake.

And if anyone is interested in an Aberdeen Patch book of the month club, send me an email or leave a comment. If there’s any interest perhaps this could be the first piece we read together just for fun and if not maybe you may have a suggestion for some other book.