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Synopsis

Ghost Hunter: Book 6 Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver

As winter approaches and Souls' Night draws near, the Eagle Owl Mage holds the clans in the grip of terror. To fulfill his destiny, Torak must seek his lair in the Mountain of Ghosts. He must defy demons and tokoroths, and find his way through the Gorge of the Hidden People. Wolf must overcome terrible grief. Renn must make an agonizing decision. And in the final battle against the Soul-Eater, Torak must face the most heart-rending choice of all.

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Reviews

groundbreaking Stone Age saga CHILDREN'S BOOKSELLER A stunning 6th and final episode, brings the bestselling 'The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, which began so dramatically with Wolf Brother to a close. Now it is Torak's last adventure; he must travel up into the mountains and find the Mountain of Ghosts...Along with Wolf and Renn, Torak faces chilling danger on their journey as they fulfil their destiny. -- Julia Eccleshare LOVEREADING4KIDS If I could give this series a gold medal, a shiny star and a packet of jelly tots, and Michelle Paver her heart's desire, I would. Not a word disappoints. You're transported into Torak's hunter-gatherer world, a world that existed more than six thousand years ago, and there you stay until the very last page. There's no zeitgeist about it; no fashionable tag, no hooks but the story and the characters and the writing, and they are so much more than enough. THEBOOKBAG It's ultimately a story of light vanquishing dark - the oldest of stories befitting the oldest of settings. It's not ambiguous or difficult. We don't need to decide whose side we're on - there's never any doubt. We simply revel in the heroism, fall in love with Wolf, and absorb ourselves completely into an utterly credible world until suddenly, it's all over and we look up blinking, wondering what's been happening while we were away somewhere else entirely. I cried like a baby at the end. THE BOOKBAG (continued) These books will have a place on the library shelves for years to come, and I can't recommend them highly enough. They'll be ready to read them at nine or ten and they'll be as happy to read them at fourteen or fifteen - or at forty-four, if they're like me. BOOKBAG (cont) For parents and grandparents searching for something to replace Harry Potter, Michelle Paver's Chronicles of Ancient Darkness have been a godsend. Thrilling, beautifully written, strongly characterised and featuring a magical prehistoric world, they have now sold one million copies in this country without any of the advertising and film promotions that other leading children's books have been given - though Ian McKellen, always shrewd, has done the magnificent audiobooks. -- Amanda Craig
THE TIMES
This is The Dangerous Book for Boys, but with imagination, style and plot... The detail with which Torak's world and its clans - tattooed with the marks of their animal spirit guides: Raven, Seal, Horse, Deer and more - is drawn is part of what will make these books a pleasure for generations to come. -- Amanda Craig
THE TIMES
When Torak is not running for his life, his youth is full of joy, humour, loyalty and love, not only between people but also between people and animals. It's this that makes the moral choices and horrors that he, Renn and their pack brother Wolf face mean something in a young world... To have maintained a consistent quality of writing, storytelling and suspense over six books without missing a beat is extraordinary, though children will want only to race to the end. -- Amanda Craig
THE TIMES
The finale is a climax as intense as Tolkien's fall of Mordor, with demonic dogs, fiendish one-time children, and Soul-Eaters summoned from beyond the grave...Best of all, Paver succeeds in creating a conclusion with no mawkishness when she resolves the relationship between Torak and Renn and, of course, Wolf. -- Christina Hardyment THE
INDEPENDENT
It has everything one could ask for from a finale. Suspense, exhilaration and truly nail-biting action will keep fans of this prehistoric drama on the edge of their seats throughout. -- John Lloyd, Waterstone's Bath WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY This is the best book I have ever read! The storyline is gripping from the first word, and Michelle tied up all the ends beautifully! This was a deeply satisfying book, and I can't wait until Michelle's next series! -- Yuri, Age 12 Ghost Hunter is the final book in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, and like those before, it is a brilliantly written story full of twists and turns. Eostra, the final Soul Eater, is terrorising the clans,and Torak knows he must face her before it is too late.But can he bring himself to leave behind all he holds dearand make a journey to certain death?This was a really good book. I recommend it highly to all readers,both those who have read previous books in the series and those who haven't -- Aaron FIRST NEWS The treat of the year for me was GHOST HUNTER... the final volume in Michelle Paver's series about a boy living in a hunter-gatherer society. He deals with the terrors of the underworld as well as the present dangers of survival, but has a wolf on his side. Meticulously researched, the scholarship is lightly worn. -- Melanie McDonagh EVENING STANDARD

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About The Author

Born in Malawi to a Belgian mother and a father who ran the tiny 'Nyasaland Times', Michelle Paver moved to the UK when she was three. She grew up in Wimbledon and, following a Biochemistry Degree from Oxford, she became a partner in a City law firm. Eventually, she gave up her career in law to follow her long-held dream of becoming a writer. Successfully published as an adult author of historical fiction, CHRONICLES OF ANCIENT DARKNESS are her first - brilliant - books for children. 

About Michelle Paver and The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness:
- She wrote her first story on her mother’s typewriter at the age of 5. (Her mother still has it!)
- She has always been fascinated by prehistoric times and skinned a dead rabbit at the age of 10. She ditched of her bed and slept on her bedroom floor for 3 years as a child.
- She dug up the lawn of her parents’ house and planted medicinal plants which she tried out on her sister.
- She skipped lectures in biochemistry at Oxford University to write.
- The Chronicles Of Ancient Darkness Series has been universally popular. The series is made up of Wolf Brother (2004) Spirit Walker (2005), Soul Eater (2006) and Outcast (2007) so far. There will be 6 books in the series.
- The books have been translated into 36 languages.
- Ridley Scott has bought the film rights and a script is being worked on currently.
- She gave up a successful career as a Partner in a City Law Firm in 1999 to write full time.
- She has travelled to inaccessible and unusual places researching her books including the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania, Finland and Greenland and Northern Canada.
- On her travels, she has had some unforgettable, unique and heart-stopping experiences including learning the traditional skills of the Inuit people and coming face-to-face with wild polar bears through the observation platform grille of a tundra buggy. She has swum with killer whales, gone husky-sledding and faked a wolf kill to attract ravens.
- She has eaten some very unusual food in the name of research, including, raw whale blubber, fresh seal liver (still warm from when it was killed), fish eyes, seal flippers (these are put under rocks and left for 3 months after which time they are considered a delicacy), all sorts of wild berries, tree bark and sap.
- The only thing she has ever refused to eat was the seal eyes, though these are considered a delicacy by the Inuit and eaten by the grannies! There is absolutely no wastage when these animals are killed and every bit of them is used for food or materials so don’t be put off by any perception of cruelty.
- She has many artefacts from her travels including reindeer skin gloves and a necklace made of bear claws and teeth.

 

Titles in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series:

1. Wolf Brother

2. Spirit Walker

3. Soul-eater

4. Outcast

5. Oathbreaker

6. Ghost Hunter

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