What a Terrific Story! Had me riveted from the very first sentence, when I fell in love with Manchee, the talking dog. As Todd, the hero, says, “When dogs learn to talk, you learn that they don’t have a lot to say!”

There were huge themes going on in this book. Boyhood to manhood, imperialism, fundamentalism, love, friendship, blind passion and madness. The story rollicks along at an incredible place and leaves you desperately wanting to know what happens next. I hadn’t realised that it was a trilogy when I started, but suspected it would have to be after a little reading. The paperback is out in October and I can’t wait.

I remember waiting for the next instalments of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. I’ve not been that keen to read a sequel since. Indeed, I felt this was influenced by Pullman in the best of ways. The relationship between Todd and his dog was almost like Lyra and Pantelaimon, her Daemon, in His Dark Materials. There’s a similarly hopeless religious undercurrent too.

I’ve just bought it for a 12th birthday present because I’m sure the young man will really enjoy it. This could become a great coming of age book for boys. It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s scary, it’s fast, it’s Fab!