Cast In Shadow

By Michelle Sagara

Seven years ago Kaylin fled the crime-riddled streets of Nightshade, knowing that something was after her.

Children were being murdered—and all had the same odd markings that mysteriously appeared on her own skin. … Since then, she’s learned to read, she’s learned to fight and she’s become one of the vaunted Hawks who patrol and police the City of Elantra.

Alongside the winged Aerians and the immortal Barrani, she’s made a place for herself, far from the mean streets of her birth. But children are once again dying, and a dark and familiar pattern is emerging. Kaylin is ordered back into Nightshade with a partner she knows she can’t trust, a Dragon lord for a companion and a device to contain her powers—powers that no other human has.

Her task is simple—find the killer, stop the murders…and survive the attentions of those who claim to be her allies!

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Jun 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781408936672

Michelle Sagara

New York Times bestselling author Michelle Sagara writes as both Michelle Sagara and Michelle West; she is also published as Michelle Sagara West. She lives in Toronto with her long-suffering husband and her two children, and to her regret has no dogs. She can be found @msagara on Twitter or http://msagarawest.wordpress.com

Reviews for Cast In Shadow

[devilwrites · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My Review: 6 - Worth Reading, with ReservationsI've been wanting to read this book for quite a long time now. I was familiar with the author through LJ, and when this came out, it seemed like it'd be right up my alley. But I never got it. I waited forever, kept it on my wishlist, but never got around to picking it up. But a couple of years ago, the Christmas fairy delivered it to my doorstep, and it's been waiting on my attentions ever since. Thanks to all of YOU, dear readers, I've finally gotten the motivation to give it a go.The world-building is fascinating, and the crafting of characters is very well done. Each of the characters stand as individuals, with their own demons driving them. Even if I don't know entirely where they're coming from, I don't get the characters confused with one another, not even the minor ones. That's impressive, because the book is told predominantly from a single POV, so there's a lot of secondary, tertiary, and very minor characters to keep track of. And as I said before, the world-building is fascinating. I was quite impressed with the way the world and its magic and races were crafted, and I can see why this book has garnered quite a lot of praise.However, and you knew this was coming due to the rating, I can't say I ever really connected to the material emotionally. Or intellectually. It took me a while to warm up to the book. I recognized that this is well written, and Sagara doesn't bother spoon-feeding her readers: she makes you wait for your revelations, and furthermore, she forces you to figure things out for yourself. Whereas some writers would come out and just explain what's happening and why, Sagara uses character-building moments that build the tension, so that when the information is given that reveals what's happening, you really feel like you've earned it. My trouble is I felt like I was kept as such a distance the entire book that I really wanted, at some point, was for someone or something to give me a quick pat on the head and confirm what I thought was revealed. I don't need it info-dumped or spelled out in neon lights: just some kind of little confirmation in certain cases would've been great. This may be a me-thing, but it's weird when I finally think I figure out what's going on but feel unsatisfied because the author's been so deft, and so coy with the revelations that it's not like a light bulb turning on with all its dazzling brightness; instead, it's like one of those florescent bulbs that slowly brightens, but flickers while doing so and you're not sure if it's going to die or not.But there are moments of great beauty in this book: the description of the Dragons (and they're not what you think they are) was utterly fantastic. Then there's the hard-earned relationships that Kaylin has with her co-workers: I really feel those relationships, and the end rang on a fantastic note. So while I'm not rushing out to buy the next installment, I am sufficiently engaged to consider glomming onto this series when that mythical day of my conquering my TBR passes. For those looking for a unique take in the epic fantasy sense, you should consider this.

[jami_leigh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Plot: 4 stars
Characters: 4 1/2 stars
Style: 4 stars
Pace: 4 stars

Rather reminds me of Tamora Pierce's Beka Cooper series. There were a few points where I was confused, but they seemed to be the points where Kaylin was confused too, so I can't fault that.

[maaike15274 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received this through SantaThing this year, and what a good choice. Fast paced story, cool tough heroine (although a little bit at some point in the story) and good world building. I had great fun and it got me over my reading dip. Just what I needed.

[sunnysd_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When bodies of dead children tattooed with mysterious symbols begin appearing again, Hawk Kaylin is ordered back into the crime-riddled streets of Nightshade she fled from. With a man who once betrayed her and a mysterious colleague at her side, she finds far more in NightShade than she remembers leaving.Wonderful!

