Ghost Hunter – Book Review

Spoilers for Ghost Hunter throughout.

Ghost Hunter is the sixth book in Paver’s series, ‘The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness’.

It took me a while to finish this book, and I seem to remember having the same problem in my childhood, many years ago. For me, this is the weakest book in the series, which is unfortunate because it’s the finale and responsible for my final impression… at least, that was true until Paver returned to the series in 2020 and has since added three new books, which I look forward to.

Originally, however, Ghost Hunter was intended as the true finale, so let’s take a look at my struggles with it.

An Overview of Ghost Hunter

I don’t dislike this book entirely, I just struggle with it. In a sweet use of cyclical narrative, book six echoes book one, as Torak and Renn once again find themselves climbing a mountain to defeat a great evil, believing that this time will truly be the last. In Wolf Brother, Torak pitted himself against the shapeshifter, but in Ghost Hunter he must face the personification of Death itself—Eostra.

Eostra is a wonderful villain. Described similarly to a ghost from a Japanese horror film, Eostra has haunted the series for a long time. She’s the ultimate villain; she’s Death itself.

Before her defeat, she summons the spirits of the other Soul Eaters, which reminds the reader of all the struggles Renn, Torak, and Wolf had to overcome to get to this point. It’s a wonderfully scary bit in the narrative, but it’s sad too. They’ve already struggled so much, and it genuinely seems like author Paver might kill Torak!

Luckily, a happy ending was still in store for our final three, and even Finn-Kedinn and Darkfur!

Why I Struggle with This Book

I think my struggles with this book in particular boil down to the fact that its opening is extremely bleak—which is intentional, but not helpful for my experience. The ‘death’ of Darkfur and her cubs is always going to be a little too much for me, which is perhaps a testament to Paver’s writing skill. She conveys Wolf’s depression and grief a little too well, and I find myself sinking into those emotions.

As such, I can never read this book in one go. It’s strange, because I’m sure I’ve read sadder, more heart wrenching fiction than this and not batted an eyelid. I can only imagine it’s a combination of my expectation for it to read like a children’s book, the particular use of wolves, and the fact that few books I read are strong enough to kill off named children in the first quarter.

Aside from A Song of Ice and Fire, but one steels their heart when reading Game of Thrones.

More Struggles

There’s a second, more meaningful point at which I put this book down, and that’s when Torak abandons Renn for the umpteenth time. It’s a common issue throughout the series that Torak struggles to trust anyone, including Renn, but on the sixth book, it’s more than disappointing, it’s a betrayal.

The previous book, Oathbreaker, sees the climax of Renn’s frustrations that Torak always leaves without her, then gets himself into some ridiculous scandal that he needs her help with. By the end, it seems like Torak might have finally learned his lesson, and I start to look forward to a finale where this pair can finally fight evil together, as one mind.

But that’s not the case. He tries to leave the Raven camp without Renn the first time—which echoes book one in a nice way, except that it reverts any perceived growth from Oathbreaker—and then he leaves her again when she twists her ankle.

It’s more understandable that he leaves her when she gets injured—their mission is time sensitive, after all. What’s not OK is that he ignores her pleas that she will be fine in one day, and continues without her. Inevitably leaving Renn to struggle on her own to catch up with him, yet again.

It’s heart breaking and infuriating, and it makes me put the book down for a while. Torak’s treatment of Renn in this book makes me think that maybe they shouldn’t be together as a romantic couple at the end of the series.

Final Thoughts

For me, it’s an alright ending to the series. I like the general direction of the book and the battle against Eostra is a fitting end to the Soul Eater story. The introduction of Dark is a nice addition, though I wish I’d seen or heard more of him before this book. My main problems fall with this final portrayal of Renn and Torak’s relationship, which was my favourite part of the series so my problems with it hit hard.

Despite this, I am looking forward to reading Paver’s new additions in the future! You can read more of my Torak and Renn reviews here: The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness Reviews.