Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves

November 15, 2021
Proud, stubborn, and lonely 17-year-old Sena Korhosen survives by picking pockets. The only thing Sena wants is to save enough money to get off-world, far away from Tundar, an unforgiving planet of electrical storms and bitter cold. When she crosses a cruel crime boss, he offers her clemency--if she can rehabilitate his vicious, prizefighting she-wolf. It's not a task she feels up to, but she has no other choice if she wants to escape to a better life. After a near-fatal turn of events, Sena finds herself in charge of the stolen she-wolf and agreeing to do the one thing she swore she'd never do: take part in a deadly 1,000-mile race to reach valuable exocarbon deposits, the same race that claimed her mothers' lives five years before. Sena may not have a lot, but with the wolf Iska by her side, she has a lot to lose and even more to gain. The action scenes are so fast-paced as to cause whiplash, while quieter interludes slow down enough to allow readers to catch their breath. There is no romantic subplot--instead, the growing trust between Sena and Iska is the focus. The worldbuilding is intricate, and the icy setting is so detailed that readers will feel the need to bundle up as they speed through to the exciting and satisfying conclusion. Main characters are assumed White; some secondary characters have brown skin. Fast and furious. (Science fiction. 14-18)

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December 6, 2021
Ever since her mothers died on the racing trail five years ago, 17-year-old narrator Sena Korhosen has lived by one simple rule—“No wolves. No sleds. No racing”—even though the frozen Edge World of Tundar relies upon the annual race of genetically engineered vonenwolves across the frozen waste to mine precious, seasonally accessible exocarbon. Determined to eventually start over on a less brutal planet, presumed-white Sena makes ends meet as a pickpocket, but when she runs afoul of a brutal syndicate leader, she’s forced to use the skills taught by her late mothers—one a racer, the other an ice-dwelling scavver—to heal his injured, unengineered prize fighter wolf, Iska. Sena’s desperate bid to get off-world sees her stealing Iska and joining the 1,000 mile race, where danger waits around every turn. In this atmospherically told debut with a leisurely beginning, Long skillfully navigates her resourceful heroine through a treacherous, chillingly described tundra setting. Sena’s growing bond with Iska, and her relationship to the natural world and struggle for survival, aptly explore themes of corporate greed, environmental care, and personal resilience. Ages 12–up. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM Partners.

April 1, 2022

Gr 9 Up-Long takes readers underground and cross-country in her deadly, frozen sci-fi adventure. Sena was orphaned by the deaths of her mothers in a corporate-sponsored wolf sled race on Tundar, a planet with "electrically charged weather and never-ending ice." She is part "scavver," a mysterious ethnicity hated by the greedy "corpos" who have no regard for human or animal life. Sena is discontent, living her life stealing from tourists and skulking on the edges of the city's underworld, wanting nothing to do with the upcoming race. By chance she is pulled onto a team of researchers who know she could be an asset because of her background and scavver know-how. With her wolf companion, she reluctantly agrees to go along, knowing it could cost her life. The author creates a tale of darkness and intrigue with a tough narrator. The complex world of the novel's setting is a bit of a challenge to envision, and the planet's specific vocabulary can be an early stumbling block. However, once Sena's voice breaks through the pain of her circumstances, readers can't stop rooting for her. Human/animal interaction, heart-stopping race action, and lurking predators are evenly paced, while plot lines crescendo and converge. The blizzard scenes, ice collapses, and temperature drops may entice those who skipped Gary Paulsen or Jean Craighead George to go back and fill in reading gaps. Contains some strong language and violence. VERDICT A forceful debut for teen fans of danger, the outdoors, and the underworld.-Jane Miller

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