[bryndahlquis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The only thing really wrong with this is the writing. It's not too awesome. It feels like it -could be- spectacular, but it just isn't. Michelle Sagara is trying way too hard to be deep and poetic, but mostly it just ends up being nonsensical. Plus, she needs a lot more description of -everything-, from her characters to her scenery to the plot itself. She leaves waaaaay too much to the imagination. Meaning, I kind of had to fill in the gaps myself and hope I guessed right.Despite this, I did kind of enjoy it. I really like a lot of the characters, and Kaylin's stupidity is oddly endearing. Severn is dangerously close to a cliché, but somehow ends up all right. Tiamaris is awesome. Nightshade is pretty cool. Most everyone else is so-so.Michelle Sagara and her Elantra series has definite potential, it's just not quite there yet.

[shaiha_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely loved it. The characters (of which there are many) are unique and multidimensonal. The pacing is right on and the dialogue snappy. Makes for a great start to the series.I was also impressed by the narrator who does a great job of distingishing between each character's voice. I never had to wonder just who was speaking.

[christiesbookreviews · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cast In Shadow by Michelle Sagara is the first book in an intriguing series. I have never read anything like this before. The world she brings you into is very different. When I first began this series I really had to think to read it because it was a completely new world. With a new world I had to learn a lot. Now I know the world and it is easier to sit back and read without as much thought. Don’t be discouraged though. Cast in Shadow is a really good book and so is the series. Kaylin is a strong female character. She ran away from her past years ago and devoted her life to work for the law in Elantra. Now she is being confronted with her past and all the questions that come with it. One of those questions is about the marks that cover her body that have been there since she could remember. This is a wonderful world holding plenty of action and adventure and even some mystery. If you are looking for an interesting read this is a good book and series to invest yourself in.

[sailorfigment · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the story, but for most of the book I just wanted the characters to 'get on with it'. Dialogue is fine, but there was little description going on around it. The dialogue didn't always make sense and the characters didn't always explain things they expected the reader to know. I know the main character was supposed to be rash and immature, but but that doesn't mean the author can't tell the readers about things.I will read the next one in the series, but mostly out of morbid curiosity.

[bookaddictdiary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Young Kaylin left her home to find protection in the ranks of the Hawks, a type of peacekeeping, almost police-like force in Elantra. Sadly, she finds that she's not very good at magic, generally fails classes and is cursed with a strange gift that ties her to the past she tried to run away from. When the Elantran authorities investigate Kaylin further, her past returns and Kaylin is forced to unravel the mystery behind her strange past.Cast in Shadow sounds like a typical high fantasy novel with a butt-kicking heroine -and it pretty much is. The story, overall, was enjoyable and entertaining; I kept reading up until the very end. While the plot itself and characters are hardly original, the world of Elantra was really interesting to learn about and I enjoyed some of the secondary characters quite a bit. Sagara has a gift for fun, believable dialogue and has a great writing style that captures just enough of the novel to give the reader a picture of the world without overdoing the detail.So, with all these glowing remarks, why not more stars? Well...Cast in Shadow was "good" not "great." The originality was a little lacking for me and at points it felt like the characters sat around and talked too much. I was also was hoping that Kaylin would get a little more interesting, but she ended up being one of my least favorite characters in the book.I think this series has great potential to be even better in future installments. Heck, I'm interested enough to pick up book 2, so that's saying something.

[adambourke · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An incredible start to an incredible series. The world that Sagara has created is a fascinating realm of politics and fantasy, which is explored to the deepest levels. In this first novel in the series however, it is perhaps too deeply. By this I mean that there are some elements that remain confusingly complex until later books. Despite this only frustration however, the book is a brilliant read, and deserves a place on any fantasy-lover's bookshelf.

