The character development was a bit wonky, particularly at the climax, but the plot was nice. I liked the emphasis on education over vigilantism. Learning through experience has plenty of value, as is also shown in the book, but good educators, book learning and solid classroom experiences can also help. I'm concerned that this is the end of the series. While we know in general where the Tree Cats and Sphinxians end up in relation to Manticore in general, and there's clearly a few future plots tied up in reasonably guessable ways, I'd prefer to see more of what's going to happen.

It was a good addition to the Honorverse series, and it's great to see Stephanie continue growing and working her way towards that giant portrait in Ranger HQ. It's still a bit sad, considering the "current" status of the Harringtons on Sphinx, when this book ends so hopeful. But it's a nice stand-in while we wait for another main series book. ( )

Early days in the Treecat World with this nice continuation of the Stephanie Harrington branch of Honorverse. Young love, venal villains, and Treecat trauma make this an interesting entry for young readers into the Worlds of Honor. ( )

For the fans of Mercedes Lackey and her telepathic horses, we have a sci-fi cat-filled adventure. I picked it up because I am a fan of Jane Linskold, but I am not 14 any more, sadly, so it doesn't light my candle like it would have then.

That being said, if you are a 14 year old, or a fan of Mercedes Lackey, pick this up! You might really like it.

My copy provided by Edelweiss. ( )

Spinx's human and treecat populations are dealing with the aftermath of the fire season. Because all the rangers are needed, Stephanie and Karl are given the opportunity to go to a special forestry course on Manticore. While Stephanie is excited for the opportunity, she is very hesitant to leave her new boyfriend Anders behind. She is also worried about taking Lionheart away from Sphinx.

Staying at home are Jessica and Anders who are dealing with a new group of anthropologists who have to come to Sphinx to study the treecats. They seem to have a hidden agenda about wanting the treecats to be declared minimally sentient and in need to being put on reservations.

Meanwhile, the Swaying Fronds Clan is suffering because their range was decimated in the fires and many of their most able members died when trying to escape the fires. The remaining clan are the old, the sick, and the very young. They need to find a place to live to survive the coming winter but the neighboring clan is also suffering and can't take in another clan. Even worse, the one member of the clan dealing with Swaying Fronds has gone insane because of the stress and managed to hide his condition from the mind healers of his clan.

Jessica and Anders find themselves caught in the war that occurs between Swaying Fronds and the neighboring clan and trying to keep the fact that treecats can and will kill each other from the anthropologists with agendas. Jessica and Anders also find themselves falling in love despite the fact that Anders is Stephanie's boyfriend and Jessica is her best friend.

I especially liked the sections of the books that were told by the treecats. I could feel their frustration in trying to communicate with the various "two legs" in their lives. Fans of science fiction will enjoy this entertaining story. ( )

Interesting - as good as the others in the series. It is more YA than the rest of the Honorverse, but that doesn't make it light - they're dealing with separations (a short-term, and the possibility of a long-term one), death, war between empaths, strong hints of long-laid plans behind a lot of what they've been dealing with in the first two books...Well, not exactly hints - we learn perfectly well that there are plans and something of why. The what...keeps changing, not to our heroes' advantage. Plus more standard YA stuff - love and loss and changing relationships (still not light, but more minor than the rest - not in our heroes' eyes, but in the eyes of (this, adult) reader). Nice to see Scott and Fisher again. I read the eARC, and there are a _lot_ of minor errors - typos and the like, plus stuff like at one point a human calls a 'cat by its treecat name, and three different 'cats apparently have three different names for the same person (I don't think so - could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's an error). I need to look at the finished work and see if those got fixed. I was under the impression that this was going to be a trilogy, but there's certainly plenty to go on with - the aforementioned plans, for one thing. I hope it does continue; aside from everything else (like great stories), this glimpse of early Manticore is fascinating. Not sure where these stories lie in relation to the Manticore Ascendant books, but they're either earlier or at the same time - no wormholes known. Enjoyed it, and will certainly reread, and look for more - it's a Weber, after all. ( )