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shantastic's review
4.0
Wow. This book was exactly what I needed. Everything is just about perfect, from the very well-drawn characters to the setting (which I don't normally pay attention to but which I was impressed with) and the themes explored.
First the characters. I loved Ukiah Oregon. In fact, he may have to supplant Miles Vorkosigan as the fictional character I would run off to live in sin with if he were real. He's a sweet, noble guy who loves deeply and purely and with all that he is. And you know that being raised by a lesbian couple has made him into the kind of man any woman would want to be with.
The secondary characters are also very well drawn. I was especially intrigued by Max Bennet, Ukiah's mentor and partner. I loved watching them interact. Max has also had a ton of crap heaped on him, but thanks to Ukiah, he is slowly beginning to heal. And we know this because we are shown, not told, which is one of the book's other strengths.
I mentioned the setting was well-done. The book is set in Pitsburgh, and it's very clear that Spencer knows about Pitsburgh. In fact, it's sort of amusing that the setting stuck out to me at all, because I kept being reminded of a Mage: the Ascension game I used to play in, which was run by a native of Pitsburgh who mentioned several of the same settings Spencer used in the book, which was cool and added more pleasant associations to my reading.
As for the plot, you'll notice the question mark under the book's genre. I really don't know how to classify this book. It's got a very definite urban fantasy feel for about the first two-thirds, reminding me of a somewhat grittier Charles de Lint (which is, natch, a good thing), but then it takes a left hand turn and goes wandering off into science fiction land.
The sci-fi elements of the plot were definitely not my favorites. They seemed straight out of a cheap B movie, and even though they made sense for the story, some of them seemed beyond preposterous and I had to roll my eyes.
I'm also not sure how well the romance worked for me. I can't decide if I thought it was rushed or if it made sense that Ukiah would fall for the person he falls for so quickly because he just seems to love people so intensely anyway. I think I'm leaning toward the latter, because it is one of the sweetest romances I've read in a while, but I'm not normally a fan of the characters meeting and professing their love mere days later.
Overall, despite its flaws, this was a great book which I highly recommend. I definitely intend to read the sequel as soon as possible.
First the characters. I loved Ukiah Oregon. In fact, he may have to supplant Miles Vorkosigan as the fictional character I would run off to live in sin with if he were real. He's a sweet, noble guy who loves deeply and purely and with all that he is. And you know that being raised by a lesbian couple has made him into the kind of man any woman would want to be with.
The secondary characters are also very well drawn. I was especially intrigued by Max Bennet, Ukiah's mentor and partner. I loved watching them interact. Max has also had a ton of crap heaped on him, but thanks to Ukiah, he is slowly beginning to heal. And we know this because we are shown, not told, which is one of the book's other strengths.
I mentioned the setting was well-done. The book is set in Pitsburgh, and it's very clear that Spencer knows about Pitsburgh. In fact, it's sort of amusing that the setting stuck out to me at all, because I kept being reminded of a Mage: the Ascension game I used to play in, which was run by a native of Pitsburgh who mentioned several of the same settings Spencer used in the book, which was cool and added more pleasant associations to my reading.
As for the plot, you'll notice the question mark under the book's genre. I really don't know how to classify this book. It's got a very definite urban fantasy feel for about the first two-thirds, reminding me of a somewhat grittier Charles de Lint (which is, natch, a good thing), but then it takes a left hand turn and goes wandering off into science fiction land.
The sci-fi elements of the plot were definitely not my favorites. They seemed straight out of a cheap B movie, and even though they made sense for the story, some of them seemed beyond preposterous and I had to roll my eyes.
I'm also not sure how well the romance worked for me. I can't decide if I thought it was rushed or if it made sense that Ukiah would fall for the person he falls for so quickly because he just seems to love people so intensely anyway. I think I'm leaning toward the latter, because it is one of the sweetest romances I've read in a while, but I'm not normally a fan of the characters meeting and professing their love mere days later.
Overall, despite its flaws, this was a great book which I highly recommend. I definitely intend to read the sequel as soon as possible.
juliemawesome's review
3.0
Would not have thought this book something I'd like if I'd read a description of it. Detective with a strange past. Amnesia - raised by wolves - special powers - yadda yadda. But surprisingly, I did like it pretty well. The character reminds me in some ways of the man character in A Brother's Price. Not a hard-boiled detective by any means. A sweet guy, pretty young, who could use a cuddle. And wouldn't mind one at all.
After the wolf-raising, he is raised by two moms. So there's a bonus there.
Some aspects show it to be a book written early in her career. There were a couple things I had to read two or three times to figure out what it meant. Just a matter of phrasing and clarity. And some relationships seem to change and grow rather more quickly than I quite found realistic.
Other than that, pretty good. And part of a series, so I will probably get around to the others eventually, if not immediately.
