I have been meaning to pick this one up eventually ever since I first saw it in stores, however never ended up doing so. But now that I have my handy library card I can just borrow the entire trilogy! So expect reviews for the next few books as well in due time. Spoilers ahead.
We meet Byx, a Dairne (dog-like marsupial creature) who ends up being the last of her kind after her entire pack is wiped out. She meets new friends, such as Tobble the Wobbyk and Khara the human. The trio must find a way to keep Byx safe now that her very presence could cause an uproar and of course bring her in great danger, for the humans are all-too happy about the Dairne's extinction.
I honestly had no clue what this book series was about going in, I at first thought that Byx was a legit anthropomorphic dog and Wobble an anthro fennec. But boy was I wrong. Instead of this being an anthro animal xenofiction, this is a pretty damn dark fantasy world of magic, humans and many, many made up creatures.
And that's definitely what I'll praise the most out of this book: the world-building. There is so much thought and effort put into it, it just almost feels real. I love how pretty much all creatures, both the sapient ones such as Dairnes and Wobbyks, but also non-sentient ones that are basically animals, are either made up or at least have some fantastical elements to them. And not all of them are explained in detail, either.
Example would be the Dairne. Despite looking like bipedal dogs, they're definitely not. They're actually marsupials (with at least all females having a pouch), have opposable thumbs and a membrane between their front and hind legs that allows for them to glide like a flying squirrel. So even the creatures that at first sight look like they're from our realm are unique. As are most non-sapient animals, as said before.
Honestly, the only species inhabiting this world that seems strangely unchanged from ours is the humans (and one or two others like dogs and horses). Heck, they're also equally corrupt and power-hungry, at least the select few at the top. They're quite destructive, too, with them aiming to wipe out entire species, even sapient ones that are their equals such as the Dairne. Definitely dark stuff, but also very well-developed. We later figure out the reason why the Dairne were being hunted so much to the point of (almost-) extinction. Not that it excuses the genocide at all, but it's all very well-developed.
I also liked the plot. At first, the goal was to get to the island to make sure Byx had a safe place to stay (although it more or less would've been a prison for her), but later on the quest had more to do with deceiving the ruler of the land and eventually going to look for what could possibly be an moving island containing a population of Dairne that managed to survive the genocide.
I just genuinely rooted for Byx so much throughout all of this. She was already the weakest out of her entire family, and now she doesn't even have their support anymore as they're all murdered. She does eventually get a neat found family with Tobble, Khara and Gambler, though, which was neat to see. I do genuinely hope that she finds more Dairne in the next book. Nobody deserves to go through what she did, so the idea that there's at least a spark of hope that she's not truly an endling is neat.
I also liked the other characters. Tobble the Wobbyk, despite tiny, is as brave as any warrior they come across as he sees it as his duty to protect Byx after she saved his life. Gambler seems a bit shady at first, but genuinely comes around to help our main team. Honestly, the only character out of our main cast I couldn't really get into was Khara, the human trapper who initially kidnaps Byx but later ends up helping save her. Don't get me wrong, she's definitely well-written and has some of the best development out of the entire book's cast. I just didn't vibe with her character, yet, personally. She's fine, just not a character I could get into, that's all.
Overall this book was just a true ride from start to finish. It starts out super-emotionally as Byx's loses her pack and realizes she is the last Dairne, and then turns into a true exciting adventure as Khara, Tobble and later Gambler have to keep her safe from the people hunting her kind. And the ending, despite all the hardships our cast went through, is at least somewhat hopeful as we have the possible prospect of Byx not truly being an endling. I genuinely hope she finds them and also stays together with her newfound family.
Rating: 4/5
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