Blacktail by Scott Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Blacktail is such a unique Dark Fantasy story. Admittedly, not something I would typically gravitate towards, however, I’ve heard such great things about Scott Hawkins writing, I had to jump on board for his latest work.
This story follows a wolf named Blacktail, in a world beseiged by men, who sets out on a journey of revenge for the death of his mate.
The entirety of the story is told via a cast of animal characters. I know books like this exist, but this is the first one I’ve ever read. I’m generally super sensitive to animal content, so never really dare, but this kept me captivated.
The tone is that of a Dark Fable, and while I feel like the meaning went way over my head, I was enamored by the quality of the writing and the uniqueness of the content.
I loved how we followed Blacktail on this journey, and it felt like every place he stopped, the other animals he encountered, he was always learning something new. Through those experiences it almost felt like little vignettes. I enjoyed that.
I’m truly in awe of how Hawkins made these characters feel so stunningly realistic. Here I am reading from a perspective of a squirrel like, yeah, that makes sense.
So, while I wouldn’t chose to the lead the discussion in book club on this one, I still had a great time with it. It did make me feel a little simple. LOL
Thank you to the publisher, Crown Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was certainly a unique reading experience!