After the wolf-raising, he is raised by two moms. So there's a bonus there.
Some aspects show it to be a book written early in her career. There were a couple things I had to read two or three times to figure out what it meant. Just a matter of phrasing and clarity. And some relationships seem to change and grow rather more quickly than I quite found realistic.
Other than that, pretty good. And part of a series, so I will probably get around to the others eventually, if not immediately.
depizan's review
3.0
This is a hard book to categorize. It would be urban fantasy, except it's actually urban sci-fi, which isn't a category I've actually heard of. (Not to say there aren't others, just not that I've encountered.) But it's also a murder mystery. Let's just go with: it's complicated.
It's also a hard book to review. I liked the main characters, and it's got an interesting 5 minutes into the future setting. But the story ran just a little grim for my tastes, even though it did manage a happy ending, and, for the most part things worked out well for the good guys. And, unusual for things that run to the grim, the main characters were caring and sometimes succeeded because they cared about other people. So, I guess it's more that some grim things happened than that the story was grim. If that makes any sense.
It's also a hard book to review. I liked the main characters, and it's got an interesting 5 minutes into the future setting. But the story ran just a little grim for my tastes, even though it did manage a happy ending, and, for the most part things worked out well for the good guys. And, unusual for things that run to the grim, the main characters were caring and sometimes succeeded because they cared about other people. So, I guess it's more that some grim things happened than that the story was grim. If that makes any sense.
alesia_charles's review
4.0
Alas, the covers for this series are uniformly bad - starting with the fact that the artist(s) didn't have the faintest idea of what a Native American man looks like. No doubt it didn't help that it's "secret" SF - very, very, very few people know that modern North America is infested with two types of aliens who are at war with each other.
It's a pretty good premise, and as the details of how this all started are slowly revealed through the series, I won't spoil it by saying more than that about it.
In this first volume, Ukiah Oregon (named for the town he was found near) learns of the war - and his unique place in it. Why didn't he know about it before? He was found running wild, having been raised, as far as he recalls, by wolves. Then he was raised near Pittsburgh by the lesbian couple that found him. Lately he's been working with a private investigator, using his extraordinary tracking skills to find missing people.
Missing persons cases, dangerous apparent-biker-gangs, dangerous aliens, and a vivid cast of characters (slightly-obsessive PI, lovely FBI special agent, badass Civil War veteran, and a little sister, among others) make for a worthwhile story.
It's a pretty good premise, and as the details of how this all started are slowly revealed through the series, I won't spoil it by saying more than that about it.
In this first volume, Ukiah Oregon (named for the town he was found near) learns of the war - and his unique place in it. Why didn't he know about it before? He was found running wild, having been raised, as far as he recalls, by wolves. Then he was raised near Pittsburgh by the lesbian couple that found him. Lately he's been working with a private investigator, using his extraordinary tracking skills to find missing people.
Missing persons cases, dangerous apparent-biker-gangs, dangerous aliens, and a vivid cast of characters (slightly-obsessive PI, lovely FBI special agent, badass Civil War veteran, and a little sister, among others) make for a worthwhile story.
fbone's review
3.0
I really liked the first half. Great characters and their relationships. Non-traditional. Interesting plot and mystery. However, the second half forced me to suspend belief too often. Several unusual human responses and huh? moments added to to it. Fast pace, fortunately. Can someone actually ride a motorcycle at speeds of 200 mph through Pittsburgh while maintaining control? Enjoyed it overall despite the ending.
apostrophen's review
4.0
This was a solid character-driven bit of Sci-Fi, and I quite liked it. I do hope it's the start of a series, but it stands alone quite well.
Ukiah Oregon was found in the wild, raised by wolves, and taken in by two women (Lesbian moms! Yay Wen Spencer!) and raised as their son. He grew into being a tracker for a private detective agency, because for some reason he has gifts - he can track DNA, can pull pictures in his head out of blood, and, most importantly, has a photographic memory that never fails.
Until he is assaulted in the woods by a woman he is tracking, and finds gaps in his memory, and suddenly, the strangeness of his own DNA is becoming quite central to his chances for survival: there are other people out there like him, and they very well might not be human...
Very well done! I'm happy to have found Spencer, and will have to look up and see what else might be out there by this author.
Ukiah Oregon was found in the wild, raised by wolves, and taken in by two women (Lesbian moms! Yay Wen Spencer!) and raised as their son. He grew into being a tracker for a private detective agency, because for some reason he has gifts - he can track DNA, can pull pictures in his head out of blood, and, most importantly, has a photographic memory that never fails.
Until he is assaulted in the woods by a woman he is tracking, and finds gaps in his memory, and suddenly, the strangeness of his own DNA is becoming quite central to his chances for survival: there are other people out there like him, and they very well might not be human...