[mmillet_7 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Seven years ago, Kaylin left the fief of Nightshade with various demons at her back, vowing never to return. Since then, she has made it into the ranks of the Hawks - one of the three branches of peacekeepers in Elantra including the Wolves, Hawks and the Swords. She's worked hard to get where she is, overcoming a rough childhood where she lived on the brink of poverty, scrounging to make a life for herself. These fiefs are areas full of old magic that don't really come under any government jurisdiction and it shows as crime is rampant. But she's moved past all that (or so she thinks) when Kaylin's boss gives her a new assignment, asking her to investigate a recent murder in the fiefs along with - surprise, surprise - her childhood friend Severn who she doesn't exactly have fond memories of. The murders throw her back into the horrors of her past as the killings mirror those that occurred seven years ago and above all seem directly connected to Kaylin. Kaylin is determined to stop the murders this time around and with Severn and a Dragon at her back she is prepared to unravel the mystery no matter what the cost to herself.So much happens in this 400 page book but not always what I wanted to hear about. I found myself confused about several points in this book. For the first 100 pages or so, I was just confused. I had absolutely no clue what was going on most of the time - so much history, the different races - it was a lot to take in. It got better, but I was still floundering for the rest of the book. Most of the time I left a scene only understanding a piece of what just occurred. But that's not to say Sagara's world building isn't extremely impressive. Elantra is composed of six races: humans, Aerians, Dragons, Barrani, Leontine, and the creepy Tha'alani. Each has it's own complicated set of customs and caste system that I, for one, would have loved to learn more about. And I wish I knew more about Kaylin's early years spent with the Hawks and Severn's time spent with the Shadow Wolves. I know this book is intended to be the first in a series but I really wanted MORE. There were also a few inconsistencies that stood out a little too much: like the fact that even though Kaylin was raised on the streets she refers to herself at one point as a spoiled brat. Huh. I didn't know street urchins qualified as spoiled brats. But Kaylin herself is wonderful. She does what it takes to get the job done and I can't but help love her for that.

[jak1886 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was really hard for me to decide, once I finished this book, if I really liked the story or not. There were things about the novel that were good, but many that got on my nerves. I came to the conclusion, after some deliberation, that there were two things that irked me about this book.One was that I had a hard time with the way the main character, Kaylin Neya, acted. She's twenty years old, but through her actions, thoughts, and words, I felt like she was thirteen, which was also a time in her life when traumatic things happened to her. It irritated me how immature she seemed for her age. I'm still not sure if the author did that on purpose or if that's just what the author thinks 20 year olds act and think like. My suspicion is that it was done on purpose, trying to show how much the past effects Kaylin, but having said that, it could have been written so much better. Kaylin didn't have to act like a thirteen year old to show that she was still partially stuck in the past. I felt like Kaylin was acting like one of those kids that, after being reprimanded, sticks her tongue out at her disciplinarian when their back is turned.I also really didn't like the constant mystery and alluding to events that happened in Kaylin's past. The author took way too long to explain the way Kaylin acts towards Severn, a boy she once knew in the "fiefs" (what could be compared to slums), who becomes her partner in a branch of "law enforcers" called the Hawks. During their first encounter after 7 years, she tries to kill him. More than half of the book leaves you wondering what Severn could have done to warrant this type of reaction, and her subsequent treatment of him. This thread of the plot is dragged out much longer than necessary. The reader doesn't find out until well through the 2nd half of the book. The "event" is constantly being referred to without the reader being "allowed" to know what the actual event was.Other than those two things, the story wasn't half bad. Her other characters were more likeable than Kaylin. The world and types of races that Sagara creates are really rather intriguing, and the actual story line isn't half bad. I just wish that Sagara had taken a different approach to revealing Kaylin's past in the fiefs, as well as making Kaylin a more mature woman.

[psychobabble4u · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am now on book three of the series, which means I read and finished this book. I was engaged in the story but got lost several times when the author failed to help me understand her concepts. I liked the characters and the story, I just think the author got caught up in the fantasy at times and was unable to put it into words the reader could understand.

[crazybatcow · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ummm... it was a very difficult book to finish. Not because it's a hard read, it just wasn't engaging enough to make me want to keep reading. I kept putting it down (and, in fact, ending up reading a non-fiction while in the middle of this because it was more engaging!).And the last quarter of the novel was very rushed. First 3/4 spent setting up the history, plot and romance, last quarter to do all the action (except, of course, fulfilling the romance - and isn't Luna supposed to be a romance line?). It's almost like a different writer took over at the end - the writing gets "poetic" and flow-y and is told in fast forward... actually becoming, well, juvenile.I don't think I'll waste my time with more in this series.

