Hunger Makes the Wolf surprised me with how good it was. I think I was expecting a fun, quick space adventure read, but this story is so much more than that. There is magic (space witches!), rebellion of mistreated workers against the company that controls the planet, a woman learning to be a leader, and I think there are hints of a possible romance?

The main character, Hob Ravani, is a member of a gang of mercenaries who roam around their desert planet on motorcycles. They do odd jobs for money while trying to stay clear of TransRift, the company that controls the planet and the lives of the miners and the farmers. Hob has magic, a "witchyness" that means she can create fire, but she hasn't learnt much about it beyond basic tricks like lighting cigarettes. Witchyness is feared on Tanegawa’s World so she has to keep it hidden.

There's a lot going on, but it's managed well. It starts out fast paced, we're dropped into the middle of the action at the start and things are slowly revealed as the story progresses. Around the middle the pacing slows down where the rebellion is growing and Hob is learning how to be a leader, but it picks up again as it moves towards the action packed ending.

There's plenty of character development, especially for Hob and her foster sister Mags. Hob isn't perfect, she makes mistakes and gets things wrong but still keeps trying to do the right thing and protect her family at the same time.

I loved the witchy elements, the Bone Collector, a sort of wise and mysterious mage, was one of my favourite characters in it.

The main story thread does have a conclusion, but there are things left open and it reads like there's going to be a sequel. I'm certainly hoping there will be, there's a lot more to learn about this world!