The Wolf Banner is the second book by author Paula Lofting. Set in a period I knew little about before diving in –the decade or two leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066, or the Norman Conquest — this book along with its forerunner, Sons of the Wolf, tells the stories of several families of Englalond (England) embroiled in the age-old struggle for land, power, and family honor leading up to the end of English rule and the coming of the Normans.
Sons of the Wolf focuses primarily on the family of a thegn (a retainer of the king ranking below an ealdorman, what would eventually come to be known as an earl) of Edward. Wulfhere, the thegn, as he struggles to balance family life with the duties he owes the king, risking much and making many mistakes along the way. These mistakes impact not only the economic future of his family, but also its relational well-being. His children are growing, and as they do, each makes his or her own choices which bring a parallel future ramification. These choices build the plot, propelling the story alongside the historical events.
The Wolf Banner picks up where Sons left off. The storylines of Wulfhere, his wife, and their children is continued, but we also meet new characters whose stories move the action to other parts of England and Wales, revealing the complexities of the politics of this era through the shifting of power and control, and the subterfuge and greed that creates it.
Lofting’s first book was good, but like most second novels, The Wolf Banner shows a maturing of the author’s writing. The plot is more complex, the pace is faster, the characters deeper and more nuanced. Among these characters, there are the basest of military men, politicians with single-focus, fathers who use their children solely to meet their selfish ends, laid-back fathers who shrug their shoulders and trust their children to wyrd, flawed people, guilt-ridden people, boys who want to be men yet don’t know how, fickle and flighty women, emotionally strong women who carry those around them, mothers who fail their children, mothers who do what they can for their children with little success and few resources… all in all we see a vast canvas of personalities and maturities, some who gain ground and others who lose it. I often say that a strongly developed character can carry any book. Had there been little to no plot in this book (and there was), I still would have enjoyed it for the sake of the individuals filling the pages alone.
The pace of the book is good. The first 40% or so continues in a similar cadence to the first book. Around this point the reader is left with some closure regarding many of the earlier events, and this was satisfactory. But then… look out. The pace picks up, and the book turns into a page-turner with non-stop action and adventure. Lofting’s battle scenes are magnificent, leaving little to the imagination. Readers who are a bit squeamish may want to skim through these as the battle gore is somewhat graphic at times. Yet even in the violence we find an illustration, and Thegn Wulfhere capitalizes on this as he implores a group of young men on the eve of battle not rest on false bravado or to glory in the upcoming death-giving and gore. He relates the terror of battle in full color so they proceed with eyes wide open, harnessing their energy to survive rather than dissipate their energy through ignorant bravery as untried young men are wont to do.
Lovers of historical fiction who enjoy thoroughly drawn characters along with their action and adventure will not be disappointed by this book. I enjoyed the story, but even more so did I enjoy exploring the thoughts and motivations of the characters behind it.
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