Wolf Tide

by Catherine Fox

17 year-old Anabara Nolio is descended from a long line of warriors. From the Gull People on her father's side has the ability to fly, and from her highborn Galen mother she has access to the world of the privileged elite. She is a also a Private Investigator. When tasked with discovering the truth about the University library's lost books she thinks it's a simple case. But the city isle of Laridy is riddled with dark secrets and ancient magic - a legacy from historic dealings with the realm of the fairy - a world where stained-glass angels can leave their windows to fight, where rooftops and underground passages are guarded by armed statues.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

Kindle Edition

First published October 24, 2013

About the author

Catherine Fox was educated at Durham and London Universities and has a degree in English and a PhD in Theology. She is the author of Angels and Men, The Benefits of Passion and Love for the Lost, which explore the themes of the spiritual and the physical with insight and humour. In 2007, Yellow Jersey Press published Fight the Good Fight: From Vicar's Wife to Killing Machine in which Catherine relates her quest to achieve a black belt in Judo. More recently she published a YA fantasy novel, Wolf Tide, before starting work on her three volume Lindchester Chronicles. She teaches at Manchester Metropolitan University and lives in Sheffield. She is currently blogging a new novel in weekly instalments. It starts here: https://lindfordtales.blogspot.com/20...

Reviews

[GeraniumCat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The one problem with reading on Kindle Unlimited is that you can find books you like so much that you have to go back and buy them, so you're not really saving money. Nice for the author, on the other hand, as it makes the reader eager to proselytise. I initially got it because I love Catherine Fox's other books (for adults), they are full of wit and scurrilousness and characters you want to know (and some you don't) and I suspected that these were qualities which might transfer rather well to young adult writing. I was right, it was terrific. My only complaint would be that I wanted more.

What did I like best? Well, I liked the way things weren't over-explained, you had to do some working out what was going on. And because it's set on an island which is full of rules, you start reading with a slightly off-balance feel, as though you are inadvertently going to transgress yourself. And worry that Anabara, the 17-year-old heroine, will do so, in a mixed-race community where some are obviously more equal than others. The Fay, for instance - correctly, persons from the Fairy nation - are clearly more rule-bound than others, and a permit is required to employ one, as Anabara must if she's to carry out her work successfully.

Catherine Fox works in some major contemporary issues - racism, gender identity, slavery and so on - in a way which doesn't lecture the reader but doesn't pull punches either. There's humour as well as tragedy and betrayal and a gripping plot, and oh, some lovely conceits - the stained glass which provides security for the library, for instance.

Highly recommended!

[Gail Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great find. I especially liked the feisty female protagonist and the fast paced narrative. The characters were well rounded and there were plenty of twists and turns. The world that Catherine Fox has created was also very original and well thought out. There were limits to characters abilities, how magic worked, and also plenty of cultural and political history. This was explored via the action and through the characters rather than a lengthy description. This made the story all the better in my view.

Though the book is a story with beginning middle and end, there is clear scope for a sequel. I loved reading this book and would recommend it to anyone. I would also definitely buy any sequel that is released. Here's hoping one comes out soon!

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short dark fantasy novels is an interesting departure for Catherine Fox (her other novels being about the Christian experience in modern England). It's about freedom and rules, and the need to do the right thing, when the protagonist makes a deal with a fay (a big thing in this particular fantasy setting) to work on a security charm. This becomes hugely dangerous when this interferes with corrupt practices in high places. Well written, though rather darker than I like, and with a strong moral centre.

[Agnes Conway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Downloaded a sample of this ages ago, finally got round to reading it, and loved it. But... that's it? This book feels like the first in a series, although complete in itself. Loved the main protagonist and the creepy vicious fairy.

The only slightly sour note struck was her rescuer, a really rapey youth, with the rapiness presented as amusing, attractive flirtation. Ugh. The thought crossed my mind that the writer might have intended him to be the main romantic lead in the series, until someone pointed out how inappropriate a character like that is in what was basically a YA book.

If she (writer) has boxed herself into a corner and abandoned the idea of a series, that's too bad. I've no interest in reading murder mysteries set in cathedral precincts, but plenty of interest in reading more books about defensive statues and stained glass windows.

Lots of fun ideas and action in this book. I gobbled it up in less than a day, and felt genuinely peeved when I found it wasn't part of a series.