In 2014, all lovers of the fantasy genre, and fans of the work of Maria Semenova in particular, received a reason for joy: the novel “Wolfhound. The world is on the way. " This is a continuation of a series of works about the life and adventures of the legendary warrior from the kind of Gray Dogs.
about the author
The author of many popular books, including the long-established classic of the Slavic fantasy novel “Wolfhound,” Maria Vasilyevna Semenova was born in Leningrad on November 1, 1958. After graduating from school, she decided to follow the example of her parents who were engaged in scientific activities. Therefore, in his hometown, she entered the Institute of Aviation Instrumentation. After graduating from it in 1982, for ten years she worked at the research institute with a degree in computer electrical engineering.
As the writer herself recalls, she was always engaged in writing, but this type of activity in her family was not taken seriously. However, after the successful publication in the publishing house “Children's Literature” of the book “Swans Fly” in 1989 and the release of the second book “Pelco and the Wolves” in 1992, the opinion of people close to the writer changed. She completed her engineering career and moved to work as a literary translator at the North-West Publishing House.
The idea of ​​creating a novel
Working in a publishing house, she translated a large number of works by foreign authors in the fantasy genre. These books were instantly snapped up by readers, in contrast to Slavic-themed historical works published by the writer. Then she decided to write a book in the fantasy genre, using the richest material from the history and traditions of the Slavs.
The novel “Wolfhound” by Maria Semenova, published in 1995, became a literary event. The main character, having experienced many sorrows and hardships, was able to maintain kindness and humanity. He is not like other, already bored characters of this genre. Therefore, the reader immediately fell in love with him, who was looking forward to continuing the adventures of a noble warrior.
Meet the protagonist
In his novel Wolfhound, Semenova introduces the reader to the main character who managed to get out alive from the mines in the Gemstone Mountains, where he was enslaved as a teenager. In his twenty-three years, the young man has experienced so many troubles and hardships that it will be enough for several lives. And now they are driven only by a thirst for revenge. The time spent in captivity did not break the main character, and the reader meets him on the way to a long-standing goal. Tall, well-built, he moves silently, like a predator, heading for the castle of his enemy. His gray-green eyes glow with determination, and nothing can stop the warrior, nicknamed the Wolfhound. Semenova in her first novel tells the story of an adult hero. The reader will learn more about previous events from the book “Wolfhound. The source of stone. " In the chronology of events, he takes first place.
Last of a kind
The culprit of all the troubles of the protagonist was Koons Vinitarius, nicknamed the Man-Eater, who arrived with his crew on a ship in the village of the Gray Dogs tribe. Vinitarius was the leader of one of the Segan tribes, which became increasingly difficult to live on his native island due to the spread of glaciers. And now they were looking for new lands to inhabit.
Entering confidence in the elders of the Vennians, the Segans vilely attacked their village at night and destroyed all the representatives of the tribe. Only one boy survived, whom the invaders tried to hunt the dogs, but they refused to tear the youngster, so he was simply sold into slavery.
So the last of the Gray Dogs was in terrible mines, where he managed to survive only thanks to a thirst for revenge. He did not have a name, since the invasion of strangers occurred on the eve of the boy’s initiation into men, where the elders had to give him a real, adult name. Now the enslavers called him just a puppy, but not the pain of a body tormented by back-breaking work was the worst in these mines. The pain of the soul from the loss of those to whom it was reaching could break anyone. This period of the protagonist’s life is mentioned in the novel “Wolfhound” by Maria Semenova.
Books "Wolfhound. Istovik-stone "and" Wolfhound. Peace on the Road ”tells of seven years of captivity, betrayal of a best friend and the beginning of the path to a cherished goal.
Puppy becomes a Wolfhound
Fate decreed that the last of the Gray Dogs became a warrior not according to the ancient customs of his people, but according to the cruel laws of the mines. Not only his body was tempered, but also his spirit. And now he is nicknamed the Wolfhound. Semenova in the first novel narrates how a person who received in captivity his nickname for the murder of a cruel taskmaster named Wolf, still did not lose humanity.
His original purpose was only revenge on the kuns the Eater. Fulfilling it according to the custom of the ancestors, the Wolfhound could easily leave this world and join its fellow tribesmen at the tribal bonfire in heaven. But it turned out that people needed his help. The fate of the slaves Tilorn and Niilit freed from the clutches of Vinitarium is now in the hands of the Wolfhound, but he does not abandon the weak.
Therefore, many more adventures in the novels “Wolfhound. The right to duel "," Wolfhound. The Sign of the Way ”and“ Wolfhound. The semiprecious mountains ”was prepared for her hero by writer Maria Semenova.
The wolfhound, all books about which invariably enjoy the love of the reader, did not leave indifferent the cinema. In 2006, the picture "Wolfhound from the clan of the Gray Dogs" was released. And although critics were not unanimous in their assessment, the audience enthusiastically accepted the film adaptation of the adventures of the great warrior.