By Tooth and Claw by Bill FawcettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I loved this entry into the Clan of the Claw universe. Exiled: Clan of the Claw set up the worldview with the “dinosaur” vs. “mammal” competition—dinosaur lords enslaved the cat peoples, and a cataclysm on this part of the planet has allowed for a more overt than covert rebellion. It’s standard fare for exploring a lot of issues. What I particularly enjoyed about this book and hope is expanded in the next entry is the intriguing concept of dance magic. There’s a mix of magic and mental and manual technology. The cats follow core shamanic practices, and are the dancers. There are a lot of bard stories with magical music of instrument and voice, and there are stories with dancers as assassins, but there haven’t been a lot of dancer magicians—dancers, period—in the SFF pantheon. Dancers are usually thrown in with actors and prostitutes—entertainers and seducers. There’s the Robinson’s Stardance series, and I remember a story in which first contact on Earth was facilitated by dance as communication, but this promises a lot more depth if continued. Anyway I love how the concept’s being carried out. Yes, buy!
I received an EARC for review from the publisher and Netgalley.
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