Wolf Dawn, Susan Cartwright

Publishers: Hotspur

Pages: 344

Main Characters:

Ash, Lindha, Neopol Jones, Larren Forseth

Hundreds of centuries in the future, where humans have conquered and settled the galaxy, Wolf Dawn tells the tale of Ashton Chayton; the Prince of Delian. Delian was one of the first planets in the galaxy to become colonised by the human race. Because of this fact, the long period of habitation there has given the Delians a unique evolutionary gift, the ability to mind-touch. Mind-touch lets Delians read another being’s mind and for a time, lets them jump into that being’s body and become them. However, the gift is also a curse on the Delians as the evil and cunning Admiral Neopol Jones and his overlord John Andros attack Delian in an attempt to exterminate the Delian race because of this unique gift!

Luckily, Ash’s father, the King of Delian, mind-touches Neopol Jones and discovers his plans. The King smuggles Ash and his mother off Delian in an attempt to save his life and in an attempt to save the Delian race. They make it just in time and escape into space. However, this is only the first trail in young Ashton’s life. The death of his home world will plague him for the rest of his life. Ash’s need for revenge will see him grow older and stronger in the hopes of killing the man who was wrongly accused of destroying Delian; Larren Forseth. But during that time, Ash will learn to control his gift and find love as he tries to answer the many questions asked about his past and his future.

This book was amazing, but I must confess that when I picked it up to read I didn’t think it was going to be as good as it was. I don’t know why, but I got the feeling the book was going to be about werewolves! I think the front cover threw me a little bit. However, when I started reading it, I was pleasantly and excitingly surprised to find that it was an epic sci-fi novel and I mean it was really epic! From the first page, I was hooked! I love Ashton as a character. He is so vulnerable at the start of the book but he grows to become the hero he is destined to be!

I also loved the detail Susan Cartwright puts into the book. At the top of each chapter there is a short verse giving some context to the themes that happen in the chapter. I thought it was great how Cartwright used these to subtly give some more depth to her universe by giving the reader a little bit of history to help explain events in the book.

What I will say is that there are some weird parts to the book like Ash mind-touching a man who is making love to his mother! It may seem a bit of a strange topic, but stick with it because it is a crucial part in explaining what Ash’s motives and goals are and why he is the way he is.

Overall, this book was great and is by far one of the best books I’ve read this year. I think I liked it so much because it was not what I was expecting. Also, I was already looking for a sci-fi epic to read and Wolf Dawn really fits the bill!

I’d like to say a massive thank you to Susan Cartwright for getting in touch and introducing me to her wonderful work, I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the series Wolf Revenge! I would suggest this book to anyone who is a sci-fi lover! If you would like to purchase this novel, it is available in both paperback and for Kindle at Amazon.co.uk.

For author’s official website click here.

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my Book of the Month Competition for your chance to win a FREE copy of the Sword and Scimitar by Simon Scarrow! To enter, just follow the instructions on this post and for more information click here.