[seekingflight · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was a little disappointed by this fantasy crime novel. Based on the jacket, I’d expected a sophisticated tale of court intrigue. Instead, I got an impetuous teenager with a mysterious past, working with someone from that past, trying to solve a series of murders where the corpses are all tattooed similarly to tattoos that exist on her own arms and thighs. I might have been better able to accept it on its own merits if I hadn't expected something so drastically different.

[terriko_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A murder-mystery set in an interesting fantasy world... and underworld. I didn't develop a deep love for the characters, but the story was compelling enough to keep me reading!

[mayameena_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I recently re-read this book in anticipation of the new addition to the series. It seems I like it more than I thought I did.Sagara's character definition is excellent, but the plot does seem to be a bit muddled here and there- it kind of seems to drag a bit until the last third of the book, which is so full of action that it's a bit confusing. Nevertheless, she has created a wonderfully detailed world with very well defined characters.

[bookwhisperer · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I tried reading this book, although, I did not get it finished. I could not keep up with all the information the first four chapter try giving you. I was not able to understand the alternate world that Sagara was trying to define.

[teharhynn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

These books were going as fast as they were coming in at borders, so I thought that I would see what the hype was. It was fantastic! I can't wait to get a spare moment to read the next one!

[elizabeth_s_51 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cast in Shadow was even better than Cast in Courtlight, which I read first.The beginning felt a bit slow to me — probably because it stopped to explain things I’d already figured out while reading the second book in the series — but once the story got going, I was hooked.Kaylin annoyed me a lot less in this book, and Severn enchanted me just as much, so that worked out well. (The scene where Kaylin explains why she’s mad at Severn was fairly chilling even already knowing the reason.)

[lewispike · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have some very big issues with this book, but... I love it despite them.The book throws you in to the middle of a complex society and a long back history for the main character. This can, of course, be a plus and is more realistic, but it was handled in a way that left me wondering, for a reasonable period of time, if I was reading the second or third book in a series rather than the first one.In addition, quite often the end of one chapter is pretty much repeated, sometimes almost word-for-word as the start of the next chapter, making me wonder if it was originally published serially.Despite that, the characters are interesting, the setting is interesting, the central conflict and most of the sub-plots are interesting. The overall impact is of a new movement in fantasy. It was good, but it could have been so much better.

[amberwitch · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Kaylin is a member of the law enfordement organisation in the emperial city, but she is also a young woman with a troubling past and unexplainable powers of healing and killing. Forced to face her past to stop a series of ritually killed children she discovers that she is the cause of, and her transformation from healer to death goddess the final goal for these killings. The writing is occasionally a bit uneven, but the worldbuilding is intriguing and Kaylin is a belivable and interesting character.I am not sure the internal logic of the story is completely sound - there is a lack of explanation regarding events of the killings - but since there is no efford to explain everything in the novel, and a lot of things are purposefully left obscure I don't see it as a major flaw in the story.

