An Apprentice to Elves (Iskryne, #3)

by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette

Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear return with the third book in their Iskryne trilogy, An Apprentice to Elves. The trilogy began with A Companion to Wolves, and continued in The Tempering of Men. This novel picks up the story of Alfgyfa, a young woman who has been raised in the Wolfhall by her father Isolfr, who is the human leader of the queen-wolf Viridechtis' pack, and was the protagonist of the first book. The warrior culture of Iskryne forbids many things to women--and most especially it forbids them bonding to one of the giant telepathic trellwolves. But as her father was no ordinary boy, Alfgyfa is no ordinary girl. Her father has long planned to send his daughter to Tin, a matriarch among the elves who live nearby, to be both apprentice and ambassador, and now she is of age to go.

• ISBN10: 1429948124
• ISBN13: 9781429948128
• Publish Date: 13 October 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Tor Books
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Lianne]

I was approved an ARC of this book by the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review was originally posted at eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2015/10/20/review-an-apprentice-of-elves/

The worldbuilding of this novel was definitely a highlight whilst reading, it was very interesting and rich with cultural detail, the groups’ way of living, their social structure, etc. I can see a lot of Viking and Nordic influences in the society, especially with the naming system. As the book blurb mentions, the culture forbits women to bond with wolves which main character Alfgyfa quells about but it doesn’t stop her from pursuing her desire to be amongst the wolves. She’s pretty tenacious and refuses to sit back and be denied something she wants.

Having said that, it was a rather slow and dry experience for me to read. I was almost halfway through the novel and I still couldn’t really see where the plot was heading. Yes, there was talk of war, but I didn’t feel the pressing nature of the conflict, no sense that danger was right around the corner and that everyone and everything was going to be affected by it. I felt there was too much show and not enough tell–or dialogue in the first half–to really get a sense of the characters and be compelled by their situation.

Overall, An Apprentice to Elves was an interesting if rather slow read. I don’t know if it would have helped to have read the first two novels; I didn’t feel completely lost reading it as the narrative did set up a very good explanation to Alfgyfa’s world and the people she is surrounded with. I felt it could’ve used more immediate tension to keep my attention and empathy on the story and the characters’ plights, but the worldbuilding was fantastic and definitely a highlight.