Very well done! I'm happy to have found Spencer, and will have to look up and see what else might be out there by this author.
elusivity's review
3.0
Steady-paced beginning, fascinating premise, leading to frantically-paced, far less interesting action-thriller type ending.
Ukiah is a good-hearted young man apparently raised by wolves then taken in by his lesbian-couple moms, who now works with his partner Max as private detectives. He has uncanny abilities, such as photographic recall, rapid healing, and ability to analyze things by touch down to DNA level. I started off thinking this may be another werewolf story, but quickly found things are much stranger.In fact, Ukiah is genetically engineered product of human and an alien, Hex, intent to taking over Earth. Hex comes from a species that propagate itself by injecting DNA into living beings, which then transforms into Hex clone, with Hex's thoughts and memories, which are then capable of creating more Hex clones. Ukiah and the Pack that eventually finds him are all descended from one such clone who was somehow able to maintain its own thoughts, hated Hex, and opposed it in every way possible, whose legacy is its memories and cell-level hatred of Hex, which were passed down to the Pack and to Ukiah.
The alien species is very original in that their very cells mimic life, and have memories encoded down to DNA-level. When aliens /clones bleed or suffer dismemberment, the blood and body parts still strive to survive, and immediately mutate into different sized animals according to the amount of cells they contain -- i.e. field mice, mongoose -- a creepy-cute detail I've never seen elsewhere. These smaller life forms can be absorbed by other clones to share the original's memories, to change to the original's appearance, or be tortured then fed to grow into a full clone of the original. All of which happens to Ukiah's poor mice, as Hex attempt to thwart Ukiah.
I really liked the details and well-established relationships this book began with: Ukiah himself, quiet and pure, Max, his lesbian mothers, his little sister, his strange abilities and how they are used in his daily work. At mid-point, however, a switch is thrown and and the sense of depth and solid-world quality took a sudden backseat to plot. New characters are hastily introduced, mostly very thinly sketched. Events pull back sharply from the careful close-up of Ukiah's life, the mystery of his origin, to a global conspiracy spanning hundreds of years, involving a huge crowd of people, expanding outwardly all the way to Mars. The transition is jarring, and I think to the novel's detriment.
Still, an interesting read.
Ukiah is a good-hearted young man apparently raised by wolves then taken in by his lesbian-couple moms, who now works with his partner Max as private detectives. He has uncanny abilities, such as photographic recall, rapid healing, and ability to analyze things by touch down to DNA level. I started off thinking this may be another werewolf story, but quickly found things are much stranger.
The alien species is very original in that their very cells mimic life, and have memories encoded down to DNA-level. When aliens /clones bleed or suffer dismemberment, the blood and body parts still strive to survive, and immediately mutate into different sized animals according to the amount of cells they contain -- i.e. field mice, mongoose -- a creepy-cute detail I've never seen elsewhere. These smaller life forms can be absorbed by other clones to share the original's memories, to change to the original's appearance, or be tortured then fed to grow into a full clone of the original. All of which happens to Ukiah's poor mice, as Hex attempt to thwart Ukiah.
I really liked the details and well-established relationships this book began with: Ukiah himself, quiet and pure, Max, his lesbian mothers, his little sister, his strange abilities and how they are used in his daily work. At mid-point, however, a switch is thrown and and the sense of depth and solid-world quality took a sudden backseat to plot. New characters are hastily introduced, mostly very thinly sketched. Events pull back sharply from the careful close-up of Ukiah's life, the mystery of his origin, to a global conspiracy spanning hundreds of years, involving a huge crowd of people, expanding outwardly all the way to Mars. The transition is jarring, and I think to the novel's detriment.
Still, an interesting read.
vkemp's review
4.0
Ukiak Oregon's Mom Jo found him as a feral child eating a rabbit in a humane wolf cage when he was young. As the story unfolds, the reader discovers the secret behind Ukiah's unique tracking skills. He is a partner with Max Bennett in Bennet's private investigation agency. A missing woman whose body is found in a forest precipitates an FBI search for the perpetrator. Ukiah meets an FBI agent and falls in love. When she is kidnapped as well, Ukiah and Max start a desperate hunt for her before the enemy succeeds in killing her. Action-packed and a very entertaining premise. I will be reading the rest of the series.
aimee70807's review
5.0
This was a fun story --- 4.5 stars rounding up to 5. I didn't like it nearly as much as the author's A Brother's Price, but it was fun in a slightly comic booky action way. Definitely good worldbuilding...which I won't go into because pretty much anything I say would be a spoiler.
ld2's review
3.0
The plotline was enthralling and unique. I love the idea of alien werewolves that can sense DNA. However, Spencer's writing is a bit choppy as she seems to fumble around with character development and the pacing of the story. I can defeintely tell that was one of her older books that she wrote as her newer novels show a more sophisticated writing style. Therefore, I only expect this series to get better. I'm looking forward to reading the next few books.