An urban fantasy sets the stage for an adopted teenager named Miranda. Brought to a small town in Massachusetts from an orphanage in Rumania she has become the typical teenage girl. Her link to a past, one she identifies through memories and dreams, compels her to never forget her unknown lineage and true identity. She is possessed by all the teenage angst that is common to any adolescent and her routine is shattered when her 'secret place in the woods is trespassed by a not so well likes boy named Peter Gross (notice the rather unfortunate name). He has a physical abnormality but possesses a warm spirit which catches Miranda unawares. Miranda and he strike up a friendship; this is to the surprise of Miranda's friend, Andromeda. Inevitably this trio end up becoming friends through shared misadventure.

In an alternate reality, one where Roumania is a world power and where the North American continent is a forested world containing mammoth, political intrigue plays its game. The baroness Nicola Ceaucescu is a woman on a slippery slide into penury. A onetime famous ballerina, our "evil" protagonist is tied to Miranda through her interactions with Miranda's aunt - a disgraced princess through no fault of her own. This reality is the better read of this novel as the jaded leadings which lead to the trio passing into this reality set the scene for some damn fine storytelling. Miranda is an heir apparent to the throne of Roumania. Prophesied to return, the "White Tyger" is sought by both friend and foe - the only problem is that Miranda is unable to gauge who has her best intentions at heart.

The more that unfolds the more drawn I was to the political intrigues being played out by German diplomats, an alternate timeline where England was destroyed by a terrible earthquake, and magic - through conjuring, which is a taboo still practiced by those who use it for their own benefit. There is no altruistic right or self serving wrong tailored onto any of the characters within the 368 pages of this first novel, the first of a scheduled quadrology. It does contain a frenetic flow of events where bad things happen to a lot of people, though there is the promise of some tough questions to answer. I don't believe that I will actively seek out the next book in this sequence, but if offered the book as a present I believe I would reenter this fantasy with high hopes.

Authors	Awards	Blogs
Fanzines	Index	Magazines
Publishers	Retailers	Reviews