[rocalisa_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Seven years ago Kaylin fled the crime-riddled streets of Nightshade, knowing that something was after her. Children were being murdered -- and all had the same odd markings that mysteriously appeared on her own skin . . . Since then, she's learned to read, she's learned to fight and she's become one of the vaunted Hawks who patrol and police the City of Elantra. Alongside the winged Aerians and immortal Barrani, she's made a place for herself, far from the mean streets of her birth. But children are once again dying, and a dark and familiar pattern is emerging, Kaylin is ordered back into Nightshade with a partner she knows she can't trust, a Dragon lord for a companion and a device to contain her powers -- powers that no other human has. Her task is simple -- find the killer, stop the murders . . . and survive the attentions of those who claim to be her allies!This was another reread for me. The first time I read Cast in Shadow I came away from it a bit frustrated. I liked the story and the characters, but I was left with a feeling that I hadn't really got the book. A friend who borrowed it and liked it, admitted that she had read it twice, and it had made a lot more sense the second time. I decided I would reread it myself some time in the future, probably before reading the sequel as I knew I wanted to continue with the story.Due to complications of US and Australian publication and budgetary constraints, I actually got hold of volume 2 and volume 3 of the series at about the same time. So all three books sat on the TBR shelf for a while until I finally picked up Cast in Shadow for that planned reread.My friend was right. It made much more sense the second time. I liked the story just as much as before, but I understood it better this time as well. All the same, but original problems do remain. My feeling is that Sagara has done some excellent and probably complicated worldbuilding. However, she hasn't managed to convery the details of her world to the page as well as she might have done. I had to pay attention, knowing where I'd been confused before, to pick up on things I had missed. They were there, but still not easy to find.My other issue had been that Sagara leaves just a bit too much up to the reader. I'm all for leaving the reader to do some of the work, but if the hints and clues aren't clear enough, said reader (or me, anyway) can't necessarily pick up on them. The characters kept sharing speaking glances or having moments of understanding where there wasn't enough information for me to work out whatever it was they were realising. In some cases it didn't seem to matter, but it others it might have done and I don't know because I missed it.But it is still a good book. It's still an interesting story with engaging characters and some very clever ideas and plot twists. I was interested in reading the sequel before and I am more so now, especially since I feel like I understand the political system a bit better and everything suggests that will be significant in book two.Don't let my comments put you off - this is a good book. It's just that you have to be awake and pay attention. Don't expect to skim along the surface and have everything explained to you, because it doesn't work that way.There are a number of different races in this world and it is important to come to some understanding of each one, most especially the immortal Barrani, whose past seems to be coming back to haunt the entire population. They are left deliberately obscure by Sagara, but hopefully more will be revealed as the books go on. Cast in Shadow is the first of at least four books, possibly more, so I guess if everything was explained in the first volume there wouldn't be a lot left for the later ones.So stay awake and you'll be rewarded with a very good story. As always, I have to find the time, but I'm looking forward to Cast in Courtlight (which has the most beautiful cover) and Cast in Secret.Cast in ShadowMichelle SagaraThe Chronicle of Elantra, Book 18/10Followed by:Cast in CourtlightCast in SecretCast in Fury (forthcoming)

