Tainted Trail

Ukiah Oregon #2

by Wen Spencer

Ukiah Oregon, half-man and half-alien raised by wolves, is hired to track a missing hiker. When her trail grows cold, Ukiah discovers the woman has actually been kidnapped. He then stumbles upon another mystery related to the unsolved disappearance in 1933 of a legendary wolf boy. The hiker's abduction may hold the key to Ukiah's past.

Genres: Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Aliens, Mystery, Science Fiction Fantasy

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

About the author

John W. Campbell Award Winner Wen Spencer resides in paradise in Hilo, Hawaii with two volcanoes overlooking her home. Spencer says that she often wakes up and exclaims "Oh my god, I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific!" This, says Spencer, is a far cry from her twenty years of living in land-locked Pittsburgh.

The Elfhome series opener, Tinker, won the 2003 Sapphire Award for Best Science Fiction Romance and was a finalist for the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Fantasy Novel. Wolf Who Rules, the sequel to Tinker, was chosen as a Top Pick by Romantic Times and given their top rating of four and a half stars. Other Baen books include space opera thriller Endless Blue and Eight Million Gods.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in the'70s, there was a TV Show called Lucan, about a guy raised by wolves who had 70's style adventures.

This would be what you'd get if somebody decided to make an "edgy" comic book about the property in the 1990's, where everything is "extreme," and he's got a clone, the whole she-bang.

[Olga Godim · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This is the second book in the urban sci-fi series about Ukiah Oregon – an almost immortal alien, a private investigator, and an altogether wonderful guy. In this one, Ukiah and his partner Max (fully human) have been hired to find Alicia, a missing hiker, in the wilds of Oregon. Ukiah is a tracker extraordinaire because of his upbringing (raised by wolves) and his alien origins, but even for him, Alicia’s disappearance is a mystery.
As the partners retrace Alicia’s footsteps, someone shoots at Ukiah. Someone really doesn’t want him to find Alicia, and the closer he gets to her, the more complicated the case becomes. Ukiah’s unremembered past is catching up with him. It seems that Alicia is becoming a pawn in the aliens’ plot to finally invade Earth, unless Ukiah and a few of his friends stop them.
The mice introduced in the first book are still very active, carrying Ukiah’s memories. He needs to find them all to recapture his past before it is too late – for Alicia, for himself, and for the whole of humanity.
I liked this book less than the first one because it had too many flashbacks. Obviously, the author wanted to explain to her readers everything that happened in the first book, but most of the info wasn’t pertinent to this story. The result was a choppier narrative and a slower pace.
Still the tale was engrossing, the tension high, and I swallowed the book in two days. Although some of the passages, especially Ukiah’s pages-long, centuries-old memories in Italics and the aforementioned flashbacks, were boring, some of the texts sparkled with Spencer’s customary dry humor, as Ukiah juggled his dangerous job with his new parenthood. Did I tell you that he has a three-month-old son?

Ukiah had driven the hour north to his moms for the oddest packing experience he had ever gone through. One Beretta 9mm pistol with three clips, one case of formula, and three baby bottles. Bulletproof Kelvar vest. Two dozen medium-sized diapers, diaper wipes, and diaper-rash cream. Two-way voice-activated radio headset. One baby monitor.

[Carolyn F.]

I could not finish this book. I forgot that I disliked the first one and tried the second one thinking maybe it got better because I love the author's other books/series. But nope. The main character seemed more like a "delicate little flower" than someone bad ass. No rating because I didn't finish it.

[Margaret Fisk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series. Read it too long ago to have specific comments, but remember it fondly.

[Manon Loenen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book of the series I have read, and I want more.

