Forests of the Night

I purchased this book not too long ago as a light summer read. I was suprised and pleasantly pleased at the wonderful storytelling that I was presented with. I usually stay away from detective/sci-fi novels, but this book has turned my preconceptions around concerning them. The story is set around a tiger-morph named Nohar Rajasthan, a species developed to serve in the Indian Military. He spends his time as a low income private detective, taking any good paying moreau(anthro animal-morph) case. The trouble begins when he takes on a strange case involving murder, politics, and humans (three things he's tried to stay away from). He suddenly finds himself wrapped up in gang related warfare, drug-dealers, a mad canine assassin, and a beautiful human miss...all without meeting the real enemy yet! This book is fast-paced and a wonderful treat for anyone who likes anthros, detectives, sci-fi/fantasy, and/or action/adventure. I delighted in reading about all the characters, good or bad (my personal favorite was Manny ^-^). Nohar is believable (and even likes cats!) and I found myself rooting for him to the very end! A great read, A+ !

This book is simply astounding. The best thing I've read in nearly ten years. Okay, I originally picked this one up because I'm a furry fan (if you don't know what that means, well... go search for it), but I was pleasently surprised to find one increadible story loaded with deep characters, a super-complicated plot, dark social comentary, and a touching love story to boot.What makes the story so great is Nohar. At first you wouls expect the hero to be the strutting, macho, "no man can stop me" action hero kind of guy. Like Rambo, only that he's a tiger. This just isn't the case. Nohar is humble, he's poor, he gets nervous in certain situations, and at times he can be very vulnerable.Swann does a spectacular job of putting Nohar in a horrible situation that just gets worse after every corner. Just when you think Nohar's hole couldn't get any deeper, it does. In a word: Intense. I was in a cold sweat reading this book, it was that good. The action and suspence are mindblowing, but what really made it for me was the suble, yet touching love story that quietly develops, and gives a sign of hope for a dark, dark furture.A tour de force. Read this book!

One of the best Detective novels ever. Swann's book combines the traditional gumshoe with a political thriller and the racial paranoia of the 50's and 60's to create a truly unique literary experession. Yet inspite of all the complex intertwinning of governmental intrige, multiple murder plots, and a few space aliens for good measure; Swann never looses site of his characters. The increadable detail that Swann puts into his characters draws the reader into their world, their lives, and their emotions. This truly is one of the best.

I read part of this book (and loved it) about six years ago, but forgot the author and title. It was only recently that I was able to find it again.It was a wonderful book; a hard-boiled P.I novel ranging from gritty (the shoot-outs throughout the story) to touching (when the protagonist recieves the gift of a kitten after his pet cat is killed). Character development is strong, and the storyline never fails to excite. The futuristic setting and the fact that many of the characters are "furries" (anthropomorphic animals) could have become a "Sam the Cat"-style gimmick; instead, it actually adds to the storyline.

I've read all of his books except "God's Dice", starting with this one. And I must say that after a letter response and an email or two, he is a genius, and has a very active imagination. It is quite easy to fall into the minds of the characters and live the story through their eyes!I especially liked how these three books (Forests of the Night is #1, then Emperors of the Twilight, and finally Spectres of the Dawn) carry the timeline so well. The characters are shared but they (the books) are not a "trilogy".If you liked these be sure to read his next series which is a more traditional trilogy, "Hostile Takeover"