[fictiontheory · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I think overall, the book gets a B+. It would have gotten an A, but I had a few issues with it. My big problem with it was that I felt, in a lot of places things were explained long after they should have been explained.For instance, the history between Kaylin and Severn doesn't get fully explained until page 263, but she tries to kill him on page 21. I went through a lot of the plot really sort of frustrated that I wasn't being told the situation, and it didn't make it anymore dramatic for me. If anything, it made me more reluctant as a reader to invest in the situation between Severn and Kaylin, because I wasn't sure what it was or why it mattered.While I don't mind having an explanation held back for the sake of plot or suspense, it really sort of aggrivated me that the story went along and I wasn't being told a lot of things that I think I should've been told.Also, Kaylin's status with the Hawks, what her position was, and why she was being given her assignment were also explained later than I would've liked. It also wasn't made entirely clear to me, until much too late, why the Lords of Law who basically ignore the fiefs were sending Kaylin & Company out to the fiefs to investigate a series of deaths or why Lord Nightshade wasn't handling it himself.I don't know whether it's an error or just the mark of how the fiefs contrast with the city, but the entirety of the Hawks were basically out looking for one foundling, but 40 some odd children get hacked (that's the total, IIRC) and the Lords of Law didn't get involved until after Kaylin showed them that they had a reason to care.There were also places where Kaylin's trauma and childhood in the fiefs just didn't ring *true* to me. There's a scene where she's explaining to the Hawklord about what happened and I'm not sure how to explain it, but Kaylin's dialog is a little too...poetic(?) to really get the oomph. The thing is, she had a rotten childhood - and not wanting to talk about it makes perfect sense, but when she does talk about it, it just doesn't hit me.It doesn't feel really real to me, and I realize that it's really hard for anyone to try to describe that kind of trauma without risking it sounding sort of fake.But I felt that it suffered from the same prose-level issue that the novel did. On a sentence level there was a lot of *fluff*.Let me give you an example:"She heard Severn land. Cursed him; he was lighter on his feet than she had been, and he weighed a lot more." (pg 461)The problem is that a) she curses people a lot, to the point where it become ineffective and sort of cliche in and of itself and b) given the situation, do we need to know this?Yeah, she's probably thinking, "You suck" - but I didn't need to be told that. I know that Kaylin's got a 'tude. I've spent this entire novel hearing about Kaylin's 'tude. I got it. Get on with the action, please.There are a lot of places where thoughts that Kaylin is thinking seem unneccesary to explain, especially later on in the book where, since we have such a clear idea of her character, we can just extrapolate that for ourselves.The same goes for descriptions of Lord Nightshade. It seems like every smile/laugh is dangerous/not really a smile/as close to it as a Barrani gets. After the first few paragraphs of that sort of thing, I wanted to say, "Hey! I get it, he's dangerous and dark and spooky. All the Barrani are stoic and spooky and grim. You can let me fill that in for myself now."And the phrase "pay the price" is kind of overused, I felt. Oh, and I found an outright typo."Frightened, because a madmn was running free in the fief. (pg 276)For this, however, I do not blame the author entirely. Come on, I know y'all got copyeditors over at Luna. Use 'em.Another *big* problem was that I'm not sure I buy that if Kaylin has the kind of power she does that they'd let her be a ground Hawk. Especially since much ado is made at the end of her powers and it's clear that the Emperor *knows* about them.If I was the Emperor and I knew that somebody had that kind of mojo, I wouldn't let them run around as a *beat cop*.And of course, the novel suffers from "Stay Tuned For the Sequel" syndrome, but not as badly as some I've read. *coughcoughMelusinecoughcough*. We get a fairly satisfying wrap up with a twinge of uneasiness at the end, which I enjoy.The reason I get a little tetchy about this is because otherwise the novel is quite good. The characters are sharply and clearly defined, they feel very real for the most part and they were interesting to read about.I enjoyed the major characters and the minor characters equally, and I'm particularly fond of Marcus - and I love that he's a lion. In fact, I loved all the Leontines in the book and I'd love to hear more about them.I liked Kaylin, even though there were moments when she edged towards Mary Suedom. I particularly appreciated that she *wasn't* let off the hook for being messy/late, and I mostly really liked her because she was so determined to be a Hawk and be a good Hawk. It wasn't her tough attitude in the end, but when she got attached to the kids at the foundling hall that really made me feel for the character.I think it's because whenever I see a character who turns something negative in their past into a positive, rather than moaning and angsting, it makes me really enjoy them.Severn, Tiamaris, and Kaylin are like OT3 for me now, because it was kind of hilarious in some parts to think about Severn and Kaylin bickering like children and Tiamaris sighing and being exasperated.Tiamaris got a little lost in the mix, though, and I really wanted to know more about him. 'cause you just *know* he had to be looking at Kaylin sometimes and thinking the Dragon equivalent of "bitch please". Plus, I adore characters who manage to be practical on the Machiavellian level without being evil.I'm not sure if there's a Lord Nightshade/Kaylin 'ship in this novel or not. There were times when I got a 'shippy vibe, sometimes not so much with the 'shipiness.There's also some moments of rather wonderful meta in this novel, particularly about the power of names and the idea of being *called* into being by your name. Interpellation is the formal, literary-type name for this sort of thing. I like that magic is used to play with the idea that when someone names you, they have a bit of power over you.Because it's true on a very practical level. In our society, if someone knows your name they can google you and find out a heck of a lot more about you. Also, a lot of time the police can collect all the evidence they like - but it's worthless because even if they have DNA and fibers and evidence, they don't have a *name*. And when someone dies who's identity we don't know, we give them a name. We call them Jane/John Doe. It's as though we feel compelled to be able to *call* them, even though we'll never talk to them or summon them.I also find it very meta-y, ironic, and kind of nice that Kaylin herself has two names - and that she hides her old one because it *does* have power over her, only to find that the new one has just as much.There was also some meta, not as well developed, on language and what power language has. I liked the phrase Kaylin used about stuffing meaning into boxes.It was a damn good book, and as soon as I get some more book money, I'm going hunting for the sequel.

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Kaylin fled Nightshade years ago and found herself a home with the Hawks. She helps police the city of Elantra. However her past has come to haunt her, the past that she tried to run away from.Slow to start and as it assumes the mileu before starting it is slightly confusing but after a while it did come together in my head and I really enjoyed it, there were occasions where I'm not sure that the author knew exactly where the story was going but once it got going it got there well.