[Viccy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ukiah Oregon is an alien with human DNA. He has existed on this plant for hundreds of years, many of them living with wolves in the Pacific Northwest. Several years ago he was found by a woman in a humane wolf cage and Ukiah came to live with Mom Jo and Mom Lara outside of Pittsburgh. Now he works as a tracker for a private investigator. In his second adventure, Ukiah and Max, his partner, travel to Oregon, looking for a missing hiker. Traveling with them is the uncle of the missing hiker, Max's friend who is police officer in Pittsburgh. Ukiah finds a trail and tracks Alicia, but is shot during the tracking. It becomes clear there are other aliens invovled in this disappearance as well as several brutal murders in the area. Ukiah also finds a First American family who recognizes him as Magic Boy, who lived with their ancestors generations ago. Ukiah soon learns more of his missing memories of his early life on this continent, including the scout ship that brought his alien ancestors to this planet. This is an exciting series with a wonderful sense of world-building. I admire Wen Spencer's ability to keep it all straight and I look forward to reading more adventures with Ukiah.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ukiah continues to recover his memories of his past finding both his human and alien relatives. Every Time he dies (and he dies a lot) he ages so he quickly moving from a teenager to a young adult.

Any fantasy fan interested in this series should not put off by the term alien. It's very Earth centered with the two forces of alien infected humans; those that retain a human individuality (along with wolf DNA from their first ancestor) and the second group who you might call soulless aliens with only the goal of absorbing all life on earth.

Less than 300 pages its a quick read for a day or so of entertainment.

[Text Addict · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coincidence (a missing person related to a Pittsburgh friend) brings Ukiah Oregon back to the state he came from, and leads to the recovery of some of his lost memories as well as pitched battles with the Ontongard - that would be the opposing, evil aliens. Once again, it's the characters that make this book - distant Native American relatives, Pittburgh Homicide Detective Kraynak, a local (Oregon) PI and her worthless ex, and so forth. More details about the abortive alien invasion are revealed, along with more of Ukiah's past; and it's also hard to put down.

[May Mostly Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

มีคนถามแม็กซ์มา (อีกแล้ว) ว่าตอนนี้ชอบนักเขียนแนวแฟนตาซี/ไซไฟคนไหนบ้าง คงต้องเริ่มด้วยการบอกว่านักเขียนที่จะพูดถึงนี่เขียนแนวแฟนตาซี/ไซไฟเป็น หลักค่ะ อาจมีโรแมนซ์บ้าง แต่ไม่ใช่จุดเด่นของเรื่อง (แม้ว่าแม็กซ์อาจจะชอบเรื่องนั้นเพราะประเด็นโรแมนซ์เป็นหลักบ้างก็มี)

ถ้าถามกลับไปสักเมื่อหกปีก่อน (ทำไมต้องเป็นหกปี ก็ไม่แน่ใจค่ะ แต่คงจะประมาณนั้นนะ) แม็กซ์คงตอบเสียงดังฟังชัดว่าลอเรล เค. แฮมิลตันเพราะเธอเป็นนักเขียนแนวนี้คนแรกที่แม็กซ์อ่านอย่างจริงจัง และชุดเมอริดิธ เจนทรี้ก็เปิดหูเปิดตาแม็กซ์ชนิดที่อีโรติกเล่มไหนทำไม่ได้เลย (ซึ่งนั่นก็เป็นอีกเรื่องนึงที่ต้องคุยกันทีหลังนะคะ)

แต่กาลเวลาที่เปลี่ยนไป พร้อมกับรสนิยมขึ้นลงของแม็กซ์ทำให้ตอนนี้ลอเรล เค. และแม่หนูเจนทรี้ก็ตกอันดับไป ไม่ใช่ว่าไม่ชอบ แต่โดนเรื่องอื่นแซง

เวลานี้หลังจากอ่าน No Human Involved จบไปหมาด อันดับหนึ่งก็คงเป็นใครอื่นไม่ได้นอกจากเคลลี่ย์ อาร์มสตรองค์ แต่เพราะแม็กซ์สัญญากับคนอ่านบลอกไปแล้วว่าจะไม่รบกวนความสุขด้วยการพล่าม เรื่องชุดนี้อีก ก็เลยขอใช้เวลาพูดถึงอันดับสองในเวลานี้แล้วกัน

เวน สเปนเซอร์

ดูชื่อแล้วอาจนึกว่าคนแต่งเป็นผู้ชาย แต่เวนมาจากเวนดี้นะคะ ปัจจุบันเธอเขียนหนังสือสามชุด ซึ่งแม็กซ์ชอบทุกชุด แต่แน่นอนว่าย่อมมีลูกที่รักมากที่สุดนะคะ

