It was really hard to get into this book and I gave up after 10%.

If nothing else this book has a beautiful cover. I love that idea of people being able to become various animals, shape-shifters are a little more original than straight-up werewolves, but I feel as though the plot potential got lost and caught up in all the fighting that eventually just got a little boring. This one's not for me, but I think it has potential and lots of other readers would find this to be an original new series.

I was so excited to get in on the ground floor of Tchaikovsky's new series, having come in to his former epic a few books in. An interesting Iron Age world, combined with animal shape-shifting (the use of which is reminiscent of his kinden novels), sets the scene, while the plot - though taking a little while to get going - keeps the pages turning. A solid entry to a new epic series and I look forward to book two.