Los ejércitos de Carlomagno acampan en Ginebra, dispuestos a sumar Italia a la larga lista de conquistas de su señor. Al otro lado de los Alpes, las fuerzas mercenarias del corrupto rey Desiderius vigilan los pasos de montaña como gatos impacientes agazapados frente a la ratonera. Entre ambos bandos se abre una salvaje e inhóspita tierra en la que los cambiaformas moran sin turbación, protegidos por su líder Maeniel y su esposa Regeane. Pero ahora las guerras de los hombres amenazan con destruir la cuidadosa obra de siglos. La parte humana de Maeniel jura lealtad a Carlomagno... pero el lobo no reconoce a señor alguno. A pesar de todo, es como lobo y como hombre que Maeniel se embarca en una peligrosa misión en nombre de Carlomagno. Pero hay más enemigos al acecho. Tras la maraña de ambiciones y animosidades que mueven tanto a reyes como a plebeyos, un antiguo mal ansía una venganza propia, una que reclama la sangre de Maeniel, de Regeane... y de toda la humanidad.

This is the third book in a series. Unfortunately, I have not read the other two. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I had read the other two first, but I don't think it was necessary to read them in order to follow the story.

I felt like the book started very abruptly, and ended abruptly too. I would have preferred to be eased into it a little more in the beginning, and to have more closure at the end.

I enjoyed the first part of the book the most. When Regeane and the Saxon were in the monestary with the possessed priests, it was really exciting. The story seemed to shift between the viewpoints of several different people. I enjoyed the story of Hugo and Chiara the most. Regeane was also interesting. I felt the sections focused on Maeniel were boring. As the story progressed, it was hard for me to keep all the characters straight. There was so much corruption among the various kings and their courts, that I wondered how anyone survived in those times. People were always getting killed and/or raped. The character of the bear spirit was by far the most interesting to me. I still am not sure if it was supposed to be an evil spirit, or just the spirit of something so different than humans that it doesn't know what to do about them. ( )

http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2001/06/wolf-king-alice-borchardt.html ( )

Skip it. Not worth reading ( )

Another book in the "Silver Wolf" series. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed "The Silver Wolf", but it was alright. ( )