ชุดที่แม็กซ์ชอบมากที่สุดเป็นหนังสือชุดแรกที่เธอเขียน และแม้จะไม่ได้จบชุดอย่างเป็นทางการ แต่ก็เป็นเวลาหลายปีแล้วที่ไม่มีเล่มใหม่ในชุดออกมาให้อ่านกันเลย นั่นก็คือชุด Ukiah Oregon เชื่อหรือไม่ว่า เล่มแรกในชุดมีการแปลออกมาเป็นภาษาไทยแล้ว ตอนที่แม็กซ์เห็นหนังสือเล่มนั้นที่จตุจักร ก็ยังคงมิคลาย ถ้าจำไม่ผิดชื่อไทยคือ "เอเลี่ยนพิทักษ์โลก"

เช่นเดิมคงต้องมีคำเตือนไว้ก่อน แม็กซ์กำลังจะสปอยล์หนังสือชุดนี้อีกแล้ว แต่สำหรับเพื่อนของแม็กซ์ที่มีโอกาสอ่านหรือไม่ได้อ่าน ก็คงจะพอรู้เรื่องสปอยล์ไปแล้วบ้างล่ะนะ เพราะแม็กซ์ก็กรี๊ดสลบไม่น้อยกับชุดนี้

Ukiah Oregon (อ่านว่า yoo-KAI-ah หรือสรุปว่าเขียนเป็นไทยยาก ขอให้ทับศัพท์แล้วกัน) เป็นเด็กกำพร้าที่ถูกพบในป่าซึ่งถูกเลี้ยงโดยหมาป่า โดยนักมานุษยวิทยาสาวคนหนึ่งและถูกเธอเก็บกลับมาเลี้ยงเป็นลูก ตลอดเวลาเขารู้ว่าตัวเองแตกต่างจากเด็กคนอื่นทั่วไป เพียงแต่ไม่รู้ว่าความแตกต่างนั้นมันมากเพียงไรจนกระทั่งเขาได้พบและร่วมทำ งานกับแม็กซ์ (ที่ไม่ใช่แม็กซ์คนเขียนบลอกหรอกนะ) ซึ่งเป็นนักสืบเอกชน Ukiah มีความสามารถในการแกะรอย ในคดีหนึ่งที่เขาแกะรอยคนร้าย เขาถูกยิง น่าแปลกที่เขาไม่เป็นอะไรเลยด้วยซ้ำ ทั้งที่ตอนแรกทุกคนเข้าใจว่าเขาตายแล้ว และคดีนั้นเองก็นำเขาไปสู่การพบกับชาติกำเนิดที่แท้จริงของตัวเอง

อะไรที่ทำให้แม็กซ์รักหนังสือชุดนี้ ก็เหมือนกับหนังสือ romance นั่นแหละ คือความสัมพันธ์และปฏิกริยาที่ตัวละครในเรื่องมีต่อกัน แม็กซ์รักแม็กซ์ (ที่ไม่ใช่แม็กซ์คนเขียนบลอก) ที่เขารัก Ukiah เหมือนลูก แต่ไม่เคยปฏิบัติต่อเขาเหมื���นเขาเป็นเด็กเล็ก ทั้งที่ Ukiah ก็อายุเพียงยี่สิบปี แม็กซ์รัก Ukiah ด้วยความไร้เดียงสาชนิดที่เด็กผู้ชายส่วนใหญ่สูญเสียมันไปตั้งแต่อายุไม่ถึง สิบห้า แม็กซ์ชอบฉากที่อินดิโก้ (นางเอกของชุดที่อายุมากกว่า และเป็นเอฟบีไอ) ปฏิบัติการหลอกเด็ก ฉากเซ็กส์ที่ไม่ได้โจ่งแจ้งหรือบรรยายอะไรมาก แต่อ่านแล้วน่ารักมาก แม็กซ์รักที่ Ukiah ถูกเลี้ยงมาโดยแม่สองคนที่เป็นคู่เลสเบี้ยน แม็กซ์รักที่เขารับคิดเทนนิ่งลูกชายของเขามาเลี้ยงโดยไม่มีข้อแม้ (ส่วนคิดเทนนิ่งมาได้ยังไงเนี่ย มันสปอยล์มากไปหน่อยค่ะ แต่เด็กคนนี้ไม่ได้เกิดมาตามปกติที่เราคิดกันหรอกนะ)

