Blurb:

Strider is content to die...

After 50 years, his revenge is complete and his purpose fulfilled. When a teenager steals the Hunter's sword,  his wolf companion Greer sees a way to help them both: in convincing Strider to escort the girl home safely, there's hope his friend might find the will to keep on living - to keep on fighting.

But this is no ordinary job. His young employer is deeply entangled in a dark plot that threatens her and her fiefdom. Strider must employ his magic and battle training to ensure their survival against soldiers and mercenaries out to claim their bounty.

Can these unlikely allies find a way to survive, or will their differences and secrets destroy them all?

Review:

I need a Greer. Badly; I have a Koda, but man, it’s just not the same. 

Oh, let me back up a second. Greer is a di’horvith; a half-dire wolf and INCREDIBLY amazing animal pal to his human, Strider. Strider…well he’s no Greer, but still pretty awesome as we’ll come to see.

The story starts off with Strider, who is grievously injured and pretty much ready to die. Like most of us parents at bedtime. The only reason he’s content to stay is because of his connection to the wolf but he’s not exactly enthused about it. As Strider falls asleep in the woods, a young girl tries to steal his sword but is very quickly caught as she tries to escape. That’s how we, and Strider and Greer, meet Addy. 

Strider and Addy couldn’t be more opposite, and it’s the key part of the story. The ways in which they each grow is really fun and emotional to watch. The bond between them is heavily reminiscent of other “gruff old man/energetic young girl” types, like Geralt and Ciri or Sandor Clegane and Arya, but unlike both of those other examples, we get to focus solely on them throughout the story without any other outside characters for the most part. Besides those big three actually, the only other character we spend a decent amount of time with is Tevin, a knight who we encounter about halfway through the story. 

This actually turns out to be the most incredibly well-done aspect of the book. It’s written in what’s known as third-person omniscient, which I admittingly had to look up. It’s when the “voice” often knows and shares more with the reader than the character perspective does, and is apparently pretty challenging to pull of properly, but after learning more about it and seeing what other people thought too, it’s very clear that Aagard did so FLAWLESSLY. It was so smooth that I didn’t even pick up on it, but the way in which we switched POVs between characters was done seamlessly, and didn’t feel awkward or confusing at all. It helped to provide much more clarity than it would have if we were just viewing the story from one person’s eyes, and I thought it enhanced the book tremendously. 

As the story goes on, it becomes apparent that both Strider and Addy are much more than meets the eye. I’m going to refrain from any potential spoilers, and you’ll thank me for my discretion, believe me! What I can and will say, is that the journey progresses to a fever pitch, building to an intense climax that makes the book feel incredibly fulfilling. For a book that’s around 600 pages, it never felt like a chore to me. I honestly could have read another 600, but I’m content to hold off for book two! 

One of the other things that I thought was very cool was the way in which magic was used. It wasn’t the typical case of “hey we’re being chased, throw a fireball at that guy!” but it had real implications, both physically, and spiritually. Throughout the course of the book there were occasions when it needed to get used, and the choice had to be made; who to use it on, how much to use before it became more detrimental than helpful, and what the repercussions would be by doing it. It made each occasion an incredibly difficult choice for the characters, and helped to add way more tension to the scenes. 

This book was definitely a slow burn to start, but like I said, it never felt like a chore to read. I was invested almost immediately in both Strider and Addy’s stories, and having a third character with them like Greer, who isn’t able to speak (duh; he’s a dire-wolf but SUCH A GOOD BOY, YES HE IS, YES HE IS!) was also a very interesting and unique way to help build relationships and further the plot.

Overall, I thought this was an absolutely amazing book, and one that I’ll be recommending to anyone; not just for fantasy fans, but all readers. I’m very grateful so many people recommended it to me, because it’s sure to be a staple on my “favorite books of 2025” going forwards, and it’s still only a few weeks in!