My first Nicola Davies but certainly not my last! Pure magic and enchantment with a hint of drama is a perfect mixture for this stunning story.

Nicola Davies’ The Song That Sings Us gained deservedly lavish praise and will I am sure become even more popular now that it is available in paperback. This follow-up prequel is to:me even stronger. Rich, complex world building, strange and wonderful, yet filled with many of the issues of our own, is peopled with characters that engage deeply. The multi-perspective storytelling moves the complex narrative on compellingly and the author’s deep love for and knowledge of Nature shines through it all.. With, once again, cover and chapter heads by the wondrous Jackie Morris, this will again be a beautiful volume and I cannot wait to get the actual hardback in my hands.. Another massive, imaginative triumph - and a glorious read that so many, of all ages, will enjoy. I think (animal) circuses are already widely discredited these days, but, after this, anathema!

I will hope to write a more detailed review on my blog Magic Fiction Since Potter once the book is published and I have the chance to luxuriate in it all over again on paper.

In the follow up to last year's smash eco-fiction The Song that Sings UsDavies has done it again with this brilliant origin story of Skrimsli the tiger from the earlier book.
Told through a variety of perspectives we come to understand the context behind the first book and the origins of Skrimsli's talents and goals. Davies vividly draws the world of warring factions, at war for the convenience of others. In a perfectly age appropriate way she explores imperialism and corporate as well as institutional greed that leads to environmental and habitat destruction. The harrowing descriptions of the devastated rainforest and the impact of damming on the lives of the people and creatures that try to thrive there.
But she also sensitively touches on animal cruelty, circuses and zoos, as well as kindness and support that helps disparate groups to both survive and thrive.
A riveting and powerful read for KS3 and older. A wonderful addition to school or class libraries and a useful companion to Global Goals or Ecology courses. It could easily function as a class reader - if a little on the longer side - it would be. a treat to share with students.
As an adult, I loved it even more than The Song that Sings Us and that was one of my top reads of 2022.
Highly recommended.

Never since reading Lord of the Rings, have I felt so attached to the characters, their troubles, their journies, pain and joys. This is an epic tale, oceanic in atmosphere yet intimate. It skillfully weaves stories within a story and lives within lives. Each is explored and cherished and brought together in such harmony it sings. A tale that is cleverly as relevant to our world as theirs.

Anybody wishing to spend a few days with a marvellous piece of writing with characters (be they human, tiger or bear) far greater than the pages in which they abide, with thought-provoking undertones to add to the layers of imagery, should consider this book.

Good books, those stories we pick to review, leap off the page and sell themselves and make for easy reviews to write. This book was slightly different. It is excellent, without a doubt. It is also far more complex than I imagined and so much more than the marvellous cover might suggest. There are layers and stories that I have tried very hard to set out in an unbound fashion. I hope I have kept a flavour, in simplistic terms, of all there is.

Finally, with an adventure like this, I always feel that my time spent reading has been well-spent. I have been entertained and dug deeper within myself than I realised at the time to compare with our world, which has been found wanting. My appetite has been whetted for more from this author.

This is the second book within this realm. But it is a prequel to the much acclaimed The Song That Sings Us. I have not read the latter, but I feel you could probably read either first. But given a choice, I'd take Skrimsli as my starting point.

Having loved A Song That Sings Us, I couldn't wait to read Skrimsli, it's prequel!

Nicola Davies did not disappoint! The split narrative told all of the characters stories perfectly and brought them all together to explain how our favourite tiger captain came to be a sea-faring feline.

Once again the underlying message of looking after the world and our environments was well balanced with the main story - such an important message for young readers!

The World is under threat from those who exploit its resources for their own advancement, damaging the balance in the natural environment and sowing discord amongst peoples who hitherto lived in peace. Those who can communicate with animals are outlawed, while the ones who use this ability for darker purposes hide their methods. Owl, Kal and Skrimsli find themselves in the clutches of one such circus owner, pursued by twin assassins and caught up in the nefarious machinations of others. Together with a desert princess, a seafarer and a variety of animals, they must find a way to survive and protect the beings they love. Loyalty, friendship, and learning to love your true self are at the heart of this gripping novel, linked to a respect for other living things and the planet itself. Fast paced, exciting and action-packed, this book has engaging characters that spring to life from the page and and a world so vividly evoked that even as I needed to know the story I did not want to come to the end. The dilemmas faced by the protagonists, the decisions they take and their regrets over their inactions resonate with the reader and make you care about their fate. I loved this book - it was one of those books that leaves you feeling bereft because you are no longer in its world with the characters you have come to love.