สำหรับแม็กซ์แล้ว หนังสือทุกเล่มที่แม็กซ์ชอบจะมีพื้นฐานมาจากการเขียนตัวละครที่น่าสนใจ ความสัมพันธ์ของตัวละครที่มีต่อกันซึ้ง ๆ (ฉากที่อินดิโก้ไม่ยอมมองหน้าพี่ชายฝาแฝดของ Ukiah เพราะทำใจไม่ได้ที่ต้องเห็นหน้า Ukiah แต่กลับไม่ใช่เขา และมันตอกย้ำเธอถึงความจริงที่ว่าเขาหายตัวไป ---- ซึ้งอย่างที่ไม่ต้องบรรยายความรู้สึก) โบนัสที่ได้นอกเหนือจากสิ่งเหล่านี้สำหรับเรื่องชุดนี้ก็คือ หนังสือแนวแฟนตาซี/ไซไฟที่พล็อตเรื่องน่าติดตาม ขนาดที่วางไม่ลงเลยทีเดียว

สำหรับคนที่ทรนงตัวว่าไม่อ่านโรแมนซ์ ก็ลองอ่านชุดนี้ดูนะคะ เพราะไม่แมนซ์หรอกนะ สำหรับแฟนโรแมนซ์ แม็กซ์ก็อยากให้ลองอ่านค่ะ เพราะสนุก (ไม่รู้จะเขียนอะไรแล้วน่ะ) สนุกจริงนะคะ

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Ukiah Oregon series by Wen Spencer. This book is a mix of Urban Fantasy and Science Fiction. Ukiah Oregon was found as a child running with a pack of wolves. He was raised by his two mothers and soon grows into young manhood. Ukiah is soon discovered to be by far the best tracker in the business. Ukiah is unequaled in following the missing and the lost. Max Bennet, a private detective, hires Ukiah to be part of the Bennet Detective agency.
In this one Ukiah and Max go to Oregon to search for Alicia Kraynak who disappeared while hiking there. She is the niece of Max's friend, Raymond Kraynak, who is a detective in the Pittsburgh Police Department. He and Max were military policemen in the same unit during the Gulf war. Since they were both from Pittsburgh, the friendship continued after the war. Alicia also worked for Max part-time while attending college. After arriving in Oregon Ukiah and Max find that a string of mysterious deaths and disappearances have plagued the area over the last few months and they might be connected to Alicia's disappearance. It soon becomes apparent that they might also be connected to the alien Ontongard and to Ukiah's own mysterious past. A great addition to this series.

[Amberwitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book about Ukiah Oregon, in which he does some growing up in his own painful way, and regains some of his memories. This book is peppered with proofreading errors, which is annoying on a low level. It is also suffering from the same problem as many series, especially open-ended ones; the need to retell previous event to accommodate new readers. The author disfigures her story with clumsy constructs to introduce earlier happenings, to explain current events.
This is especially grievous when reading the books back to back, but it is a severe blemish on the book regardless.
The story is interesting, and the characters seem relevant and believable, but the flow of the story is completely destroyed by the clumsy expositions that keep popping up.

Ukiah and Max are traveling to Oregon to find the missing niece of a friend. While investigating her disappearance they discover an aggressively multiplying nest of hostile aliens who are responsible for a number of disappearances in the area.
To save their victim Ukiah has to recover certain memories he left behind 70 years earlier - and reacquaint himself with a family he didn't know he had.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most interesting alien invasion scenarios I've read in long time. Ukiah Oregon was raised by wolves. Then he was adopted by human parents and began to learn who he really was, the hybrid child of a human mother and an alien invader whose race began as simple organisms and began conquering other planets, not by force, but by invading the bodies of the other races and becoming them, claiming their technology for their own, and moving on. His non-human senses make him an excellent tracker, and he and his partner Max specialize in finding lost children. Then the daughter of one of their friends disappears, and they encounter old friends and enemies in the search for Alicia, who has been kidnapped by the invading aliens and turned into one of them. In the process of searching, Ukiah discovers his Native American family, finds a part of himself that has been missing for years, and becomes more than he was, thanks to a small tortoise. It's a great story, with likable characters and lots of action.

