With their usual wit and candor, David Weber and Jane Lindskold have another winner in their young adult (YA) Stephanie Harrington series, Treecat Wars.
Stephanie Harrington, the discoverer of treecats on the planet Sphinx and newly appointed “provisional Ranger” with the Sphinx Forestry Service, is being sent to Manticore to with her friend Karl to participate in the Service’s accelerated training program. This is something of a shock to Stephanie, but a welcomed one, since she really does want to become a Ranger. However, a problem quickly arises — she cannot be separated from Lionheart, her treecat, due to their intense psychological and emotional bonding. She finds out that he is allowed to come, though not to every class she has, and some of her fears are eased. Her other fear, though, is her relationship with her boyfriend, Anders Whitaker would potentially end. But with his own imminent departure back home, however, it initially appears that everything would work out and they would be reunited sometime in the future.
Ah, like the authors are going to make everything neat and pat for us readers…
In the background, nefarious persons are still working to kidnap a treecat for study off world somewhere (subplots in both A Beautiful Friendship and Fire Season; A Beautiful Friendship is reviewed here). They realize that with Stephanie and Lionheart on Manticore, they will have an excellent opportunity to “prove” that the treecats are nothing more than wild beasts who deserve to be kept in private zoos for their own enjoyment. A plan is set in motion, one that could easily ruin what Stephanie and Lionheart have worked so hard to overcome.
With Stephanie off on Manticore studying to become a Ranger, the viewpoint of the book drifts a bit as the authors struggle to keep the book on point. This is the only part of the book where I was underwhelmed, but thankfully the drift doesn’t happen for too long as treecats, driven from their homes due to the fire season, accidentally encroach upon the lands of another clan. Starving and nearly destitute, they plead for help. However, they are not welcomed and are told to leave. They cannot leave, however, due to so many of their young being sick and weak. They remain, fishing and trying to survive at the edge of their rival clan’s lands. This leads to conflict, and the title of the book.
One of the most heart wrenching things about reading this book is the war between the clans. I’ve been a huge Honor Harrington fan for years, and my first introduction to a treecat was Nimitz, Honor’s treecat. The idea that the treecats war among themselves is a painful yet realistic reminder that even in fiction, life happens. It’s a horrible war, one that delves into the idea of the “mind sickness” that a treecat can suffer from (being natural empaths, it would only make sense that someone with a sick mind would hurt others in his or her clan) and how it affects others.
Stephanie Harrington continues to be the ideal teenage YA star, with her actions showing her bravery, loyalty and commitment to helping others, human and treecat alike. She is the right role model that young readers should be looking for, someone who is not entirely confident but still tries to do the right thing. As I mentioned above, this is the third book in the series, and I still highly recommend it for anyone looking for a new YA series that involves honesty, integrity and bravery. Books like this give me hope while being entertaining and exciting reads, and the young Miss Harrington has plenty to offer for any reader looking for something new and fresh to read. Definitely recommend for anyone ages 10 and up.
–Reviewed by Jason
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