I'm very picky about talking animal stories. That doesn't
mean I don't like them - I grew up on Narnia and still adore Watership Down.
Just...picky. And The Moon's Prophecy by Jonathan Sparrow is
a talking animal story. It's book one of a series (or at least a trilogy) and
is focused on the adventures of a group of small creatures (mice, shrews and
hedgehogs) fighting to defend their home from evil marauding boars - apparently
the sows stay at home. The issue I have is that they aren't animals at all. They're
humans in animal form - which quite surprises me as it comes from a naturalist.
The anthropomorphism is the standard kind to make the characters easier to
relate to. In fact, the authors' note all but admits that the talking animals
are really just mountain folk.
If you love talking animal stories, you'll enjoy it. At the
very least, it's a light read - and well-suited to younger teens and tweens.
Some kids at least will love it. If you're looking for something to fill a bit
of time and relax with, it's not a bad book at all. If you want more depth to
your book, then don't bother. And if you appreciate mountain stories - it will
probably work very well indeed.
Three stars.
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