[D.F. Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the duo of crime fighters finding lost children and being protectors of the weak. But when we overlay the clandestine foiling of an alien invasion, it just gets weird. Fortunately, the plotting and characters are solid and somehow it all comes together in the end.

Things I liked:
* wolf-boy -- the expanding story of a boy raised by wolves, and matriculation into the modern world
* The extended family and Indian heritage overlay: historical mystery
* Max -- private eye, and surrogate father
* Sam -- kick butt Oregonian private detective
* motorcycle gangs run by wolves
* Oregon

Things I disliked:
* aliens & spaceships
* sympathetic female character and true love from the first novel who gets a trivial bit part in this one
* independent but not really aliens who think with a hive mentality, but appear to act individually
* noble secondary characters who die selflessly (and needlessly)
* Oh! she's infected and is lost forever, oh nevermind.

[Adena Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who says that you can't go back? Apparently, Ukiah can - even with his inconveniently missing memory - when the needs of friendship scream for help. I was fascinated by both the search for Alicia and the search for Ukiah's past and by how both searches wove together. I liked the annoying realistic touch of the really touchy maybe-relative (who turned out to be a deputy) and the overly bouncy trusting candystriper - don't we all have relatives like them? I particularly like how all of Ukiah's found families managed (with some hiccups and bruising) to work together and unite to become one family - Ukiah's - even with much misgiving on Max's part (and boy, does Max have reason to have misgivings).

[Jenny Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good sequel

This is weird coming of age story, with occasional depth. It was a fun read. Would probably appeal to the geeky teenage crowd, and those who used to be geeky teenagers.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is part of reread where I noticed I hadn't added any of the books except the the first one in the series so i am going to add the rest as I reread them.
so far it seems to hold up mostly pretty good.

[Cynthia Slaughter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alien fantasy

A lot happens in this book. Headed to Oregon to try and find a missing friend, Ukiah has a chance to find out more about his missing family pre wolf boy. Max encounters sparks with a local investigator. Alicia's trail leads to a nest of Ontongard.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good continuation of this series about a private investigator who was raised by wolves - and that's probably the most normal thing about him.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second is as good as the first and I'm looking forward to the next in line.

[Tracy Smyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying this series

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loving these characters. Great story, awesome character development. The baddies are awful.
It is a different story all around, great if you like paranormal mysteries with great character builds.

[Trace Jefferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread
This is a mix of urban fantasy and science fiction where the mc searches for a lost friend and his lost memories.

[Meg Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever! Creative! Welllllll written! There are some scenes from this book that have stuck with me for al the years since the first time I read it The world is rich and interesting. This is not a stand alone, though, and I do recommend reading all four as close together as you can. Well worth your time. So interesting! Books three and four are hard to find in bookstores. Mine are coming in the mail. :)

[Marie-claude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read March 2017.

This book builds seamlessly onto Book 1, expanding Ukiah's knowledge (and ours of course) of the fundamental questions of life; who am I, where did I come from, and who in this world is related to me.

Moving more into the sf genre, whilst still in an urban setting, as he/we learns and grows the tale is carefully teased, expanded and eked out.

Tainted Trail is an engrossing tale with unique solid characters and storyline.

Highly recommended.

['Nathan Burgoine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sequel to 'Alien Taste,' this is the second "Ukiah Oregon" book.

A bit of background for this science fiction / mystery crossbreed: Ukiah Oregon was found wandering in the woods when he was a kid, a 'wolf boy' living feral. He was found by a lesbian couple who used humane traps to work with wolves, and they took him home, and began raising him as their own - after hiring a private eye to try and track down who he really was. The P.I. failed, Ukiah lived with the women as a son, and eventually, he and the P.I. started working together. In the first book, you find out a lot about Ukiah's strange origins, and start to realize just what he is up against.

'Tainted Trail' picks up where 'Alien Taste' left off, in that Ukiah and his P.I. partner are seeking out a missing person, but the ancient evil alien race Ukiah went up against in the first book may be behind what's going on in the wild woods where his childhood friend went missing.

