Frontier Wolf in Operation Read All the Sutcliff

Jun 09, 2011 Oreotalpa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, historical-fiction-recs, young-adult, books-of-my-heart, 2011

This is currently tied with The Shining Company as my favorite Sutcliff novel; both retread a lot of her favorite tropes and themes, including those present in Eagle of the Ninth. I am more ambivalent about Sutcliff than many fans, and particularly ambivalent about Eagle of the Ninth; I generally prefer her later work. Frontier Wolf comes very close to perfect for me, though.

Like all Sutcliff novels it's deeply, richly atmospheric and gorgeously written, evoking a strong and vivid (if not always This is currently tied with The Shining Company as my favorite Sutcliff novel; both retread a lot of her favorite tropes and themes, including those present in Eagle of the Ninth. I am more ambivalent about Sutcliff than many fans, and particularly ambivalent about Eagle of the Ninth; I generally prefer her later work. Frontier Wolf comes very close to perfect for me, though.

Like all Sutcliff novels it's deeply, richly atmospheric and gorgeously written, evoking a strong and vivid (if not always 100% accurate) sense of time and place. I found fewer jarring "she's really writing about 19th century Britain, isn't she?" notes in this than in some of her other books. The characters are cleanly sketched but not always emotionally engaging, although I think I grew more emotionally attached to Alexios than to any of her other protagonists. Alexios has a character arc which takes him from a crucial mistake to a resolution I can't really say anything about without spoilers--but I really love having a protagonist who is allowed to fail and fail badly, and who accepts the consequences for that failure, something which seems increasingly rare these days. I found Alexios' path incredibly satisfying.

Frontier Wolf revisits Sutcliff's pet themes about cultural assimilation and hybridization, but I think less problematically here than in some of her earlier books. I really love the deft yet vague touch with which she handles the various religions--not too much specific detail (we know so little about most of the religions), but enough to make the various faiths an ever-present aspect of the characters' lives.

It strangely manages to be a slow book--Sutcliff always takes her time with narrative and setting, and very little "action" takes place for the majority of it--yet incredibly tense, especially the last part--I can think of only one way the tension might have been kept higher, but I can see why Sutcliff didn't take that route. And oh, the heart-piercing moments of choice in it!

The one sour note for me, as always, is Sutcliff's treatment of female characters. In some ways this book does better because it essentially has none, aside from Alexios' mother, and if they're not there they can't bother me. On the other hand, his mother is one of the most problematic Sutcliff women I've come across, apparently existing only to cry, be unsupportive, and be regarded with contempt by her brother and her son. And while Justin in The Silver Branch longs for his father's approval and eventually gains resolution, Alexios does not care for his mother's approval, and in the end he does not earn back her respect because she is simply gone from the narrative. After all, why would a man need his mother's respect? He has the respect of his uncle and of the emperor, and mere mothers do not signify. (I suppose she is a change from the usual "queenly" ciphers, though.)

But overall, a fantastic book, a story fierce and bright and shining. I wish there were more like it. ...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Sineala rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, paper-books, e-books, historical-fiction, rome, young-adult, fiction, roman-britain, favorites

I am having a difficult time coming up with words to explain how much I like this book.

A later addition to Sutcliff's Dolphin Ring series, Frontier Wolf once again concerns Roman Britain in the late Empire -- 343 AD, to be precise. The ringbearer this time is one Alexios Flavius Aquila, sent -- on account of a disastrous military mistake -- to the north of Britain to command the Frontier Wolves, a bunch of disreputable scouts that no one else wants, and furthermore, if they don't like Alexios, h I am having a difficult time coming up with words to explain how much I like this book.

A later addition to Sutcliff's Dolphin Ring series, Frontier Wolf once again concerns Roman Britain in the late Empire -- 343 AD, to be precise. The ringbearer this time is one Alexios Flavius Aquila, sent -- on account of a disastrous military mistake -- to the north of Britain to command the Frontier Wolves, a bunch of disreputable scouts that no one else wants, and furthermore, if they don't like Alexios, he probably isn't going to be surviving it.

The plot is the story of a year or so of Alexios' life with the Frontier Wolves, the camaraderie and friendships he forges with his own men as well as the local British tribespeople, and his growth as a commander. I suspect that sentence may give you the wrong impression (though certainly a lot of the first half is leisurely), because this is, really, a very exciting book, and when things happen they happen in a big way. Because this is also the story of Rome's retreat from the north, and when I say "retreat" I mean "half the book is spent in a terrified run south through the snow and sleet, being chased by three different tribes, with Alexios and his Frontier Wolves trying to avoid ambushes and trying to keep the bodies of the dead atop their horses so they can keep running and bring the corpses with them." There are battles, battles, and more battles. Don't get too attached to any of the characters -- or rather, do, but you're going to be sad. (The ending is still happy, though! At least in my opinion.)

The characters are wonderful (I think I like Alexios better than I liked Marcus, in some ways, and let's not even go into my feelings for Hilarion; my feelings about other characters would be too spoilery to detail here), the setting is epic, Sutcliff's usual lush and vivid descriptions are here in full force, and the whole thing is incredibly tightly plotted. The first time I read this I got about halfway through -- to the scene where the Praepositus' horse goes missing -- fully intending to read to the end of the chapter and stop. And at that point I just couldn't put the book down, because the plot ramps up and does not stop and you just have to keep reading until the characters are safe. I did, anyway. Alexios has to make hard, awful, agonizing decisions, and the story does not flinch away from that -- and yet it's not a pit of grimdark angst.

If there's anything wrong with it, it's that Sutcliff here has solved the problem of how to treat female characters by pretty much not having any, once again. But, hey, it is what it is, I guess.

I feel like I fail at writing reviews for books I really, really, adore, but I want to let you, Internet, know that this is a book I love, and if I can ever think of a better way to express this I will edit this review and say so. I loved this book enough that after I got the e-book I went and bought myself a used hardcover, just to have one to cuddle. Sure, it's a YA adventure book about soldiers in Roman Britain, about friendship and personal growth, and probably there are a lot of books with those themes (okay, maybe not a lot set in Roman Britain)... but this one's very, very, very solid.

Recommended. If you can find a copy, you owe it to yourself to read this. ...more

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Feb 28, 2010 Nicky rated it it was amazing

Shelves: children-s-and-ya, historical-fiction-alternatehistory

It looks like Frontier Wolf has been reprinted -- which is very good, as I never knew it existed when I was younger. Rosemary Sutcliff's work is wonderful, and Frontier Wolf is no exception: it feels real, rich with historical details and also with touches of character and interaction that ring extremely true. The small jerk of Alexios' shoulders, for example, and calm Lucius -- calm even to the last -- and the last conversation with Hilarion.

I didn't expect to love this as much -- it felt famil ...more

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May 28, 2012 Sea rated it it was amazing

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Jun 04, 2014 Stephen rated it it was amazing

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