David's road fighting the Kur takes a new twist, trying to uncover the secrets of the new threat byt the Kur. His sense of honor and need to help others leads him to the path of the Cats. It's not a pretty world, but it is interesting reading.
( )

So the main character turns into a Cat instead of being a Wolf. And some romance with some other Cat. Some sort of new menace, blah, blah, blah.
I enjoyed this as much as the first book, but don't know how the overall series will end up going... ( )

Typically I'd rate this as a 4 star book. The first book of a great series gets an extra star for introducing me to a wonderful world & this book gets an extra one for introducing two more characters that continue through the series & add a lot. One is a female action hero, the other... well, I don't want to spoil the surprise. Read it!

Again, the world is realistically, but quickly drawn. It's a fairly fast read, but contains enough detail to paint the world in perfect detail. Knight does well with horses, the trials of travel, & with human ingenuity & spirit.

I could babble on, but if you liked the first book, [b:Way of the Wolf|282284|Way of the Wolf|E.E. Knight|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309202032s/282284.jpg|273837], which you should read first, you'll love this. If you just have this one, I think it would stand alone fine, though. If anyone does that, please let me know how it went. Knight certainly doesn't bog down with a lot of rehashing of the previous book, but does fill in where needed.

Again, Knight gives a brief foreword that's great, as is the reader. I can't recommend this series highly enough in either written or audio format. ( )

It’s best if you read Way of the Wolf before going into this one, as events flow from one book to the other. It was off to quite a slow start although I thought the idea of the Twisted Cross was interesting and worth the read. The action does pick up but not for a while as the reader follows Valentine through his training to be a Cat (uber stealth soldier).

I’m still on the fence about Valentine. Actually, let me take that back. He’s starting to annoy me. However I can’t just drop the book because I find the main character annoying. Why? because the supporting characters in this book actually help and made my reading rather entertaining. I’d have to say Duvalier is awesome. She’s just what this series needs. She may not be perfect (she does carry baggage with her) but she provides that bit of life to carry on the plot and made it interesting. She’s definitely got grit. Now what got to me was Valentine trying to get into her pants or admiring her from every angle possible. Oh for crying out loud. Seriously? Is this series going to be like James Bond where he has to do at least one female character in every book? because if it is, I’m afraid of pursuing this series further.

Another character that really stood out was Ahn-kha. He’s hard to describe, although he seems to be this rather large, hairy sasquatch looking furry thing but really overall seems to be such a gentle giant. I liked him from the start and was rather glad he joined the plot as well. I suppose, it was his gentle manner that endeared me to him. Not only that but well, he’s really like a talking Chewbacca. How can you not like him?!

The plot as mentioned before, was off to a slow start, but it does pick up its’ pace with battles here and there. It seems to be the standard method of these books but it helps carry the plot along. It’s not too bad, as the action scenes are well written, but I’m sure it’s going to get old quickly and hopefully things will change as the series progresses. The ending leaves off to the reader looking forward to another adventure and wondering where Valentine is off to next.

Fans of Way of the Wolf will probably enjoy this one just as well. Otherwise it might not be for everybody. I thought it was all right although I’m in no rush to get the next one. I’m just getting ready to roll my eyes at the next love interest Valentine has. Seriously, I do not find the appeal in Valentine. All I see is a robotic super soldier. (Unlike some book crushes I have) :P but that’s another story. I’d say take it or leave it with this one. However if you do pick this up, read it for its’ great supporting characters, because Valentine just gets annoying after a while. ( )

If you liked the first book in this series, you'll like this one about the same. The story is very similar - just different "events' but, basically, Valentine saves the day.

This one does have a bit less detail on the alien life forms (why, who, what) and is more military adventure than science fantasy (more like David Weber's March Upcountry than a post apocalyptic novel).

Anyway, it's entertaining, violent, satisfying, non-political and non-cheesy so I'd say give it a go. ( )