It took me a while to get into The Silver Wolf but I'm glad I persevered as I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. J C Harvey has set The Silver Wolf during the Thirty Years War mixing fiction with some facts. This is a period of time I knew absolutely nothing about so it was quite an eye-opener. The action centres round young Jack Fiskardo, an orphan who works his way from being a dock rat in Amsterdam to joining the soldiers engaged in the war. Along the way the author introduces her readers to a host of fascinating characters who all have an impact on Jack's life in one way or another. The story also covers a number of European countries as Jack's story progresses. The author has also very thoughtfully provided a map of Europe as the continent looked very different in the 17th century compared to the way it does now. So many wars over so many centuries have changed and shaped the entire continent. The Silver Wolf is the first part of a trilogy and I'm very much looking forward to reading the next instalment of Jack's adventures as he seeks to complete his self-imposed quest.