Based solely on the fact that one of the characters is called Snooky Ookums and was written by Scott Hawkins, I was ready to give it 5 stars. Whilst it didn't end up being five stars this is still a great book. Uniquely, this book is told from the perspective of a host of animal characters, in particular Blacktail. Blacktail, a wolf goes on what only can be described as a revenge quest against humans. Throughout the book also explores themes such as animal cruelty and the impact of humans on nature. As with "The Library at Mount Char", this book also features Hawkins' trademark humour. Whilst extremely engaging overall, the book did get slightly repetitive towards the end.

After reading The Library At Mount Char, this was a book that I was really looking forward to getting my hands on!

I feel like this may be quite a polarising book. While I enjoyed the book as a whole - Blacktail’s revenge quest is very engaging, and some of the dialogue between the animals is delightful, with just the right level of humour thrown in - the ending didn’t quite land for me, and some might find the animal violence triggering.

I’d definitely recommend people to pick this up on release, and I am very grateful for the chance to read this ARC!

Hugest of thanks to publishers Pan Macmillan/Tor Nightfire for the chance to read and review this novel, and now I am *slightly* recovered from reading it -sidenote, I will *never* recover-I can somewhat gather my thoughts.

First thought, on looking at Goodreads to see if others were similarly blindsided, was to see V.E Shwab's 'Fucking Hell' so yep, I was in good company.

My favourite 5 books often switch positions, but one that is always top 3 is 'Watership Down' by Richard Adams which sahres it's platform, uneasily, with 'Shardik' by the same author. My much read and loved, battered copy is re-read at least once a year, no lying, and I think, that 'Blacktail' may well be the 21st century's equivalent.

Sit with this for a moment...this is not a lazy comparison because you dive inside the conscious thoughts of animals and wilflife we humans walk past and take no account of, it is deeper than that.

With Blacktail, Scott has created a protagonist/antagonist for the ages, who wants to be left alone to his natural wolf thing, but has his simple request trampled on by the excesses of humanity.Who amongst hasn't wanted the ability to rip out the throat of our oppressor on a daily basis? Well, maybe not daily,but still, that urge is brutal, natural and part of our monkey brain.

As modern life impinges restrictions on freedom, in the name of freedom, I had no, ZERO issues with Blacktail's revenge plot.

As humans, we rape and plunder  natural resources because we can. And the time to pay that price is getting closer. The planet is on fire so the solution is to waste water creating AI? Absolutely, of course we should do that whilst children are starving and dying of diseases we got rid of through vaccinations.

So when you read of a family of lynx, run by the male, Hate, first encountering Blacktail as a wolf cub standing over the body of his mother, the reigning hunter monarch of the mountain they live on, there is a sense of the unnatural order of things where animals live by a code that men have long since abandoned.

Shot to death before Blacktail could learn all her lessons, he is left alone, a pack animal in a world where he has no pack.

Fear of man, of roads, cars and guns, is inherent in his life as he continues to live alone, on the mountain, before a mysterious scent brings him to a human residence, and a dog called Renren who changes his life.

Neither realises quite how trapped or free they are till meeting each other, and the conclusion of their story at the start of the book not only had me in tears, but wondering just where this story is taking us.

Afterwards, revenge and retribution is filling Blacktail's heart, as a visit and dreamwalk with Old Kitty Mother, the goddess of animals in this world, urges him to seek the God Of The Forest to right the wrongs done to animal kind and nature by man.

As he bears witness on his journey to the heart of the forest, whilst being hunted and he listens to the stories of the animals he comes across, so do we, readers, become more entrenched in the lore and part animals and man have to play in the world we inhabit.

Full of heartstopping moments of sadness, terror and beauty, this is a novel to savour, slowly and resonate in.

It is not one to rush through.

And then, at the end, begin it again.

Truly extraordinary and a worthy successor to the seminal classic mentioned before,

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Tor Nightfire and Scott Hawkins for this arc.

This is one of those books that will stay with me forever. I had tears in my eyes for the majority of reading this. While absolutely heartbreaking, Blacktail is phenomenal.

We follow the wolf, Blacktail, huge in size and faithful to his Forest God but seeks revenge after humans kill his mate. We journey with Blacktail on his quest to wake the Forest God to end the plague upon the earth known as man. Dark, emotional and incredibly atmospheric. Reads like an ancient fable with lots of blood and heart.

I can’t wait to have my copy take pride of place on my bookshelves. For me, Blacktail has become an instant classic in my heart. However, I am going to be broken for a while after finishing for more reasons than one.

Magnificent! What a truly marvellous story Blacktail is. This epic tale is told from the perspective of multiple animals, and while it is not set in medieval times, it certainly has that feel to it.

This dark fantasy is about revenge and retribution, and could be seen as a cautionary tale about the mistreatment of animals and their habitats by humans.

This no holds barred follow up to Hawkins’ debut 2015 novel The Library at Mount Char, which is now high up on my TBR list!

If you are going to read one blood soaked dark fantasy about wolves and forest gods this year, make it this!

Massive thanks to Pan MacMillan for the early access on NetGalley 🖤