From Publishers Weekly
In Lindskold's exciting third installment of her wolf-girl fantasy saga (after 2002's Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart), Firekeeper finds herself deeply entangled in the politics and intrigues of her high-born human relations and even more so in the fight for survival of her alternate family, the Royal Beasts of the forest. (Despite the title, the action has little to do with dragons.) Malevolent sorceress Lady Melina Shield has wed New Kelvin's version of a king and become his "Consolor." Hawk Haven's King Tedric wants to know exactly what Melina is up to, and the only way he can discover her plans is by sending an expedition to New Kelvin, ostensibly as a trade delegation. If that isn't enough to worry about, unauthorized settlers have encroached on the territory of the Royal Beasts, forcing them (and therefore Firekeeper, as a member of the pack) to declare themselves ready for war against humans. Since Firekeeper is, as it were, neither fish nor fowl, she finds her loyalties divided in a most uncomfortable situation. While the feisty Firekeeper plays a subordinate role here, the author provides lots of engrossing lore about pack behavior and feral animals. Fans can look forward to more of Firekeeper's unique perspective in the fourth book, the start of a new sequence, Wolf Captured.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From
Firekeeper's family perished in a fire when she was a toddler. Adopted by wolves that are royal by virtue of highly advanced capacities for thought and language, Firekeeper was raised according to pack rules and etiquette but at 14 was discovered by humans who are probably relatives of her dead parents. When she comes to live among them, she discerns that human and wolf politics are much the same, and she isn't surprised when troublesome, self-serving Melina Shield, though an outcast from her family, clambers back into circles of influence and power through sorcery, and seduces the ruler of New Kelvin into marriage, an alliance that offers her opportunity and resources to press her search for ancient, occult knowledge and magical artifacts. Melina aims to grab as much control as possible by reviving old, forbidden magic. While Firekeeper's dual citizenship in beast and human worlds makes her a perfect liaison, it also makes her, however reluctantly, the perfect champion against Melina in this seamless continuation of Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart [BKL O 15 02]. Paula Luedtke
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