Wen Spencer really upped the ante on this one - the hits land closer to Ukiah's core, the damage dealt is harsher, and the blood and guts got me a bit nauseated in parts. On the plus side (not that the above is necessarily a con), the supporting cast to this book is much more flushed out and interesting, and the mystery itself was complex enough to keep me reading. If you like your science fiction with a mystery twist, and like complex genetic plots, this is the series for you. I'm certainly ready for book three (though I might read something a tad less violent first).

[TINNGG · Rating 4 out of 5]

It sucks you in. It's strange, confusing at times, and you must know what happens next, so you keep reading.

So Ukiah was largely oblivious to the opposite sex until he met Indigo. This had the side effect of hurting a friend who was apparently waiting for him to grow up (uh, that could take a while, seeing as how he only ages visually when he's severely injured). The friend takes off on a college trip of some sort and is kidnapped. Why she's kidnapped... I didn't really get. She found things about his past, but the people who grabbed her didn't know what she found, or who her connections were. They didn't realize what a can of mice (hah!) they were opening by getting his attention and that of the Pack.

And that's basically the story - he and his companions spend much of the book trying to figure out how, who, and why, only to figure out that it's the Pack enemy who apparently grabbed her because of what she was looking at but had no idea that in doing so, they'd get Pack attention.

I have to say, this basic theme only works if eventually there's resolution. There are only 4 books but is that because the series ended or because the author hasn't gotten around to writing more?

[Drew Doll · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so happy that I am finally reading this series.



This is book #2 in the series, and I would say it is marginally better than book #1. Book #1 I rated a 4, Tainted Trail is a 4.5. We see a greater depth of emotional development in Ukiah, but we are still lacking development in many of the surrounding characters. It is nice to meet Ukiah's family, and there is some more development with Max, and we meet and learn about Alicia, but still we don't have the same feel for the characters like we do in the Tinker series.

However, this is still a great read. Good plot, some nice twists (some you could see coming, but that's half the fun sometimes), story never seemed to drag, nice action sequences. This was a really fun way to spend a few hours. I would absolutely recommend this book and the entire series.



Would I read is again? Yeah, I sure would!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought the entire series in one swoop, a couple of years ago. I've recommended the series and author, Wen Spencer, to friends. But it's been a while since I've re-read the series. It's been long enough that I've forgotten most of the storyline.

I really like how Rennie is fleshing out. I like how Ukiah is finding more of his family, just as he needs them. I enjoy Ukiah's somehow pure love of Indigo; it's like first love without (I hope) the inevitable heartbreak of teenage first loves.

Some of the plot points seemed inevitable but it was fun getting to them anyway. I wonder if anyone in the family ever really figured out about Old Slow Magic. It would be wonderful to discover that our pets really did love us as much as we love them.

[Emily G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ukiah's story continues a few months after Alien Taste left off in Tainted Trail when Kraynak, their cop friend, asks for their help to find his missing niece, Alicia.

In this book, Ukiah returns to the part of Oregon that he was found and finds (literally!) a part of himself, as well as his mother's family.

I enjoyed this book as much as the first, because I love how the characters care about each other and go out of their way to protect one another. I just can't give it five stars because despite the fact that Max and Ukiah recognise the dangers of what would happen if the government found out he was part alien, they do seem to tell everyone and his mate! Plus the romance between Max and Sam is too deep, too quick for me to truly buy in to, much like Indigo and Ukiah's in the first book.

All that said, another very entertaining read!

[Jai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the SECOND book in the Ukiah Oregon series (not the first like the review below me states). It has been about 3 months since Ukiah found out what he was and met his father's people. He and Max have been asked to help Max's friend Kraynak (who appeared in the first book) find his missing niece Alicia in Umatilla National Park. This is right by Ukiah, Oregon, the place Ukiah gets his name. Not only is there a mystery to what happened to Alicia, but Ukiah's past life in Ukiah seems to be involved as well. Enjoyable storyline, its interesting to learn more about Ukiah's past and his family, though I think I like the first book slightly better. I can't put my finger on why though, so this is probably a matter of taste.