In his highly anticipated sophomore work, Scott Hawkins (The Library at Mount Char) expands his eccentric bibliography with a novel told from an animal point of view. The titular character of Blacktail is "half wolf" and experiences compounding traumas early in his life--the death of his family, mate, and puppies, all caused, one way or another, by humans. He attacks those responsible, unknowingly setting off a chain of events that reverberates along a supernatural, bestial grapevine to catch the attention of an ancient feline witch. This revered figure petitions Blacktail to go on a perilous, lengthy journey to the realm of the Forest God on behalf of the animal kingdom, which has mostly lost its veneration for "the hunt" in subjugation to the "two-legs." The long-sleeping god needs to be awakened to save the world's creatures from the scourge of humanity, and Blacktail is the one to carry this burden. He sets off on a quest beset by horrific wonders and mortal wounds, uncertain how he will find the Forest God--and what might happen when he does.
While this tale of a lupine messiah is not for the faint of heart, it's as engrossing and intelligible as it is strange and gruesome. Hawkins depicts animals desperately devoted to survival, their deities, one another, and--infrequently--humans. Underpinned by questions about faith, respect, and obligation, Blacktail sweeps readers along a magical and emotional exploration of the wildness buried within the creatures around them, who may still remember the hunt in their bones. --Kristen Coates, editor and freelance reviewer