From an intro college class to a female wolf's cave near
a small stream over thirty thousand years ago,
bestselling writer W. Bruce Cameron takes us on an epic
and evocative journey back to the brutal and harsh
reality of life over 30,000 years ago in Paleolithic
times.
Weather conditions and streams of ice are forcing small
bands of humans in closer and changing contact with each
other. Some friendly and willing to trading and others
fiercely hostile.
Like viewing patches of light in the swirling mists of
time, we catch glimpses of being into different reality
experiences. From the eyes of a mother wolf, we see and
smell what is happening around us. Then, perspectives
change and Silex the hunter of the Wolf people, the
Wolfen, lets us feel his deep resolve as he fearfully,
yet courageously seeks out a wolf to pay tribute for his
tribe.
As a master storyteller, Cameron brilliantly sets a stage
that provides a panorama, yet intimate look at a time
when early human life came perilously close to potential
extinction. Cameron successfully weaves together three
main storylines from Silex, the wolves, to the
intelligent and beautiful Calli of the Kindred and her
quest for love and motherhood. Initially, I found some
parts of the initial story confusing but once
immersed in THE DOG MASTER, I was totally captivated.
The settings in THE DOG MASTER are so vividly described
and the story is filled with such realistic characters
and strong human emotion that at times it is hard to
believe this is a novel. While fiction, I really felt
that Cameron has spun a very credible possibility that
makes intuitive sense in showing how the bonding between
human and wolf served to move both the characters as well
as humankind to a totally new level, especially given the
very often hostile and dangerous existence of the times.
THE DOG MASTER is not a perfect book, but it will
definitely hold your attention.
To tell you any more about THE DOG MASTER would be unfair
to your reading experience. If you are a previous fan of
Cameron's A DOG PURPOSE, or enjoy books about dogs, THE
DOG MASTER will be a true delight. If you like
historical fiction or have not read any of Cameron's
books before you are sure to savour a unique experience
that will resonate in your mind for some time. There is
a great ending to THE DOG MASTER, yet I do hope as a
reader there may be a follow-up book!
Set against the most dramatic time in our species' history, The Dog Master tells the
story of one tribe's struggle for survival and one extraordinary man's bond with a wolf-a
friendship that changed mankind forever.
Thirty thousand years ago, ice was storming the planet. Among the species forced out of
the trees and onto the steppes by the advancing cold was modern man, who was both
predator and prey.
No stranger to the experiences that make us human-a mother's love and a father's
betrayal, tribal war and increasing famine, political intrigue and forbidden love, joy and
hope and devastating loss-our ancestors competed for scant resources in a brutal
landscape.
Mankind stood on the cold brink of extinction...but they had a unique advantage over
other species, a new technology-domesticated wolves.
Only a set of extraordinary circumstances could have transformed one of these fierce
creatures into a hunting companion, a bodyguard, a solider, and a friend. The Dog Master
by W. Bruce Cameron is an evocative glimpse of prehistory, an emotional coming of age
saga, a thrilling tale of survival against all odds, and the exciting, imaginative story of the
first dog.