AUTHOR: P.C. Cast
PUBLISHER: St. Martin's Griffin
PUBLISHING DATE: October 18, 2016
FROM GOODREADS: Mari is an Earth Walker, heir to the unique healing powers of her Clan, but she has been forced to turn from her duties, until she is chosen by a special animal ally, altering her destiny forever. When a deadly attack tears her world apart, Mari reveals the strength of her powers and the forbidden secret of her dual nature as she embarks on a mission to save herself and her people. It is not until Nik, the son of the leader from a rival, dominating Tribe, strays across her path that Mari experiences something she has never felt before…
Now evil is coming, and with it, a force more terrible and destructive than the world has ever seen, leaving Mari to cast the shadows from the earth. By breaking Clan Law and forming an alliance with Nik, she must make herself ready. Ready to save her people. Ready to save herself and Nik. Ready to embrace her true destiny…and battle the forces that threaten to destroy them all.
MY THOUGHTS:
Anyone who saw my "Hallelujah I'm done" comment on Goodreads or who follows this blog will probably know that I had a lot of difficulty getting through this book. In fact, it led to my first reading slump of 2016. Also know though that this was probably one of my top 3 anticipated books of the year. I desired it ever since I first saw the cover, I featured it on my blog several times, I even jumped up and down when I won an ARC from Goodreads. I looked at the cover over and over basically counting down until I could start it even. So it really pains me that it only rated 3/5 for me. And the truth is, for a lot of the book, it was maybe even closer to 2/5. The cover alone probably earned at least 1/2 a paw if not a whole one.
This book has a lot of information in it. What it all boils down to is that there are different populations of people inhabiting the earth. We are introduced to several during the course of 600 plus pages and I have a feeling there might be more. So far I have a decent grasp on the Skin Walkers, who are basically cannibals, Earth Walkers who live off the land and have goddesses who assist with the day to day sanity, and Companions, individuals who bond with various animals and probably function the closest to what would resemble life as we know it - except they live in trees. In fact, their clan may be closer to being called Tree Walkers or something but that piece of knowledge apparently didn't stick with me. Oh, and these clans can't stand each other. Also, I think this book is futuristic. There is know real time period mentioned that I recall, but there are things in it which elude to the idea that it's set in the future.
Mari, an 18 year old Earth Walker is the product of an elicit relationship between her mother, an Earth Walker, and a Companion. She has lived with this secret knowledge her whole life for risk of being banished. Her mother is the main Moon Goddess of the clan and is looking for a successor, and Mari just doesn't fit the bill. Companions grow up and if they are lucky, they are "chosen" by an dog - either a shepherd or a terrier, which determines if you will have power in the clan or be a hunter. Once night a cherished pup escapes, crosses an impossible terrain, and chooses Mari. Mari loves Rigel with all her heart. The remainder of the book follows Mari's world with Rigel and Nik, a Companion who has never been chosen but whose father is basically "king." About 3/4 of the way in, their worlds finally collide. Instead of going on and on, I'll leave it with a war is raging and I have no clue what is going to play out in future installments of this series.
I have to admit there are a few things I liked about this book. I love the concept that you can be "chosen" by a dog and they become your life-long soul pet (for lack of a better word). I love dogs so that's a given. I also liked a lot of the characters. Mari, although somewhat annoying because of her indecisiveness and lack of self esteem grows as the book progresses and is rather likable at the end. Also, another Earth Walker, Sora, who is EXTREMELY unlikable in the beginning had an plot arc that I got totally caught up in and she became one of my favorites. I also really liked the story line once Nik and Mari's paths crossed. The problem is, it takes almost 450 pages for that to happen. I crept through those first 450 pages at a snail's pace, but once they met, I pretty much flew through the remainder.
I am interested in where this series will lead. Thanks heavens the last part saved me because it made me very interested in continuing on with future installments when they are released. I am a huge fans of longer books so I wasn't intimidated by the size of this book, but I kind of think the beginning wasn't interesting enough to warrant such length.
I also feel I should issue a small warning. This book contains some disturbing scenes. There is rape, cannibalism, animal abuse, physical abuse and murder. I rarely allow stuff like this to deter me from books, but I pretty much feel I should mention it in case anyone is undecided and any of these are themes you avoid. If you love animals, especially dogs, I am sure the Companion relationship will interest you enough to pick up this book. Also, if you've read any of Cast's previous works and enjoy her writing (which I have), picking this up might seem like the next step. Just keep in mind the things I've mentioned above and realize it may be a long commitment.
RATING: 3 PAWS
... Cannabalism?? Shudders. That is definitely not my cup of tea. the other elements do sound wonderful, but, cannabalism is a firm no for me.
ReplyDeleteI can handle cannibalism and all kinds of gore and violence-but I cannot go near animal abuse as it just makes me cry! I've had struggles with this author before so I won't be reading it but it is a gorgeous cover!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you stuck with this one! Sounds like the story could have really been trimmed and it might have made it even better. But I do love the idea of being chosen by a dog, of course I do!!:-)
ReplyDeleteLike Chuckles, I can take the cannibalism but probably not the animal abuse. It makes me furious and sad. I sure hope your next reads turn out better than this one.
ReplyDeleteI love the title of this post...lol. I am glad you made it through it and you enjoyed it but I think I have put it down for now and maybe I might try it later. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful, insightful, and detailed review, Barb! I greatly enjoyed reading it!! :)
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, I read the first book, "Marked", in the House of Night series. The authors were P.C. and Kristin Cast. I did not like the book, and therefore, did not continue with the series. So I'm not surprised that this one disappointed you. All of that gory stuff you mentioned in your review would have turned me off, too! In the case of "Marked", there was one incident of, er, rather intimate sex mentioned. It wasn't too graphic, but just the fact that the mechanics of it were implied was bad enough. This is a YA novel, for Pete's sake! Plus there was quite a bit of profanity (including "the F bomb", and a couple of other things...) It seems that the Casts enjoy writing disturbing scenes into their books. They're DEFINITELY not for me!!
Thanks for your thoughts!! <3 :)
I'm impressed with your ability to push through! I'm sorry this didn't work out as you had anticipated. It's hard when you wait for the chance to read a particular book and it just isn't what you hoped for. :(
ReplyDeleteOh no!! I was looking forward to this one as well and I'm sad to see it wasn't as good as you wanted it to be. And it gave you a reading slump?! YIKES. As much as I want to try it I may end up skipping it. 😬
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