Fox Rising by Ashley J.Barnard

I really enjoyed "Shadow Fox", the first book in the series, despite a few minor flaws, and I find myself really wanting to like this, the second volume, too.  In principle it's a fine story and an enjoyable read, although not quite to the same addictive levels of Shadow Fox, but it's still well put together.  There are several "technical" flaws in the story to do with the mechanics of dark/middle ages warfare.  Many of these would not be a problem if you know nothing of the mechanics of the era, but I found it a slight distraction to the story.

Once again, Barnard has structured a good, enjoyable story, which I liked and enjoyed reading.  However, I found the flawed character of Jared now becoming annoying and instead of liking him and wanting things to turn out well for him (and Tarika and Nathaniel), I'm now beginning to detest his selfish egocentric attitudes and desires.  This may be how Barnard wants his character to develop, the (seriously) flawed hero, but I find myself disliking him most of the time now instead of finding him a loveable rogue and I cannot see how Tarika can still have any urge to be near him.

I know I've been more critical here than of the first book.  None of it is particularly serious as I guess that most of it is needed for the storyline to proceed how Barnard wants it to.

All in all, a solid story - much better than many on the market and if you like the contemporary/fantasy crossover it's definitely worth reading.

It's certainly worth pursuing if you've read "Shadow Fox".

You can buy it from;

amazon.co.uk and amazon.com

The authors webstite can be found at http://www.ashleyjbarnard.com/