What a marvelous book. It is so rare to see relationships done so well as this between father and child, father and new lover, lover and child; it all feels utterly natural and true and believable. And it all serves to inspire affection for these characters. Grief is handled well, not that I’ll go into any details about that for spoilers’ sake, and also the surprise of joy; doubt and worry; battle and friendship.
It’s a wild gallop of a book, this, hitting the ground running and barely letting up before the end. It starts with a father and young son on the run. From what, the reader is not told for a little while – but it’s immediately obvious that this isn’t any mundane danger, and when someone comes to the rescue it’s pretty clear that she’s not exactly mundane either.
The book is the sequel to Stag Lord, but stands on its own very well; the author is very skilled at telling what has gone before without irrevocably spoiling the previous book. The writing is beautiful; the characters are wonderful (including the young boy, which can be a tricky proposition); the secret culture and the evil enemies are engrossing. Love.
The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.
Stewartry 