Anya loves her sled dogs more than anything. When the dogs
are traded, she joins them on a ship across the country.
With the ferocious weather and less than kind people
around
them, her and the dogs fight for survival. As spiritual
forces join into the story, Anya discovers she is part of
a
journey she never imagined.
ARCTIC STORM by Joanne Sundell starts off with plenty of
mysteries to unravel. Between the lovable sled dogs, the
barely cared for protagonist, and the hints of
spiritual/mythological deities, it seems like a story
packed
with adventure and excitement. However, as the novel
progresses, it slowly goes downhill. The writing becomes
more and more repetitive, and the plot progresses in
incoherent and confusing directions. The initial setting
in
the beginning is nice, but as Anya's surroundings change,
the less weaker the world building becomes. The
magical/fantasy side of the story is shaky, and it makes
it
hard to keep up with what is happening to the characters.
The small budding romance between Rune and Anya seems to
come from nowhere. Most of their conversations are brushed
over, and it makes it hard to establish where in which
their
connection stems. The story almost attempts a kind of love
triangle with a boy Anya left when she went after her
dogs,
but it feels more like a love triangle with the bare
memory
of him since he only makes an appearance in the beginning.
Since this is a series, this may be something that
develops more later on, but it feels awkward in this part.
While the premise is intriguing, ARCTIC STORM by Joanne
Sundell ultimately did not work well with me. Readers
interested in unique settings and sled dogs may want to
try
it, but in the end, it wasn't for me.
The year is 1908, and Anya and the gentle Chukchi sled dogs she has raised have been traded away from their native Siberia and set on a perilous course across the Bering Sea to the gold-rich territory of Alaska—landing them in a fight for survival they didn’t start. Worlds ever brush past, both human and spirit. Good and Evil are born into each: some become master; some do not. While all of Russia shakes, the waters of the Bering Sea roll and crash, and the wilds of the Alaska frontier quake in the roar of the powerful ice storm brewing, only the Gatekeepers of the Chukchi—the pair of huskies guarding the gates of heaven—and the gods of the Vikings hear and are called to the unnatural breach on Native Earth, summoning two young guardians to the fight, relying on their human spirit to prevail in the coming war of ghosts. Thirteen-year-old Anya is a Chukchi shaman, a medium able to pass between the spirit world and the human world. She will do anything to protect her dogs. Forced onto a deadly journey to save them, she crosses paths with a sixteen-year-old seafarer, Rune Johansson. Together they will make a stand against phantom predators hiding in shadow, waiting to strike. The ice storm is coming.
Excerpt
It wasn’t the howl of the wolf or the dog. It wasn’t the mournful song of the whale or bark of the seal or great walrus. It wasn’t the music of the wind from any earthly direction. The cries came from another world—the spirit world.”
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